Page 10 of Weeping Roses
“Don’t you have attics where you come from?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Of course not and if we did, they would be clean white spaces with everything labeled in boxes. Why keep broken items that have no use anymore and old furnishings that will never grace a room again?”
“Sentiment perhaps.” I shrug. “Perhaps these items held value as such. Possibly Aunt Veronica was keeping them because she couldn’t bear to part with them.”
“And toss them in an open grave and leave them to rot with the rats and spiders. I don’t see the point of that.”
“Rats!” I stare at him in horror, and he smirks.
“Of course. The evidence is all around you.”
“Where?” My voice raises an octave as I glance around furtively, and he chuckles as he points to the floor.
“Rat droppings if I’m not mistaken, and there is a hole chewed in that fabric spilling from the case.”
“Oh my God!”
I make to leave immediately, and his grip tightens as he teases, “You’re scared of ghosts and rats? You really should deal with that.”
“Not today.” I try to wrench my hand from his. “Not tomorrow either, and definitely not next week. I’m leaving.”
Rather than let me go, he tugs me closer to him and, as his arm slides around my waist, his voice wraps around my soul like a snake.
“Face your fears, malyshka. Face them head on and they will respect you.”
My heart is pounding as he tightens his hold, and then he grips my face and forces me to stare at the floor.
“You are stronger than any animal in this space. You have the power to eradicate, to conquer, and to dominate. This is your domain, and you have every right to be here. They do not. With one step from your boot, you could crush them into non-existence. With one sweep of your hand, you could discard them like the trash they are. They cannot hurt you because you are the ruler of them.”
His voice is soft like satin steel and his sexy accent is scrambling my senses. He whispers his strong words that waft through my mind like well-guarded secrets that only I can discover, and it transports me from the dusty attic onto a battlefield.
The light bulb flickers overhead and his face is inches away from mine as he whispers, “You are a strong, beautiful woman and you could own the world if you tried. Never be afraid of the shadows again, malyshka, because the shadows that surround you now are yours to own.”
His lips hover close to mine as he whispers words that wrap around my heart. It’s as if he is hypnotizing me and I can only focus on him. The dark scratch of his jaw as he brushes it against my skin. His strong fingers pressing into my tender flesh and his strength that is propping me up when all I want to do is run.
“What is your name?” I whisper, my voice loud in the silent space, and he whispers against my lips, “Valentin Romanov.”
“Valentin Romanov.” I repeat his name, loving how it sounds out loud through my trembling lips.
“You are Pollyanna Scott-Stanley, and you are fearless.” He growls and my breath hitches as he hisses, “Say it.”
“Um–”
His hold tightens and I say in a stronger voice. “I am Pollyanna Scott-Stanley, and I am…” I gulp as his breath dances with mine in the dirty, stale air.
“Fearless.”
I gasp when his lips claim mine in a brutal kiss, his tongue plunging deep inside my mouth and tangling with mine. His strong fingers grip my face as he takes his fill of me and as I kiss him back, it’s with a raw energy I have never felt before.
I want this.
I need this and as my arms wrap around his neck, I pull him in tighter and kiss him with a ferocity that should make me ashamed of myself.
He fists my hair and tears the binding away, allowing it to fall freely so he can grip it tighter while he punishes my mouth.
I am delirious with need because there is something so incredibly sexy about this moment. We are hidden away from normal life, indulging in a dangerous liaison surrounded by rats and ghosts. Probably rat ghosts for all I know and yet this is the perfect place to do something out of the ordinary on a day that pushes ordinary out of my life forever.
CHAPTER 6