"CRAVING FOR HER INNOCENCE"

CHAPTER: 15 The Predator’s Sanctuary✨

The heavy oak door of the master suite clicked shut, a sound that echoed like the final turn of a key in a prison cell. Outside, the world of the D'Souza family and the lying promises of Kai were gone. Inside, there was only the predatory silence of David William.

Marry felt the oxygen vanish from the room the moment she stepped onto the plush, midnight-blue carpet. Her anger, which had been burning hot just moments ago in the hallway, was rapidly crystallizing into a paralyzing frost of terror. She was no longer just a girl in a mansion; she was a bird that had flown directly into the hawk’s talons.

"Let... let go of me," she whispered, her voice cracking as she tried to twist her wrist from his iron-clad grip.

David didn’t answer. He didn't even look at her. His profile was carved from cold marble, his jaw set in a line of dangerous intent. With a sudden, fluid motion, he redirected her momentum and threw her toward the massive, silk-draped bed.

Marry tumbled onto the soft mattress, the breath knocked out of her as the dark fabric swallowed her small frame. Before she could scramble away, the bed dipped under a heavy, sudden weight.

She looked up, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped creature. David was hovering over her, a mysterious, dark smile playing on his lips—a smile that never reached his eyes. His sapphire gaze was cold, calculated, and terrifyingly focused.

Desperate, Marry tried to scoot backward toward the headboard, but she had nowhere to run. Suddenly, David’s hand shot out. He didn't grab her waist this time; he wrapped his long, powerful fingers firmly around her ankle. With one brutal tug, he hauled her back across the silk sheets until she was pinned directly beneath his towering, shirtless frame.

Marry’s skin burned where he touched her. Slowly, with agonizing deliberation, his hand began to slide upward. He didn't rush. He traced the curve of her ankle, moved to the softness of her calf, and finally, his palm gripped her thigh with a possessive strength that made her whimper. He wasn't just holding her; he was marking her.

His face descended until his nose brushed against hers.

"Please... David... let me go," she sobbed, her body trembling so violently that the very air seemed to vibrate with her fear.

David leaned in closer, his voice a deep, gravelly vibration that felt like a physical caress against her ear. "Let you go? Why would I ever let my property wander off? Especially when that property is as... exquisite... as you."

His hot, wine-scented breath fanned across her cheek, sending a shiver of pure dread down her spine. Marry couldn't even find the words to argue. Her throat felt tight, her lungs refusing to take in enough air to scream.

"Breathe, little bird," David commanded softly, his eyes tracing the frantic, visible pulse in her neck. "Or you’ll break before the lesson even begins. And I’m not done with you yet."

Suddenly, he pulled back, the crushing weight of his presence lifting just enough for her to gasp for air. He stood up, towering over the bed, looking down at her with the cold satisfaction of a king looking at a conquered territory.

"From now on," he began, his voice dropping into a lethal, quiet tone that made the hair on her arms stand up, "if anyone comes to speak to you, you turn them away. I do not like others touching my things. I do not even like them thinking about what belongs to me. If this happens again... if you even look at him with that hope in your eyes... you wouldn't want to meet the man I become when I am truly provoked."

The unfinished threat hung in the air, heavier than the velvet curtains. Marry prayed for him to leave, to disappear into the shadows, but David wasn't finished. He walked over to the obsidian-colored sofa and sat down, crossing his legs with predatory grace.

"Don't even think about leaving this room," he warned without looking at her.

Marry stayed frozen on the edge of the bed, eventually sliding off to stand against the far wall, trying to shrink into the shadows. But there was no hiding from him.

David poured himself a glass of vintage red wine, the liquid looking like dark blood in the dim light. He sipped it slowly, his eyes never once leaving her. He watched her like a hunter watching a wounded deer, savoring every flinch, every tear, and every shaky breath.

"Tell me," he said after a long, suffocating silence. "That Kai... he is your sister’s fiancé, right? So why was he here for you? You two seem to have a very... intimate bond for people who are supposed to be strangers now."

Marry flinched at the cruel implication. She looked at him, her voice small but fueled by a spark of defiance. "He... he came to take me away from this nightmare. He’s the only one who cares."

The sound of those words made David’s grip tighten on the crystal wine glass until his knuckles turned ghost-white. A flash of something dark and ugly crossed his face—a flash of raw, unfiltered jealousy that he masked with a sneer.

"Oh? He was going to save you?" David mocked. "And what about the debt, Marry? What about the blood money your father owes? Did he have the millions in his pocket, or just a cheap pen?"

"You didn't even let me sign the papers!" Marry cried out, her frustration momentarily overcoming her fear. "You don't want the money. You just want to keep me here to torture me! You blocked the only way I had to be free!"

David rose from the sofa, stalking toward her like a shadow coming to life. He didn't stop until he was inches away, his chest almost touching her face. He leaned down until their foreheads were nearly touching, his scent of expensive wine and sandalwood surrounding her like a shroud.

"Are you truly that naive, Marry?" he whispered, his voice dangerously low. "Do you really think a few signatures on a scrap of paper from a man like Kai would change anything? Do you think he could just walk into my house and take what I’ve already bought and paid for?"

He leaned in even closer, his lips almost brushing her ear. "Think about it very carefully in the dark tonight, Marry. Think about why a man who is supposed to marry your sister is so desperate to 'rescue' you with a lie. In my world, no one does anything for free. Not even your 'precious' Kai."

He turned abruptly, heading toward the dressing room to change, but paused at the threshold.

"Stay where you are. If I see you move toward that door, I will make sure you never walk out of it again."

He stepped out, the door to the dressing room clicking shut, leaving Marry alone in the vast, dark suite. She sank to the floor, her legs giving out, her mind a chaotic mess of confusion and pain. She hated him. She hated David William with every fiber of her being. But as she sat there in the silence, a terrifying, poisonous thought began to take root: What if the devil in the tailored suit was the only one telling her the truth?

The Golden Cage is getting tighter... 🖤🦢

Can we just take a moment to breathe? This chapter was pure fire! David calling Marry his "property" and literally marking his territory by erasing Kai’s touch... my heart was racing the whole time. 🐺🔥

But let’s get serious for a seond what happened next ..so pleass think ..❤️