Chapter 35: The Predator's Den
Janet's eyes darted across the room, heart hammering against her ribs. She lay on the velvet-sheeted bed, wrists and ankles bound tightly with silk ropes. The luxurious surroundings only made the situation feel more terrifying, more twisted. She wriggled, trying to loosen the knot, but it only burned her skin more.
I need to escape... I need to get out of here...
But she couldn't move. Her body was trembling, her throat dry.
Dmitri leaned against the wall, watching her with a maddening calmness. "You still have that fire in your eyes," he said, stepping closer. "That same defiance. It's… intoxicating."
He ran his fingers along the edge of her jaw. Janet turned her face away in disgust, but he caught her chin firmly and made her look at him.
"I could have you right now, Janet," he whispered. "I could make you mine tonight."
Her eyes widened in horror.
"But I won't," he added after a moment, pulling away slowly. "Because I've waited this long… what's a little more?"
He turned his back to her, walking toward the tall glass cabinet by the fireplace. "You see," he said, opening it and pulling out a small pistol. "I don't like to rush art."
He looked back at her with a cold smirk. "I'll take you to a place where no one will find you. A mansion more hidden than this one. The real fortress. Where no one dares step foot."
She stared at him in horror as he strode over.
Then, without warning, he bent over and lifted her onto his shoulder like a sack of cloth. Janet gasped, squirming, kicking with what little strength she had—but his grip on her thighs was brutal.
"You're mine, Janet," he whispered. "Always have been."
As he walked out with her over his shoulder, he paused at the doorway.
"Oh," he said with a cruel smile, "and that man who was going to buy you… It was me. All along."...