15

Chapter 15

Anna

It was around midnight when I woke up, feeling like I was being watched again.

I glanced around my large room, holding my breath. I half expected to see a monster lurking somewhere around but thankfully nothing seemed to be amiss.

I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart. 

I could have sworn I had felt something touch me. Maybe it was just a dream as always. It had to be that.

A sigh of relief escaped me and I threw my thigh red covers off me and put on my fuzzy slippers.

It was 1am and the house was finally quiet..

I needed to make my move now, feel out the place before anyone woke up.

I put on some clothes and tiptoed out of my room.

It was dark and there was no sign of anyone awake.

I waited, trying to listen but everyone seemed to be asleep. Gently, I tiptoed along the hallway, finding my way through the now dark mansion.

There wasn't a single noise in the house and for that I was glad. It meant everyone had either gone home or was asleep.

I held my breath, trying to be as stealthy as possible. I couldn't afford to get caught and yet I needed to bring evidence to my handler the next time I saw him, which wasn't very long from now.

I got to Duncan's door and tried to push it open but it was locked from the inside.

Shit!

I cursed under my breath.

I hadn't accounted for this but now that I knew, I'd have to come back later with a pin I could use to unlock the office door.

With my throat in my heart, I made my way back to my room.

I was about to open the door when out of my peripheral view, I saw something whoosh past.

My hand froze on the door knob and 

I snapped my head to the side but there was nothing.

I could have sworn I had seen something.

I dropped my hands from the handle and decided to investigate.

There was something here, I could feel it watching me.

I was never one to believe in the supernatural but could it be that there was a ghost haunting this place.

It wouldn't be surprising especially if they'd killed people in here before.

My mother used to tell me as a kid that the supernatural and most people would experience their presence but will never believe it.

Í knew I should walk back into my room and get pins to unlock Duncan's door but I couldn't help but follow my instinct.

I stopped at the foyer realizing that I was maybe being completely paranoid.

Supernatural? ghosts? 

None of that made any sense.

I was definitely being paranoid in some way that I couldn't explain.

I turned around to go back to my room when I went head first into a wall but it wasn't a wall, it was a person.

Duncan.

My breath hitched in my throat and goosebumps ran across my entire body.

"What are you doing here?" I blurted out.

"I should be asking the questions, don't you think, Anna?" He drawled, his voice low, a sensual tone lacing his already sexy voice with a tiny bit of Italian accent that I just realized he had.

'Fresh air," I whispered, feeling trapped with his intense gaze.

We were too close and the normal thing to do was to move backwards but I couldn't for the life of me move away.

Duncan tilted his head, his dark eyes scrutinizing me as if he could see right through my lies.

I didn't like it–didnt like how he made me want to run away yet stay close. It was absurd.

Nobody has ever made me feel so out of my element before. It infuriated the shit out of me and yet here I was trembling like a fool. Not because I was scared of him but because of some other feelings I couldn't name.

"Fresh air," he repeated. The corner of his mouth curving into a smirk

"At 1am?" 

I swallowed, forcing myself to nod. "Yes, I couldn't sleep,"

Duncan's gaze flickered down my body, taking in my hastily thrown on clothes, my slightly trembling fingers. He took a slow step forward, closing what little space remained between us, and I instinctively moved back--onky to realize my back was now against the wall.

"You seem nervous, Anna. Do I scare you?" He asked, his breath hitched and his eyes staring at me with heat in them.

I was not scared of him, that wasn't it. The emotion Duncan elicited from me was way different – it was primal, sexual… 

Well, maybe I was a little.

I opened my mouth to say no but immediately closed it back.

Duncan's smirk deepened as if he could read my thoughts, as I'd known exactly why I couldn't answer. His fingers reached up, barely grazing my jaw, a featherlight touch that sent an unwelcome shiver down my spine.

"Smart girl," he murmured, his gaze boring into mine.

 "You are learning when silence is the better option,"

I bit my lips. He was so close, I could smell his scent deeply.

My entire body screwed for him and I had to bite my tongue to elicit pain to stop me from making a wrong decision.

I wasn't here for this. I was here on a mission to find out my mother's connections with these monsters not be pulled into the world of Duncan.

My body might want him but that didn't mean he was healthy for me.

I lifted my chin, forcing myself to meet his gaze.

"Are you going to let me go or are we going to stand here all night?"

He looked taken aback and then grinned wide.

"Impatient are we?"

"No, just tired,"

"Then you should go to bed," he said, still uncomfortably close to me.

It would be easy for our lips to intertwine now and for a minute, I thought about how incredibly hot it would feel but immediately shook my head.

I hesitated for half a second before pushing past him. He let me go but not before muttering 

"Sleep well tessero, if you can,"

It was clear what he meant by that.

I forced myself to keep walking, not looking back even though I could feel his gaze burning into my back. Once inside my room, I locked the door and pressed my forehead against it, my heart hammering.

"Pull yourself together!" I snapped at myself.

Duncan's eyes appeared in my mind's eyes and I couldn't help but wonder what could have been if I had let the intense desire I had seen in his eyes escape him and not just that…

What on earth was he doing behind me?

I had not heard anyone come in from the back 

I don't know anything anymore but one thing I was certain about was that Duncan was onto me or at least suspicious of something.