He came back the same night and drove her to her new ‘home’. A luxury penthouse in Ascot. Opulant in design and decorated in the most lavish way she was sickened by it. None of it mattered to her. She laid blank eyes on the marble, the crystals and everything that adorned the creams and beiges of the walls to floors - it simply reeked money. Old money.

Rohan, who had fallen asleep during the car journey there was taken to a room that seemed like an apartment in its own right. It had been decorated in blues and there were toys everywhere. Her throat constricted as she realized the implications of what she was seeing. This was a purpose built apartment. Not anything thrown together last minute, it had to have been sitting here for a short while waiting for occupancy.

She watched as Aiden lay Rohan down on the bed gently. A giant bed designed in the shape of a red car. Her hands balled into fists as she realised how easily he had bought the child’s heart. How she would never have been able to afford such toys, such a room was an astronomical contrast to what she had provided him with.

Blood rushed in her face as rage rose its ugly head inside of her. In the previous house they had shared she had made sure Rohan had had the smallest room in the house – it would stay the warmest in winter. This house would never get cold in the winters she thought to herself bitterly, it probably had a state of the art heating system.

She had always worked hard for money and toys were somewhat of a luxury she had to work overtime for. And here he was, taking everything important in her life away from her. Her work, what little hard earned independence she had gained, even her brother.

She despised the way he had made himself a pillar in their life. The way he pushed himself into it forcing her to accept him at every turn. The way he was now the only reason they would eat food or live under a roof, albeit a luxurious one but it was all the same. She felt her jaw ache from the frissons of tension there. What could she expect? She was his mistress.

He stood in front of the bed with his back to her. She watched as he turned slowly, that grating green gaze scrutinising her every expression, scouring, searching for any sign of rebellion.

“I’ll show you to your room”, he said, his deep baritone oozing with the confidence that she would never think to raise her rebellious head.

“I’m sleeping with Rohan”, she told him curtly.

He froze mid step then turned back to look at her, his eyes were demantoid garnets… solid and unyielding and jungle like in colour. That was his eye colour – she realised in dismay, she had always tried to describe it but they were such a rare shade that the only thing that fitted the description was a rare Russian stone, precious to the European aristocrats of old.

“Why not?” The amused look on his perfect face reminded her of something akin to an oil spill polluting clear ocean waters. "After all it is the last night you will be spending together”. With that he simply turned and left her feeling mentally punched in the gut.

She jogged after him and blocked the front door with her body.

“What do you mean by that? Don’t use these cryptic one liners on me Aiden – you are not and I repeat NOT! TAKING! MY! BROTHER! FROM! ME!” She gritted the words and narrowed her eyes lacing her voice with as much bitchiness as she could muster.

His finely chiselled lips turned up slightly in a sardonic smile even as his eyes turned into a glinting crystal reminding her of sharp edges….

She watched apprehensively as his hands lay themselves flat against the cool wood of the huge door behind her, effectively caging her. But he didn’t answer her. Just stareed back evenly with that smoky smouldering gaze.

“You planned this… didn’t you Aiden? How long have you been scheming for? Weeks? Months? Years?” she choked out forcing tears down… trying to ignore his extremely close proximity. The aura he exuded, that sense of self assurance was so intimidating she felt as though she may break out and just run.

“The day we met mia cara”, his tone was warm as he brought his face closer to her own, she turned away coldly spurning his advances with loathing.

“You were waiting for me to slip up”, she whispered as realisation dawned on her. Though she had made friends, even felt like part of a family with Giz and Blade it was all a false pretence. All along she had been treading on thin ice… and the shark underneath the ice was waiting patiently beneath it, watching, biding his time… knowing it would come soon.

“Most women slip up sooner or later”, his gravely undertones told her, “just like you slipped up now”. Her eyes flew to his trying to decipher his words but before they could make contact she felt his hand wrap itself like a band of steel on her upper arm.

Struggling with him was like pushing a refrigerator uphill. He simply dragged her behind him and she slipped, skid and slid on the marble floor like an errant child being dragged by the parent.

When her foot caught on the corner of the rug she tripped and fell to her knees. Ignoring her protests he picked her bodily throwing her over her shoulder as she felt blood rush to her head. The world had turned upside down and she was feeling nauseous at how easily he seemed to handle her. What had happened to her training? Her deadly martial arts manouvres? She punched his back, her blows bouncing off the hard sinew ineffectively.

The next moment she was flung on the bed and she stared at him in horror as he advanced.

“Your going to rape me aren’t you? You monster!” She spat. “All you know is how to take! You took my home, my life made a mockery of me and my brother and now you want to take me too! You vindictive bastard!” Her words seemed to catch him off guard as he stared at her in what seemed like amusement.

“After all this you think I’m only capable of taking?” He asked softly taking small menacing steps towards her. She swallowed tightly and nodded, all the while trying to move backwards slowly.

“You think what I do will be rape?” his voice held a light quality to it – as though he were testing her. She nodded unsurely.

