The bed shifts, but I keep my eyes closed. Curious...ever curiouser of what she's going to do. The pad of her feet crossing the floor is barely noticeable. I smile, my chest thrumming with anticipation as I peek out from one eye, watching her shadow slink across the walls. Her heart must be frantic, like a little caged bird. In fact, I can almost hear it...

The hinges to the door creak. She freezes, and I lie still. Feigning sleep. Oh, the theatrics of it all... Now, the question is, how far do I let her run before I chase her?

She slips through the cracked doorway and into the hall. I sit up, whistling as I grab my thick coat and boots. I lace them up tight and snug. A guard downstairs shouts, and I assume she's out the door by now. How exhilarating. A hunt in the wild Russian forests.

By the time I reach the stairwell, Donovan is at the top, doubled over with one hand on the railing as he tries to catch his breath. "She..." He gasps. "She's escaped, sir."

I grin as I zip my coat. "I know. How many men did she kill this time?"

"She hit Demetri over the head with a vase and—"

"Which vase?"

Donovan stares at me blankly for a moment. "A jade one."

I sigh. "That was from the Ming Dynasty...but," I start down the stairs, "I wouldn't expect a savage to recognize art."

The front door is wide open. Her tiny footprints decorate the snow. "Camilla," I sing out. "Where are you?"

I follow the trail, my adrenaline firing off with each passing second. The artic wind howls around me and I revel in it. She must be freezing...

When I come to the front gate I find two guards dead. Crumpled in a pile of blood. One without boots. Clever little kitty.

I laugh, the sound bouncing from the trees surrounding my property. Boot prints track through the gate and into the woods. She's so desperate to be free, but what she doesn't realize: true freedom is only found in death.

I rifle through the coat of the other guard, grab his gun, and take off after her, following her tracks in the snow. When I was a child, my father took me to hunt stag in these very woods. I recall the anticipation, the way my heart hammered when I stared down the scope at the helpless little creature. I do enjoy a thrill.

"Camilla?" I call out again when I reach the thick of the trees.

A branch snaps to my right and I turn, aiming the gun in the dark just before a spark and loud bang sound. Bark splinters from the tree behind me and I laugh. "You missed. Tsk. Tsk." I duck beneath a limb, snow falling onto my shoulders as I creep closer.

"I won't miss twice, Russian."

"Of course not." The wind howls through the trees and I catch a flash of her ebony hair against the stark white landscape. I creep among the trees and she spins around, anxiously gripping the gun. Pressing my back against a trunk, I cock the gun. "Where am I, little kitty?"

My pulse clangs in my ears, my skin prickles with excitement. I honestly don't know if I'll kill her or not, and it's the unknown that sometimes drives the monster inside.

"Just let me go, Ronan. You don't need me. You didn't kill me. Surely I'm more hassle than I'm worth?"

"But now you've tried to run from me." I dart through the trees, twigs snapping and breaking under my feet. "I do have a penchant to lust for things I shouldn’t have." I stop behind a dead tree, peeking around the trunk. Camilla stands in a clearing, gun aimed, head frantically turning in every direction.

"Well, that is something we have in common..." she says. I step out from the shadows with a grin and she points the gun at me. I shouldn't find this so exhilarating, but I do. I feel most alive when death is nigh. "But," she says, "you know what they say: you should cut such weaknesses out."

"That is very, very true." I step toward her, the gun cold in my hand. "Cut them out."

She raises the gun higher, aiming the barrel at my head. "A bullet will suffice."

But she hesitates and in those few seconds, I aim my gun and pull the trigger. A loud bang echoes through the forest and Camilla stumbles back, dropping her gun to the frozen ground. "You hesitated," I say as I step forward and grab the gun.

"Fuck!" She clutches her bicep. My chest tightens at the sight of the blood staining her white coat. She staggers to her feet and slams her palms against my chest, shoving. "Why the fuck can't you just let me go, Ronan? We both know I mean less than shit to you."

"I'm not sure." I grin. "It is the oddest thing. One moment I want to kill you. The next I want to keep you. One moment, I want to let you run, and then the next..." I take a deep breath. "I want to chase you. It's almost as though you've driven me mad, krasivaya." There's a moment where I begin to doubt myself, a moment where I feel I should just end this. After all, you can only play with fire for so long before it consumes you... I lift the gun and press it against her temple. She stares back at me without as much as a flinch. The amber scent of her skin worms its way inside of me, bringing back the memory of how much fun it is to fuck her. "Would you have me kill you then?" I whisper against her ear.

"I would have you out of my fucking head." She presses her body flush against mine. Her warm breath mists over my face. "You make me crave a cage while longing for freedom. I can't be caged forever, Ronan." Her cold fingers wrap around my hand, forcing the gun harder against her head. Her eyes flutter closed and she takes a deep breath.

I should kill her.

My mouth suddenly becomes dry, my pulse skyrockets as doubt shrouds me like an angry cloud. I see worth within her and I hate that. I've grown attached to her, like any man would a beautiful object, she dazzles me, seduces me. She is every bit as ruthless as I am.

A queen.

My queen. And oh the depravity we could rain upon the world—together. Madness is one step away from genius, and in that respect, she makes me wiser. I think I shall keep her. I drop the gun to my side, my fingers tingling. "I want to keep you." I cup her cheek. "Protect you."

Her eyes flash open, locking with mine. "You're the only one I need protecting from."

I smirk, my thumb gently caressing her chilled cheek. "Ah, krasivaya, I'm untouchable. No one can protect you from me." The clouds clear, the moon bathing her in a faint light. If there were such a thing as love, I'd like to think I could love her. But monsters cannot love, only wallow within depravity and sordid thoughts.

"No, but what do you think will happen here? You hold me captive and I try to escape at every turn?" She places her hand on my chest, her brow wrinkling as she stares at it as though she's not certain what force placed it there. "I'm left wanting you while hating you, hating myself."

A satisfied grin shapes my lips as I lean in, placing my mouth against hers. "We only want things that are bad for us. We're bad for each other." I kiss her gently. "So very bad. You threaten my control; I threaten your freedom."

"Then we're permanently destined to be enemies."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I kiss her again. Harder. Deeper. My hand rubs over her arm, slipping over the warm blood from the bullet hole. "I like the way you bleed for me."

"And I like the way you make me bleed." She pulls away and drops her chin to her chest like an ashamed child. "That's the problem."

"Come," I say, threading my fingers through hers and leading her out of the woods. "Let's get you warmed by the fire, little kitty."

I sit in the chair in the far corner of my room. The fire has died out and is now nothing but smoldering embers in the hearth. My gaze drifts to Camilla, sleeping so peacefully in my bed like a prized catch on display. I'm troubled, though.

Never have I second guessed myself but with every turn regarding Camilla, I do. An evil temptress, a siren, she's dug her claws in so deep, but I find myself reveling in the pain. She's like a caged bird. As long as I keep her trapped, she'll stay. But I want to be able to open the doors and have her not fly away.

I need to clip her wings so she'll forget she can fly.