His room is more than double the size of the one where I spent the previous days. It has a small sitting room and en-suite bathroom. A large arched window provides a view of the garden and the ocean beyond. Although it’s minimally furnished, it screams luxury. The décor is dominated by black, with occasional splashes of white and dark taupe.

Anxiety spurts through me at the sight of the black four-poster bed, situated on a thick white rug.

How many nights will I be sleeping in it with him? Does this mean he wants to have sex with me now? Will he force himself on me if I refuse?

I remember the words he spoke at his cabin:

When I do fuck you again, I want you to want it as much as you did the first time.

Surely if he wants me to enjoy sex with him, he won’t use force. I hold on tight to that fragile string of hope.

The first time we had sex was so passionate, exhilarating, and freeing. Now, the thought of sleeping with him fills me with dread. I clench my fingers tight to stop them from shaking.

Chewing the inside of my cheek, I turn to look at him.

“Don’t look so frightened. I promise we won’t do anything you don’t want.” He reaches for my hands and brings them to his lips. “Sex with you is a gift, not a possession. It’s something to be shared, not taken by force. I’m not a rapist.”

I refrain from making a sound as I breathe out with relief.

“One step at a time.” My entire body tenses when he straightens one of my fingers and inserts it into his mouth, sliding it between his lips. His mouth is warm and wet.

“Don’t.” Ignoring the heat that curls down my spine, I tip back my head and withdraw my finger from his mouth.

He quirks an eyebrow. “Felt good, didn’t it?”

“No.” I lift my chin in defiance.

“Your eyes tell a different story.” He attempts to place a hand on my cheek, but I move a step back. “You don’t have to be inhibited. You’re safe with me. I’ll take good care of you.”

He takes my stiff arm and leads me to the bed. I stumble as I trip over the rug, but he steadies me.

As I stand beside the bed, the side of my leg brushing the edge of the duvet, he comes up behind me and glides his hands around my body until they rest on my stomach. His lips are pressed to my ear. “One day soon, you’ll want to make love to me again. It will be even better than our first time.”

Every muscle in my body is frozen, but ready to pounce if he does what he’s promised not to do. His fingers move from my stomach to my ribs, then to my chest. I bite hard on my lower lip. When he smooths his palms over my breasts, I shudder.

“Don’t do that.” My whisper is a breath. “You promised.”

“Shhh…” He kisses my cheek. “Relax. I promised not to have sexual intercourse with you until you want to.” He sucks in air through his teeth. “But I need something to make the wait bearable. Touching is allowed.”

His fingers pull down the straps of my dress, his hot breath sweeping across my skin along with the satin.

I look down. My dress is on the floor at my feet. I’d be fully naked if not for my matching silk panties and bra, similar to the kind he sent me on my birthday in Oaklow. He picked them out for me before dinner and insisted I wear them tonight. The underwear doesn’t make me feel less naked, however. The room is warm, but my body feels cold and my foolish mind keeps flashing back to the first time we had sex.

He turns me around to face him, big hands cupping my shoulders. A fire rages behind his eyes, a heat that threatens to spew out and burn me. “This is how you’ll be sleeping tonight. Every day you’ll get something nice to wear to bed, something I like. Sometimes, I might ask you to go to bed wearing nothing.”

I fold my arms in front of me and drop them again when I realize it’s causing my breasts to squeeze together.

“You say you’re not a rapist?”

“What are you playing at?” A muscle quivers in his jaw, but I can’t stop myself.

“I think you are. You’re touching me, forcing me to sleep next to you naked. You’re raping me, just taking your time doing it.”

“Is that so?” He runs a hand through his hair. “In that case, would you prefer it if I went ahead and took you right now? If you think it doesn’t make a difference either way.”

“That’s not what—”

“That’s what I thought.” He grabs one corner of the bedspread and pulls it back. “Be careful what you say about me, my love. Words are a dangerous thing.” Before I can say anything more, he gathers me into his arms and lays me on the bed, tucking me in.

Reeling, I pull the sheets up to my neck. I must look like a kid, afraid of monsters in the dark.

