Riding with the Beast (an MC Fairy Tale)

6 - Sonja

Sonja

He lay on the twin bed near the window. His hands were folded over his slowly rising and falling chest. Was he already asleep? Shivering, I tiptoed to his side.

The air in the hotel room chilled my damp skin and wet scalp. I should have crawled into bed, allowing myself to forget everything under a blanket of sleep, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from his face. Even at peace, there was nothing subtle or elegant about him. The way the bridge of his eyebrows jutted out was almost reptilian. His sharp, left cheekbone looked like a gash against his warped, burned skin. His over-sized, crooked nose seemed like it had been pasted onto his face, half-formed, as an afterthought.

I don’t know why I found it so enticing. Maybe because he didn’t remind me of any man I’d ever seen before…

His steely eyes opened.

I gasped, stumbling back until the backs of my knees hit the other twin bed.

My heart raced. Calm down, I demanded, but I couldn’t stop my thoughts from racing, too.

I stared at the floor, but it didn’t seem real. Nothing in the room did, including myself. In my mind, I heard the sharp clip of Alexander’s leather shoes. I saw his shadow pacing back and forth.

What are you you doing, Bella? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?

A familiar shame and useless anger washed over me. My restless skin itched as it only did when I knew I had to remain completely still.

You’re such a bad girl. What should I do with you?

I wasn’t scared the first time Alexander had asked me that. His voice had been deceptively soft. And besides, the only things I’d feared up until that point were rough sex and rough hands, both of which I’d grown accustomed to, in a way. I hadn’t known there were other things far worse.

“Sonja?”

I flinched, remembering who I shared this room with. This strange man was so large and ugly. Of course he wouldn’t like being studied so openly. He probably thought it was cruel. He probably wanted to—

“Are you done with the shower?”

I looked up.

He gazed back. It was impossible to read the expression on his face. His features were too unlike any I’d seen before.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He sat up, rubbing his temples. “It’s my turn, then. Do what you want.”

I shot across the room to his side. “Wait,” I whispered, grabbing his shirt with a trembling hand.

He eyed me suspiciously. “What is it?”