I smile. “Hello, baby. Please, call me Daniel.”
She doesn’t say anything. Worry pinches me. Maybe she prefers ‘X’? I suppose it is more sexy and mysterious thanDaniel. “Or ‘X’ is fine,” I tell her quickly. “Whatever you want, love.”
Her eyes flick around the room. Then she looks down at her hands.
“Untie me,” she rasps.
I pat her hand. “Not yet, love. I want to make sure you’ve got all your faculties back, first. You’re still a bit under the influence. You might do something rash.”
She stares at me, breathing heavily. I wonder if she understood everything that I just said.
“Can I brush my teeth,” she whispers eventually.
I perk up. “Of course!” I run into the bathroom, picking out the sparkly pink toothbrush I propped next to my blue one, loading it up with toothpaste. I usually just get store-brand, but I got extra-special whitening stuff for her, the most expensive they had. I grab a cup for her to spit, then bring them back to her. She’s sitting slumped against the sofa arm, her eyes glassy.
“It’s your favourite colour.” I show her. “Pink!” I kneel back down next to her. “Come on, now, angel. Let me help you.”
She tries to flinch away, but I grip her head to hold her in place, and brush her teeth for her. I’ve never brushed somebody else’s teeth before. She glares at me the whole time. When I finish up, I give her the cup to spit into. “There. You must feel better now, right?”
She’s still for a moment, her eyes fixed on my face, every muscle in her body quivering.
Then she bolts, staggering upright and flying for the front door. I swear, lunging after her as she pounds at the thick metal pane, her hands patting all over to look for a handle. It’s no use. She wouldn’t be able to get out of this room if she had a sledgehammer. I wrap my arms around her and start to tug her away. She’s fit, but she’s still weak from the drugs. I lift her right off the ground and carry her back to the sofa. She squirms in my arms, trying to kick me, and I blush as her body rubs against mine.
Soon.
“Okay, okay, none of that.” I prop her back against the sofa cushions. “Listen up,” I say firmly. “I am a very nice person, but you have to play fair with me, okay? You have to play by the rules.”
“Playfair?” She breathes incredulously. “What about this isfair?”
I squat down next to the couch so I can look right into her beautiful face. “Fair means no more trying to get away, okay? You won’t be able to do it; I’ve arranged the house so you won’t be able to get out. And the insulation means that nobody can hear you.” I push some hair gently behind her ear, and she flicks her head away, trying to throw me off. This makes me mad. I grab a handful of her hair and hold it very, very tight.
“I am going to be very kind to you,” I tell her, pulling on her hair hard. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll get you anything you need. But you must remember that I am in charge. Okay?”
“If you let me out, I won’t call the police,” she says, her voice shaking. “No one ever needs to know this happened. I’ll go back to my hotel. We can pretend that I ran and hid when the bombs went off, then I snuck off home.”
I smile. “Angel, you know that’s not going to work. That’s not what I want at all.”
She leans forward. “What do you want? Money? I’ll give you all the money I have, I don’t care about it.”
“I know you don’t. It’s one of the things I love about you.” I stand up, brushing off my trousers.“I don’t want your money. I just want you to be my guest.”
“Your… guest?” She repeats slowly.
“I want you to live here with me. I want to eat meals with you. And watch TV with you. And just…” I shrug, my face going red. “Be with you.”
“You want to trap me here,” she says flatly.
“I know it must seem like that,” I say gently. “But really, you’ll be very comfortable. I have plenty of money. Not as much as you’re used to,” I frown. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll earn more. But I can get you anything you want. And it’s not forever.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Really? When will you let me go?”
“When you fall in love with me,” I say simply. “When you agree to marry me, then we can leave the cabin and do whatever you want. Shopping, cinema. You can… can…” I try to think of things girls like. “Have your nails painted. You won’t be able to work, of course. If I could, I’d delete every copy of every video and movie you’ve ever been in. I’d burn every magazine and poster. I don’t like other people looking at you.”
She doesn’t say anything.
I shake my head. “No. No more working. But I know you like to act.” I lick my lips. “If you want to put on little shows for me, sometimes, I’d be very happy to watch them. But first, you have to agree to marry me. And I have to believe that you mean it. So that will probably take a few months, at least.”
She’s silent for a long time, her eyes cold as she studies me. Eventually, she flicks her hair back and shakes her head. “I’ll never love you.”
