“Don’t you feel any regret?” I ask, unable to imagine being so heartless. “Your wife and kids? Didn’t you love them at all? Don’t you care about how badly they’re going to be hurt when they find out who you really are?”
“And how will they find that out?” he asks. “They’ll think I’m a jackass who’s run off with another woman. Not exactly breaking news. I’m not the first man to have done it.”
“My family will look for me,” I say. “Niki will look for me, and he won’t ever stop. He’ll find you, and then he’ll kill you for this.”
I see the rage on his face before he covers it, and I know I’ve struck a nerve.
“There’s nowhere you can go,” I say, pushing harder. “He’ll never stop hunting you down.”
“Niki will never find me.” He spits the words out, growing angrier with each passing second. “I’m smarter than him. I took you right out from under him, didn’t I?”
“But he knows you have me now, and we both know it’s only a matter of time before he comes knocking at your door.”
“Time you don’t have,” he says, leaning in closer. “He won’t find you, but even if he does, it’ll be too late. You still think he’ll want you after I’ve had you? Do you really think he’ll be able to look past it? You think he’ll be able to slide back into you without thinking of me doing the same goddamn thing?”
He laughs at the pain he sees on my face. I know Niki loves me, but Cupid’s right. Niki will never be able to stop thinking about it. It will haunt him, and it will seep into every moment we share together.
“You’re right,” I say, and he seems momentarily surprised by how quickly I’ve agreed with him. The shock morphs to anger when I add, “And that’s why you’re never going to get what you want. I’ll die before I do it. You want what Niki has, but it’ll never be yours.”
It’s my turn to laugh at the look on his face. “I willingly spread my legs for him. Always. I kiss him and touch him and I beg him to fuck me. I love him, and every part of me belongs to him. You’re never going to get a single piece of me. You can take it. We both know I can’t overpower you, but that’s all it will be. Youtakingwhat doesn’t belong to you. Youtakingwhat belongs to Niki.”
One more huff of a laugh escapes before I say. “Remember that when you’re raping me. You’re just a thief, taking what doesn’t belong to you, what will never belong to you.”
In a rage, he grabs my hair and presses his mouth to mine. I try to turn my head, fighting the tight hold he has on me. My cuffed hands hang above my head, useless and numb, and when I try to wiggle around, he grabs onto my hips, holding me in place.
“Kiss me,” he growls against my mouth.
My scalp feels like it’s on fire from the way he’s pulling my hair, and when I feel his tongue, I clamp my mouth shut, trying like hell to keep him out. He lets out an impatient, angry grunt, and when I feel his teeth on my lip, biting in hard, I go limp. Every part of me goes slack as blood drips from my mouth. He keeps kissing me, but I shut my eyes and stay limp. It must be like kissing a corpse, and very soon he lets out another angry growl before pulling back.
“Kiss me!” he yells.
“Never,” I whisper, wincing when my tongue runs over the gash on my lip from where he’d bitten me. “I will never give you what you want.”
Using the back of his hand, he wipes the blood from his own mouth while he keeps his eyes on me. His chest heaves with his breaths, and I know I’m playing with fire. He looks enraged, seconds away from losing it and taking it all out on me, but I can’t give him what he wants. Even if I tried, it wouldn’t be good enough because it’s not possible for me to fake something like that. He wants me to be how I would be with Niki, and I can’t do that.
“It’s easy to act strong on day one, Savanna,” he finally says. “Let’s see how you feel after being chained to the bed for a night, maybe several days and nights.”
He reaches up to unlatch me from the wall. Keeping the tight cuffs on my wrists, he stands and roughly pulls me up with him. I’m unsteady on my feet, but he doesn’t wait for me to get my bearings. He drags me to the bed and pushes me down onto themattress. I cringe when I feel it beneath me, remembering in vivid detail what just happened on it.
“Water is a privilege,” he says, grabbing the cuffs and securing them to the iron bed frame. “The toilet is a privilege.” When I’m locked in place and unable to move my hands more than a few inches, the panic starts to set in. It was bad enough when I was chained and sitting, but being forced horizontal is a million times worse. He sits down next to me and brushes the hair from my face.
“I don’t think you’ve earned those privileges.” His fingers graze along my jaw and neck. I try to scoot away but he uses his other hand to hold me in place. “Having to piss yourself will humble you a bit, I think. It’ll be so degrading.” He leans down, and I feel his nose graze my skin before he brings his mouth to my ear. My skin crawls at his touch, at having him this close and being unable to push him away.
“I predict that you’ll spread those pretty legs for me. You just need the right motivation.”
A tear slides down my face when he kisses my cheek.
“No food, no water, no bathroom, I wonder how long you’ll last,” he muses while he kisses along my jaw. I feel the air against my skin when he huffs out a harsh laugh. “I predict you’ll be begging for my dick in no time.” He lifts up so I can see the smug grin he’s giving me. “Don’t worry, Savanna, I won’t hold a grudge when you eventually cave. I’ll let you fuck me as soon as you ask nicely.”
He laughs again as he stands up to look down at me. “I may make you shower first. You’re about to get filthy.” He points a finger at me like I’m a disobedient child. “Just remember you brought this on yourself. It didn’t have to be this way.”
Ignoring him, I scoot onto my side, curling into a tight ball while my hands hang uselessly above my head. At least they’renot as high as they were. If I angle myself right, I can use my head to help support the weight.
I hear his footsteps and then the click of the security code. “I’ll see you soon, Savanna,” he says before the door is shut and I’m left alone again.
Now that he’s gone, I let myself fall apart. Sobs rack my body as I bury my face against my arm. I don’t know if sound can travel outside of this room, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry. As strong as I’m trying to be, I know in my heart he’s right. Everyone has a breaking point. At some point my will to live will surpass my resistance.
“Niki,” I whisper his name, needing to hear it, even if it does break my heart to say it. I need him here with me, even if it is just the whisper of his name from my bloody lips.
