Secrets in the shadows

A date with destiny

“What did you do that for!”  

“Well, you are looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost, wanted to see if you still inhibited this planet" I smiled.

 “very funny, come on" 

I squinted at her, surely, she did not still want to go out after what had just transpired.

 “where are we going?” 

“To pack of course silly “

I groaned, think I would rather go on a wild goose chase than do that! In fact, I think I would rather do anything than pack, packing made it seem more real and if I even let the realisation of what I had done enter my brain then I would start freaking out, I still could not believe I had agreed, but of course she was right, it did not seem like he was a very patient man. 

After we packed, we spent our last night watching girly movies and stuffing our face with popcorn, marshmallows, and chocolate, we laughed and talked till the early hours of the morning, which was nice, it was nice to forget that I had entered into a deal with a controlling asshole. 

We never spoke once of our adventures that awaited us, probably because we did not know what awaited us, I repeatedly asked her if she wanted to back out because I felt responsible for putting her in such a predicament and the answer was always the same.

 “No babe, wherever you go, I go, besides what an adventure it will be “and she would wink each time she said it. 

I loved that about her though how she always put on a brave face and was so positive, even in disastrous situations she would make light of it and that was exactly what I needed.

We waited impatiently for the mysterious car to arrive that morning, I was a nervous wreck, I had talked my way out of it maybe fifty times and talked myself back into it, I paced the apartment, I was sure I was driving Leila mad by this point.

“Babe, come on, sit down “

I did not even respond, kept right on up pacing backwards and forwards from the living room to the kitchen, which was not hard as it was all open plan, but my incessant movements was clearly making Leila anxious.

“Cal, come on, sit down you’re driving me mad “

I huffed and admitted defeat, I was just about to join her on the plush sofa when the buzzing of our apartment buzzer rang through, I jumped from the sudden noise.

“Caliana, really will you calm down “

she laughed at me, well I am glad my anxiety amused her, but I had to agree with her, I was an absolute wreck, how was I going to face Ryker when I met him if I could not even calm down before we got there.

I faintly heard her responding to the man at the other end of the buzzer.

“yeah we will be right down “

she jumped up and down clearly excited, I just looked at her with bewilderment, I wish I could share in her excitement, but I could not, I really could not, I was terrified.

 I do not remember leaving the apartment, it was like I was a swirl of emotions and it felt like I was no longer in my body, it moved but I was no longer there, I suppose that is what fear does to you, it grips hold of you until you feel like you are not there anymore and that is exactly how I felt right here in this moment. 

I slowly walked towards the driver that opened the car door for us both, Leila on the other hand was in her element, she bowed.

“ why thank you, sir “ 

she giggled, he didn’t look impressed, big brown eyes looked straight at me and he smirked in a deep voice.

 “ Caliana I assume “ I smirked.

 I didn’t like him, his whole stance if I’m been honest, he gave me the creeps, the way he looked at me like I was his next meal and he kept his eyes locked on mine never taking them off of me. 

“Not going to bow “he quizzed me, I raised my eyebrows.

 “maybe another time “he chuckled and closed the door behind me.

I placed myself beside Leila, the plush leather seats were like seating your bum on top of a cloud, at least we would be comfortable even if I were fearful of what was to come.

 Leila chatted for what seemed like hours and I just smiled at her in agreement, I didn’t actually hear a word she said, I was busy assessing the situation I was in and it pushed me outside my comfort zone and I didn’t like that, I liked to be in control of what was going on and I had to know where I was going, in that respect I guess I liked to have some control over my life but right now in this car, I wasn’t in control, I didn’t know anything and that made me more uncomfortable than I had ever been, I contemplated going back on the deal numerous times on our journey to god knows where, Leila didn’t seem to share my fears she looked positively in her element but she must of known how anxious I was becoming, she placed her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze.

 “ its going to be good babe, an adventure “ she whispered to me and I smiled, not entirely believing her but the sentiment was just what I needed.

I was feeling more at peace with Leila’s incessant talking when the car came to a sudden halt, and I thought it mighty strange that I was calm for all of five seconds and there it was the calm before the storm, I’d often heard people use that expression or just when everything was going alright and all was right with the world something would happen and a light would ping in your head and you would be like aha there it is ‘the fuckening’, I preferred that one to the calm before the storm, it just described my overall outlook on this horrid experience that hadn’t transpired yet.

Maybe I was over thinking, I did that a lot, maybe Ryker was not so bad, maybe he was nervous about buying a girl over the internet, I mean I knew my reasons, but I did not know his, that is probably because he never gave me a chance to ask him any questions about himself, he just seemed to want me to be a submissive girl and do as I was told!

“Cal we are here “

Leila jolted me out of my daydream, and I crash landed back to earth.

I stood in front of Ryker’s house, well I say house it was huge; a huge colonial mansion is what I would have called it, but I guess I had to call it home for a week, seven days with that control freak, how was I ever going to survive...

