Page 96 of Eternal Obsession

“No.”

“Oh, come on guys, please stop playing with me. I’m not enjoying this. This is so not funny.”

My tall silhouette loomed. “My name is Daumia, but my friends call me Orpheus.”

Ingrid’s eyes adjusted.

I peered between the bars. My gaze penetrated hers. She had a sense of familiarity with my regal stature and chiseled features.

My accent, with its deep unearthly resonance, increased her nervousness. Squinting, she studied me as shadows danced on my face.

Her squint trailing from the subtle gleam of my cufflinks to the ghost of my smile. Draped in custom Italian wool so dark it drank the light, with a velvet coat that kissed the floor. My bearing in the darkness whispered old money.

“Oh, hello,” she said. “I’m a guest of Jadeon’s. I was just having a look around.”

“My timing is usually impeccable.” I neared her. “But this time I’ve outdone myself, Ingrid.”

“Do I know you?”

“Perhaps,” I said.

She sensed danger.

I took another teasingly sinister step toward her and leaned against the doorframe of the cell, gauging her reaction.

“Please, if you don’t mind I would appreciate it if you would keep your distance,” she said.

“Oh, but where’s the fun in that?”

“Jadeon!” she called out.

I retreated from the doorway.

Ingrid sighed with relief and watched me saunter back up the corridor and disappear.

She pounced forward, slamming the rusting door to the jail with an echoing clang, safely locking herself in and her dark assailant out. Looking out into the passageway she scanned the empty corridor left, then right, and sighed with relief. Shaken, she took a moment to catch her breath. An eerie silence descended into the dusky chambers once again. Her goose bumps returning, her heart racing, she sensed me behind her.

Ingrid spun round.

I smiled at her.

“How the hell. . . ?”

I took several steps forward and pushed her back against the hard bars of the jail cell. “Completely trapped, helpless, powerless, and humanly frail. Does that sound like anyone you know?” I clutched her wrists.

“So you’re a friend of Jadeon’s then?” Thinking quickly, Ingrid attempted to control the situation with some small talk.

“Don’t be boring, Ingrid. I was beginning to enjoy myself.”

Ingrid pushed at me. “I’m a police detective, and this is assault. If you don’t let me go right now, I’m going to arrest you. You’ll get two to three years in a prison much like this one.”

“Promises, promises.” I stared deeply into her eyes.

Ingrid froze, reluctant to anger me. She looked up, attempting to get a good look at my face. She was struck at how my eyes fixed upon hers, making her feel a little light-headed, and wondered if this was due to her panic. We were now breathing together, in unison, and she could feel my heart beating, my chest against hers.

“Surrender to me,” I whispered.

She could feel my breath against her face, my lips close to hers. Her breathing became rapid. Ingrid closed her eyes, swooning in response.