Embrace The Dark (Her Elemental Dragons Book 5)(11)

He moved behind me and met my eyes in the mirror, then rested his hands on my shoulders possessively. “Yes, this is the gown. And when you wear it by my side, everyone will know you’re mine.”

“Only for seven nights,” I said, my voice defiant, even though I was secretly wondering if escape was still an option.

His lips curled into a dark smile. “We’ll see about that.”





7





Hannah





When we returned from our shopping trip, a whole spread of food awaited us in the apartment, with gourmet sandwiches, fancy meats and cheeses, and a salad with feta cheese. I needed some time to myself after the day’s events, and grabbed some food and retreated to the guest room. But when I opened the door, my breath caught and I nearly dropped my entire plate.

Flowers and plants now packed my previously sparse guest room, and I inhaled the fresh, floral scents I loved so much. Each corner had a weeping fig tree, and flowers grew in pots along the windowsill, on the desk and side tables, and inside the bathroom. I spotted white lilies, purple violets, blue irises, and white-and-yellow daffodils. No roses, which I found curious, but I didn’t mind. I’d always thought roses were overdone and overrated, especially when there were so many other beautiful plants out there.

Then it hit me. These were all my favorite flowers.

How did he know?

How did he always know?

Lucas’s voice at my back made me jump. “I thought they might help you feel more at home.”

“They’re lovely,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Between this and his earlier comments I was starting to think he intended to keep me here longer than seven nights. That was never going to happen though. As soon as Brandy was found and my time was up, I was out of here. No matter how rich, powerful, or sinfully sexy he was. Or how thoughtful and generous he was being. “Thank you.”

“Try to relax and enjoy the rest of your day,” his voice purred. “Take a bath, perhaps. Eat anything you like. We’ll meet at nine for our evening’s festivities.”

I swallowed and nodded, and he retreated on silent footsteps. Once he was gone I closed the door, let out a long breath, and sat at the desk to eat my sandwich and salad. A small pot of daffodils rested on the table beside my plate, and I admired the star-like white petals circling a yellow center. Even though they were pretty common, daffodils were my favorite flower because they always lifted my spirits. Like harbingers of spring, they popped out of the ground when nothing else in the garden had yet dared to declare victory over winter. Plus, once they were cut, they secreted sap that was poisonous to other flowers, which meant you had to keep them in their own vase. They were like the plant version of introverts, except they poisoned anyone who got up in their space. My kind of plant, indeed.

The daffodil was also called the narcissus, when you wanted to sound sophisticated anyway. The narcissus was known for being the flower Persephone picked just before the earth opened up and Hades kidnapped her and took her to the underworld. At the thought, I remembered the ancient Greek vase in Lucas’s library and wondered if the daffodil here was connected somehow.

I shook myself out of my dark thoughts and finished my food, while scanning my phone for any messages or updates, then resorting to glimpsing through old photos of Brandy while praying she was still alive. Then I took Lucas’s suggestion and took a bath in the huge tub, luxuriating in the shampoos and soaps, losing myself in the floral scents with a richness beyond the usual cloying smells I purchased at the local dollar store.

When I got out, I discovered an entire collection of makeup lined up for my perusal, arranged like the most expensive department store counters. I stared at the pots and tubes and brushes for several minutes. It was hard to break the perfect seals and mar the powders pressed in their little dishes. Once they were used, they were used, and I couldn’t shake the feeling they were all wasted on me. I was an eyeliner and lip gloss kind of gal, and I didn’t even know what to do with most of these things. Did they come with a tutorial?

Fuck it. If I was being held captive by a dangerous billionaire who called himself Lucifer then I deserved all the perks that came with the situation. Like the luxurious toiletries and makeup, along with the clothes and jewelry. Even the fancy shoes. Worst case, I gave them back at the end of my seven day sentence.

