“I know everything about you, your thoughts and your desires. Your name was the easiest thing to find in that chaotic little head of yours.” He tapped a finger against my forehead, sharp yet teasing, and let out a laugh muffled by the pumpkin.Still, I recognized it instantly: that smug, rich kind of laugh, theha-money, ha-yachts, ha-diamondstype. The sound made me blush furiously.
When I glanced down, my breath caught. My body was no longer bare. I was wrapped in a semi-transparent, pastel-orange dress that shimmered faintly under the flickering corridor lights and beautiful translucent stockings now framed my legs. My hair had fallen loose from its bun, cascading down in big, glossy blond curls that brushed against his jacket and his hands. He slid his fingers through them, slow and deliberate.It felt divine.
“Oh, well… what’s your name, or should I just keep calling you a stranger, Mr. Pumpkin?”
“You can call me whatever you want, kitten.”
“So you’re not even going to tell me your real name?” I pouted, shifting my gaze toward the rain-streaked windows. Water ran in silver ribbons down the glass, but he didn’t even have an umbrella.Where exactly was he planning to take me?
A sharp spike of fear pricked at my chest.Was this some kind of abduction?
But… was I truly against it? Maybe not. Maybe not at all.
“You’re safe with me, Aurora,” he murmured, his voice a low purr. “Trust me. I won’t hurt you. Only pleasure.”
The grin carved into that pumpkin seemed to widen again. My cheeks burned pink, and I looked away only to notice how my breasts rose and fell with every slow, confident step he took.
“You can call me Shai, kitten,” he said finally, winking at me. His arms tightened, drawing me closer. His palm brushed over the curve of my ass, just a whisper of a touch, but it set my whole body ablaze. There was something unreal between us, this wild electric chemistry I’d never felt before.
Was he mine? Was he fate?
I couldn’t stand it anymore. Curiosity clawed at me, and I reached for the base of his pumpkin head to lift it off. Buthis hand shot up, capturing mine effortlessly. In one motion, he bound my wrists together, his grip was strong,unyielding, yet teasing. I was powerless, caught between fear and aching desire.
“Not yet,” he said softly. “I’ll show you everything soon. But if you’re worried I’ve got a scar or some twisted burn under here, like Deadpool in those movies, the answer is no. I’m quite famous for my beauty, actually.” His voice dipped into a sinful growl. “But if you can’t wait, I’ll tell you a secret.I can be anyone.Any handsome man you’ve ever dreamed of, kitten. So be patient, until we reach somewhere… cozy.”
I didn’t even know what to say to that. A million thoughts flashed through my head at once. How did he know I adoredDeadpool? Or that I had a thing for the kind of men I only read about in books or watched on TV? How could he possibly know so much? Was he some kind of stalker? And if he could take any form he wanted…was he a cosplayer or something?
I snorted softly to myself but didn’t dare voice a single thought.
By the time we reached the ground floor, he reached for the door handle.
“Wait! We’re going to get wet!” I blurted.
He laughed with that same arrogant, indulgent laugh muffled by the pumpkin.
“Well, you’re already wet, baby.”
My breath caught, and before I could even respond, we stepped into the dark night. The lights outside were out, the entire courtyard swallowed by shadows. Only the rain glistened faintly on the playground’s metal bars. That’s where he carried me, straight toward the old nursery playground, now silent and strangely otherworldly.
But something was wrong. The rain wasn’t touching us. Not a single drop fell on my skin. It was as if we were under an invisible dome, some transparent shield that shimmered faintlywith every flash of lightning in the clouds above. The air was warm around us, almost unnaturally so. His body radiated heat, and I felt my own reality start to slip, melting into the haze of desire and confusion that wrapped around us.
What was happening to me?
I blinked once, and suddenly the entire playground transformed.
Hundreds of black and orange candles appeared, their flames flickering with a strange, whispering life. Pumpkins with burning eyes lined the ground, casting their dim, pulsing light in rhythmic waves. The entire scene glowed in warm gold and blood-red tones, like a Halloween dream come alive.
And then, there it was.
A tree house. A small wooden house perched high in the branches of a massive oak tree that hadn’t been there a moment ago. The tree rose in the very center of the playground, its trunk thick as a tower. A narrow staircase spiraled upward, leading straight to the top, where the windows glowed faintly amber.
But we didn’t climb.
Before I could even process what I was seeing, Shai’s back arched and two enormous wings erupted behind him.
Dark red, veined with obsidian streaks, they unfolded like silk shadows drenched in bloodlight. My mouth fell open, but I didn’t even have time to gasp before he flapped them once, twice, and then the ground fell away beneath us.
The rush of air stole my breath as he lifted us high, his arms locked securely around me. A single beat of his wings carried us upward, and then we were gliding through the candlelight, landing softly inside the little treehouse.
