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When he heard her breathing even out, he let sleep overtake him as well. His last thought before he succumbed was that Kate was his biggest gift of all, and they would be trapped here—he would never get to enjoy the gift of her for a lifetime.
14
“Do you think they’re looking for us?” Kate asked quietly as she snuggled up against Isaac.
During the first three days in the room, she’d been positive someone would find them. A few times, she had even wondered if their rescuers would interrupt them making love.
If she blocked out everything but being with Isaac, she could even think of this little adventure as a mini vacation. Not a luxury one, but an escape from everyday life.
Besides some of the inconveniences like the toilet and not being able to shower, Kate enjoyed the time with Isaac. They had made love so many times she’d lost count.
Being with Isaac wasn’t just about sex anymore. And looking back to the time after the first month or so they were together, it probably never was. Kate knew now she’d been in denial.
The same as she’d refuse to admit Isaac had been making love to her for a long time. Especially after they both agreed to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, even though she was on the pill, because they’d wanted skin-to-skin contact.
She wished they could have that same intimate contact now, but she’d always refused to conjure birth control pills—it was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. The only good thing about condoms now was that they were less messy.
Kate had never been a prude or a prissy princess, but being in one room with someone twenty-four seven with no running water and limited space was not for the faint of heart.
When they weren’t making love, they were in the bed anyway. Not like they had any room to conjure more furniture, but mostly it was to keep warm. The room seemed to hover just below a comfortable temperature.
This morning, her hope started to fade as they welcomed their fourth day in the room. If it wasn’t for her phone, it would feel like one very long day. Time had no meaning.
When Kate realized it had been several minutes and Isaac hadn’t answered her question, she lifted onto her elbow so she could see his eyes. He was lying on his back, one arm wrapped around her.
“Isaac? Did you hear me?”
He let out a long sigh. “I heard you… I was just thinking about how to answer. I want to say yes, I think they’re looking for us, but I don’t know.”
“You don’t think Sam and Ben saw us get pulled through the wall?”
Isaac reached over and pulled her back down into his side, then floated the blankets up around them. She hadn’t realized she was cold until she felt the warmth of his skin against her.
“Again… I don’t know. Sam and Ben were facing Maverick, and although I hope they saw us get sucked into the hole, I…”
A couple of weeks ago Kate would have jumped on Isaac to continue, wanting to know why he paused. But she was learning that sometimes he needed time to formulate his answers. They’d been together for months, and she was only just learning those little things about him.
Rolling over so he faced her, Isaac used one hand to push her hair back from her face and then gently ran his fingers over her cheek. If he’d done that in the past, she hadn’t noticed, but now she was coming to crave the gesture, needing his touch.
“I just keep wondering…” Isaac continued. “Maybe they saw us go through the wall or maybe Maverick made it seem like we died.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Again… I don’t know. But he said he was going to kill you with a twist… If he wanted to only make it seem like you died, keeping you here could be the twist. Or making you suffer could be the twist. I don’t think he expected me. I just came along for the ride.” One corner of his lip arched in a small smirk.
“I’m glad you did.” Her voice choked on the last word as she envisioned what could have happened if Isaac hadn’t been here. She may never have made it into the room safely, and even if she had, she might have gone stir-crazy.
Isaac closed the few inches between them and kissed her. It was a leisurely kiss, something she hadn’t allowed before. She had been so intent on keeping things impersonal that she had missed out on so much with him. And not just intimacy but getting to know him as well.
Many people probably considered sex to be the most intimate of acts between two people, but Kate had learned the hard way that it wasn’t always. When she had been with Ethan the sex had been good—not great like with Isaac—but she didn’t know that then. She had given Ethan her body, and in turn, her trust and respect. When he’d thrown all that back in her face, she had learned that sex was just a physical act. It was the feelings that made it so much more.
And it was all those pesky feelings she’d tried so hard to avoid with Isaac. He’d been right… they didn’t get to pick some feelings, like love. But with trust, she had a choice. She could choose to trust Isaac. By telling him things she’d never told anyone, she would start to build that trust.
She opened her eyes, not even knowing when she had closed them, and looked into Isaac’s beautiful light gray ones. He was still stroking her face and her hair, giving her his warmth.
Taking his hand from her face so she could hold it, she rolled onto her back. He left his hand in hers, and like before, she gently stroked his fingers and palm. Something about holding his hand was soothing. It gave her a connection to him, as she knew she wouldn’t get through this if she was looking into his eyes. She didn’t expect she’d see judgment there—Isaac wasn’t like that—but she didn’t want to show him her shame either.
“When you asked me the other day if my apprenticeship was what I thought it would be… and I said I never thought being a woman would hold me back. That skills and dedication didn’t matter… that men take whatever they want… I’m so sorry I projected that on to you, Isaac.” She choked out the last words, feeling the weight of all that she’d put onto him because of her shame.
