Devotion

“This can’t be Germany,” I whisper to myself as I look at the landscape in confusion.

“Oh, but it is,” I hear a deep voice from behind me say, and I turn to see the dark man from the limo.

“Who are you? What happened? Did you drug me? What’s going on?” All my questions fall from my mouth, and I bite my lip to hold back the hundred more I have behind it.

“I thought it might make travel easier for you. Since you haven’t been out of New York before.”

He’s leaning against the doorway of the bedroom in the most unthreatening position. But right now, I’m on guard. His suit jacket is long gone, and his feet are bare as well. He’s wearing a gray shirt with the top button undone, and his hands are casually tucked into his pockets. His hair is pushed back, and his dark eyes travel up and down my body as I do the same to him.

“You didn’t answer my other questions.” I cross my arms over my chest as the breeze becomes cooler. I look over my shoulder and realize the sun is setting. Has it been a whole day already?

He pushes away from the door, and I tense, but instead of walking to where I am, he walks past me and closes the French doors. The cold breeze disappears, and instantly I feel better.

I don’t turn around when I feel him walk up behind me. Instead I stand my ground and keep quiet, hoping he’ll answer me.

“We flew most of the night, and then when we arrived in Germany, we took a boat out to this island. My island. You wanted to come here didn’t you?”

He’s still behind me, and I swear I can feel his presence inches from my body. I want to turn around and lean into it. What is wrong with me?

“Yes, I just…this is a strange way to do things.” I finally get out. I don’t know how to put this into words. I guess it’s like when animals fly and they get stressed out so it’s best to give them a tranquilizer for their own good. Maybe that’s what he was doing for me.

“My name is Noah,” he says, and I feel his breath caress the skin on my neck.

The shock of heat that floods through me has me spinning around to face him. He’s impossibly large as he looms over me, but he isn’t as close as I had envisioned. I could reach my hand out and still not touch him, but for some reason it felt as if he was only an inch from pressing into my body. My mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe it’s the drugs wearing off.

“You’re hungry. Let’s have dinner and I will explain it all to you.”

I hear a soft voice from behind me and turn to see the driver from this morning. She smiles at me brightly as she speaks German to Noah and then bows out of the room.

“That is Mrs. Elina. She runs the household and will see to all of your needs. She will join you after dinner to go over your schedule.”

Fear falls away, and a knot has taken its place in my stomach. I’m here to dance. I’m here to learn and to be disciplined. I am supposed to listen to my instructors and follow orders. Somehow I was distracted by how I arrived and pushed my purpose to the side. Now I need to focus and make sure that Noah sees me as a worthy dancer.

A thought of pleasing Noah plays through my mind, and once again I am hit with the heat I felt earlier. I duck my chin as I follow him out of the room and try not to have that same thought again while in his presence.

The house looks like an old castle with large gray rocks making up the walls. But the entire place has been updated with soft lighting and fluffy soft rugs under my bare feet. It’s old, yet it feels contemporary and comfortable. I had half-expected to be shown to a cell upon arrival and thrown a bowl of chicken broth twice a day. So far the windows that show off the view of the ocean are making this feel like something out of a fairy tale.

I feel his hand take mine, and I’m shaken out of my daydream. I hadn’t realized I stopped to look out the window until he smiles down at me.

“Plenty of time for that later. The dining room is this way.”

His hand leads me down a spiral stone staircase and through a large wooden door. At some point I think he is going to let me go, but instead his thumb caresses me with each step. In the dining room there is a long table that looks like it was made of driftwood. There are large comfortable chairs surrounding it, and a loveseat at the head of the table.