365 nights of shadow

Chapter 2: The Gilded Cage

ELARA

The first thing I felt was the vibration-a low, rhythmic hum that rattled my teeth and thrummed through my bones. Then came the smell. It didn't smell like the damp garden in Monaco or the salt of the Mediterranean. It smelled like the man. Leather, expensive scotch, and a cold, metallic edge that reminded me of a sharpened blade.

I opened my eyes, and my heart immediately did a panicked somersault against my ribs.

I wasn't in a car. I was in a cabin that looked more like a five-star hotel suite than a vehicle. Soft cream leather, walnut wood accents, and amber lighting that glowed with sickening warmth. I tried to bolt upright, but a wave of nausea hit me, and a heavy hand landed on my shoulder, pinning me back against the silk pillows of the oversized lounge chair.

"Careful. The sedative was mild, but it leaves a sting," a voice drawled.

I looked up. Sebastian was sitting directly across from me, his long legs crossed at the ankles, a crystal glass of amber liquid held loosely in his hand. He had discarded his suit jacket, and his white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the corded muscles of his neck and a glimpse of a dark tattoo peeking from beneath the fabric. He looked relaxed. I looked like a cornered animal.

"You kidnapped me," I rasped, my throat feeling like I'd swallowed glass. "You psychotic, narcissistic piece of shit. You actually kidnapped me."

Sebastian took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving mine. They were the color of a winter sea-beautiful, but capable of drowning everything in their path.

"I prefer the term 'involuntary relocation,'" he said, his voice smooth and terrifyingly calm. "And watch your tongue, Elara. I've killed men for less than the names you just called me."

"Then kill me!" I shouted, my voice cracking as the reality of the situation crashed down on me. "Because that's the only way you're keeping me here. My friend-Raven-she saw us. She knows. The police are going to be crawling all over you."

Sebastian let out a short, dark laugh that didn't reach his eyes. "Raven is currently being escorted to a luxury villa in Tuscany. She has been told you met a charming billionaire and decided to take a private tour of the coast. She was even sent a photo of you sleeping peacefully in this very chair. She's fine. Busy, but fine."

"You're lying."

"I don't lie, Elara. It's beneath me. I simply manipulate the truth until it fits my needs." He leaned forward, the sudden proximity making my breath hitch. He smelled so good it was offensive. "You disappeared from my life once. I spent five years and millions of dollars scrubing the globe for a girl who didn't want to be found. Now that I have you, do you really think a few laws are going to stop me?"

"I don't even know who you are!" I screamed.

He paused, a flicker of something-pain? anger?-crossing his handsome face before it vanished behind a mask of ice. "You will. You have exactly one year to learn every inch of me. By the time the clock runs out, you won't just know me. You'll crave me."

"I'd rather die," I whispered, leaning back as far as the chair would allow.

"We'll see," he murmured, his gaze dropping to my lips. "The 365 days start now. Welcome to your new life, piccola."

SEBASTIAN

She was even more exquisite when she was furious.

The way her green eyes flashed with fire, the way her chest heaved beneath the emerald silk of her dress-it was a symphony of defiance that made the blood in my veins run hot. Most people looked at me and saw a god or a devil. They trembled. They bowed. But Elara looked at me like I was something she wanted to scrape off the bottom of her shoe.

It was intoxicating.

I watched her through the rim of my glass as she tried to find a way out of the cabin. She was smart. She looked at the door, then the emergency latch, then at me, calculating the distance. She didn't know the door was reinforced steel and the latch was deadlocked from the cockpit.

"Where are we going?" she demanded, clutching the armrests until her knuckles turned white.

"Italy," I replied. "My private estate in Sicily. It's secluded. Secure. The perfect place for you to realize that your old life is over."

"My life isn't over! I have a job, I have friends, I have..." She stopped, her face paling.

"You have Lucien?" I finished for her, the name tasting like poison in my mouth. "The accountant with the personality of wet cardboard? Don't worry about him. I've made sure he's... taken care of. He won't be looking for you."

Her eyes widened. "What did you do to him? If you hurt him-"

I slammed my glass down on the side table, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the pressurized cabin. I was on my feet in a second, hovering over her, my hands gripping the back of her chair. I could feel the heat radiating off her body.

"I didn't hurt him," I growled, my face inches from hers. "I bought him. A man like that has a price, Elara. Yours was surprisingly low. A few million in an offshore account and he was happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement and move to South America. That's the 'love' you're so desperate to return to."

The look of pure, agonizing heartbreak that crossed her face felt like a physical blow to my own chest. I hated it. I hated that he had ever touched her. I hated that she cared.

"You're a monster," she whispered, a single tear escaping and tracking down her cheek.

I reached out, my thumb catching the tear. Her skin was like heated velvet. I wanted to crush her to me; I wanted to bridge the distance and taste the salt on her skin. I wanted to break her until the only thing she knew was my name.

"I am," I agreed, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous husk. "But I'm the monster who owns you now. Get used to the cage, Elara. Because I'm never letting you go."

I turned on my heel and walked toward the cockpit, needing the cold air of the flight deck to settle the roar in my blood.

Cassius was standing by the comms station, his expression unreadable. He had seen the whole thing. He'd seen the way I lost my temper-a rare occurrence.

"She's a fighter, Boss," Cassius said quietly.

"She's a brat," I snapped, though we both knew it was a lie. "Make sure the security at the villa is doubled. I want no one in or out without my personal clearance. And Cassius?"

"Yes?"

"If she tries to run, don't bruise her. Just bring her back to me. She's mine to break."

I went to the window, watching the lights of Europe disappear beneath the clouds. I had her. After five years of searching through the shadows, I finally had the light in my grasp. I knew I was a villain for taking her. I knew the "deal" was a sham-I'd never let her leave, even after 365 days.

But as I looked at my reflection in the dark glass, all I saw was a man who was finally, for the first time in his life, feeling something other than nothing. And if I had to burn the world down to keep her, I'd strike the match myself.