I cracked open the makeup, found a YouTube video explaining how to use it, and went at it. Sometime later, I walked out of the bathroom and found all the clothes from our shopping expedition hanging in the massive walk-in closet. While I’d been playing with eyeliner and foundation, someone had been in my room without me even knowing it. I never expected having staff would actually make me feel more vulnerable. From now on, I’d make sure to lock the doors.

Then, once I’d ascertained I was safe, I returned my attention to the clothes and tried to decide what to wear tonight. Lucas had mentioned in the car ride back to The Celestial that we were going to an exclusive nightclub, which was so not my normal scene. I wasn’t kidding when I told Lucas I usually spent my nights at home curled up with a book.

Eventually I picked something that was bolder and sexier than I’d ever normally wear, but I had an idea for how to make the evening less intimidating. If I felt like I was in costume, I could pretend to be someone else for the night, and leave all of my worries here to come back to later.

After tugging at the tight red dress and sucking in a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped out into the penthouse's living area.

Lucas whirled, the night view of the city framing him with a neon glow, contrasting with his stylish, tailored suit and dark hair. He looked me over and a muscle flexed in his jaw, while his gaze turned hungry. "You look like—" He paused as if searching for the word, and then his lips took on a wicked curve when he found it. "Sin."

I found myself unable to tear my gaze from his mouth, as the word sin settled over me like a seductive caress on my exposed skin. If there was ever a man who embodied sin, it was him.

“Shall we?” he asked, offering his hand.

I lightly rested my fingers in his, and let out a sigh at the little shock that always ran through me when we touched. “Where are we going?”

“My rooftop nightclub, Pandemonium. There’s a band playing tonight that I think you’ll like.”

We exited the penthouse, ignoring the guards, and entered the elevator. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to having handsome, burly men standing outside the door, but at least I only had a few more nights to deal with it. Soon all of this would be like one of those dark fairytales, a cautionary story I’d tell about how I once was a billionaire’s side piece for a few nights.

“Thank you for the flowers,” I said, as soon as we were inside the elevator. “But how did you know they were my favorite? And then there was the coffee this morning, and the emeralds... Are you stalking me?”

“I do my research.” He raised one of those perfect dark brows at me. “I like to know who I’ll be making deals with and allowing into my home. Need I remind you that you’re the one who came to me to ask for a favor?”

My cheeks flushed, but I wasn’t satisfied with that answer. Nor with the ever-present feeling that he was familiar somehow. “Did we know each other before the accident?”

He tilted his head. “Accident?”

The elevator opened onto the roof before I could answer. Music and lights blasted me in the face as soon as we stepped out, and all previous thoughts died away when I saw who was playing on the small stage.

“Is that The Hellions?” I asked, raising my voice to project over the music.

Without waiting for his reply, I hurried forward to get a better look. The rooftop club had a pool on one side of the stage and a bar on the other, and was open to the night sky above us and the flashing lights of Vegas all around. It was also so exclusive that I didn't even have to push through a crowd to get to the stage. People stood around, dancing to the sound of The Hellions’ newest songs, but I was able to go straight to the front.

How was this possible? The Hellions were huge, like selling out giant concert venues huge, but here they were in a tiny, intimate venue. I could almost reach up and touch the singer’s black combat boot while he crooned about lost love.

As I moved in time to the beat, I noticed Lucas standing beside me, watching me with unblinking intensity. I turned toward him. “Was this in your report too? My favorite band?”

He leaned close with one hand on the small of my back, in the spot where the dress had an intricate cut-out. When his fingers touched my bare skin, I stilled, unable to focus on the music as heat rushed between my thighs. His sensual voice came through loud and clear in my ear, as if we were in a room alone. “I’m very thorough. As you’ll soon learn for yourself.”

“You got them to play here, in your nightclub, on such short notice?” I drew in a shaky breath. “For me?”

He let that hand trail a tiny bit lower, hovering just above the curve of my butt. “I did, yes.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed. I hated to admit it, but he was winning me over a tiny bit, no matter how hard I tried to resist his charms. Clothes, jewels, shoes—those felt like buying me off. But my favorite flowers? My favorite band? That was something else.