Castle | ✔️

Chapter Fourteen

I waited in the stables to see if Castle showed up like he said he would.

And true to his word, he was right there, in the middle of the stable, grooming another horse named Lady—the white horse with black patches.

I'd been careful about walking here alone, not wanting to be seen by the other staff. I didn't know what was going on in Castle's mind, or if the kiss yesterday was impulsive or attraction, but when he'd given me that heated look and asked me to meet him here, I couldn't refuse. No matter how much I tried to tell myself that I shouldn't do this, my heart wanted it badly—this connection with Castle.

When I closed my eyes at night, I could only see those hazel brown eyes and I recalled how intense his stares usually were and the way it lit my body on fire and when he'd kissed me last night, I kept replaying it in my mind wondering if I'd imagined it.

When Castle noticed I was here, he smiled, and I loved how his brown eyes would crinkle in the corners and I couldn't stop the butterflies taking flight in my stomach.

Before I had time to say anything to him, he walked over to me, grasped my hand in his and pulled me towards him. I had no choice but to follow him.

And then...

He handed me another brush and showed me how to brush the horse. I stood there like an idiot, thinking he wanted me here for something else.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Montgomery, sir. How nice of you to grace peasants like us with your presence. What can I do for you?" Ollie said, standing just outside the stables. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or real. His clothes were matted with dirt, and I wondered if he was gardening nearby.

Castle didn't respond to him; he acted like he hadn't heard Ollie at all.

Ollie turned his grin towards me. "An excellent conversationalist, isn't he?"

I couldn't believe how rude Ollie was being, and the fact that he was talking shit like this when Castle was standing right next to me. I turned to Castle, "why don't you go outside and wait for me?"

He first glared at Ollie, then looked at me and his expressions softened. He placed the brush on the floor and left us alone.

Ollie watched Castle leave and smiled at me. "I would like to extend all kinds of services to you, ma'am, free of charge. I don't need anything in return from beautiful women such as yourself."

"I will pretend I didn't hear that," I said, turning away from him to leave when he caught my hand in a tight grip.

"Maybe you'll change your mind after you see this." He showed me his phone where he'd captured a picture of Castle and me in the stables yesterday. The shot was zoomed in and showed my hands buried in Castle's hair while his hands holding me to him, and our lips locked in a scandalous kiss.

"You disgusting son of a..." I screeched.

"What? You're going to act too good for me now?" His hold on me only tightened. "You think cozying up with the retard is going to make you mistress of the mansion?" He laughed, "Nannies came to this house and left before you, and the younger ones tried doing what you're doing, that is seducing that idiot. Do you know what happened to them?"

Before I could answer, he went on, his face twisted in a sneer, "they all died strangely. Some of them jumped off the house, others disappeared without a trace, fed to hungry dogs, drowned and the list of atrocities does not end there. Devin Montgomery has a hobby for killing with creativity."

He brought his lips close to my ear, and I could feel his breath fanning over my shoulder. "If you do what I say, I'll delete this photo from my phone."