CH.48

Serena followed the maid down the magnificent hallway and through a door that brought them to a very beautifully designed staircase, leading to another hallway.

Her steps faltered slightly as she took in the grandeur of her surroundings. The place looked like a maze, so she wondered how big it was.

The corridor depicted in the image was an epitome of elegance and sophistication. It featured a long, straight passageway with high ceilings that created an airy and spacious feel. The walls were adorned with intricate moldings and wainscoting, painted in a soft, neutral color that enhanced the natural light flooding in from the large windows.

Beneath her feet were polished oak boards so thick and luxurious that she felt as though she were walking on clouds.

Along the length of the corridor were several beautifully crafted doors, each with ornate handles and decorative trim, leading to various rooms in the luxurious house.

Serena noticed that the maid leading her was different from the rude one she had encountered in her room earlier.

This one was younger, with a lithe figure and a curtain of sleek, raven hair that fell past her shoulders in a glossy cascade. However, her demeanor was no less brusque. Her strides were purposeful and her expression one of barely concealed irritation as if Serena's mere presence was an inconvenience she could scarcely tolerate.

The maid suddenly whirled around and fixed Serena with a withering glare that made her stop in her tracks. "Would you kindly stop dawdling like some television princess and pick up the pace?" she snapped in a tone brimming with scorn and eyes sweeping over Serena's figure in a blatant demonstration of it. "Everyone is waiting for you, and it's inexcusable to keep them waiting any longer."

Serena felt a flash of anger surge through her, her temper flaring at the maid's rude and condescending behavior.

She was tired of being treated like a child, spoken down to and disrespected by these servants who clearly had no idea who she was or what she was capable of.

A part of her knew that she should maintain her composure, rise above the petty insults and carry herself with the dignity befitting her station. But another, more primal part of her – the part that had always been her undoing – yearned to put this insolent girl in her place.

"Listen here… You will never speak to me like that again, or so help me, I will teach you a lesson you won't soon forget! I may be new to this household, but even before I married your master, I was not a woman without a background or standing of her own. I am Serena Bolting! Go look up my name in case you weren't privileged enough to have heard it before." She spoke in a tone that was low and tinged with a warning edge as she moved closer to the maid, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

The maid's eyes widened slightly, Her lips parted as if to retort, but Serena held up a hand, cutting her off with a sharp and dismissive gesture.

"I know it's better to ignore the likes of you," she continued, "However, my temper has always been known to get the better of me. And you would do well to remember your place."

With that, Serena spun on her heel and stormed off down the hallway without waiting for a response, her anger propelling her forward without any clear direction.

In her haste and her fury, she failed to notice the door she flung open. Her mind was too consumed by her rage to realize that she had mistakenly entered the wrong room.

It wasn't until she had fully stepped inside that she realized her mistake.

Serena’s eyes instantly went wide in shock and embarrassment as she took in the scene before her. There, in the middle of what appeared to be a lavish bedroom, were entwined bodies caught in the throes of passion. The smell of sex mixed with their grunts and groans filled the room. What’s more, the fetid sound made by their flesh smacking against one another was just too offensive.

Serena's gaze was immediately drawn to the man whose broad and muscular chest was glistening with a sheen of sweat as he moved with powerful, purposeful strokes.

His features were twisted in an expression of pure ecstasy each time he drove himself deeper into the lithe brunette straddling his lap on the plush leather sofa.

A similar action was playing out on a bed in another corner of the room. Serena dared not gaze that way.

She felt her cheeks flush crimson as her gaze inadvertently dropped lower, taking in the sight of their bodies joined together in the most intimate of ways.

She marveled at the man’s impressive size, which seemed to disappear into the depths of the woman’s cave with each powerful jab, and her mouth went dry.

The brunette's head was thrown back, her lips parted in a silent cry of pleasure as she met his movements with undulating rolls of her hips.

The man’s eyes suddenly snapped open, his gaze locking onto Serena's with an intensity that sent a shiver of something primal and forbidden down her spine.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment. The atmosphere was full of tension and desires, and the only sound that could be heard was the slick and vulgar noises that were produced by their joining flesh.

An unfamiliar feeling stirred inside Serena. Her mind drifted back to that night... the vague memory of strong hands caressing her skin and the taste of whiskey on his lips.

