A deal was set ten years ago. A deal he made with the elements and a deal she needed even more at the time. A moment in her life where she had been young and depending on others. Alone and scared. At the mercy of the world. But she had not been alone for that long. He had been lingering in the dark. Waiting and longing to finally have what he wanted all along. He had been patiently waiting, never faltering, never ruining what was planned. No he had been so, so very careful. It was not in his nature to be like that. But he could be patient for her. He knew she needed him to wait, she needed to grow, to evolve. And now, now that time was finally on his side again, he was almost ready to claim what was promised all those years ago.
He needed to be patient still, he had watched her, seen her evolve into the woman she was today. She could be so strong, so determined to work hard to get her way and be successful. It was what he admired in her. Though, he also knew her weaknesses and her doubts. He had been there all along, always protecting and guiding her, while she never knew it was him. But she also was his and he had waited long enough.
She was promised to him. She was like him, more special than other people. Ordinary people. He never knew better. He was the way he was. Unusually strong, panther stamina, and he sensed things the way only animals could. He grinned for a moment. She would be scared, afraid of him, but he also knew she could feel their special connection, at least after a while. Maybe locking her up wasn't such a bad idea for the first few weeks. Though it would mess up her life more than he wanted for her. But he suspected that, with her strong will, she wouldn't just give in. And that was precisely what was important, she had to keep doing what she was doing. That was the promise he made to himself. He wanted her, he was sure. But he wanted to make her stronger, not limit her. She had to walk her own path, next to him. He would always be there, in the shade and on the sidelines when she needed him. With his endless life he had already seen and experienced so much. She had only been alive for a fraction of his life. She was a baby compared to him. Delicate and beautiful. Pristine and so innocent. He grinned even wider. Yes he was going to enjoy this, it was time.
It was the day of her 21th birthday and it was time for the beast to claim his beauty. After all, it was in the stars that they would end up together, and a deal was a deal.
Jade knew that this tension would end too. Her safe working environment was so nice, so familiar, and the fact that she had only a few weeks before she started a new job, sometimes gave her stomach pain and nausea. She took a deep breath and spoke sternly to herself. "Come on Jade, you wanted this yourself. It's time to show up and choose for yourself. Use your education! We know how lucky we were that there had been money for college after all."
Jade put on her coat and said goodbye to her colleagues. It was the weekend. Time to recharge and relax. She usually worked on Saturdays, but she now had 2 days off. The envelope with her new employment contract burned in her hands. She had signed and she was actually going to post him. In 5 weeks she would say goodbye to her old job and start over. With more challenge, more hours and more salary. It was time for new things.
The streets were empty, as is usually the case in late November. Sometimes it started to get really cold and bleak. She pulled her scarf a little tighter and steadily walked to the nearest letterbox. She gave herself a moment to hesitate and enjoy the safety of her current job for a moment, but then she let go of the letter and heard it drop in the letterbox. Now there was no turning back. Her future was about to change. Even more than she actually knew.
Her unknown companion stood in the shadows. She had never seen him, he knew. He had always done his best for that. When her parents died, he arranged a warm foster family. When there was no money for her studies, he arranged for a fund. He had always followed her, and even now, now that she had grown into a young adult woman, he still followed her, though his desires were different now. He still wanted to take care of her and protect her, but he felt more desires for several years now. Animal and sexual desires. He licked his lips as he watched her shapely body slowly walk away. She had posted her letter, he was proud. He knew how much effort this took her and how long she had been in doubt about getting out of her safe bubble. He was proud of his girl.
Jade shivered when she finally saw her apartment looming in the distance. The walking wasn't enough to warm her all the way up and she even started walking a little faster. She longed for a hot cup of tea and a quiet evening with a book on the sofa. She wanted to distract her mind for a moment so that she wouldn't start doubting and worrying more. It was arranged and secretly she was looking forward to it, a new job, a new challenge. She took her keys from her pocket and climbed the steps to her fourth-floor apartment. She still had doubts about what to eat, today she had already eaten cake with her colleagues, so she actually wanted to eat healthy food to compensate.
It was her birthday, but she still wanted to eat something nourishing today ... The warmth of her small, but cozy apartment met her and made her quickly shut the door behind her. She put the keys on the cupboard in the hall before she took off her coat and shoes. Maybe she would order food, she thought. Surely there would be some healthy options. Stretching out, she walked into the living room and turned on some lights. It was already completely dark outside. She turned and thought about which book to read, until she froze from head to toe.
A man sat on her couch. And not just any man. A beast of a guy. He was huge, muscular and tall. Even sitting, she saw that he was at least a head above her. Most scary, though, was that she had never seen him before and he was now here in her house. Was he a burglar? A rapist? Jade hesitated only a moment before turning around and running into the hall. She heard nothing behind her, but felt two arms gripping her tightly. His grip might not have been painful, but it was very firm. She hadn't even made it to the door. She felt the man's warm breath on her neck, shocked to think she had been right when she estimated him a head bigger than herself. This was not good. Not good at all.
'Easy now Jade, easy.' She froze completely hearing his deep rumble. It was inhuman to have a voice that deep. She swallowed painfully and tried to break free again. He simply intensified his grip on her, immobilizing her even further, bringing one hand around to cover her mouth. Jade breathed harder and harder until she realized he was not letting her go. She forced herself to slow down her movements until she was not moving in his grip at all. It earned her a chuckle.
'Good girl.' His hand on her mouth was fitting his enormous body. She felt him easing his grip just a little, testing the waters.
'Jade, Jade, Jade. I'd rather talk to you in a somewhat calmer setting. But you are making that very difficult right now. I'm not going to hurt you. But we will talk. I'll let you go in a minute, and if you behave, it will stay that way. If not ... Then you can probably fill in that you will not reach the door.' Even though he talked about letting me go, I still felt his arm around my waist and his hand was still over my mouth. I could feel his warm breath on my ear when he suddenly spoke softer. It was almost a whisper, although in his deep voice it sounded more like a growl.
"Don't disappoint me, Jade." With those words I felt the hand that was placed over my mouth disappear. He turned us around so that he was now closer to the door than I was. Behind me was the living room. The direction he wanted me to go.
"Time to move, Jade, come on." I immediately stepped away from him and walked into the living room until I was standing behind the dining table and the wood shielded me from him. I felt myself shaking. The man tilted his head slightly as if thinking, but then he walked very quietly into the living room as well. He stood on the other side of the dining table for a moment until he slowly pulled out a chair and looked at me. Did he really think I was going to sit down?
"I don't bite Jade." The fact that he seemed so in control and felt so at home contrasted with the idea that he knew me and I didn't know him. How could that be?
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I sounded scared and small and I cursed myself for it. I saw his eyes shine, they looked silver. But that was not possible at all. I bit my lip and cursed myself for the fact that my cellphone was still in my jacket pocket.
"Suit yourself." He sat down himself, but kept looking at me all the time. I swallowed for a moment and felt my pocket to make sure I wasn't carrying my cell phone. His eyes followed my hands.
"Where's your phone?" I looked back at him and bit my lip. His eyes seemed to darken a little when I didn't answer right away. Was that actually possible?
He pushed his chair back slightly and I moved back a step.
"In my coat." Something about this man made me submissive and wary. Although the latter seemed very smart to me. He looked like a well-oiled machine. He moved so controlled for someone so muscular. He nodded, although his eyes never gave me a moment of rest. I swallowed heavily and felt myself panicking. Why was I in this situation and more importantly, how did I get out of it? When I looked straight at him again I saw his grin. He seemed completely at ease and not going to leave. Shit. Shit. Shit.
'Now that we finally meet, happy birthday Jade.'
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