AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Are you sick?"
I nod and try to sit up, but it's awkward covering my mouth with two bound hands, and my ankles are tied together, which he must have done after I fell asleep. He unravels himself like a coiled snake, rising to his feet. Damn. I forgot how big he is. Howstrong. "We can’t have that. Not today. It's a special day."
I watch him walk away.
A…special day. Why does that make me shiver with nerves again? What’s he planning to do with me?
A moment later he comes to me with a glass of water and three pills in the palm of his hand. I turn my head away. I don't want to be drugged again.
"Open your mouth and take these. They’re pain relievers. The small round one is anti-nausea.”
I shake my head again. “No more drugs.”
Leaning forward, he puts his mouth to my ear. I feel stubble against my cheek, the smell of pine and leather lingering in the air. “I warned you, little hacker. If you disobey me, I’ll punish you.”
I clamp my lips together.
He sits on the bed with ease and reaches for me after setting the pills and glass down, and I realize he's going to put me over his lap like he told me. I'm humiliated when I remember how he spanked me last night.
"Fine! Fine. I’ll take them! What are they again?” The thought of being treated like a child makes my cheeks burn.
“Pain meds and anti-nausea,” he snaps, but he doesn’t ease me off his lap. “I don’t trust you to obey. You have three seconds.”
I am absolutely going to end up over his knee.God.
I put the meds into my mouth and swig the water.
"Careful. If you're nauseous, too much water will make you sick.”
He says it like he cares. Liar.
I obediently take a small sip.
"Lie back down until those meds kick in." To emphasize his point, he lays me back down on the bed. This time, his advice makes sense, so I do what he says. This is definitely a “pick your battles” kind of situation.
"Are you hungry?"
I don’t really want to talk about things like food when I’m waiting to hear what he’s going to do to me. Again, I wonder…if he were going to rape me, wouldn’t he have already done it?
Or...no?
If he were going to hurt me, would he be giving me pain meds and offering me food?
I may be a prisoner, but this is a very civilized setting. I’m sure if he wanted to, he could easily put me behind bars or in a basement or handcuff me in a…cage or something.
I shiver.
I’ll need my energy for whatever the day brings, though, so I finally answer. “I’m starving."
"Here. Sit up." I don't understand why he's being so gentle with me. I wonder if he's trying to trick me, to lure me into some kind of Stockholm syndrome thing where the victim bonds with thecaptor because they’re the only one that fulfills the victim’s basic needs.
Stockholm syndrome is real, and this is exactly what happens. The human brain is naturally wired to attach to people who feed them when they're hungry. Even abused animals will turn to their abusers when they’re fed and their basic needs cared for.
When I shiver, he wordlessly lifts the fluffy blanket at the foot of the bed and spreads it over me. I wonder where he slept last night because I'm at his place. Is this his bed? I look around. This is either a guest room or he’s a minimalist.
I watch as he walks into another room and comes back with a plate of food on a tray. My mouth waters. Scrambled eggs. Thick slabs of buttered bread. French toast, pancakes. Berries with whipped cream, half a grapefruit with sugar, and a small bowl of creamy oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon.
"I didn't know what you liked, so I got you a little of everything.”
