Nathan led me out of the room by the hand as Victor, Kota, and Sean watched in silence. I left bloody footprints on the tile floor behind me as we made our way out of the morgue and the lab and back into the cursed hallway. We only went a couple doors down before Nathan opened up an unlocked door that led to a locker room.
Searching through a few lockers, Nathan finally found what he was looking for as he handed me a bottle of men's body wash and a plush towel. I followed him into the shower room, thankful to see that the shower heads were separated by curtains to create personal stalls. It wasn't that I thought Nathan would watch me shower, but it was settling to know I'd have some semblance of privacy.
"I'll wait out here." He said, scratching the back of his head in discomfort and I nodded.
I took my towel and the soap into the first stall and got busy. It took several washes to get all the blood off of my body and by the time I was done, I smelled strongly of Owen's spring soap. Hopefully, he wouldn't care too much that I'd used his stuff, though it was much too late now.
Wrapping the towel around me, I had a brief moment of bashfulness at the thought of walking out to Nathan with only the cloth as coverage, but I banished the uncharacteristic feeling before waltzing into the locker room with false bravado. I left my bloody clothes in the stall, even my bra had been stained through the thin fabric of my shirt, and I watched Nathan jump to his feet from his seat on the bench and give my body a long once over. His hands fisted tightly as his jaw clenched and I smirked up at him, knowing exactly what my almost nudity was doing to him. I was tempted to drop the towel just to see how far I could push him, but I withheld; I didn't want to press too far. I knew the saying, and though I'd never been afraid of a little fire, I didn't want to burn, at least not yet.
"Am I supposed to prance around in my birthday suit or do you have something for me?" I asked, glancing down at my cuticles like they were my most important worry.
Nathan chuckled darkly, "I wouldn't complain about the birthday suit, but I do have an alternative for you." He held out a pair of lilac scrubs and I sent him an eyebrow raise.
"Purple? Really?" I asked incredulously as I took them from him, making him laugh again.
"Sean's favorite color." He supplied like it was explanation enough.
I nodded and turned my back to him, bending over and slipping my feet into the pants before sliding them up my legs underneath the towel. For the sole purpose of teasing him, I dropped the towel from my body as I worked my arms through the top, and I was rewarded with a throaty groan as his heated gaze burned into my bare back. I smirked to myself...Sang: 1, Nathan: 0.
I turned around, using the towel to squeeze out my hair as best I could before dropping it onto the ground with a damp thump. Nathan's eyes were glued to my chest and I allowed him to look his fill for a moment before clearing my throat. "Would you like to take a picture?" I quipped, his serious blue eyes jumping to my face. "It would last longer."
He moved quickly and I backed away from him, my back hitting the wall as his arms caged me in. His gaze was hungry and my beast that had lain dormant and satisfied by blood lifted her head and sniffed at the air in interest. Now that one craving had been filled, another one called and she was ready to indulge.
"You," He husked, his eyes running over my face with desperation and need, "You are going to ruin us."
He leaned in, trailing his nose along my cheekbone and down my throat and I gasped as his teeth grazed over my pulse point. My blood heated in my veins and my stomach fluttered, and for a moment I wanted to let him take me. Now, against the wall. It would be hard and fast and I'd be sore afterwards, but it would be worth every second. He'd have me screaming his name at the end and I bit my lips to keep from suggesting this to him.
"Not if you ruin me first." I breathed, the words much too honest and telling, and I cursed myself for allowing them past my lips.
Nathan raised his head, his nose brushing mine, before closing the distance between us. His lips made the barest contact before he shoved away from me violently, his chest chugging like he'd just run a marathon. His hands disappeared in his soft rusty hair as he squeezed his eyes shut. I didn't approach him, on edge by his sharp change of demeanor, as I leaned against the wall and attempted to catch my own breath.
After a deep shuddering breath, Nathan dropped his hands to his side looking back up at me with a self deprecating smile. "I told Kota I couldn't be trusted with you." He said, an adorable grin lighting up his face.
I grinned back, "I didn't realize trust was such a big thing."
"Trust is everything, Peanut." He said seriously, holding my gaze intensely. "How can you put family first if you don't trust them?"
I scoffed, waiting for him to laugh at his own joke, but he didn't. "You're not even related!"
"Family is a choice." He replied and I could tell by the way he said that he meant every word. What a strange and yet tempting ideology.
I shrugged off the sentiment, uneasy at the deep emotions it stirred inside me and pushed off the wall. My body was still humming from his earlier proximity and knowing I would find no relief was irritating me. "Well, if you're done with all that mushy gushy crap, can we go? Apparently, I have a babysitter waiting for me and I'm actually kind of sleepy." Nathan cocked an eyebrow at me and I shrugged again. "Killing people takes a toll, you know?"