We slowly trudged up the stone steps to the double doors, when the doors flung open and I stumbled and was about to crash down all six steps when a strong muscular arm caught me and dragged me forward, I looked up to who the arm belonged to and Ryker stood there glaring at me with disgust.

“you have been here two seconds and you almost killed yourself already!’ 

I smirked at him.

 “aw careful, people may think you’ve got a heart “

Leila was shocked by my rude remark, she was not the only one, I did not know where it had come from but to see the look of pure horror on his face, it was totally worth it, he turned and walked into the house.

“inside before you cause yourself an injury!” 

wow rude much! Who did he think he was ordering me around like a cheap prostitute, okay yes, he had bought me, but I did not deserve his rude remark, I guess he probably thought the same of me? We followed him into the lounge, it was very impressive, everything was cream with a hint of black, as black as his heart I thought.

 “sit “

I was getting really annoyed at his demeanour towards me but this time I bit my tongue and did as I was told, he left the room to go speak with his driver I assumed. 

“Oh, wow Cal, look at this place “

I rolled my eyes.

“come on Cal aren’t you even a little bit excited?”  

“No Leila I’m not, this is weird, and he is rude!”  

“Well babe from where I was standing you were the one who was been rude “

I hated that she was right and I could not exactly argue so I did what any self-respectable twenty-three-year-old would do, I folded my arms across my chest and stuck my tongue out at her.

Mr brooding walked into the room and I couldn’t help notice his bulging muscles trying to pop out of his black vest, his grey tracksuit bottoms leaving nothing to the imagination, he caught me off guard and winked at me, suddenly I felt like a silly school girl, I squirmed and could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, he noticed too and seemed to be enjoying the fact he could make me squirm.

“ you look a bit hot, are you feeling okay?” he raised his eyebrows at me.

 my hands rushed to my cheeks, I could feel them burning underneath my palms

 “ I, yes, I mean no, I mean I’m fine “ 

I couldn’t even string a sentence together, how was I going to last a week in his presence.

“Leila you can go to your room and unpack your things, Phoenix will show you the way”. 

“who’s Phoenix?” 

“Curious little cat aren’t you Caliana “

I did not know why but the way he said my name made me go weak at the knees. I just shrugged my shoulders at him, not daring to look into his eyes.

“he’s my brother Caliana, you will meet him later “I just nodded.

maybe he had him here for moral support like I had Laila for moral support, I did not know, and I was not about to ask. 

Laila stood and my stomach dropped, I really did not want to be alone with him, not because I was scared because I was not anymore, more because I did not trust myself alone with him.

 “you’ll be okay babe, I will only be upstairs “she squeezed my arm for reassurance, I did not say anything I just nodded.

Ryker closed the door after she left.

“Privacy “he smiled.

I did not speak, I did not really know what to say, he came and sat next to me, he was that close I could feel the heat radiating from his leg as it brushed against mine and once again the heat rose to my cheeks.

“I really influence you Caliana “ 

“You wish “ 

He smiled at me, he knew he did, I am sure he influenced all women, he was as gorgeous as he was obnoxious.

He leaned close, so close his lips were nearly touching mine, I suddenly had a dizzy feeling, and I let out a gasp, he smirked at me.

“Still not effecting you Caliana “ 

I shook my head.

He moved his fingertip across my now red face and stroked my face gently, with each stroke he sent a shiver through my body.

“Nothing?” 

Once more I shook my head.

“Oh, must be losing my touch “he grinned. 

He took his hand away from my face.

“We better get started don’t you think?”

I looked at him puzzled.

“The contract Caliana, get your mind out of the gutter" he winked at me and without a thought in my head, I slapped him hard across the arm and for a split second his eyes seemed to change, could have just been my imagination but I saw a glimmer of something else, I immediately apologised, I am not sure why it just felt like the right thing to do.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that “ 

He just nodded, seemingly unfazed by my apology and blatant attack moments earlier, he brought a wad of paper and place them on the table.

“Now Caliana, before we do anything else, this is the disclosure form I told you about" 

I glared at it, it looked like an agreement to buy a house, I expected one form but there were a good few pages for only staying with him a week.

“I want you to read through everything and give your answers”.

“So, like a quiz “ 

“Of some sort, yes “ 

What I had to answer a quiz, this was even more bizarre than I had previously thought, I expected an agreement where I just signed on the dotted line and agreed to stay within the time we had discussed, what did the week entail that he would need to hand me a bloody quiz! I just stared at it in disbelief, I could only imagine all the rules and awkward questions displayed in the quiz of horrors that lay in front of me.

“Caliana, I will give you 24 hours to read that over and sign our agreement I think that is a suitable amount of time for you to decide If you would like to go ahead “

“And if I don’t? “

He looked like he was mulling over my question, I was trying to see if he displayed any sort of emotion, but he had a perfect poker face, he did not let on if my question troubled him.

“Then I will have Marcus, take you back home and our agreement will dispel “

I nodded in agreement, it seemed like a fair deal.

“I do want you to know Caliana, that you are obliged to be truthful in the agreement, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do, this is to give you the best possible stay at your own comfort level, you understand? “

I nodded once more. 

