Dark Desires by Candace Wondrak

Chapter Thirteen – Juliet

I couldn’t say why, but I was in a good mood. I couldn’t stop smiling, which was very odd, since I’d had such a horrific nightmare the night before. But Will had been there, and he’d chased my inner demons and doubt away, which allowed me the chance to go back to sleep and dream of other things.

Much better things, let’s just say.

Theo noticed my good mood immediately, for he said, “You seem happy today.” He sat in his chair behind his desk, though his desk was a lot less regal than Markus’s. He wore a light grey, long-sleeved shirt, its buttons done up all the way to his neck. He never seemed to wear a tie, though.

Not that I was complaining. Theo was Theo, and I took comfort in both his presence and his physical appearance.

And I caught myself wondering what his kisses would be like more and more lately.

“Yeah,” I said. I sat in the chair opposite him, so bubbly it was hard for me to sit still. The dream I’d had after that nightmare almost made it worth it, I’d say. I didn’t remember the details or where we were, but I remembered being with Will—and it had been something else.

Now that I knew what sex was like, I guess my mind just worked on overdrive. It couldn’t keep things straight when it came to all of the handsome faces around me or the bodies attached. It was enough of a distraction, most days, I could forget what went on here, what took place in the basement of this house.

“You’re okay?” Theo asked, a strange question, or at least I thought so.

My brows came together. “Yeah, why?”

Theo looked at me, his amber eyes, so warm and welcoming usually, holding a mixed expression. Concern dotted with… something I couldn’t name. I might’ve been in a good mood, but Theo definitely wasn’t. I might not be great at dealing with people or picking up on social cues, but even I could see that much.

My good mood wavered a bit. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Though it was probably foolish, my mind went wandering with possibilities. What could rattle Theo? He always seemed so stable, so untouchable, but today he didn’t look happy at all.

“Nothing,” he spoke quickly. Too quickly, I think. So quickly that I knew he was lying, which felt immensely odd for the guy. He didn’t strike me as a liar; but then again, what did I really know about him? Not much.

Absolutely bizarre how you could not really know someone and still feel like you did. I might not know all about Theo’s life, but I definitely wouldn’t call him a stranger, either. I… I wasn’t sure if I could call him a friend or not. Was wanting to kiss your friends normal?

I leaned forward. “What is it? I can tell something’s bothering you.”

Theo adjusted his glasses, even though I was pretty dang sure they sat where they always did on his nose. He raked a hand through his brown hair, heaving a sigh. After a moment of silence, he got up, moving around his desk as he stuck his hands in his pockets, and I couldn’t help but think he might’ve stuck them there so he wouldn’t get any ideas about touching me.

“I worry about you sometimes, Juliet,” Theo spoke quietly, leaning his backside against his desk. His gaze felt heavy, and I got the feeling there was more to it he wasn’t saying. “I worry about you all the time, actually.”

“Okay,” I drew out the word, not knowing exactly how to respond to him there. I supposed I could tell him to stop worrying, but I didn’t think he actually would.

“I was told to bring you to Markus’s office at three o’clock,” Theo said.

An old-fashioned clock hung on the wall nearby, near the cabinets full of medical supplies and pill bottles. Cabinets I’d helped him to organize and clean. My eyes flicked over to see it, and I saw we were five minutes away from three.

That… that felt a little odd. Wasn’t Will usually up by now?

“Now, I don’t know exactly what he wants with you, but I want you to be prepared,” Theo carried on, and I drew my gaze away from the clock, meeting his stare once more. “Whatever it is, it’s likely to not be good. It’s not my place to say, of course, but you should do your best to prepare yourself. When Markus told me he wanted to see you, he kept the details to himself. He… he didn’t sound happy at all.”

First off, Markus was never happy. Secondly… I’d been good. I didn’t try to run. I went out on the town with Theo, for goodness sakes, and I didn’t try to give him the slip. I’d stuck by his side like a good girl.

