Soft sheets. I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow. But something was off. The pillow smelled different than usual. Instead of my shampoo, it had the scent of woods and leather and something sophisticated.

I opened my eyes and sat up. Him. The pillow smelled like him. The sheet fell off me, and I realized my skin was bare. Panic hit me like a blow to the chest. I yanked the sheet back into place and peered around into the gloom.

“You’re awake.” His deep voice slithered around me, but I couldn’t see him.

“Where am I?”

“Our room.” He was sitting somewhere off to my right.

“Did you take my clothes off?”

“Yes.”

I cringed and eased toward the edge of the bed opposite him. Panic blared in my ears, and everything seemed to go cold. I’d awoken naked in his bed. What had he done to me while I was out? I did a mental check, and my body didn’t feel any different.

“Did you—” I choked on my own question.

“What?” Had his voice moved closer?

I squeezed my thighs together, searching for any pang of pain. There was none.

I caught movement in the darkness. He was walking around the bed toward me.

Scurrying back, I hit the headboard and clutched the sheet to me. “What did you do to me?” I tried to inject hatred into my voice, but it still shook.

“You mean, did I rape you?” He came into view, his bare body illuminated by a faint light through a door at his back.

He was strong, well-muscled and loomed huge like a recurring nightmare. His eyes pierced through the shadows, a slight glint telling me that he was enjoying this too much.

“Did you?”

He put a knee on the bed. “No.”

“Let me go.” I wanted to look away from his nudity but was too afraid to let him out of my sight.

“No.” He moved closer, the wide bed shifting under his weight.

I bolted away from him, but I didn’t even set foot on the floor before he grabbed my ankle and yanked me back. A scream ripped from my lungs as he covered me with his body.

“Shh.” He clapped a hand over my mouth. “No one can hear you anyway.” His thick cock pressed into my thigh, but he made no other move, just restrained me as fear thundered through my being. He pulled his palm away and stared down at me. “That’s better.”

My eyes burned as tears welled. “Why are you doing this?”

“I told you.” He cocked his head, as if surprised he had to explain. “Because you’re mine.”

“I’m not yours.” My voice cracked.

“You’ll see.” The certainty in his words chilled me. “We’re bound, you and me. You’ve felt it. I could see it in your eyes when we danced, when I visited your classroom. Every time you’re near me, you give yourself away.”

“No.” I burned with shame that some part of his words rang true. But that was before he’d drugged and kidnapped me. Those embers were now dark and cold. “You can’t keep me here.”

“I can. You haven’t noticed yet, but you’re wearing a stunning accessory. An anklet with a tracker. If you take it off, I’ll know. If you try to leave the house, I’ll know. This estate has been in my family for a hundred years. There are over five-hundred acres around the house. You won’t get far before I catch you and bring you back here, where you belong. You can’t escape. There are no phones, no internet, no one who will help you.”

Every word that left his lips sent a shard of ice tearing through my heart. “You’re a monster.”

“I know.”

“Someone will find me.”

He leaned closer, the tip of his nose brushing mine. “Someone already has.”

“What are you going to do to me?” I swallowed hard, my mouth dry.

“Keep you safe. Keep you close.”

My chin trembled. “Kill me?”

“What?” He seemed genuinely surprised by the thought. “You think I’d kill you?”

“How could I not?” I bit the inside of my cheek. Was he just toying with me again?

“I never want to hurt you.” He shook his head. “I’ll kill anyone who does.”

“You’re deranged.”

He smirked, the quirk of his lips cruel. “You aren’t the first to call me that, though I prefer high-functioning psychopath.”

I struggled, trying to buck him off. He was immoveable, a mountain of intent crushing me with each passing second. “You can’t just keep me here! I’m not a pet.”

“No.” He paused, his eyes searching my face. “Not a pet. But you’re mine. I can feel it.” He sat back and took my hand in his, pressing it over his heart. “In here. Where there’s nothing. When I saw you, something happened. And now I can feel, but only for you.”

Tears slid down my temples and pooled in my ears. “But don’t you feel how wrong this is?”

“No.” He squeezed my hand. “This is the only thing I’ve ever done that feels right.”

The conviction in his words slowed my racing mind. “How long do you intend to keep me here?”

“Forever.”

“What?” Horror ripped through me, tearing up my thoughts and skirting along my dreams like a rusty razor blade.

“You were meant for me. Don’t you understand?”

“Get off me.” Acid churned in my stomach, and I yanked my hand away from him.

He stared down at me, as if trying to read my thoughts. “I will, but if you try to run, I’ll capture you. There is no way out of this room except my way.” He moved off me and lay down on the bed, his body languid, like a predator at rest. “The sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”

I sat up and turned away from him. Though tears blurred my vision, my eyes had become accustomed to the gloom. Several wide windows lined one side of the room. We were on what looked like the second floor of a grand home. The moonless night beyond was dark, and I couldn’t see anything except dense forest in the distance. The bed was large, each corner topped with a carved wooden poster. A faint light filtered into the room from an adjacent bathroom. Two other doors in the room were closed, and undoubtedly locked.

The sleek décor had a masculine edge to it that mixed with the antique furniture to give an opulent air. I didn’t care about his sense of style. What can I use as a weapon?

“Get back under the covers. The nights get cold out here in the foothills.” I could feel his eyes on me. “Though I’m quite enjoying the view.”

“Where are my clothes?”

“Gone.”

I stared at the closed doors, my thoughts still fighting with the reality of my situation. “I have to go.”

“You aren’t going anywhere. Every night we’re together, you will sleep with me. And you’ll be naked. If I, for some unfortunate reason, have to leave on business, you will sleep in our bed alone until I return.” He patted the mattress.

Everything in me told me to run, but there was nowhere to go.

“I can make you comply, if that’s what you want.” His dark chuckle pelted me like sleet. “I’d rather enjoy that, actually.”

“No.” Goose bumps raced along my skin as I crawled under the blankets and scooted to the far edge of the bed. None of it seemed real. My mind tried to make sense of it, but it was as if I were trying to complete a puzzle while the pieces kept disintegrating in my fingers. I shook, my body revolting against its sudden captivity.

“You can come closer.” His low voice rumbled over me.

“No.” Not a chance.

He sighed. “This doesn’t have to be unpleasant for you.”

I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Are you kidding?”

“No.” He rose on an elbow, the edge of the sheet hovering along his abs. “I know you find me attractive.”

I turned away and rested my head on my folded hands. “I did. Now? Not so much.”

“That’s not something that just disappears.”

“It does when you kidnap someone.” My eyes still searched in vain for some sort of weapon.

“Think of it as more of an elopement.”

“Marriage?” I clenched my eyes shut, trying to clear them of useless tears.

“No.” He shifted toward me, his body heat buffeting my back. “Not yet, anyway.” He rested his hand on my shoulder, but I rolled away from him, perilously close to falling to the floor.

“I told you I’d never hurt you. I don’t want to take anything from you that you aren’t ready to give.” As if proving his words, he edged away from me, his warmth fading.

“What if I’m never ready to give you a damn thing?”

“You will be.” His smug satisfaction rankled.

“You so sure?”

“Yes. You and me. The end.” He pulled the blanket up and tucked it around my shoulder. “You’ll see.”

I didn’t respond, just stared into the murky room.

“And one day, sooner than you think”—his voice dropped—“you’ll give me everything.”