Chapter 9 - Sign A Contract With The Devil 1

• Andrea’s POV
• “I’m going to make you mine tonight, Andrea” Kieran's thick, husky voice was laced with raw desire, dripping with sexual hunger as he kicked the door shut and entered fully into my room. I stood transfixed as he made his way to me purposefully, his eyes stripping me completely naked before I even had the chance to take off a piece of my clothing.
• The situation that led to this moment was a blur in my mind.
• Kieran reached me, and his big form cast an imposing shadow over me. He pushed back strands of my hair from my face curling the tips around his fingers before letting them fall to my shoulders.
• “So beautiful,” he muttered with pure satisfaction.
• Without giving me time to respond or even think, his hand went around my waist, pinning me to him.
• My lashes fluttered open to hold his gaze, and I realized this was the first time I was really taking a good look at this man.
• His eyes were pure magic; they jailed me to their will so easily.
• And even if I knew this was wrong, I shouldn’t be letting Kieran, of all people, touch me like this; I couldn’t form any sort of protest. It was like my brain had been impaled by those damningly intense irises. Like somehow, my body belonged to his.
• How did all this happen? I managed to think. Perhaps, it was the kiss.
• As if he heard my thoughts, Kieran bent his head, his breath warm against my neck, trailing his tongue to my ear before gently nibbling. “I can’t stop thinking about that kiss, Andrea,” he whispered softly.
• The sensation sent a shiver down my spine, excitement prickling my skin. I parted my lips, eager, craving the taste of him once more, the heat that melted me when we kissed. But he continued to tease.
• “How did this happen, Andrea?” he murmured, slicking his tongue across my lips, a low purr following. I couldn’t answer; all I knew was that I wanted him. Badly.
• “Dammit, no more. You’re mine, now and always. Say it.”
• “I am yours,” I whispered, the words escaping without thought.
• Like a predator, he claimed my lips- hungrily, savagely. His kiss was all-consuming, rough yet tender, desperate yet controlled. His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer as his body pressed into mine. I gasped, my heart hammering, my knees weak from the raw intensity. But then, just as suddenly, the mood shifted.
• His grip tightened on my shoulders, pulling me back. Pain flared.
• “Dad!” I cried, blinking in shock. Kieran was gone, the room had changed—dark, bathed in eerie red light. “How… how are you here?”
• “You defy me, Andrea. Why?” His voice was filled with rage.
• Confused, I stammered, “I did as you asked. I married Kieran. Please, you’re hurting me!”
• But instead of loosening his grip, he shoved me against the wall. I gasped, and the air knocked from my lungs.
• “Look at me,” he snarled. “You’ll do as I say, or bad things will happen. Look at me!” My tormentor grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes.
• My breath got stuck in my throat as I met the dark, cold gaze of Jasper Vasques.
• ~~~
• I sprang up into a sitting position, panting profusely. What the hell was that? A nightmare?
• My eyes flickered anxiously around the room, scanning each shadowed corner, half-expecting to find one of the figures from my dream lurking. But it was just me. I exhaled in relief, wiping the sweat from my jawline as I swung my legs off the bed.
• Shrugging off the robe Ms. Ada had found somewhere in the house, I stepped into the bathroom, still shaken and dizzy from the haunting presence of the men in my dream.
• My thoughts were unsettled as the cold water slickered from my head to my feet, the chill welcoming. I ran my hands from my face through my hair, wishing the cold water from the shower would wash away the scare.
• Kieran—sex dream. My dad and Jasper. All these men, why were they colliding in my mind, twisting my thoughts like a tangled mess of wires? I shuddered as the water ran down my body, trying to wash away the remnants of that nightmare, but it clung to me, refusing to let go.
• The sensation of Kieran's lips still lingered on mine, warm and intoxicating. His voice echoed in my head, the way he claimed me, touched me, and made me feel like I was his and only his.
• But then my father’s anger, his cold, demanding presence, seeped into my memory, bringing fear to the forefront. Jasper… his name made my skin crawl.
• I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my palms against the cool tile wall.
• Why did that man haunt my dream like this? Why now?
• I shook my head, trying to shake off the last of the dark thoughts. I needed to focus. Focus on the present. Not the confusing, terrifying storm of emotions swirling inside me.
• After drying off, I wrapped myself in a towel and stared into the mirror. My reflection looked foreign and wild; cheeks flushed. "Get it together, Andrea," I muttered, forcing myself to breathe.
• I couldn’t let these men dream or not control me. Not now. I walked to the wardrobe, hoping for something to wear. Nothing. Just empty hangers.
• I groaned and dropped onto the bed, eyes scanning the ceiling. The room was enormous, larger than the living room and bedroom back at my house put together. This room was mine now... but it didn’t feel like it. No clothes, no shoes, no laptop. Nothing that belonged to me.
