Page 32 of Uncrowned

“Yes.”

“Until when?”

A long pause.

“Until I decide.”

“Decide what? That I’m good for nothing? That I’m clumsy or an embarrassment? I’ll save you the trouble, I am.”

Pressure gripped hard, holding to my face at my chin. I jumped at the contact and cried out as pain flared to life from my injuries.

“Never say that again. You are not good for nothing. You are not clumsy nor an embarrassment. Do you understand?”

Wetness soaked into the material covering my eyes. Fear that I’d be punished had me quickly nodding my head in fear.

“Yes.”

The grip eased, and a soft caress traveled over my throbbing skin. The man didn’t speak. He seemed content just to touch me.

“Can you take off the mask? … I don’t like the dark.”

A pause.

“Why? Are you afraid of it?”

“No. I am afraid of not knowing what’s around me. I want to see. To… be ready.”

“Ah.”

That’s all he said as a light brush traced the length of my finger. I jerked, crying out from the pain that rushed back.

“Listen.” I stopped, swallowing hard. I braved on, even though my mind begged that I be compliant. “I’d like to leave. I know—” Again, I stopped. “I won’t tell anyone what happened. Keep the blindfold on. Tie me up and dump me on the side of the street. Place me in a field. I don’t care, truly. Just, please… you have to let me go. I-I.” More wetness soaked into the material over my eyes. “Thank you for… helping me. I know you see it that way. I just—I just want to leave.”

The touch returned to my finger causing me to jump all over again.

“Please.” I sniffled. “I won’t tell a soul. You have my word. If I’m lying, you can come back and take me again. You can kill me,” I forced out. “I don’t lie. I just want to leave.”

Time.

More.

The touch returned, trailing my finger. He even hooked his around mine for the briefest moment. My brow crinkled and warmth flooded my chest. Time seemed to stall at the odd sensations. I kept quiet, tuning into the touch that didn’t seem to want to leave me. Pressure squeezed the tip between two of his fingers, and I let my mind finally slow and study everything about what I knew of this man. There was something. Something I couldn’t shake. Even if I couldn’t understand it, it was as though some distant part of me could.

Think.

My mind was still so anxious.

My body was in a constant need to flee.

I slowed my breathing, trying to relax as I replayed the moment I woke up in this room.

“Are you falling back asleep, Penelope?”

His hand engulfed mine, and I sucked in air as teeth grazed my fingertip. Heat exploded over my body as my heart hammered in my chest. That odd sensation came back. It blanketed me. Engulfed me. Fed… something.

“No.”

Rough stubble prickled my fingers as his face rubbed against my hand. Although I should have been terrified like I had been with John, something was different about this man. He’d killed the men who had assaulted me. At any point, this captor could have hurt me, but he hadn’t. I was restrained because he didn’t want me to hurt myself.