~10~

Adara

Rey Cacciatore. They call him the Huntsman. Truthfully, he's earned that title. No one messes with him and his family. If he wants to hunt you down, there's no hiding from him. No matter how far you go, cause he will find you. Dead or alive. What scares m, even more, is that he learned all of this from his father. One wrong look and he could end you and everyone you've ever spoken to. A slight shiver ran down my spine as he bared his teeth. I don't think anyone has ever seen the man smile before. Why did he want me to bear his children out of all people? What made me so special?

I tried to rummage through my brain for hidden motives until we arrived at his house. Large was an understatement. The house was surrounded by fields that seemed to go on and there were a few horses nearby.

"Do you ride?"

"What?"

"The horses. Do you ride them?"

"I used to. Not anymore. I haven't ridden a horse since Vincenzo sold mine," I say quietly as he opens the front door for us to enter. I'm greeted by his mother and a few men.

"Welcome to your new home, my sweet Adara! I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances but I promise that my Rey will treat you like the queen you are."

His mother was breathtakingly beautiful. Their faces looked symmetrical. Now I see that Rey looked like a male version of his mother. It made me blush as I thought of it and I slightly shake my head.

"Hi Mrs. Cacciatore, thank you," I say as I hug her back. She smelled of oranges and chocolate, which kind of brought back old memories.

"Of course, you're my daughter-in-law now! And who is this? If I may ask," she smiles.

I smile back just as Rey and Melanie come from behind.

"This is Melanie. She's the closest thing I have to family. I couldn't leave her behind."

"Of course! I understand. This house is yours now Melanie, feel free to choose whatever room you'd like."

"Grazie madam!" she says bowing her head to her, then she looks at me. "Let me know when you need me, Dar."

"There's no need for that anymore Mel, I'll be fine on my own, just make yourself at home and do whatever you please."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure Mel," I say smiling.

"Alright,"

"Jack, show Melanie the empty rooms so that she may choose one she wants." Rey's mother says to a man on her left just as Rey moves closer to me.

"Come. Let me show you our room," he whispers in my ear.

"Go on now, we'll talk later hon."

I tighten my jaw slightly before I nod and follow Rey as we go up the stairs. We walk across to the left until we are on a balcony that looks down at the first floor. As we go around we finally make it to large double doors.

"This is our room. Right down this hall, the door on your left is your own closet, the one at the end of the hall is mine. I can't tell which is bigger so if you want to switch feel free to let me know. These two doors opposite of your closet are our bathrooms. The one on the left is yours. There's only one bed. I'm sure you're not comfortable sleeping in the same bed yet so I'm having another bed set up in here. Or if you prefer, I could sleep in another room."

"T-thank you, that's thoughtful of you," I say with a low voice.

He looks at me with an expression that I can only describe as pity. "You're welcome il mio piccolo fiore."

I would normally argue with him about the nickname but I just settle for a warning glare which he mimics. I roll my eyes at his childish behavior and walk to my luggage in the corner. Since I labeled them it was easy for me to put everything in its place. He helped me put my clothes in my closet which I somehow didn't mind him doing.

"By the way, where is Melanie's?" I ask.

"It's down the hall on the right from our room."

"Okay good. Thank you again, for letting me bring her with me."

"Of course." he nods. "I'll give you some privacy if you want to change or anything. I know you've had a long day. I'll come by later though, we still need to talk."

"Um, okay and t-thank you," I stutter as my cheeks begin to feel hot again.

He gives me a small crooked smile before he leaves the room.

I sigh before I move my hands behind my back up to the zipper and glide it down. I let the dirty dress fall to the floor and then step out of it. I pick it up, walk into my bathroom and shove it in the hamper by the door. Then, I pull at the tie that squeezed the strapless bra to me and let that fall to the ground as well. I also take off my panties and toss both of them in the hamper before I go up to the tub and turn it on, letting it fill with water. I add a lavender-scented foaming bath liquid I found in the cabinet to the water and swirl it around with my hand for a few minutes before I step inside the tub and submerge my body.

What a hell of a day. At least it's nearly over and I didn't have anything to worry about now. And by the looks of it, maybe being here with Rey wasn't as bad as I thought. His mother is really sweet, there's enough space for me to avoid him most of the time, and we don't have to share a bed. The only problem with this entire thing is that he expects a child.