I stood in a hurry. “I’ll get changed.”
“Yes,” He nodded. “I thought you would.”
Escaping the chill of his blue eyes, I closed the bathroom door. I’d been swimming almost every day since Calix had been gone, so I knew I had an abundant collection of swimming suits to choose from. Sadly, none of them were one piece suits. I’d never been one to wear two piece suits, which was peculiar because the closet Calix had filled for me was almost entirely lined with clothing I would have chosen for myself. Apart from the section of flashy lingerie and bathing suits, there wasn’t a thing in the closet I would find uncomfortable to wear.
Plucking a soft pink bikini and matching bottoms from the drawer, I quickly changed from my clothing into the bathing suit. Tying the pool wrap around my waist, I exited the closet to find Calix leaning against the vanity with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Are you ready?” He asked gruffly, his eyes sweeping over my body.
I nodded. “Yes.”
I watched Calix grab another towel from the closet before turning to me. “You’ll need shoes.”
“For what?” I frowned. “I never wear shoes to the pool.”
“We’re not going swimming in the pool, Nova.” Calix informed. “Get some shoes on.”
I sputtered. “Where are we going swimming?”
Calix looked at me with concern before answering. “The lake, love.”
“But,” I pointed to the bathroom door. “It’s dark outside.”
“The moon is bright and the sky is clear. There will be enough light.” He snapped his fingers as he pointed to the closet. “Do I have to tell you again to put a pair of shoes on, Nova?”
Feeling like a child, as I often did when Calix spoke to me with such condescending dominance, I moved with hunched shoulders into the closet. Slipping my feet into a pair of white flip-flops, I moved to join him in the bathroom.
Feeling uncertain when I spoke, my voice was low. “Why are swimming in the lake when you have a pool?”
“Because I want to swim in the lake.” He answered and I knew it was the end of our discussion.
Grinding my teeth, I followed Calix through the house to the patio. The night air wasn’t particularly cold, but it wasn’t warm either. The idea of swimming in the chilly water of the lake had my teeth chattering loudly by the time we’d covered the patio’s lengthy stone distance.
Calix turned to face me with a deep frown. “You’re cold?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “You’re not?”
“No.” He moved to close the distance between us, pulling my hand into his. “Come.”
“Calix,” I protested against my better judgment. “I really am cold. I don’t want to go in the water.”
“It’ll be warmer than you think.”
I doubted that. “There’s critters in there - I don’t want to swim when I can’t see the bottom.”
“You can’t see the bottom in the daylight either.”
“I haven’t swum in the lake.” I informed matter of fact. “But I can see the bottom in the day.” I added on a mumbled breath. “At least, I can see the bottom from where I would swim.”
“Stop arguing with me, love.” Calix sighed. “It’s pointless.”
I tensed. Yes, I knew arguing with Calix was pointless. He had proven, countless times, how very much he didn’t care.
Chapter 3
I tried to ignore the warmth of Calix’s hand holding tight to mine, as we walked along the expertly manicured stone path leading from the grand patio to the lake. I tried not to think of the rough sensation of his callouses on my soft skin, or the way his thick fingers linked through mine, spreading them apart in a way my body was beginning to know. I hadn’t spent all that much time with Calix, but my body was beginning to recognize him the way I once thought I would know the man I would spend my life with - my prince.
When I closed my eyes, I saw Calix’s face. When I fell into dream, my moments were spent beneath the man who held so much of my life and happiness in his damning palm. Throughout the days I spent without him, I’d caught hints of his scent when I least expected, and I’d find myself thinking of him, aching for him. There was no explanation or logic in the way my body and mind had been tricked by this cruel, manipulative man - there was just the fact that I had been tricked, and although I was angry with him and so desperately hurt by him, the fact remained - my heart had somehow entered into the equation. It was the undefined variable, the unsolved X, and the answer.
I was beginning to believe I really would spend my life with this man - my captor. But he wasn’t my prince. He wasn’t my white knight, but rather, he was a dark spirit on a dark stallion and I was in his prison, never to find release.