My heart started to beat fast, and I didn’t even know what I was worrying about. Not yet. “I didn’t do anything,” I spoke earnestly. I found myself getting to my feet, the need to pace the room taking over.

Was he going to lock me up in the basement again? Was he going to kill another person because of me? If Markus wasn’t happy… no one in the house was happy. I honestly didn’t know what to think, what to do. Things had been so good until today. What had changed?

“I know,” Theo spoke. His hands slid out of his pockets, and he reached for me. Gingerly, softly, as if it pained him to touch me, he held onto my shoulders. “Whatever it is, you’ll get through it, okay? Know that I’m always here, even if you just want to talk. You can come to me no matter what the hour of the day is, do you understand?”

I nodded. Or, at least, I thought I nodded. I might not have; too lost in my own head to respond to Theo at all.

Since it was close enough, Theo and I left his office. Together, we walked through the halls of the mansion, straight to Markus’s door. It sat closed, as it always did. My heart threatened to pop out of my chest and run away, and it took everything in me to keep my head tall and my shoulders back as Theo knocked.

Dread crawled up my spine when I heard Markus say, “Come in.”

Theo and I exchanged a look, and then we walked in. I stood awkwardly off to the side, while Theo addressed Markus, “Perhaps I should stay—”

Markus looked up, his eyes black as ever, his stare just as acidic and cutting as it had always been. Only it wasn’t thrown my way; it was toward Theo. “Get out” was all Markus had to say, and Theo nodded once.

I watched as Theo left, wishing he could stay, but understanding why he couldn’t. Theo wouldn’t go against Markus. No one in this house would.

“Sit,” Markus spoke, gesturing to a chair.

“I’d… I’d rather not,” I muttered, voice wavering even though I tried to sound strong.

Markus leaned back, allowing me to see the suit he wore was a sleek, sheer black with a matching tie. The collared shirt beneath was a dark red, darker than blood, a maroon that reminded me of the devil, sin and vice. “If you do not sit,” he said, jaw tight, “we won’t continue this. I will make you stand there until your knees give out. Is that what you want, Juliet?”

I shivered when he spoke my name. I couldn’t help it. It sounded… almost like a curse word on his tongue. A curse, a prayer, something both awful and entrancing. Markus had that way about him.

Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, my legs took me towards a chair, and I sat down. A part of me wanted to shrivel away from Markus’s intense stare, but the other part of me—currently the part of me that was in charge of my body, apparently—could not look away. He commanded the room, commanded me. Master of all, even me.

“Good,” he spoke, setting an arm on his desk, running a finger along his jaw. “Is there anything you wish to tell me before we continue? Anything at all?” Markus paused, his eyes studying me, how I sat, what I wore. I felt beyond scrutinized as I sat there, like I was naked. “Keep in mind, if you lie to me, I will not be happy.”

This was not the Markus that had forced me to watch him kill someone. This wasn’t the Markus that had dragged me into the room and made me feel blood on my own hands. No, the man that had locked me in the darkness was different from the one sitting across from me right now.

Theo had said he was angry, but I was starting to think he wasn’t angry with me.

My heart skipped a beat. “What do you want to know?”

Markus ground his jaw. He looked like he stopped himself from saying whatever it was he wanted to say. Instead, he leaned forward, setting both arms on his desk. A tablet sat near his arms, its screen off. “First, before we continue, let me remind you that I warned you. I told you, from the very first moment you stepped foot in this house—my house—that you were mine. That you live only with the grace I give you. Do you remember that day? Do you remember what I said?”

Swallowing, all I could do was nod.

“So you admit you remember me telling you that every inch of your body is mine to control? That includes what you wear, what you eat, and anything that touches it.” The more Markus spoke, the more I had a sinking feeling that told me what this was about.

Me and Jaxon. He’d found out, because of course he did. He was Markus Scott. You couldn’t hide anything from the man. My gaze fell to my lap with the realization, and I squirmed a bit. As wrong as it was, I felt guilty for being with Jaxon. Guilty not because of doing it, but because… because it wasn’t Markus.