She found herself wishing she could relive it all over again. However, she hoped it would end on a more pleasant note, without ending up at the hospital and having to be stitched this time.

Serena felt her cheeks flush as she imagined running her fingers through his tousled hair, pulling him closer until their bodies were pressed together, skin against skin.

She suddenly snapped back to reality, a wave of guilt and shame washing over her.

What was she doing, entertaining such wanton thoughts about another man while she was currently bound to her mysterious husband? The man who had plucked her from the jaws of doom and whisked her away to this luxurious, yet eerie, estate?

Serena wished she could smack herself back to her senses and banish the treacherous images that threatened to consume her.

She was a married woman now, for better or worse, and she owed her loyalty to the man who had claimed her as his own.

“Oh my God! I am… I.. I didn’t mean to!” Serena quickly muttered a string of incoherent apologies, her face burning with embarrassment as she turned to flee the room, desperate to escape the charged atmosphere and the searing heat of the man’s gaze. However, her hasty retreat was brought to an abrupt halt as she collided with a solid wall of muscle, her forehead bouncing off what felt like chiseled granite.

The heat that had ruled the air just moments before felt instantly cold.

“Ouch…” Serena stumbled back, her hand flying to her throbbing forehead as she looked up into the impassive face of a man she didn't recognize.

He was tall and imposing, his features ruggedly handsome and his amber eyes were as cold and unforgiving as the Arctic tundra through the mask covering half of his face.

His broad shoulders, lean yet muscular frame the whole nine yards seemed to fill the doorway, effectively blocking her escape, and Serena felt a tendril of fear snake its way through her belly.

He was oozing this raw, dangerous vibe that should have had her running up for the hills with those sharp cheekbones and that strong jawline partially hidden by a black mask. Instead, Serena found herself weirdly captivated, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Those eyes… it was those eyes that really did her in – a piercing amber gaze that seemed to strip her bare.

“Done watching?" he rumbled a deep baritone that sent a shiver of trepidation down Serena's spine, yet a delightful caress that raised the fine hairs at the nape of her neck.

As if his smoldering looks weren't enough, his deep baritone voice was like a sin.

Serena felt the breath catch in her throat. Her body suddenly was hyper-aware of his proximity and the heat radiating off him in waves.

She couldn't deny the undeniable magnetism this guy exuded despite the awkward situation she’d stumbled into.

There was just something primal and intoxicating about him that called to her on a level she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Serena felt a strange sensation wash over her – a heady mix of desire and dread that left her feeling dizzy and disoriented under his smoldering gaze. Her heart was racing, her palms were sweaty, and a flush of heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks.

She was acutely aware of her body in a way she'd never been before, every nerve ending seeming to hum with a strange, electric energy.

“Interesting…” A familiar voice, oozing with humor sliced through the tension like a dagger before she could say anything.

"Well, it seems our little Donna has stumbled upon quite the show," Killian drawled, his tone laced with a teasing lilt as he gently disentangled himself from the blond head, who was now regarding Serena with curiosity and anger.

Serena felt her face flush even deeper as she struggled to find the words to explain herself. "I... I'm so sorry," she stammered with her gaze still fixed on the imposing stranger who had blocked her path, "I didn't mean to... I mean, I thought this was..."

“How eventful!” Seven chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that hardly registered on her.

"Relax, darling," Killian purred, his eyes dancing with mirth as he regarded her flustered state. "There's no need to be so flustered. We're all friends here, aren't we? I could always put on a show for my sister-in-law—"

Killian broke off abruptly. He held back the mouthful of blood that had suddenly risen up his throat and begged to be released while groaning in pain.

Serena swallowed hard, oblivious to Killian’s plight. Her mouth went dry as she struggled to maintain her composure in the face of Killian’s blatant teasing.

She had found him attractive in a roguish sort of way, but seeing him in such a state of undress, his body glistening with the evidence of his recent exertions, was almost too much for her to handle.

The tremors from the man towering over her seemed to intensify as did the moist pulling between her legs.

“Follow me!” Knox ordered in a voice that almost made her legs buckle before striding out of the room.

There was a raw, primal energy about him that called to something deep within her. However, why was his voice impacting her in the same way as the Supreme Judge? she wondered.

"I... I should… Okay," she managed to choke out while her legs moved faster than her mind, hurrying after him.