As Damien watches me with a look I can’t decipher, someone outside the door clears his throat. I thought coming to this room would offer me a little freedom. Apparently not. I’m sure Adrian will keep standing guard.

My legs pressed together, I watch as Damien loosens his tie and pulls it from around his neck, then shrugs off his suit and unclips the rods of his silver cufflinks. His green eyes are dark, watching me as he unbuttons his black shirt. Then he removes his belt. The sound of metal against metal as he undoes the buckle reminds me of the prison bars that used to keep him locked away. Now he’s on the other side.

“You do believe that I love you, right?” He rolls his tongue across his bottom lip. “That’s why I don’t do worse things to you. Hurting you doesn’t bring me pleasure.”

“What do you want me to say?” I ask, loud enough for Adrian to hear. “Keeping me prisoner hurts me.”

“Believe me, things could be so much worse than they are right now. If you can convince me to trust you, you’ll receive more freedom. You hold the key, baby.”

I turn my head to the side. Through the windows, the moon slips behind a patch of clouds. Tucked inside the window frame are the same kind of steel shutters that darkened my old room every evening.

When I look back at Damien, I find him naked, putting his broad shoulders, rippled abs, and trim waist on display. His erection juts out from the line of hair that travels from his navel to his groin.

Heat floods my cheeks and my mind screams for me to look away, to quit sliding my gaze along his thick shaft. It’s velvety smooth, with a glistening tip. How in the world did he manage to fit it inside me? And why am I wondering how it must feel to the touch?

Eyes on me, he strides to his side of the bed and slides in beside me as if it’s the most natural thing. He drapes an arm around my waist and draws me to him, his shaft a solid muscle between us.

“I like to sleep naked,” he whispers into my ear. “I hope you don’t mind.”

I swallow hard and attempt to move away, but his strong arm holds me in place. “I also love holding my wife when I sleep.” The hot rum coffee he had after dinner lingers on his breath.

Still in the circle of his arms, I turn to face away from him. Now his dick is pressing against my lower back. His hot breath fans the hairs at the back of my neck. Any position would be awkward, but maybe it’s better to have his penis pressed against my back than my vagina. Or worse yet, inside it.

“Mmmm…” he groans. “Why have I waited so long to get you in my bed? Lying next to you like this is almost as good as the real thing.”

I throttle the current of desire that shoots through me and squeeze my eyes shut.

He shifts ever so slightly, and then the room goes dark. He must have pressed a light switch on his side.

Damien falls asleep after thirty minutes. The clock on my nightstand says it’s 10 p.m., and I’m still wide awake, frozen in his arms, my body cramped from lying in the same position, with his dick still pressed against my back.

The seconds tick by. I debate what to do. I wish I could get out of bed and escape through the large windows, but even with the shutters open, I could never get out that way. There are thin bars on the other side of the glass.

The occasional shuffling outside the door reminds me that Adrian is still out in the hall. Since I wasn’t blindfolded this time, when I entered the room, I noticed a tiny video screen next to the door. I’m guessing there are cameras all over this room as well, and if I do something stupid, Adrian will alert Damien.

What I need more than anything is to get away from him, even for a second. I feel like I haven’t breathed since the moment he told me I’d be sharing a bed with him.

Desperate to stretch my cramped muscles, I push back the covers and slide out from underneath his arm. One of my feet touches the ground before a hand grips my wrist.

“Where are you going?” His voice is thick with sleep and a hint of danger.

I turn to gaze at his silhouette. His head is a few inches off the pillow.

“I… I need the bathroom.” He can’t deny me that.

He releases his grip and tucks his hands behind his head. “Go on, then.” I feel him watching me in the dark.

Relieved to have a few minutes away from him, I almost race to the bathroom. But even in there, I’m not alone. The bathroom is separated from the bedroom only by a partition of glass. He can see everything I’m doing. At least I can breathe a little here.

I push down my panties and position myself on the toilet seat. The idea that I’m being watched makes it hard to relieve myself. I rest my head on my knees and stay like that for a long while, killing time.

He calls my name after a few minutes. “What are you doing in there so long? It’s late. Come back to bed.”

After counting to twenty, I do as I’m told.