Page 148 of Captivated

The second time, Rich had been watching her from the doorway when she woke up. His gaze had raked over her, and the absolute and total fear that climbed up her throat in those moments was enough for her to know … Liliana fucking swore she wouldn’t sleep again after that.

It made her vulnerable.

Weak.

Liliana sucked in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly as she kept her gaze on the ceiling. Next to finishing off the last bit of her water—she only drank in small sips instead of gulping it down like her body wanted to do—her rhythmic breathing was the only damn thing keeping her awake, and her mind away from the pains in her stomach.

Aching, panging pain.

She was starving like nothing else.

Liliana refused to ask for food, though. She wouldn’t shout, cry, or scream. And she most definitely was not going to beg at the door.

Something told her that was exactly what Rich wanted more than anything. To hear her pain, and terror. Then, he might think he had broken her.

She was far from broken.

It was only the murmurs outside the door that dragged Liliana’s attention away from her current task of distracting her mind. Her mind said it was closing in on the time when the guard would open the door, and throw in more water, but she wondered if that was just her body envisioning what it needed, and not what actually was.

It was hard to fucking say.

And then …

Shit.

And then she heard Rich’s voice clearer when he said, “It’s been a while—let’s see if she’s more compliant today, hmm?”

Liliana shivered.

Disgust rolled heavily through her body. Dread climbed up her spine with hard, punishing steps. Her hands balled in fists so tight that her fingernails nearly broke the skin, and her throat tightened with the promise of closing up entirely, so she wouldn’t be able to speak at all.

Somehow, she managed to shove all of those reactions down. She was not going to let Rich see her fear—he wanted that. She was sure of it.

Once the door was finally opened, Liliana had already turned her head back toward the ceiling, so she was staring at anything but Rich. Still, his presence was a tangible fucking thing whenever he was within seeing distance of Liliana. Like her nerves and blood and heart were all screaming at the same time for her to run, run, run.

She had nowhere to run.

Not right now.

“Liliana, darling, how are you doing? Hungry, I bet.”

His voice came off like brown sugar, and black coffee. Sweet, warm, and bitter.

She saw his comforting tone for what it was, and nothing more. Trickery to try and make her trust him, but she was far from fucking stupid.

“Liliana!” Rich’s shout practically slapped her in the back of the head. “Speak to me!”

Fine.

“Hungry,” she admitted.

“Are you in a better mood today?”

How quickly and smoothly he went back to his previous demeanor and tone. Nice, comforting, and promising.

Liliana still wasn’t stupid.

“A little,” she said.