Tuesday (The Days of the Week #2)

Chapter Seven

I went to dinner wearing the clothes I had arrived in. Someone had washed and pressed them at some point during the day and left them on the end of my bed. The simple act of kindness from the unseen staff threw me off balance. It was hard to reconcile with the growing sense of unease I felt about the estate and its enigmatic owner.

Holloway met me at the base of the main stairs and escorted me to the dining room. The table was set for two, gleaming silver and crystal glinting in the candlelight. William stood when I entered, his amber eyes sweeping over me in a way that made my skin prickle with awareness.

“Good evening, Christina,” he greeted as he pulled out my chair. “I trust you had a productive afternoon?”

“We covered more ground,” I said as I took my seat. “But still no sign of Aiden.” I laid my napkin across my lap. “Has there been any news from town?”

William sat at the head of the table. “I'm afraid not,” he said, his expression giving nothing away. “But I have instructed my staff to let me know immediately if there are any developments.”

I studied William's face as Holloway poured the wine, searching for any hint of deception. But his features remained impassive, his amber eyes unreadable.

“Thank you for having my clothes washed,” I said as Holloway retreated. “That was very thoughtful.”

William inclined his head. “It was no trouble. I want you to be comfortable during your stay.”

I took a sip of wine, the rich flavor bursting on my tongue. “About that. I appreciate your hospitality, but I really should return to town tonight. I don’t think I’m doing much good here.”

Something flickered in William's eyes, there and gone too quickly for me to decipher. “I'm afraid that won't be possible,” William said smoothly, swirling the wine in his glass.

I frowned, setting down my glass with more force than intended. “Why is that?”

“The roads are quite treacherous after dark.” William’s gaze moved toward the window where the last of the daylight was fading from the sky. “For your safety, I must insist you stay.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Ashcroft, I have patients in town. And I am uncomfortable with being so cut off.”

William’s smile turned sharp. “Back to titles, Christina? I thought we had done away with formalities.”

I set my napkin on the table beside my plate. “Maybe, it’s best we don’t,” I said.

As I stood up from the table, William shot to his feet so fast that his chair nearly tipped over. In a matter of seconds, he had rounded the table and was standing right in front of me, his breath hot on my cheek as I turned to face him.

His eyes were nearly black, his pupils blown so wide only a sliver of amber showed around the edge. Alarm and something far less appropriate knotted my stomach. I stepped back instinctively, bumping into the table. William followed, not letting me put any distance between us.

He gently stroked from my elbow to my shoulder, the touch so light it was almost ticklish. When he reached my neck, he suddenly grabbed a fistful of my hair. An embarrassingly loud moan escaped me. I could not look away from his eyes. They were dark and hungry, as his gaze dropped to my lips, and his hips shifted.

An unmistakable bulge pressed to my thigh. Heat settled low in my belly, and I licked my lips. Was he going to kiss me? Was I going to let him? He stooped to put his face only inches from mine, so close I could feel his warm breath against my lips.

“Stay,” he said, voice deep and oddly raspy.

I swallowed hard, my heart racing in my chest. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, see the tension in every line of his body. He trembled with it. As if he were holding himself back from touching me.

After a long, tense moment, he took a step back, putting some much-needed space between us. I let out a shaky breath. As my chest fell, I realized my nipples were hard little peaks beneath my blouse. My cheeks flushed.

“Forgive me,” William said, his voice rougher than before. “I don't know what came over me.”

He took another step back that I followed with my gaze. The candlelight deepened the shadows on his face, making his features appear sharper. He balled his hands into fists at his sides, as his eyes flashed toward the window. I followed his stare to see the first few stars appearing in the sky.

“Please excuse me,” he muttered under his breath.

I watched him stalk toward the door with wide eyes. That’s it? Disappointment made me scoff. William faltered in the doorway. He gripped the doorjamb with one hand and looked back over his shoulder at me.

“Stay inside, Christina.” He coughed as if trying to clear the roughness from his voice. When he spoke again, his words were little more than a growl. “Please.”