That was just stupid, wasn’t it? Didn’t make sense at all. I shouldn’t feel that way, shouldn’t let Markus stain my thoughts… but I also couldn’t stop him from doing just that. It was like I was a slave to the man, to what he wanted, even though I tried not to be.

“Jaxon,” I whispered.

“Yes,” Markus spoke with a frown, “Jaxon. I thought I’d nipped that in the bud. I thought both you and Jaxon were smart enough to not let anything develop between you two, but… well, here we are. So I ask you again, Juliet: is there anything you wish to tell me before we continue?” He baited me. He baited me because he already knew the truth, somehow.

Was it Will? Did Will tell him? Was that why he didn’t come to pick me up from Theo’s office? I’d have to have a word with Will, once I saw him again, once he had the gall to show his face to me.

Honestly, I was quite disappointed in him.

“If,” I started, pausing to gather my thoughts, “I tell you, will you hurt him? Will you hurt me? Or… or should I not bother asking? If there’s someone in the basement—”

“I did not have Bennet bring another no-name in off the streets, if that’s what you’re asking me,” Markus cut in, scowling. “And, as much as I hate to admit it, there would’ve been other ways to get you in line. When it comes to you, I find myself both wanting to lose it and always seeking to have control.”

Words like that might’ve made me feel better, if things were different, if I didn’t know what he was capable of. But I did, and so knowing I made him lose it and strain to keep control only made my stomach tighten.

“I’ve never… dealt with someone like you before. As you can imagine, I am accustomed to dealing with my family and those we employ, the people you might call violent and unstable. You are something else entirely,” Markus spoke with a frown. The intensity in his gaze only continued to strengthen, making me feel far too scrutinized. “I will not be killing anyone because of your choices, so you can rest easy. However, I am asking you a question, and I want to hear the truth.”

Inside my chest, my heart beat frantically, pounding away so wildly I thought it might just pop out and run away.

“I should warn you, though, I will know if you’re lying.”

Well, after he said that, I pretty much was left to assume he already knew. There was no point in denying it or trying to play it off. Might as well come out and say it, confess to Markus, though I would go so far as to say I had nothing to confess. Just because the man said I was his didn’t automatically mean he was right.

I was my own person. Not a pet. Not something you could control. The more I was away from Daddy, the more I saw it.

“I was with Jaxon,” I whispered, my voice full of trepidation, hesitancy, for even as I spoke—and even though Markus already knew the truth—I watched his expression darken. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, the change I witnessed in him, the absolute fury flashing in his black eyes.

So, so angry with me. So upset over my choice to be with Jaxon. But why? Because I’d proven to him he didn’t control me? Because I refused to listen to him yet again? Another possible reason popped up in my head, but I was too busy getting lost in his irate expression to pay much attention to it.

Maybe he was so angry because he was jealous. But that couldn’t be. There was nothing to be jealous of. He was the one who made me go on birth control; he was the one who bent me over his desk, tore open my shirt, and touched me. Markus was the root of so many inappropriate thoughts in my head.

“I appreciate the honesty,” he said. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“No, I—there’s nothing.” I fumbled over my words, which made me sound guilty. My inept blundering caused Markus to get up, standing tall behind his desk. He ran a hand down his suit jacket, tugging on it, smoothing out any wrinkles that had formed while he’d been sitting.

I let my eyes travel along him, my heart beating fast for a different reason entirely now. Easily the most handsome man I’d ever seen, closer to Daddy’s age than mine. I knew I shouldn’t feel anything toward him, definitely shouldn’t be attracted to him, and yet, as he started to move around his desk, I felt my thighs squeeze together.

I didn’t want him to come closer.

But, at the same time, I did.

Such opposite feelings. How could I have such battling, warring desires inside me? I didn’t understand, and I feared once I did, I’d never want to go back. The conflict inside me might be me unconsciously still clinging to the girl I used to be, the girl Daddy wanted me to be, but the new me, the me that was starting to accept the reality of the situation, was bold as she tried to claw her way to the top.

