Her chin tipped down as her shoulders forced themselves to submit instead of stiffening with rage. “I don’t even know your name.”
I crossed my arms. “My name isn’t important.”
“If you’re going to keep me, then I need something to call you by.”
“Why? I have no intention of calling you Gemma.”
“Ah-ha!” Her eyebrows shot up. “So...you were listening.” She softened, her hair dancing over her dirty shoulder. “Gem. Call me Gem and—”
“I told you. I don’t care what your name is.”
She gritted her jaw and balled her hands, another dose of fire appearing on her gorgeous face. “You will care. I’ll make you care.”
I bared my teeth. “Bold claim.”
“Truth.” She rubbed her bruised throat. “You force me to stay here? You force me to sleep with you? You force us to spend time together? Well, be prepared for the consequences.”
I smiled blackly. “Consequences? Is that supposed to scare me?”
“Depends what scares you.”
I balled my hands, a threatening growl escaping. “Tread carefully, girl. I’m not afraid of anything.”
Her gaze locked on mine, defying me and ripping my lie to shreds. She knew. She could tell that I’d once been so fucking afraid I’d screamed for nine hours straight. I’d cried until I’d passed out. I’d begged until blood ran down my throat.
Shut up!
Shoving those nasty memories back behind the door where they belonged, I dug my toes into the concrete and glowered at her. I waited for her to push me just a little more.
To shove me into places where she’d undoubtedly end up broken by my feet. However, she seemed to sense I balanced on a blade that would slice deep if I fell off it, and murmured, “Humans weren’t meant to live alone.”
I blinked, unsettled by her odd sentence. “What?”
“You guessed correctly about me. I am here alone. And, until you smashed my PLB, I potentially had people coming to find me.” She shrugged. “But now, I’m truly alone. I probably shouldn’t confess that to you. I definitely shouldn’t have shown you how much my phone and PLB meant to me. That was an idiotic move on my part. Unbelievably moronic. But I’m slowly learning how to navigate this. You see, I’m not like you. I’m not used to ultimatums and such black and white. I’m used to decency and kindness. I’m used to being safe and come from a world where ‘NO’ is a shield that protects you.”
“That word doesn’t exist in my world.” Shadows gathered on my thoughts, swirling with memories of how many times I’d yelled no and been hurt anyway.
She continued as if I hadn’t spoken, blurting out more sentences in a few seconds than I’d heard in eleven years. “I know I should tell you that I have friends who, at this very moment, are searching for me. I should tell you that I have a brother who will turn the globe upside down to find me—which I do, by the way. He won’t stop. I know he won’t.”
She sighed sadly, her gaze ripping out my pieces one by one. “And who knows, maybe that’s exactly what they’re doing right now. Your private paradise might be invaded by more than just me. But...here’s the thing. I know things about you too, you bastard. I know you’re sheltered and very secluded. I’m beginning to guess you’ve lived here on your own for a while. Long enough for you to forget some very important things.”
I froze. “What things?”
Pushing off from the wall, she dared step closer to me. Her breasts rose and fell beneath her grubby jacket. Her legs flexed beneath tight leggings. My belly coiled to rip off her clothing and command her to her knees.
She stopped only once her body heat kissed mine.
My skin scorched with flames, electricity crackled up my legs and into my balls. My heart lost its structural steadiness and turned demonic instead. It took everything not to sink my hands into her hair and drag her closer.
“I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know why you’re keeping me prisoner, but I do know that you’re different.” Her hands landed on my naked chest, sending bolts of lightning through my ribs, electrocuting my racing heart. “I will never forgive you for strangling me. Twice. I will never let my guard down around you. I will make it my life’s work to ensure you pay for everything that you’ve done to me. But...I also can’t admit that you’re evil. You’re messed up and clearly have trauma. You’re mean and cruel and believe just because I’m a woman that I was put upon this earth to serve you. But I also know things you can’t hide.”
My back filled with icy lead. “What—”
“Where I come from, people have mastered the art of lies. Social media has taught us to hide our true parts and only show what we want people to see.” Her head turned to the side as if she studied me, judged me, and found me lacking in every fucking way. “And you...whoever you are, you don’t possess those skills.”