Tempting Sin

Darkness Within Him

The grating sound of the door opening shattered the veil of silence hanging over the room. Her heart plummeted with the first thud of his ominous footsteps. The hair on the back of her neck pricked up in alarm as his footsteps reverberated through the corridor, each step echoing like a foreboding drumbeat. Was it the time already? Tears gathered in her red, exhausted eyes. 

He approached her with a predatory grace, instilling fear into her bloodstream. Drawing her knees to her front, she pressed her back against the wall behind her to create more distance between them. His mere presence had filled the room with an oppressive weight, pressing down upon her soul, making her want to be anywhere but here. This had to be the most scary moment of her life. 

She fought the urge to look away as his intruding gray eyes met hers. Unyielding, soulless eyes. Eyes that are colder than ice but hold a fire in them that can devour the entire world. 

He came to a halt in front of her. Attired in a black suit with perfectly combed hair- his groomed appearance belied the darkness that lurked within him. No one could guess the man with the face of a Greek God lacked something as basic as a soul. She was also fooled by his striking face. Whatever butterflies Nevaeh had once felt upon meeting him in the elevator had long died after seeing his true face. Now all she wanted was to get away from him and never see him again. But for that, she would have to escape this hellhole. 

His familiar scent surrounded her before he lowered himself to her level. Those piercing eyes now closing in on her, blocking her vision of everything else. 

She winced as he, without a warning, reached down and held her broken finger in his gentle grip. No matter how gentle he was, a sharp pain still managed to shoot up her finger, prompting a whimper out of her mouth.    

  "It's swollen. We need to treat it before it gets worse," he observed, tenderly caressing her finger. The way he faked care, no one could guess he was the cause of her pain. His pretense was infuriating Nevaeh. She would have hit him right in the face if she wasn't afraid of the consequences. This man was a psychopath with no sense of wrong and right. And that's what made him scary; not the immense power he wielded but his well-concealed insanity. The way he played with guns and knives, it was clear he wasn't just a business tycoon. Either he was a serial killer or an assassin.    

"Who are you?" she questioned in her trembling voice. She wanted to know the extent of her misfortune. 

The man raised his gaze to her- a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he asked, "You don't know who I am?" 

The hint of a smile on his mouth told her that he wasn't mad but amused by her questioning. Nevaeh subtly tried to draw her hand out of his grip but he prevented her by tightening his grip around her hand. She swallowed hard.    

"Aa..are you a serial killer?" she stuttered out in dread.

"A serial killer?" he repeated before letting out an incredulous chuckle that sent chills down her spine.

As his chuckle slowed down, he inched his face closer to hers causing her eyes to go wide in fear. 

"You are stressing your pretty little head too much, ain't you?" he remarked with a hint of playfulness in his tone. For some reason, he had found her question endearing. His breath- a mixture of mint and smoke- brushed against her lips. For a businessman, he seemed very interested in their meaningless conversation.   

"I am not a serial killer," he clarified and paused for a dramatic effect. Upon hearing his clarification, a slight wave of relief washed over her but she didn't dare to relax in his ominous presence.