“What are you going to do to me?” I swallowed hard, my mouth dry.
“Keep you safe. Keep you close.”
My chin trembled. “Kill me?”
“What?” He seemed genuinely surprised by the thought. “You think I’d kill you?”
“How could I not?” I bit the inside of my cheek. Was he just toying with me again?
“I never want to hurt you.” He shook his head. “I’ll kill anyone who does.”
“You’re deranged.”
He smirked, the quirk of his lips cruel. “You aren’t the first to call me that, though I prefer high-functioning psychopath.”
I struggled, trying to buck him off. He was immoveable, a mountain of intent crushing me with each passing second. “You can’t just keep me here! I’m not a pet.”
“No.” He paused, his eyes searching my face. “Not a pet. But you’re mine. I can feel it.” He sat back and took my hand in his, pressing it over his heart. “In here. Where there’s nothing. When I saw you, something happened. And now I can feel, but only for you.”
Tears slid down my temples and pooled in my ears. “But don’t you feel how wrong this is?”
“No.” He squeezed my hand. “This is the only thing I’ve ever done that feels right.”
The conviction in his words slowed my racing mind. “How long do you intend to keep me here?”
“Forever.”
“What?” Horror ripped through me, tearing up my thoughts and skirting along my dreams like a rusty razor blade.
“You were meant for me. Don’t you understand?”
“Get off me.” Acid churned in my stomach, and I yanked my hand away from him.
He stared down at me, as if trying to read my thoughts. “I will, but if you try to run, I’ll capture you. There is no way out of this room except my way.” He moved off me and lay down on the bed, his body languid, like a predator at rest. “The sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”
I sat up and turned away from him. Though tears blurred my vision, my eyes had become accustomed to the gloom. Several wide windows lined one side of the room. We were on what looked like the second floor of a grand home. The moonless night beyond was dark, and I couldn’t see anything except dense forest in the distance. The bed was large, each corner topped with a carved wooden poster. A faint light filtered into the room from an adjacent bathroom. Two other doors in the room were closed, and undoubtedly locked.
The sleek décor had a masculine edge to it that mixed with the antique furniture to give an opulent air. I didn’t care about his sense of style. What can I use as a weapon?
“Get back under the covers. The nights get cold out here in the foothills.” I could feel his eyes on me. “Though I’m quite enjoying the view.”
“Where are my clothes?”
“Gone.”
I stared at the closed doors, my thoughts still fighting with the reality of my situation. “I have to go.”
“You aren’t going anywhere. Every night we’re together, you will sleep with me. And you’ll be naked. If I, for some unfortunate reason, have to leave on business, you will sleep in our bed alone until I return.” He patted the mattress.
Everything in me told me to run, but there was nowhere to go.
“I can make you comply, if that’s what you want.” His dark chuckle pelted me like sleet. “I’d rather enjoy that, actually.”
“No.” Goose bumps raced along my skin as I crawled under the blankets and scooted to the far edge of the bed. None of it seemed real. My mind tried to make sense of it, but it was as if I were trying to complete a puzzle while the pieces kept disintegrating in my fingers. I shook, my body revolting against its sudden captivity.
“You can come closer.” His low voice rumbled over me.
“No.” Not a chance.
He sighed. “This doesn’t have to be unpleasant for you.”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Are you kidding?”
“No.” He rose on an elbow, the edge of the sheet hovering along his abs. “I know you find me attractive.”
I turned away and rested my head on my folded hands. “I did. Now? Not so much.”
“That’s not something that just disappears.”
“It does when you kidnap someone.” My eyes still searched in vain for some sort of weapon.
“Think of it as more of an elopement.”
“Marriage?” I clenched my eyes shut, trying to clear them of useless tears.
“No.” He shifted toward me, his body heat buffeting my back. “Not yet, anyway.” He rested his hand on my shoulder, but I rolled away from him, perilously close to falling to the floor.
“I told you I’d never hurt you. I don’t want to take anything from you that you aren’t ready to give.” As if proving his words, he edged away from me, his warmth fading.