“Great follow me and I will show you to your room “ 

We walked out into the large foyer and up the long winding staircase, I could easily get lost here, we stopped at the top of the stairs.

“This room is mine “he pointed to the room on the left of the staircase.

“This room will be yours “he pointed right next to it.

“Where is Leila’s room?”

“The other end of the house, I didn’t want you to be distracted, I want you to think your answers over carefully while reading through our agreement and bring it to me when your done, I will be right next door, you understand?” 

why did be keep asking if I understood like I was a child that could not comprehend basic human instructions, I found him condescending but maybe that was just his nature.

“Yes, I understand “ 

He nodded and with that he disappeared into his room, leaving me stood outside his door with his big wad of demands in my hands.

I walked into the room adjacent to Ryker’s, I wondered if there was a secret door he could access to just walk in, I stood just inside the room as if I was waiting for my crazy theory to be right but there was nothing, nothing but silence, it was eerily quiet, living with Leila I wasn’t used to no noise, it was unnerving and now I was in this strange house alone in this room with nothing but my thoughts and a huge agreement, I threw the agreement on the bed and saw my suitcase at the foot of the double bed, I was about to unpack but if I couldn’t agree I’d be sent home so I decided to leave it, I kicked off my shoes and sprawled on the bed on my stomach propped up on my elbows eager to read the novel that sat before me. 

The first page was not so scary it was just a repeat of what he had said in his email if I decide to leave before the week was up the agreement would be over and he would owe me nothing, I knew that part anyway. 

I got comfortable and readied myself for a page turner, I must admit I was quite excited which was strange, but it was an odd feeling going into an agreement with possibly the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on, out of all the women he could have chosen to bring to his home why did he choose me, I just did not know, I was just ordinary, nothing special, just normal, boring Caliana.

The first set of questions were not so bad, slightly personal but not bad, my name, family, age, that type of thing, I was not sure why he would need to know these details, but I wrote them down anyway. 

The rest of the questions were normal, there was nothing unusual about any of them, kind of like I was applying for a job, which was strange, companion for a week job application, it was a strange situation I found myself in right now but it was what I had signed up for, I don’t know what I was expecting with this huge wad of questions but I didn’t think it would be so... normal and yet here I was answering a quiz about myself, I say quiz because I had no other way to describe it! If he wanted to get to know me all he had to do was ask, but he did not seem like the talkative type. 

I whizzed through the questions, it was easy and right when I was gloating deep down inside it happened, ‘the fuckening’, you ever have a day where it is going so well and right when it seems so perfect there it is, the s**t that smacks you in the face, what I like to call the fuckening and here it was, his lengthy list of rules.

• Caliana while you are my guest, you will behave yourself 

Wow I am a child again, behave myself was he for real? I ticked the box and yes each of his rules had yes and no boxes like a child would write in primary school when they were asking someone out, I did not know whether to laugh or not at the sheer absurd notion of his rules.

• You will not leave the house after dark, do you understand 

• I go out regularly, you may not come with me, and you stay in the house

Oh great, like a little slave, he sure did have an issue with the dark which made no sense because he lived in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours that I had come across, who would I bump into the invisible man. 

• If I lock my door, you may not bother me

• Never go into the cellar under any circumstances 

Hmmm interesting I wonder what is in the cellar. 

• in the event we have a s****l encounter, you may tell me what is okay and what is not as I like to be adventurous, if you do not, let me know what you are uncomfortable with.

Wow okay down to the juicy stuff, but seriously he spoke like he was from another era he sure did not speak like anyone I had ever come across before.

• In the event we both agree to a s****l encounter, and you become uncomfortable or want to stop, the code name you will yell out is ‘popcorn ‘ 

Well, I could not do anything but laugh, I laughed a loud roaring belly laugh, popcorn, popcorn, was he for real, in what universe would anyone want to scream out popcorn while they were getting down and dirty.

• Whenever you need me, you may knock on my door, if I do not answer do not enter 

• I will give you the same respect you give me and vice versa.

• while you are here, you are mine!

What the hell does that mean?! I am his, the very thought sent butterflies into my stomach, was it the fact he referred to me as his, I did not know but I kind of liked the notion if I was been honest with myself.

• This is the most important rule of all, under no circumstances DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH ME this will not be well received or reciprocated.

Wow what an ego he had, do not fall in love with him, well he had nothing to worry about, I had never been in love, and I did not plan on falling for someone who was paying me to stay with him! 

• If you agree to the above terms sign your name at the bottom, take the needle and prick your finger and fingerprint your blood next to your signature and bring the signed documents back to my room, and remember knock first.

Okay that was weird sign my name and give him a fingerprint of my blood! What kind of weird, twisted s**t was he into, my blood?! Like really... was that even a thing, I’d heard it all now, so I had a decision to make, I could go along with this crazy blood sacrificial name signing contract or I could disagree and leave with no money to get me out of my awkward situation I had found myself in, I didn’t really want to back out now, I mean what’s the worst that could happen, it was only a drop of blood, what harm could it really do.