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His phone is pissing me off so much I’m tempted to hurl the damned thing into the pool. Before I can, he startles me by grabbing my wrist.
“Drop it,” he murmurs against my skin.
I swallow. “Drop what?”
He stops devouring my flesh for long enough to pull back and look me in the face. “Don’t play dumb, Parker. You’re not good at it.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Fine.” I slide the cell phone back into his pocket.
“Next time you want something in my pants, just ask.”
I glare at him, and he smirks at me.
Then, since I’ve calmed down some, I think clearly enough to say, “I need to pee.”
His amusement fades, and he regards me skeptically.
My phone is charging upstairs and his is useless to me, so there are no more lifelines to reach for. I have to find my own way out of this.
I remember Hannah telling me about Anae that sometimes it’s easier just to give her what she wants, but everything within me rebels at making such a compromise again. I compromised with Landon at the party and then he didn’t bother playing by the rules. He wanted more and would have taken it, but I got a door between us and locked him out.
If I want to avoid further traumatizing myself, I’m going to have to get creative.
“I’m also hungry,” I add, since he didn’t outright reject my last request. “You better be planning to make me dinner if you sent the cook home, because if I don’t get some food in my belly soon, I’m going to turn into a person you definitely don’t want to spend the evening with.”
He considers my requests/demands, then he eases back and climbs off me. Pointing to the pool house, he says, “There’s a bathroom in there. One with a real flimsy lock. I’m going in the house to grab a couple of steaks. If you’re still hiding out in that bathroom by the time they’re done cooking, I’ll break the door down and drag your little ass to the dinner table.”
“I do not doubt this,” I say, trying not to look too surprised by my victory as he lets me stand up. “I should run in the house real quick and grab my phone, too.”
He grabs my wrist, halting me when I try to breeze by. “I don’t think so. You need to pee, go pee, but you’re not going in the house.”
The look he gives me makes it clear I am still in captivity, I’m just a free-range captive for the moment with access to a bathroom and eating privileges. He’s happy to ditch the plan to provide me what I’ve asked for and pounce on me instead if I want to push it.
So, I do not push it.
“All right,” I say, and I turn around and head back toward the pool house.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Parker
It turns out there are at least two things Landon excels at: causing an endless stream of chaos and grilling steaks.
The meat melts in my mouth when I take the first bite, and it’s all I can do not to moan with pleasure. “Oh, my god. Yum.”
Landon cocks an eyebrow at me from across the table before taking a bite of his own steak. “Yeah?”
“So good. So, so good.” I shake my head in disbelief as I cut into another piece.
He even gave me a knife. He is so not a good captor.
Not that I’m in any danger of using it on him right now.
I wasn’t positive he was serious about grabbing steaks when I went to use the pool house bathroom, but when I came back—admittedly, I was in no rush—there was a bowl of salad with a pair of tongs in it on the table, and Landon was standing at the grill cooking two of the juiciest steaks I have ever had the pleasure of consuming.
“Why is it so good?” I ask him. “I didn’t even know you could cook.”
He shrugs. “I’m not much of a cook, but I know how to season a steak. We used to grill out a lot. Mom was outdoorsy, couldn’t keep her inside. If it was nice, she was out here. Sometimes even when it wasn’t.”
