Bound by shadows

In His Territory

I woke up, with a headache. I sat up on the bed and looked around. The place feels unfamiliar. The room is large with high ceilings and top windows covered by heavy, deep gray velvet curtains. The walls are painted a warm grayish brown color, providing a neutral background that enhanced the room’s elegant furnishings.

The bed in which I laid is a king-sized bed with a leather head board in dark brown. I was covered in a black duvet that smelled of male cologne.

‘Where am I?’ I wondered, confused as to how I got here.

I felt naked under the duvet. When I raised the duvet I saw I was only in my bra and pant.

‘Did Philip carry me here by any chance? Is this his house? Did we have s*x?’ I wondered. My confusion increasing the more.

I strained my mind trying to remember the events of last night as a dull, persistent throbbing continued in my head.

‘Philip?’ I called, wrapping the duvet around my breasts and the rest of my body. I came down from the bed and walked to door. I held the door knob and was about to open it but the door had already been opened by someone from outside. A figure appeared, standing in front of me. The person I least expected.

“Mr. Arrogant?” I asked, unable to believe my eyes.

He looked at me with a smirk on his face. He was putting on sleeveless shirt that showed off his muscles, and he was wearing a joggers. He was sweating and it looked like he had just finished working out. I have never seen him in anything other than a suit. He looked different. He was still his domineering self but seeing him in a sleeveless shirt and sweatpants, the smell of his sweat mixed with his cologne made him look raw and unsettlingly attractive.

He was holding a tray that had a tea cup with tea in it and a plate of pancakes were on the tray.

“You are awake.” He said.

He made to enter and I moved out of the way and stood by the side of the door to give him room to enter inside.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, looking at him suspiciously.

He dropped the tray by the bedside table before turning around to look at me. He gave me an amused look, his eyes saying ‘what kind of a question was that?’ before answering me.

“What am I doing here? I live here”

I stare at him, unable to speak for a moment. Before asking,

“ You live here? Does that mean you live here with Philip? Wait! Do you and Philip know each other?” I questioned him, speaking too fast without stopping to catch my breath.

He raised an eyebrow as he observed me.

“Philip? Who is Philip? Oh, you mean the guy that was with you at the club last night. The one that held your waist outside the club” He said, his voice sounding harsh when he said the last sentence.

I stared at him, confused. But then, after he said the last line, I bent my head slightly as it started coming back to me.

I remembered how I was about to follow Philip to leave the club and how my phone rang so I excused myself and I remembered taking the call and then seeing him standing in front of me. As I remembered everything, I looked up at him with realization showing in my eyes.

“You seem to have remembered now.” He said. He has been observing me, studying my face as I tried to piece back everything of what happened at the club together.

I rubbed my forehead as the throbbing pain was still there.

“Julia, what of Julia?” I asked. Realizing that I might have left without saying anything to her.

“Your best friend was seen to, don’t worry. I had my brother inform her that you would be leaving the club with me”

“Your brother?” I asked, still confused.

“Well, half-brother” he said, shrugging.

“I have to call her”

“You can call her after you are done eating. Come and eat” He said, using his chin to point at the tray of food on the bedside table.

“I am not hungry” I said. I didn’t feel like eating, I had lots of questions on my mind but the one I wanted to really know is how I ended up in only my underwear. Just as soon as I said I am not hungry my stomach betrays me and makes a growling sound as if to protest my refusal for the food.

Mr Arrogant raises an eyebrow when he heard the sound of my stomach. He walked towards me and grabs my right hand. He pulls me towards the side of the bed as he made me sit down.

“Move to the center” he commanded.

I hesitated for a moment but climbed to the center of the bed as he had said. I balanced myself and looked to my side at him. He picked up the tray of food and placed it on the bed in front of me.

“Eat” he commanded.

I glared at him. I did not like the way he ordered me but I was hungry so I decided to overlook it. I took a sip of the tea.

“What tea is this?” I ask, after tasting it. It wasn’t like the normal tea, it tasted like ginger.

“Ginger tea, Mrs. Beth says it will help with your headache”

“Mrs Beth?” I asked, wondering who that was.

“Yes. Mrs Beth, my housekeeper” He replied. Looking at me as I cut a piece of pancake. His eyes went to mouth, he stared at me as I chewed the pancake.

“Not hungry, huh?”

“I am eating because I want to and not because you asked me to” I said, making sure he understands that it wasn’t because of his order.

He chuckled.

“You are a very stubborn woman, Kate Dawson” He commented.

He walked towards a couch that was placed behind a table near the window, that revealed the landscape outside.

He poured champagne into a glass from the champagne bottle that was on the table by the side of a laptop. He turned the couch to face me and sat down so he could stare at me as I ate.

“Trust me, two years ago, stubborn is not the word you would use to describe me” I said, as I cut another piece of pancake, thinking back to my life two years ago.

The abuse, the s****l assault, as memories of those days came to my mind, my eyes stung with tears. After escaping that life, I promised myself I would never be so easily controlled, manipulated and treated like I am nothing again. I looked up and saw Mr Arrogant watching me, his eyes quietly observing me. I forced a smile and put the piece of pancake in my mouth, trying hard to stop the tears.

He stood up from the couch and walked towards the bed. He climbed to the center and sat down. He stroked my cheeks gently with his fingers, i closed my eyes as his deep voice reached my ears.

“No one is ever going to hurt you again. I swear it.”

His words warmed my heart. Just then, I opened my eyes and looked at him as I remembered something.

“Did you undress me?” I asked

“Yes” he replied, as he removed his hand from my cheek.

I searched his eyes, looking for something more. Something that might tell me what happened after he undressed me but his eyes revealed nothing. I gave up and decided to ask him directly.

“Did we… you know. Did we….” I tried to bring myself to say it, looking for the right word to use so it doesn’t look like I am imposing anything on him. I folded and unfolded my arms, trying to think of how to say it.

“I think the word you are looking for is ‘f**k’. You want to know if I f****d you” He said, looking at me, amused.

I grimaced at his choice of words, waiting expectantly for his answer.

“No, I didn’t.”

I looked at him, surprised at myself for feeling a little disappointed by his answer.

“Why?” I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at my question. I realized he might have misunderstood my question by meaning I wanted him to actually have s*x with me. So, I tried to explain to clear up his misunderstanding.

“Most guys would have taken advantage of the situation, it’s what I mean”

He brought his face closer to mine, his hand placed behind my ear as his thumb gently stroked my cheek.

“I do want you, darling, but the day I f**k you, you won’t be unconscious or drunk. You would be well alert and feel every inch of me as I penetrate you and claim you as mine” he said with an evil glint in his eyes.