“So”, he said and suddenly was sitting caging her once again like a prey would its predator. “I gave you a job, I gave you security, status, protection from harm, I situate you in the very lap of luxury and provide you everything your heart desires.” His hand brushed away a stray curl and she flinched at the contact it made with the skin on her face – his eyes visibly narrowed his voice as sharp as a knife.

“And you say all I do is ‘take’?”

Small tremors were working there way up her body and she knew her hands were shaking… in fright. The creature was a monster… he just had to wrap those powerful digits about her throat and apply a little pressure. She would be dead before the minute was over.

He saw her eyes trained on his hands. “Do you think when I take your innocence its going to be in a filthy back ally? I could have done it the day I met you… Young girl too independent for her own good… no time for anyone but her baby brother and acting like tough shit”, he smiled as though the memory had re-awoken his ire.

“I liked that… you were mine the moment I laid eyes on you, they all knew”, he added as an after thought contemplatively.

She struggled to keep up with his fluctuating moods. One moment he was a closed book and the next he was lifting the veil from her eyes.

“With your money… your looks… you could have anyone...” she told him adopting a tactful approach, “I’m just mediocre… why not go for the three course meal Aiden? Why me?” Her voice shook with tremors as she forced the words passed her lips.

Again the soul searching look, the one that burned away all of her defences, hotter than a blast furnace she was forced to look away.

“A botox contraption or the real thing?” He asked running his finger down her arm leaving a trail of electric shocks. “A whore or a virgin for keeps? Maybe I just prefer side salads to three course meals.” She gasped as his hand slid to her throat, managing to wriggle out of his grasp she quickly put distance between them.

Until he grabbed her ankle and yanked her back. She shrieked in surprise and regarded him with suspicion.

“I won’t… your not… not willingly..” she stuttered words falling meaninglessly from her mouth.

“I won’t? Oh I will Sophie and you’ll be perfectly willing…” She closed her eyes to block him out. She could take no more of this soul searing torture. Her cursed fate had made her mistress to her uncle’s murderer… Feeling a heavy pulsating in her head she rubbed her temples willing it away.

She knew he was right. He had marked her as his from the start. She should have run the moment she saw him, that smooth salacious gaze, the incredible aura of danger, the possessive behaviour of his that seemed to border on obsession.

“You bastard”, she told him “I am no ornament or trophy of your conquest. I refused to be a pathetic toy to be used and discarded the moment you move on to next year’s model.” She hissed at him, he just smiled benevolently and kissed the end of her nose.

He eased up and let her sit on her knees, making sure she was still leaning against him for support. Even through such simple actions she seethed inwardly he was trying to make her depend on him.

“You are a fruit cake, you know that? Most women would jump at this opportunity” he told her in mocking voice.

“You mean most of the cheap women you associate with?” She sneered.

“High class daughters of men in power”, he corrected her completely unfazed.

“High class whores”, she replied in a voice of sugar coated cyanide. She felt nauseous. He probably had women hanging of his arms draped in diamonds and swathed in designer wear flaunting themselves at him at every opportunity. Whether she was prisoner or not, the idea of him using her then carrying on with other women sickened her.

She dismissed him with a nod of her head and started to stand to get away from him. The touch on her shoulder was light, almost warning. With a shrug and a muttered ‘get off asshole’ she stood up to get herself an aspirin.

Colours blurred in her vision as she felt herself being hurled against the mattress once again, his dead weight on her forcing her body deeper into the soft recesses of the mattress.

“Never”, he hissed his fangs elongating, “And I mean never behave that way towards me”. She groaned inwardly as she remembered another aspect of this enigma. He was a vampire.

“Remember who you are dealing with Sophie… I can take everything away from you if you so much as step out of line”, he told her cuttingly and she blushed at her own pathetic situation.

“Keep your money and your house… I don’t want it anyway”, she told him faking bravado.

His trade mark oil spill smile appeared and she gulped.

“Fine… But I assure you you’ll never see your darling brother again”, his smile was nasty and his words cut to the quick. “Is that what you want Sophie?”

“You’re taking him away from me anyway”, she threw back weakly.

“If you can count the Boston boarding school-”

“No… he doesn’t go far from me… this wasn’t part of the agreement”, she told him quickly her mind running wild with possibilities.

“He will go to Boston. End of discussion”.

“Only see him during holidays? Forget it!” Her eyes narrowed to slits, who did he think he was barging in on her life and telling her what to do about her brother’s upbringing?

His hands were making small circles on her shoulders now, slowly siphoning off tension that was gathered there.

“You will only see him if you behave… You see Sophie your dear brother is my guarantee of your best behaviour”. She turned away unable to look in those cold eyes any longer, her eyes were heavy from sleep and she could feel fatigue falling on her in bucket loads.

Arrogant moron she muttered under her breath as tears of frustration formed in her eyes.

“Goodnight cherie”, he whispered into her hear and she shivered at the zinging sensation it sent through her.

Damn him she told herself as she heard her door shut with a soft click. Damn him for being so arrogant, damn him for being so stubborn, and damn him for being so attractive!

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I hope you like it :-)

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