I stood frozen as William disappeared into the hallway, his footsteps echoing off the hardwood until they faded into silence. The dining room suddenly felt too large, the air too thick. With a shaking hand, I grabbed my wine glass and drained it.

What was that? There had been something wild in William’s eyes. Something dangerous. And my reaction to it…? I pressed a hand to my flushed cheek, feeling the heat of my skin.

What was wrong with me? I needed to get out of here. There were too many secrets. Too many unknowns. William Ashcroft was hiding something, and I was not sure I wanted to know what it was.

I pushed away from the table and rushed out of the dining room. I hurried up the grand staircase, my footsteps muffled by the plush carpet runner. At the top of the stairs, I paused, looking left and right down the long corridor.

As I started to walk toward my room, I heard something. A faint tapping on the hardwood floor. Something about it made the tiny hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

I walked faster but strained to listen. The sound was not getting further away, and it was rhythmic. Like footsteps. But it sounded off somehow. The cadence not quite right for a person.

My door loomed just ahead. I sped up to take the last few steps. As my hand touched the door handle, I heard a low rumble. I paused to squint down the dim hallway.

In the shadows, something moved. I froze, my hand gripping the door handle. My heart pounded in my ears as I strained to make out what it was.

The shape moved again, and a pair of eyes caught the faint light. I sucked in a sharp breath. What…? It moved again, and I saw its outline.

It was massive, even creeping low to the ground. Another low rumble echoed down the hall, and I realized the thing was growling at me. The creature crept forward, its claws clicking on the hardwood floor.

That explained the strange cadence of the sound. It had more than four legs, but I could not tell how many more. I felt frozen, unable to do anything but watch it come closer. Already, the distance between us had been halved.

I could feel a scream rising in my throat, as my mind raced, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Some kind of enormous dog? No, the shape was wrong, the proportions off. It moved with a fluidity that was almost feline, but the size of it...

The creature paused, its head lowering as a deep growl rumbled from its chest. I saw a flash of white beneath the glowing eyes. Teeth, and lots of them. My heart hammered against my ribcage as I slowly, carefully, twisted the door handle.

My door opened with a soft click that seemed deafening in the tense silence. The creature went still. Every instinct screamed at me to run. Instead, I inched backward into my room, never taking my eyes off the beast. It watched me, its glowing eyes tracking my every move.

With trembling hands, I slammed the door shut and fumbled to lock it. Outside, the creature snarled. The door rattled as something heavy slammed against the other side. When the wood did not give, the furious scratching started. Claws dragging down the eight-foot door from top to bottom.

I stumbled backward. My heart threatened to beat right out of my chest as a chilling scream echoed down the hallway. The sound was unlike anything I had ever heard before - a primal, guttural noise. Something no human vocal cords could make.

My eyes darted around the room and landed on the heavy oak dresser. I rushed over to shove it toward the door. I winced at the screech of wood on wood, as it slowly moved into place.

With a final desperate shove, I wedged the dresser against the door, barricading myself inside. I stood there panting, hands braced on the smooth wood, listening to the creature pace and growl in the hallway. What on earth was it? And how did it get in the house?

I backed away from the door on shaking legs until my knees hit the chest at the end of the bed, and I sank down. I stared at the door, chewing on my thumbnail as I waited. The scratching and growling continued for what felt like hours.

Finally, the noises faded. Silence fell, broken only by the ticking of the clock by the bed and my shaky breathing. I strained my ears, listening for any hint of the creature, but there was nothing. I huffed a humorless laugh.

No wonder William did not want strangers on his property. He was letting some sort of animal run free on his estate. A horrifying thought entered my mind and I covered my mouth.

Is that what happened to Aiden? Was William covering it up? I walked to the window on wobbly legs. Outside, the light of a half moon drenched the gently rolling lawn. As I looked out at the estate, a large dark shape darted from the side of the manor to vanish into the hedge maze.