His smirk was back at that comment and he chuckled deep in his chest as he motioned for me to follow him through the door and back to the hallway. He didn't lead me this time, for some reason, trusting me to follow and not run away. I would have called him a sucker except the sucker was apparently me as I followed along like a docile house pet, not even thinking about making an escape attempt. It was self preservation, I reasoned, though I questioned if that was really the basis.
Victor and Sean were in the lab, Sean sitting on one of the many metal gurneys as he inspected a particularly sharp looking surgical saw as Victor typed away at the computer. They both paused in their activities to glance my way, and I felt strangely vulnerable with only the thin scrubs as cover.
"Don't hurt yourself with that, Doc." Nathan teased, pointing to the saw in Sean's hand and making him grimace in offense.
"Please." Sean scoffed, hopping down from the gurney and replacing the saw on the table. "You seriously underestimate my doctoring abilities." He quipped as he meandered over to me, his flirty smile firmly back in place. "Well, hello there, Pumpkin. You're looking much better now, especially in those purple scrubs."
I crossed my arms over my small breasts and Sean's grin widened as his eyes roamed over my body with keen interest. Were all these boys continuously horny or was I brought in on an off night? I opened my mouth to voice my inappropriate comment when I spotted a smear of color on the inside of Sean's light purple collar. I reached out and flipped his collar up for a closer look only to discover several smudges of lipstick along his shirt and some low on his neck.
I gave him a suggest look and he waggled his brows evilly at me. "Did I mention, I'm a doctor? The ladies love that." He grinned unabashedly as I smoothed his collar down as I smothered my own smile.
"I'm sure they do." I agreed, looking up into his playful green eyes. "It seems you use that to your advantage."
"Of course," He admitted with a sly wink, "I would be foolish not to."
I heard Victor scoff from his place within the room and I released the smile I'd been trying to hide. "Well, it looks like you had a successful evening after all. Good to know I didn't render you impotent."
Sean's expression soured as he waggled his finger at me. "That really wasn't nice, Pookie. You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Well, I would offer to kiss it all better, but it looks like Miss Red Lipstick already took care of your nursing needs." I drew my finger down the center of his chest as his reprimanding tone turned playful once again.
"Oh, trust me, you can play nurse with me any day." He flirted again and I smirked at him. He was just as attractive as the others, though his personality was lighter reminding me of Luke, and I immediately understood why he and Luke sat together at dinner. I had a feeling they caused lots of trouble together.
I stepped around him, my finger stopping at his belt buckle as I leaned in to whisper into his ear. "In your dreams, Doctor." I dropped my voice at the last word and Sean's whole body stiffened with a muffled groan.
I cocked a brow at Nathan as he watched the exchange with heat and envy, and I sauntered towards Victor letting a pleased smile grace my lips. He was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest as his guarded eyes simmered in my direction. He was unimpressed by the display and I came to a stop a few feet from him, my hands coming to my hips.
"Alright, Babysitter, where are we off to now in this haunted house?"
He didn't respond right away as he studied me and I refused to wither under his scrutiny. His gaze was heavy with expectation, though I wasn't sure he was waiting for. "Follow me, Princess." He finally said, shoving off the counter and walking around me towards the door.
With a roll of my eyes and a finger wave to Nathan and the still frozen Sean, I followed dutifully after Victor as he walked out the door and down the winding corridor. To be honest, it was less of a walk and more of a glide. He moved so gracefully, his body almost swaying slow and serpentine, and I found myself easily transfixed by the sight.
I followed him through the basement, up the stairs, around the first floor, and up even more stairs until I was almost out of breath from the trek. If they'd told me we were going on a hike I would have asked for a pair of shoes, but as it was, my bare feet complained the whole way. We didn't run into anyone, and I wondered if they'd cleared the path of pedestrians on the off chance I tried to attack one of them again...or they tried to attack me.
Finally, we came to an unassuming door where Victor hesitated. He glanced back at me, giving me a look that was slightly nervous, almost vulnerable, and I cocked my head to the side in confusion. He seemed to shake himself from his thoughts before opening the door and leading me inside.
The room was rather grand compared to what I was used to, and yet simple in its elegance. A four poster bed sat between a pair of bay windows, the wood a rich dark brown that gleamed in the lamplight. A desk of the same wood sat against one wall, the feet carved into claws standing on top of orbs while the front depicted a dragon sailing through clouds. It was quite a thing to behold, though I was quickly distracted by the many electronic devices scattered over the desk. Laptops, cellphones, and other devices I had no name for were strewn over the wide expanse of wood and it spiked my curiosity. Why would he need so many electronics and what did he use them for?
A fireplace sat on the opposite wall of the bed so one could theoretically lay on the bed while watching a fire crackle at your feet. The rest of the space of the room was filled with a piano. It was black and sleek, and at first glance it was breathtaking. I'd never learned to play an instrument but I loved to listen to classical music, piano and violin being my favorite. I was immediately captivated by the baby grand and, assuming I had permission, I entered the room and walked straight to the piano.
