"Riley Darling," Collin's voice was soft, cooing. "It's time to wake up."
A wave of nausea swept through her stomach and filled her mouth with excess saliva.
The bed sank beside her causing her to pitch forward. It was all she could do to not jerk away from the solid body that sat so close.
Don't react.
Fingers touched her skin, caressing from her shoulder to her elbow.
She shuddered internally, willing herself not to flinch. She refused to give Collin the satisfaction of a reaction. Especially a negative one. That would only excite him.
"It didn't have to be like this, you know." Now his fingers caressed her cheek. "If you'd only given me what I've wanted for years, it would have satisfied my obsession with you. Then I would have walked away. Maybe."
Years!
She'd only known Collin for a few months. Hadn't she? Was it possible he had been stalking her since before they actually met?
So many questions tumbled around inside her head, but shecouldn't focus on any of them, because Collin's words and touch caused bile to rise in her throat. She clenched her jaw, hoping to avoid throwing up on him and alerting him to consciousness. She needed to buy herself time.
It was clear he wanted to have his way with her, but then what? Surely, he wasn't delusional enough to think Daddy's lawyers could get him out of abduction and rape charges. Although if he'd been obsessing over her for years—the thought still baffled her—maybe he was that delusional.
Would he silence her after he accomplished his goal?
Her heart rate took off again.
Calm down. Panicking won't do any good.
"I have something special planned for you. Or rather for us." His voice was low and seductive as his palm stroked her back from her shoulder to her hip and up again.
She felt her shirt pull from the back of her waistband with the motion, and she cringed inwardly.
"A candlelight dinner, roses, romantic music, and champagne. I even have a pretty dress for you to wear." Thankfully, he ignored the patch of exposed skin at her back, but the way his hand now slid over her thigh intensified the urge to vomit and lash out at him.
Except I can't lash out with my hands bound.
"You'll have such a good time with me. Of course, when my father finds out what I've done, I might have to leave the country for a while until he can make all of this go away."
Leave the country?
Riley's mind reeled. There was so much packed into Collin's words that she couldn't make sense of. She focused on not giving away the fact that she was conscious, knowing she'd eventually have to unpack and process it all.
"You need to wake up soon, or you're going to ruin my plans." His voice turned hard as he shook her shoulder.
Riley tensed inside, but she did her best to remain limp and unresponsive.
A timer went off somewhere in the other room, and the bed lifted when he stood.
Riley sent up a silent prayer of gratitude.
"Time's running out, Darling." He touched her cheek one more time then walked out of the room, whistling.
Does he mean that literally?
Riley breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he was gone, then she set to work trying to retrieve the knife from the pocket of her slacks. She moved as little as possible to avoid making noise but found it impossible to contort her body the way she needed to pull out the knife. Just as she feared she might dislocate her right shoulder, the fingers of her left hand finally connected with the cool metal and smooth stained wood.
She let out a soft swear word when it fell from her fingers once free of her pocket. Rolling and twisting, she wiggled until she retrieved it again.
Soft music came from the other room, and Riley sent up another prayer of thanks that she didn't have to be so careful about making noise. Once she got the blade out, she made quick work of the tape, only nicking herself a little. As far as she was concerned, leaving behind evidence wasn't a bad thing.
