He came over to the bed, sat on the edge, still not looking at her face. She remained stone still, feeling like her throat was filled with sawdust, but could feel his presence as if he was the whole room. All of her senses were hyperaware of him. There was gnawing in her gut, an aching need for him. Tingling on her skin. Her veins were thickening, throbbing, and her blood warming up. She kept her eyes fixed on the bedspread.
“They said you won’t eat. You’ll get sick. What’ve you done?” he lifted her wrist chain. Her arms were covered in scratches. She didn’t answer. Her chin trembled harder and she feared the levy would break.
“I ran you a bath. But then you need to eat,” he said softly, looking at her wrist. He started to examine the cuff of her shackle. The feel of his fingers on her wrist was almost her undoing. She let out a little whimper but held back the onslaught of emotion that threatened to jet out. She felt like she was trapped in her own body and that it was a foreign prison.
She reached between the mattress and box spring with her free hand and pulled out the key and handed it to him, her hand shaking.
Their eyes finally met and his brows were raised in surprise. He put the key down on the bed and stared at the cuff again and she heard a click. It was as if he’d willed the lock to turn with his eyes. Her wrist was free. She massaged it. Tristan got up and walked to his desk and turned the computer on. His back was to her. She sat a moment, processing that he’d done that without the key, and then after a few moments it was obvious he had nothing else to say so she slowly got up and went into the bathroom to take a bath. Her knees knocked together; she felt so weak.
The water felt amazing. Not being chained felt amazing. Seeing him felt amazing. She sank into the bubbles and willed the water to wash away the despair she felt.
When she returned to the bedroom, feeling slightly energized, there was a note on Tristan’s pillow. The bedding had been changed and the bed was back where it belonged.Kyla,
I’ve left food on the table for you. Please eat.
If you want me…
walk over to my office (after you’ve eaten).
I believe you know the way…
T.
(P.S. Eat.)She was surprised that her shackle was not first put back on. The pile of chains sat on a chair by the bed. She was also surprised at the tone of his note. “If you want me…”
I believe you know the way Dot, dot, dot? It almost sounded playful. She looked over at the door to the bedroom and wondered if he had locked it and put the gate back across. No, she was not about to check.
She went to the table and found a thermal carafe of coffee, a mug, a small thermos of milk, and sugar dish. There was also a few pieces of fruit, granola bars, and a box of muesli cereal, plus a small cooler filled with a tall bottle of orange juice, two protein bars, bottles of water, and a wrapped foot long deli submarine sandwich. He was either hoping she would scarf down a lot of food or he was planning to be gone for a while. She winced as she sat down and poured the coffee and quickly ate a half of a banana. It seemed to want to stay down so she sat and sipped the coffee. It was her favorite coffee. She had a minor taste bud orgasm. The coffee that had been sent in the last few days couldn’t have been this coffee. Or maybe she just didn’t taste it due to her state of mind.
She looked out the window across the way and wondered what he was doing in the office. She felt restless but knew that there wasn’t much she would dare do about it. She was not walking over there. What would she even say? Just because he’d let her out of the chains didn’t exactly mean that things were better, did they? For the moment she’d be happy to count the blessing that she’d seen his face.
Hah! She was more relieved about seeing him than she was about getting out of the chain. Wow.
She opened the window to let some fresh air in the room and then cautiously stepped out onto the balcony. The air and the aroma of the flowers in the courtyard lifted her spirits a little. She still felt a little bit of pinching in her veins but nothing like last night. She sat in the chair for a moment and stared at the window to his office, wondering what he was doing, what he was thinking, and feeling. After a while, she went back into the bedroom.