VI. Prey

Cara

WANTING TO TAKE AS LITTLE TIME AS POSSIBLE, I hurried up in the shower. The hot water hit my back, soothing and cleansing my skin. I felt refreshed as the water ran down my locks bring out their brown colour.

When I was done I wrapped the large white towel around my body.

I found some clothes on the bed. A navy blue dress, a black bra and black panties. The panty and bra stilled had the tag on so I knew they were unworn. I didn't dwell on the fact that they were my exact size.

I dressed quickly hoping Merideth would give me directions home or at least tell me where I was, in more details than ' Vasiliev Property '.

Taking one last look in the mirror, I made sure I looked fine before going to search for Merideth. The dress was beautiful and fit my body well but it did not do anything to raise my spirits.

I could not wait to get back home. Sure I would have to have a difficult conversation with dad once I did, but that little fact did not matter at the moment. All I wanted was to see him again and hug him.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was a quiet patient knock. Probably Merideth.

There was another knock when I did not answer.I went to open the door instead of telling her to just coming in.

I reached out my hand towards the knob but it moved. I did not want a repeat of events so I took a step back.

My breath hitched when I saw it was not Merideth. Not even close.

Standing in front of me was a man.

He was of gargantuan height, easily towering over was petite form.

Unconscious of my actions, I began to full on eyeball God's gift to women. I could not help it. It is human instinct, nay, female instinct to scout out a viable mate -  according to Nat-geo wild - and he was more that viable.

He wore dark jeans that accentuated his tall frame, hugging his legs in all the right place. His white shirt tightly clung to his muscled body outling his muscles. My fingers hitched to reach out and touch his biceps run up his arms and down to his abs.

Avert your eyes, Cara...now while you still can.

His plump lips were pulled up to a cocky grin but it did not register in my mind what he thought of me shamelessly gawking.

His face was the work of a master crafts man, decorated with a light stubble I wanted to feel and an aristocratic nose even Adonis himself would envy. But the real works of art were his eyes.

His orbs were indescribable. I was not even sure what colour they were and I had taken a years of art classes. They were shade of grey which a hint if blue.

His eyes were pulling me in the same way they say if stare into the inside of well deeply it may pull you in and you will surely fall in. Well right his were pulling me. A few more seconds and I would fall inside the well.

He cleared his throat and I had to rip my gaze away and stare somewhere else. But not a second later, I found myself staring at him again, only this time he was also looking at me.

All his focus was on me, his stare burning through me

I did not know what to say. Something had to be said and I was standing there speechless.

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He then pursed his lips.

The silence was deafening.

"Have you seen Merideth?" I suddenly asked in attempt to break the tension.

"Ummh...Pardon me?" He finally spoke. His throaty voice was like a shot of strong liquor and I was pretty sure it -just like the liquor- can lead women to do the craziest things.

"Uh...uh...have you s-seen Merideth? " I struggled to get the words out. My throat went dry as a result of his intense, burning stare. He kept his eyes on me, like a hawk watching it's innocents, helpless prey.

I was his prey.

"Do not worry about Merideth." There was his voice again, intoxicating me. I tried my best to focus on what he was saying rather than his dizzying accent. It was one of those old fashioned accents hut not necessarily British with a hint of what I assumed was Russian.

"Is she still here?"

"No. I believe she has left but worry not, you are in good hands."

Speaking of good hands, his were large and appeared strong. I would have loved it if they ran down my cheek, all the way down to my neck, my collarbone and ...

My thoughts were getting dirtier and dirtier by the minute.

What was he doing to me?

"Good hands with who exactly?" I prayed that it was not him. Lord knows how I would survive spending another minute with Mr. Sexy.

Everything about him was sinful and would surely lead to me sin. My thoughts weren't exactly a saints at the moment.

"Me. I hope you don't mind."

"N-No. Not at all." I laughed a little. I don't know why. The tension was getting to me.

"Good. I would hate it you were uncomfortable. Do I make you uncomfortable?"

Yes. Extremely

uncomfortable.

' Why?', you ask? Because I find you incredibly attractive...so attractive that my crazy crush on Ian Somerhalder has turned to dust. Yes, that much.