Markus stopped when he stood in front of me, and before I knew what was happening, a hand shot out, fingers curling around my neck. Not overly rough, not hard enough to choke me, but more than enough to pull me onto my feet with him… definitely enough to further hammer in the fact that he was the one in control, not me.

Never me. I should’ve learned by now no matter what I did, Markus was always two steps ahead.

But why wait until now to address it? Why make me think I’d gotten away with it only to do this? No, there had to be more. This couldn’t be it.

My head angled back, his hand obscenely warm around my neck. I stared up into his black eyes, at his stern, scowling face. I did not fight him, did not try to push him away. I could hardly breathe, every part of me wanting something I couldn’t explain.

Wait, no, I could.

Him. In that moment, every part of me wanted him. Markus Scott, the man who towered over everyone else. The devil in a suit who never once left my mind. The man who commanded me through any weapon at his disposal. Fear, blood, chaos. He was a man used to getting his way, and I knew it right then, both suddenly and unsurprisingly: he would get what he wanted from me. If he took me to his desk and bent me over it again… I wouldn’t stop him.

I didn’t think I could, even if I wanted to.

“I,” Markus spoke slowly, fingers tightening somewhat around my neck, enough to be a notch or two above uncomfortable, “can be a gentle master to you, Juliet, but you need to show me you are willing to give in to me. You need to give me everything. If you don’t… if you continue to make decisions you think are wise behind my back regarding your body, I will show you just how cruel I can be.”

Not once, during his speech, did I break eye contact. I couldn’t. He commanded the room, commanded me. If he wasn’t already holding me up, I was fairly certain my knees would’ve given out by now.

Markus stood over a foot taller than me, towering over me easily, effortlessly, his musky, manly scent filling me. His hand, both rough and smooth, did not show any signs of letting me go.

“You may think you should be able to make decisions like that, but you are wrong.” The fingers curled around my throat started to move, inching upward, curling around my lower jaw instead. “You are mine. Every part of you is mine. You are so young and foolish, naive and stupid. Did you think giving yourself to Jaxon would go unnoticed? Did you think I wouldn’t find out that you let him fuck you?” His voice started to become stronger, growing louder and louder until he was practically yelling.

Almost, but not quite. I didn’t think Markus was the yelling type.

“I decide who gets to be between those legs, and if I give permission to someone to have you, I’ll watch.” As he spoke, his words caused a new wave of heat to grow inside me. I should fight him, should argue with him, tell him he didn’t get to decide who I was with… and yet, no words even tried to escape me. “You don’t get to decide anything here. You are my prisoner. Whatever you think you know about us, about Jaxon, you’re nothing more than a foolish little girl.”

Markus released his hold on my face, turning away from me as he grabbed the tablet on his desk. He turned the screen on with a press of a button. “Don’t believe me? Well, perhaps this will change your mind.” He turned toward me once more, handing me the tablet.

I could hardly breathe, and not because of everything Markus had just said. No, I couldn’t breathe because of what I saw playing out on the screen. A video. It didn’t look like it had been taken in this house, with how dingy the bed was and how cracked and dirty the wall behind it was.

The camera angle was kind of off to the side, but I could see what was happening. I saw more than enough. A woman, naked, on her hands and knees at the base of the bed. Her blonde hair was messy, tangled over her face—which looked very pretty, too—and her breasts swayed back and forth, pulled down with gravity as the man behind her kept pushing into her.

That man… was Jaxon.

I shouldn’t have continued to look, but I found I could do nothing else. Something inside me broke right then. My heart? I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure what the heck I was feeling, beyond sad. My eyes were glued to the screen, as if a part of me desperately hoped this was some sick joke, that Markus would tell me it was an older video or something.

But I knew. Even though I wanted that, I knew the truth. I knew why Markus showed me this. He wouldn’t show it to me if this had happened a year ago. No, he showed it to me to prove to me I was stupid in choosing to sleep with Jaxon, because Jaxon clearly didn’t care about who he stuck his dick in.

