One Insatiable(42)

Leaning back, I look deep into his eyes. “You’re so intelligent.”

“Is that bad?”

“Not at all. Only I fell for your body. Now you’re pulling out this brain on me. Give a girl a break.”

That earns me a rare Koa laugh, and it’s not long before we’re back to making love. Still, he lets me return to the mansion to fetch my things and say goodbye to Penny. He’s right about Phoebe, though. She’ll want to stay where she’s familiar.

My aunt scampers down the steps when she hears me enter, and for the first time in a while, I see the old lynx in her movements.

“Mercy! Oh, Mercy, I’ve been so worried about you.” She runs straight to me and pulls me in her arms. “Where have you been?”

“I’ve been with Koa! It’s okay.”

“Is he holding you prisoner?” Her eyes are round, and I shake my head.

“He’s not the jailer I’m worried about.” Studying her face, I realize she’s always known. “I told him about Hayden. About what’s happening next week.”

Her lip pulls between her teeth. “Dylan told you?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” It aches in my chest that everyone kept me in the dark. I feel like I can’t trust any of them now.

“I wanted to! Dylan said I shouldn’t. She said we should try and see if you would love him. Your aunt Cora did.”

That has my attention. “She did? I don’t know a Cora — tell me about her!”

“She was the first one to be taken… It was all so long ago. Still, when Cora’s father tried to get her back, she didn’t want to return. She would come up for visits, but she always went back to him.”

Visits? My brow lines, and I think about this. Is it possible one would actually want to stay with Hayden? I think about how he conducts himself. He isn’t horrible. I suppose if I weren’t in love with Koa…

“Hayden is refined, but I don’t want to live in the underworld. I want to live in the sun by the ocean. I want to leave the snow and woods behind and see the waves, live in the light.”

Penny’s chin drops and she does a sad little nod. “It will be harder for you, then.”

A flash of fear trembles in my chest. Koa told me not to give up. He said he would save me. I have to believe him.

“Do you know how to reach Hayden? I really need to talk to him.”

“Oh, no! You mustn’t do that!” Her head shakes fast, and her eyes are wide with panic. “Don’t invite him here. He might decide to move up the timeline.”

Another shimmer of terror clutches my insides. “He can’t do that… can he?”

“He can do whatever he wants. Since you turned twenty-one, he’s had the right to take you at any moment.”

My chest is winding so tight, I’m afraid I’ll vomit. “But Dylan negotiated…”

“Dylan has no control over him. He agreed to her plans only to see if you might find him interesting. Now that he knows about the panther, all bets are off.”

“He knows about Koa?”

“He was furious about it, too. You were at the gym the day he discovered you’d been sleeping with him.”

Rubbing my forehead, I pace a small circle around the table in the grand entrance. “If only I could speak to him before Thursday.” As a last-ditch effort, I tense my arms at my sides and look straight up at the chandelier hanging overhead.

“Hayden!” I shout. “I need to speak to you now! Please come out!”

Penny looks at me in horror. Her eyes seem to bug, and she grips her neck. “What have you done?” she hisses.

My heart beats faster at her reaction, but I have to be brave. I have to believe he’ll keep his agreement with my sister. If not… Koa is too far away to save me.

Penny screams when a loud knock sounds on the door. “It’s him!”

She runs up the stairs, but I spin around, pressing my back to the stairwell as I face the front door. Slowly it starts to move, and a lump tightens in my throat.

The door falls open, and there he stands. His pale hair is swept back in his usual style, and his tall slender body is elegantly clad in a black designer suit.

“You wanted to see me?” In the past, I’d thought Hayden was sexy. Nothing about him has changed — only now I’m actually afraid of him.

“Hayden?” I quickly clear the nerves from my throat. I have to be brave. I have to be strong. Koa would want me to be strong.

“Yes, my love. I’m here at your bidding. It’s one of the many privileges you’ll have before long.”

“You’ll be at my bidding?” My brow lines at the thought.

“Only because I want to be.” His voice is soft as he crosses the threshold, gliding with a smooth stride to where I’m standing, holding the railing for support.

“Now,” he smiles down at me, twisting a dark lock of hair around his long, elegant finger. “What would you like to say to me, my little lynx?”

My voice is small as I say the words. “I want you to let me go, Hayden.”

The corner of his mouth quirks up in a shadow of a smile, and his pale blue eyes actually look sad a moment. One blink and the emotion is gone.

“I’m sorry, little cat. You belong to me.”