I shook my head, afraid that if I spoke, my voice would give me away.

"I am Ivan..."He began.

So he is Mr. Vag-Va... Va-whatever.

" What is your name?"

"Cara..." he gave me a look telling me to tell him my middle and surnames. But I didn't. I was out I my trance and their was still a possibility of him being a creep with a thing or lost teenage girls.

"A beautiful name but I'd like to know the rest of it." He pressed.

"You didn't tell me yours," I retorted.

" Touché... follow me."

***

Ivan led the way and I followed behind him like a lost puppy, which in some sense I was.

His house was a labyrinth, so many turns. But it was a posh labyrinth with a modern victorian theme.

There were thousands of turns and just as many stairs. Those who lived here deserved an elevator or maybe I was just not fit enough. Speaking of, did he live here alone?

I wondered for a moment. It looked like a few others lived here with him. Why else would he need more than one maid? Or maybe he was just needy and it took a lot of work to please him.

So far, I could tell he was very strict, I noticed that none of the people we passed dared look him in the eye.  They just looked at me for a second before staring at the floor. He was pretty intimidating.

He may have also been a O.C.D . He stopped to straighten a bowl that was a little out of place on the console table. O.C.D or perfectionist?

We went down another flight of stairs.

"Careful," He warned. I sensed care in his voice but it went away. This was the first time he had said anything to me since we left the room.

I was half way down when I suddenly tripped. Had I suddenly forgotten how to walk down the stairs? I am not surprised, with Mr. Sexy here it would only be a matter of time before I forgot how to breathe.

I was headed for a painful and embarrassing fall, when a strong hand gripped my wrist as another pressed against my upper back pushing me forward. He was rather quick in his actions.

He made sure I was stable before letting me go. He moved away quickly like I had ebola or something. I was somehow offended.

Maybe he's a germaphobe.

"I told you to be careful."

I shyly smiled in an apologetic way, a rush of warm washing over my body up to my cheeks.

The feeling of his grip on my wrist stayed as if he was still holding me yet he wasn't. His touch had felt...weird on my skin, weird but right.

The sweet aroma of blueberry hit me. Blueberry pancakes. I knew that smell anywhere.

Ivan led me to a large dining room with a long ten-chaired table. Their was food spread across the table from one end to another.

"You must be hungry, Cara." The way he said my name made me shiver, that and the smell of bacon. I realized just then, how hungry I was.

He helped me with my chair and sat down on the adjacent seat at the head of the table. He then placed a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of me. But I didn't touch it. I wasn't sure whether I should.

"Eat...it's not poisoned, Cara. If I wished you harm I would have left you in the forest last night."

"This is better treatment than I expected from a total stranger who found me in the woods."

" I have my reasons," he responded. I only nodded unsure of what he meant.

I dug in. .

He only began eating when he was sure I was, his choice being the traditional eggs and bacon.

The food was delectable, melting in my mouth like chocolate. I ate two pancakes, washing them down with half a glass of orange juice.  He offered me a plate of nuts and fruits.

"I am allergic to nuts," I informed him.

"Noted...I have a few questions for you if you don't mind me asking," He said.

"Shoot..." I replied casually, my attention on the pancakes. He gave me a confused look, probably not understanding what I meant by 'shoot'."...ask away."

"What were you doing in the forest last night?" He asked leaning forward, waiting for my answer.

"I got lost."

"You got lost...what exactly were you doing when you got lost? And why did you go into the woods? It can be very dangerous. You put yourself at risk. "

For some weird reason, I answered in full honesty, "I was running away."

His expression changed from an unreadable one to one of worry. Something flashed his darkened orbs. His fists clenched for a minute. Anger was my first guess. Why was he angry?

" You ran away... what were you running from?" His eyebrows furrowed.

"I stupidly ran away from home...becau-...because...." I ran my hand through my hair remembering what happened the night before again. I felt a weight on my heart as the painful memory of the letter was brought back. " The doesn't matter, now I just want to go back home."

"Were you harmed there?"

"No...not at all...my father would never harm me."

"What about your mother?"

My breath hitched and I took a deep breath." She left when I was young. Now, can I go home?" I stood up.

"...I will take you. We wouldn't want you to get lost...again."