Well, if watching a video like this didn’t prove to me that Markus was right in a terrible, convoluted way, I didn’t know what would.

I watched with bated breath until I saw Jaxon thrust into her harder, a groan coming from him as he came inside her, and then, as he stayed buried in her for a few seconds, I had to look away.

Markus took the tablet out of my hand, locking the screen and putting it back on his desk. His eyes were on me immediately, studying me, his scowl having lessened a little. “You think you’re able to trust Jaxon with your heart, your body… but you can’t.”

I felt like I wanted to cry, but any tears that might’ve fallen were dry. None came to the forefront of my eyes, none spilled over and coursed down my cheek. I’d cried already, over much worse things than this. I’d seen much more horrific, vile things than that amateur video of Jaxon and that nameless blonde going at it.

Even so, with that said, the hurt coursing through me right now was a different breed. Not shocked and horrified due to the blood and death I’d seen, not anxious and worried over Daddy’s connection to Markus and this family. A different kind of hurt. A hurt I felt in my soul, agonizing and dreadful.

And it would stay with me. I’d never felt this way before, but I knew this hurt would stay with me for a long time. It sucked. There were no other words for it.

“Do you understand now,” Markus paused, causing my eyes to snap up to his face, “why I tell you I am the only one who gets to decide things for you?” A hand lifted, fingers slightly curled, and he ran the backs of his fingers along my cheek, down along the curve of my face, dancing with my jawline. “Why you need to learn to rely on me—only me? We could avoid things like this.”

How could I argue with him? How could I even think of trying to come up with a response to deny him? Markus was right. He was so right it was unbelievable. I shouldn’t have tried to take the reins on my life; I’d never had them to begin with. It was more than obvious I didn’t know what was best for me, what was good for me.

Or who.

I found my head nodding slowly, causing Markus’s hand to fall away. He scrutinized my face, maybe to try to see if I was lying, if I only nodded in agreement to placate him, so I whispered, “I’m sorry. I just wanted… I thought I wanted…” I couldn’t even explain what I thought I wanted. How pathetic was that?

“Stop apologizing,” he told me. “Just don’t do it again. You’re mine. Remember that.” He took a tiny step closer, the fronts of our bodies grazing each other. Such a strong, solid presence. Fighting him and his will was clearly useless, so why bother trying?

And, besides, I might just discover that I liked it. Who could forget that this man had dominated what few dreams I’d had these last few years? Who could forget the fact that this was all about me?

Still didn’t know why it was about me, but maybe, if I played Markus’s game, if I proved to him I could do it, I could be a good girl, he’d tell me. What did I have to lose besides my life? Which, ironically, hadn’t felt like much of a life before getting kidnapped and being brought here.

“The next time you spread those legs of yours,” Markus’s voice sounded dominating, haunting in a low, menacing way, “it’ll be for me.” A promise to me, a promise that Markus would have me, all of me, before anyone else in this house or this world would.

Maybe I was still reeling from what I’d seen on that tablet, but I didn’t care. Let him take me. Let him tear at me, hurt me, have me. Let him rip me apart piece by piece until nothing left of me remained. Was there such a thing as a willing victim? Because that’s what I’d be.

“Now go,” Markus breathed out, the two words sounding as if they were extremely hard for him to say, “before I decide to keep you in here for a while longer.” We both knew he meant other things, not that we’d stay and chitchat more.

I swallowed, and though it was perhaps the most difficult thing I’d ever had to do, I pulled away from him, turning to leave his office. Each and every word he’d spoken to me sang in my brain, rushing about in perfect clarity.

Whatever doubt I’d had over Markus’s intentions, if that’s what you wanted to call them, were gone after that. He wanted to have me. Of course he did. Why else would I be put on birth control the moment I’d stepped foot in this house? Why else would he care about what I did with my body? He was the man always in control, the one who called the shots. He wanted to do the same thing with my body.

He wanted to play God, my God, and I had no choice but to let him. To let him dictate everything and everyone.