I reached out to touch it, but stopped short. The space where the perfectly shaped black and white keys should have been was instead filled with something else. They were keys, or they were supposed to be, but they were rough and crudely shaped. Each 'key' was a slightly discolored and the keys were much too thin, spaced out incorrectly making it look like a gaping maw with rotting teeth. I bent down for closer inspection and made out ridges and dips that had been filed and shaped, but not enough to disguise what they were. They weren't ivory keys, they were bones...human finger bones.
I scrambled away, a strange choking sound escaping my throat as my back hit Victor's hard chest. My eyes were glued to the piano and I could see where it wasn't finished, where the spaces needed to be filled to complete the disturbing ebony and ivory smile. He wasn't done with his piano yet, he needed more fingers.
"Shh." Victor whispered in my ear as his hands gripped my waist and I realized I was shaking. "Do you like my piano, Princess?" His voice was a baritone purr that I would have normally found sexy, but in this moment, it turned my blood cold. Exceptional hands, perfectly proportioned fingers...Oh my God.
"Which keys?" I asked, my voice coming out weak.
One of his hands skimmed down my arm, taking notice of the goosebumps raised along my skin until he reached my hand. He lifted it in front of my body where we could both see it, so much smaller than his and his slender fingers caressed mine so gently, like he was afraid of shattering them.
Rubbing his thumb over my pinkie and then moving on to my middle finger, he murmured, "D6# and F5." I shuddered as he continued his perusal of my hand. "Perhaps, G3 for your ring finger."
"You're insane." I gasped.
I felt Victor's chuckle rumble in his chest and vibrate through my bones, "Says the girl who, less than an hour ago, butchered poor Frank Hanson. You'd been in the room less than five minutes before you ripped his throat open."
Okay, he had a point there, but I didn't cut off people's finger bones to make musical instruments! Yeah, but there were other things we took...things we kept that didn't belong to us. My monster purred, the words whispering through my mind as I pictured the box in my closet. I hated closets, so I never used it except to store things I would never use...or things I didn't want discovered, things I pretended didn't exist.
I shoved the thought away as Victor drew me away from the piano by my hand that was still in his. He led me to the bed and motioned for me to sit down. I did so warily, watching him for any sudden moves in case he had a mind to finish what he'd started at the bar. At the time, I was looking forward to sleeping with him, but I that ship had sailed the moment he'd watched Kota drug me.
"You'll stay here tonight." He informed me as he moved to the small bureau that stood beside the fireplace. He pulled out what I assumed were his sleep clothes and I used to distraction to assess the room again for possible exits and/or weapons. "And don't worry," He said, sounding suddenly close to me as I felt something cold wrap around my wrist, "I'll be taking the couch."
With a loud click, the handcuff slid home and I whirled on Victor in shock. The other side of the cuffs was connected to the underside of the bed frame and I now had maybe a foot of leeway with which to move. I jerked on it, the metal digging sharply into my wrist and I hissed in sudden anger.
"Seriously?" I screeched and Victor smirked at me, the simmer in his eyes smoldering as I struggled against the handcuff chaining me to his bed. When I'd imagined being tied up in his bed, this was not what I had in mind, damn it! "You can't leave me like this!"
He shrugged, unconcerned as he moved around the room before heading towards the door. "Sleep well." He called behind him as he clicked off the light, plunging the room into darkness. "I'd tell you to yell if you needed anything, but that would be just cruel. Plus, I have a feeling you'll be yelling either way."
He flashed me another evil grin and I growled at him. "You're jokes suck!"
"You should here Silas's." He replied simply before shutting the door behind him and locking it with a click.
I pulled on the handcuff, jerking it this way and that, but I knew it wouldn't give. If I had a hairpin or a toothpick, I could picked it open, but there was nothing within arm's reach. I had just enough room to lay down on the bed semi comfortably, but that was it. I shrieked in frustration, kicking my feet against the mahogany bed frame, hoping to scuff the shine.
I didn't know how long I struggled in the dark, screaming and shouting in anger before I fell into a depressed silence. I curled up into a ball pouting like a child at my situation, refusing to feel anything but pure fury towards those stupid, insane men. Sure, I was possibly just as crazy as they were, but I still felt justified in my anger.
I expected to toss and turn all night but instead I found myself easily drifting off to sleep. I dreamed of running through the horror basement, the doors opening at different intervals revealing each of the nine guys along with some new torture awaiting me. They would smile and call to me, crooning and cooing at me to come and play but I wouldn't, I couldn't. I spent the whole night running until finally Owen caught me shoving me into a closet that smelled like moth balls and my stepmother's hand cream. I screamed until my voice went hoarse but he wouldn't release me.
"Everyone has a breaking point, Sang." He whispered through the cracks in the door, "and now I know yours."