I trembled against his touch. “When will you take me out of these cuffs and rope?”
“Soon.” He looked at his watch. “Did you enjoy the sex?”
I frowned.
Now, it was his turn to frown. “Did I go too far this time?”
My voice came out hoarse. “Of course you did.”
“I hadn’t intended on going too far.”
I glared at him. “What did you intend on when you brought the rope and handcuffs?”
“For the same magic that came from the soul coffin.”
“There was no magic in your soul coffin and there was no magic here.”
He slipped his hand from my neck and caressed my cheek. I wanted to pull away, but I didn’t. His skin was warm, and his callused hand gentle and my body relaxed with each sweep of his fingers over my skin. “You’ve dealt with nothing but pain, abuse, and neglect in your life—”
“And you’re adding to it.”
“I’m trying to. . .”
“What?”
“Heal, love, and keep all the monsters away.”
“And what if you’re the monster?”
“If I were a monster, you would be dead right now. Floating in a pool of blood with your limbs sliced off.”
My heart seized in my chest. “Is that what you wanted to do?”
“Never.” He shook his head. “I could never hurt you like that. I’m falling in love with you, Phoenix.”
I shivered. “You don’t know what love is.”
“I don’t. You’re correct about that.” Sighing, he returned his attention to his duffle bag and rummaged through it. “I’m hoping you’ll show me.”
“Let me go.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I told you.”
“Tell me again.”
“You’re everything to me—hope, love, healing. You’re my destiny. You’re the oxygen that I need to breathe. You’re the light in the darkness, guiding me to paradise.”
I lay there speechless, unsure of what else I could say to get through to his psychotic brain.
Cain pulled a sponge and small basin out of his duffle bag. Carrying both items, he rose from the bed, walked off, and left the room.
Minutes later, he returned with the basin full of bubbly water and set the items on the bed.
He dipped the sponge down into the water. “I don’t want to go too far again. I only want you to feel pleasure.”
“I’m your prisoner. Any pleasure I feel will be forced.”
“But you wanted me to fuck you. Have you not thought of me since you’ve escaped?”
I turned away.
“An orgasm releases a wave of feel-good endorphins. I wanted to fuck you. I wanted you to experience that before you left.”
“You wanted to feel it too.”
“I did.” His voice darkened. “I’ve been thinking about being inside of you every damn minute you’ve been gone. It’s been sleepless nights. I’ve barely eaten.”
“I don’t care.”
“How have you slept these past weeks?” He lifted the sponge out of the basin and squeezed. Water spilled from the sponge. “Your fridge is packed with food. Have you been eating?”
“Don’t act like you care about me?”
“You know I do.”
“But it’s in a sick way.”
Silent, he brought the sponge over to my wounded shoulder. As soon as the wet sponge hit my skin, I shuddered. He dabbed at the new wounds.
Each time the sponge left my skin I kept experiencing this strange sensation of being cleaner than ever before like I was being reborn somehow.
It was odd to be washed by someone else, especially while bound in cuffs and rope.
For some reason, tears left my eyes and spilled down my face. I hadn’t even realized I wanted to cry.
He gazed at me. Concern filled his eyes. “Maybe. . .you can show me how to love you the right way.”
Sniffling, I shook my handcuffed wrists. “I can’t even help myself.”
“Phoenix.” He gave me a sad smile and wiped away my tears. “Handcuffed and bound, you’re still the most powerful person in this room.”
I shook my head. “I’ve been reading psychology stuff.”
“Good.” He moved the sponge down to my breasts and wiped away dots of blood. “Psychology is a great topic to study. It’ll help you learn more about yourself and the people around you.”
“Your saying that I’m powerful right now is gaslighting me.”
A dark chuckle left him. “But, you are the most powerful person in the room.”
“More gaslighting.”
“Phoenix, I have been searching for you all this time. I waited outside of your old childhood home for days, wondering if you would check in on your brother—”
“What the fuck?” Fear hit me.
“While they slept, I snuck inside of the house in the middle of the night to see if I could get any information on you.”
“D-did you hurt them?”
“I wanted to kill your step-father, but I let him live. . .for now.”
My heart boomed in my ears.
“I bet your bedroom still looks the same. There is a My Little Pony comforter on it. Old school books rest on the desk. Your notebook is opened to what looked like math homework. That was how I knew your name. The pencil rested on the notebook sideways as if you’d just gone to the bathroom and would return in a moment to finish.”