• Yesterday, after Kieran left, Ms. Ada insisted on tidying this room herself, accepting no help from me. She was kind but firm, treating me like she’d been looking after me her whole life. I appreciated her care, but it also made me feel oddly out of place, as though I was some fragile thing that needed managing.
• Now, staring at the empty wardrobe, I realized I’d have to find her and ask for clothes. My own things were still somewhere at my father’s, and I hadn’t even brought a change of anything when I was lured here.
• I got up from the bed and tightened the towel around my chest, stepping out of the room. The house was still, quiet, but every step I took seemed to echo in the grand, sprawling space. The sheer size of it was overwhelming- the kind of place that could swallow a person whole. It wasn’t just a house; it was more like a mansion, maybe a penthouse with wide, polished floors, high ceilings, and hallways that seemed to go on forever.
• As I descended the grand staircase, the vastness of it became even more apparent. Each step I took felt dwarfed by the scale of everything. Kieran must not be home, I thought, breathing a little easier.
• He had made it very clear I’d be staying alone. And after the kiss we shared and the kind of dream I’d had, I was desperate to avoid him.
• But as I neared the top of the staircase, I froze. Voices whispered from below. My heart raced. Just when I thought I might retreat, the girl beside him glanced up and spotted me.
• “Talk of the angel,” she said with a sly smile.
• They had been talking about me?
• I wondered as I reached the foot of the stairs, and that’s when Kieran turned. Our eyes met, his gaze burning into me with barely concealed anger. I barely recognized the lady he was sitting with from the wedding, she had introduced herself, but I must have been too carried away by everything to remember her.
• She and Kieran were having breakfast, but as soon as he saw me, he got to his feet, ignoring the lady’s attempt to greet me.
• Without a word, he grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hall, pulling me into one of the many corridors that seemed to lead nowhere.
• He pushed me into a room I assumed to be his study due to the shelves lined with books and the executive chair and desk in it.
• I stood, cladding my hand around my chest, gripping the towel tightly around me.
• It couldn’t be a coincidence that I was in a secluded place with Kieran right after the awful dream I just had.
• If he tried anything… my eyes darted around the large room for another escape route or something I could defend myself with but found nothing except an elaborate glass sculpture perched on a sleek mahogany shelf and a modern fireplace crackling quietly in the corner.
• The room was pristine, every detail immaculate, dark leather-bound books filled the shelves, a state-of-the-art sound system rested near the wall, and a sleek, expensive-looking globe stood by the desk, all reinforcing the fact that Kieran had the means to live like royalty. But none of this provided comfort, only reminders of how little control I had over the situation.
• I watched fretfully as Kieran made his way to me after shutting the door.
• I took several backward steps when he kept approaching me and bumped my butt against the chair I hadn’t noticed was in my way.
• “You can’t walk around this house naked.” He bellowed, eyeing me furiously as he stopped just in front of me.
• “I have a towel on. besides, I didn’t think you’d be here.” I tried to sound confident, but my voice came out shaky.
• “This is my house. I own the place, and you don’t think I’d be here?”
• My lashes fluttered open as I stared at him. He seemed so angry and irritated at the sight of me, a complete contrast to the man in my dreams.
• I felt foolish for assuming even for a second that a mere kiss, one he had just been using to make his lover believe we were in love, would change things between us.
• Wait, why did I want things to change between us? There was no way I wanted that. I wanted nothing to do with Kieran Vasques.
• Nothing except using the power, his family’s name brought me to find out the truth. One truth was that he, Kieran frightened me.
• He was the son of Jasper Vasques, and there was no way he didn’t know what his father was capable of.
• This only meant one thing: Kieran could very well be involved in whatever went on in this world.
• Well, I was going to find out everything and expose each one of them.
• I knew I was playing a dangerous game, living in the den of the lions who would be ready to devour me once they found out what I was up to.
• Perhaps that was what my dream was about, but it only made me more determined.
• I pressed my back against the chair, wanting to shrink from his presence. “You told me otherwise. I recall you saying precisely: “You would be living here… alone.” I muttered.
• “Well, I changed my mind.” He snorted.
• My heart raced. We would be living here together? “Why?” It was a low whisper that escaped my lips. Standing this close to him was dreadful enough if we were to stay in the same place...? That was totally unimaginable for me.
• “Like I said, this is my house. I own it; I live in it. Get that?”
• I tried to control my thoughts; it shouldn’t matter if he would be here as long as we weren’t sharing the same bedroom; I still had my privacy.
• I’d try to avoid him as much as possible. And I couldn’t bear the thought of being in the same room as him.
• As if he had engineered my thoughts, Kieran made the next announcement. “And you’d move your things to the master bedroom.”