I stopped when I stood in the hall just outside his office. I felt awful over that video, but everything Markus had said made me think of other things. I guessed there was no better distraction than Markus himself.

The front vestibule wasn’t far off, and I heard the door to the outside world open. The sound was accompanied by a giggle, and then someone quietly whispering something I couldn’t hear. I looked over, watching as Tori and her mother strolled into the house. A backpack clung to Tori’s shoulders, her black hair pulled back in a braid. The girl spotted me, grinned, and ran to my side, hugging me.

I was too startled to hug back, at first. “Hi,” I said, “how was school?”

“Boring,” Tori muttered, pulling herself off me. Her blue eyes blinked, and I could tell she was seconds from launching into a rant about how much school sucked—something I wouldn’t understand—but her mother, Stella, stopped her.

“Why don’t you go do your homework, hmm?” Stella raised a perfectly-plucked brow at her daughter. Her slender body wore a black blouse, along with tight black leggings. She was about my height, perhaps a few years older than Markus, but with how little she was, she didn’t look too intimidating.

She definitely didn’t look like someone who could kill and laugh maniacally while doing it.

“But I want to hang out with Juliet!” Tori stomped her foot, annoyed at her mother’s gall. How dare Stella try to tell her to do her homework. “Mom—” One hard look from her mother stopped her from further arguing. She huffed, “Fine.” And then she stormed away, stomping her feet as she went to the grand staircase further down the hall.

Stella watched her daughter go, and once Tori was gone, she turned those mismatched eyes to me. One blue, one brown. A startling stare, to say the least. That stare scrutinized me in a way I couldn’t describe. Like a predator sizing up its prey—but I was fairly sure I wasn’t her prey.

I hoped not, because if I was, I definitely wouldn’t survive.

Her face was nearly expressionless as she said, “Juliet. A pretty name to go with such a pretty face.” The hall was quiet around us, not a sound other than the slight echoing of her voice. “I admit, when I heard Markus was bringing you here, I didn’t think you’d last. You proved me wrong, though.”

Not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not, so in the end, I didn’t say anything.

“You are not the kind of girl that would normally last in a house like this,” she said.

Since I didn’t know if she was trying to be threatening or not, I spoke up, “I know.” Stella raised her eyebrows, waiting for me to say more. “I know what you guys do. I’ve seen things. I know exactly what goes on here. I know what you do, and I know you do it with masks on.”

Her cold, vacant exterior melted somewhat, and a smile grew on her face. Somehow, I had the feeling Stella’s smiles were far and few between. Very, very rare indeed. “And yet here you are, still breathing. Clearly, you mean something to someone in this house, otherwise the wolves would’ve already gotten you.”

Her words were in line with something Theo had said. It was all for me, but I still didn’t understand why. Why would Markus go through all of this trouble if it was just for me? A man like him… he could have anyone he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was handsome, had wealth, all the power anyone could dream of. I should be nothing to him, and yet I knew believing I was nothing was a lie.

I think, deep, deep, deep down, I’d known I was something to him that first moment at the masquerade, when he’d taken off my mask to see my face. But how was that possible? He didn’t know me at that time, did he?

He knew Daddy, though, which meant he might’ve known me all along, and he was waiting for his turn to take me away from Daddy. Maybe Daddy didn’t even do anything to merit this. Maybe, in the end, it was all to get me here.

“You’re exactly our type, you know,” Stella went on, her voice nothing more than a whisper. “The innocent ones always scream the loudest, especially when their final moments are lost to pure agony.” Her smile had long since faded by the time she muttered, “I wonder how loudly you scream, Juliet.”

I could hear my heart in my ears, and it took every ounce of courage inside me to tell her, “You won’t ever hear me scream.”

“Maybe,” she admitted. “Or maybe Markus will tire of you and throw you to the wolves in the end. Lincoln would love to sink his teeth into you.” Stella said nothing else, turning and walking away from me, going after her daughter, leaving a plummeting feeling in my gut.