It wasn’t simply that she was in a similar state of shock to me, with a trace of terror in her eyes. A mirror reflection caught my attention.
“That’s you, the first time we ever met.”
When I heard Mathew’s booming voice, I let out a yell and almost leaped out of my skin. His hulking frame completely dominated the entryway, and his intensely interested black gaze Stunned me.
“I went to that dingy pub in Havard seeking for Nicola so I could bring him home,” he said. “There I discovered you. Someone I knew who had tracked him down informed me that he had a girlfriend. I was afraid that Nicola would immediately come after me if I confronted you. ”
When he entered the room, I was stuck there. His intense, menacing gaze froze me to the spot. As he moved closer, I found myself breathing rapidly and shallowly. We were separated by just inches when he finally stopped. Like the night we met, he leaned over me, his strong presence overwhelming me. The pounding of my heart was a warning that I needed to get away.
But no matter what I tried, I just couldn’t get going. Both of my feet were firmly planted on the ground, and my fingers were beginning to grow numb as they wrapped around the sketchpad’s leather cover.
The notebook where Matthew keeps his sketches. One of his sketches. In vivid detail, he wrote out his despair.
His mouth quirked slightly at one corner. “Your huge, blue eyes made you seem stunning. Reminiscent of a startled deer. When I finally realized why Nicola was so fixated on you, I felt better. Staring at the book, ”
. “Turn the page, you inquisitive young lady. Surely you’re tempted to try it. ”
I managed a weak, “I don’t” in response. “Sorry if I seemed nosy. I-”
“A New Page Must Be Turned”
Before I could even come up with a counterargument, my fingers flipped to the next page. Despite his obscurity, I could feel his presence throughout my body as a pulsating glow.
He yelled, “Take a look!”
“I don’t want to,” was what I said. “This is all I can take, I can’t take much more. Please forgive me for-“”
“Look.” My attention was snapped to the paper as the word slashed through the air like a whip.
I felt a tingling in my chest and a tingling all around as my heart raced. My stomach performed a flip, and I couldn’t keep any water in my mouth.
That was another self-portrait, done by myself. That is, until I took off my clothes and found myself nude. Those who have been tied together with rope.
As he wound the coil around me, Nicola stood behind me, holding the end.
“What…” For a moment, I could not get a breath. “What is this?”
“Of course, it would be you and Nicola.”
My breath caught in my throat as my heart pounded, and I choked down the emotion so I could continue talking. ” It’s safe to assume that he wouldn’t… He never… ”
When thinking, Mathew created a quiet humming sound
“Angel. “Nicola’s affectionate nickname for me was dripping with sarcasm.
I was sweating profusely and struggling to keep my cool. Mathew was pressed up against me, and the heat from my body was suffocating.
His voice was heavy with a kind of joy I’d never heard from him before when he said, “There’s that lovely flush.”
“You are innocent, aren’t you?”
I didn’t feel the need to hide my face in shame by flushing. There was a fire in me. Mathew was on fire, and I had to get away from him before I was consumed.
I let go of the notebook and sprinted past Mathew into the bedroom, panting for oxygen. As I walked out of the room and down the corridor, I could still hear his deep, ominous laugh.
I ran into the kitchen and immediately wrapped my arms around Nicola, seeking the safety he’d promised. When he held me, he tucked me up against his sturdy frame.
“Exactly what is wrong, angel? ”
“Mathew. He…” I inhaled deeply. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell Nicola what I had witnessed. It was obscene and shameful to the extreme. The mental picture of Nicola towering above me with the coil of rope was seared into my brain.
“I mean, you wouldn’t intentionally injure me, would you?”
“No, of course not. ” He lifted my face to his by curling two fingers under my chin. Again, “Did Mathew say anything to terrify you?”
Whenever I felt my mouth becoming too open, I bit it. It was me who had invaded his personal space by perusing his drawings. Honestly, I couldn’t blame Mathew for being upset with me after that.
However, he had not been irate. He was… I didn’t know how to put into words the oppressive silence that descended over us as he towered over me, ordering me to stare at the obscene drawing of me and Nicola. I don’t see why he would sketch it.
I sidestepped Nicola’s inquiry. I just squeezed his embrace harder.
“I don’t like him,”