Laura

 

 

 

A cynical thought crosses my mind when I wake up this time.

I guess this is my life now.

Waking up next to him, freshly fucked, my body sore from his cock, his hands, his cane, the collar cutting into my throat as I sleep. My days will consist of nothing but sex, food, and his mysterious company, spiced up by a lot of unanswered questions.

As alluring as all of this sounds, I know this is no way to live, either for him or for me. Unlike me, he does have responsibilities, a gigantic company to run and providing for the thousands of lives connected to it.

And I know he's running from all of it right now because of his obsession with me.

I can sense that something is broken inside of him. I think I've sensed it from the very first moment when we met; it may even be one of the many things that drew me to him.

He doesn't have his arms wrapped around me this time, but instead he is sleeping with his face turned to me, as relaxed as I've ever seen it. The stubble on his face has grown even darker. He looks so handsome, but yet so alone.

I want to kiss him, but before I do, another idea crosses my mind. I freeze as my eyes curiously wander to the door. Did he ever lock it when he was with me? I never noticed.

This could be my chance to get out and fix this. My gaze turns back to him. He hasn't moved nor shown any signs of waking up.

I try to make as little noise as possible when I peel myself out of the blanket, carefully slipping out of bed and walking on quiet tiptoes to the door. I stop before I reach it, realizing something else.

Being naked has become so natural for me that I almost walked out the door wearing nothing but the collar around my neck. I scan my surroundings for anything to wear. He gave me a light robe to wear once; where the hell did that go? I can't seem to find it anywhere, and while I'm still in the middle of deciding how to deal with the situation at hand, I hear him turning over on the bed.

I don't think twice, quickly reaching for the doorknob. I am surprised to find the door unlocked. I open it silently and slip through without letting another moment pass, carefully closing it behind me with the intention of making as little noise as possible. If he just woke up, there's no chance in hell that I will get far, but I don't hear anything from the other side.

I did it. I got out – and he's still sleeping, not suspecting a thing.

I let out a sigh of relief, but am reminded again of my nakedness, now that I'm out of the warmth of my red velvet room. Cold air meets my skin and I instantly wrap my arms around myself. I'm shivering with cold and excitement. I follow the surprisingly bright corridor – it's narrow, not much wider than the door to my room, and its brick walls are painted white but there are no windows, only very bright ceiling lights – leading all the way to the end of the corridor, where it turns into steps right ahead of me. I’ve walked this corridor once before, a year ago, when he led me outside.

I hurry toward the stairs, my eyes turning up to the door at the top of them. I'm covered in goosebumps by the time I reach it, and for a moment I fear that my journey could end here if this door turns out to be locked.

But it isn't.

The doorknob turns right away, but I'm hesitant to walk through just yet. What if there was someone else in the house? Would I really want to face them butt-naked like this?

Do I have a choice?

My worries aren't strong enough to actually keep me from slipping through the door. I squint as I'm met with a sharp ray of sunlight hitting me directly in the face. I shield my eyes by lifting my hand and casting a much needed shadow over them. This allows for me to get a better understanding of where I’m at. The last time I was brought up here, I just hurried along with Ryan, paying little attention to my surroundings.

The sunlight filling the room is not morning light, but the orange-tainted warmth of the late afternoon sun. This surprises me, and shows how off my sense of time has become. I could have sworn it was morning.

I’m in the main living room of the house. The polished marble flooring gleams in the afternoon sun, blinding me. The entire room is held in light colors: white, beige, and ivory with just a few darker accents here and there. A seating area with white leather sofas accented by dark cushions is positioned around a fireplace in the middle of the room. The wall opposite me is nothing but floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows and French doors lead out to a terrace laid out in slate.

To my right, platform walkways encompassed by elegant banisters permit catwalk access on the upper levels. The floor plan of the house is smaller than I expected, and there seems to be nothing but the living room and a connected open kitchen on the first floor. I'm drawn to the floor-length windows and the sun outside, but I definitely don't want to leave the house naked.

If there's anything for me to wear, I'll probably find it in his bedroom upstairs.

So, instead of walking over to the French doors and opting for escape to the outside, I make my way upstairs, covering myself as best as I can in the slight chance that someone crosses my path.

I don't see or hear another soul as I head to the second floor. I'm met with an open space that could be considered a wide corridor. Three doors are leading away from it, one to my right and two to my left. I decide to go for the single door on my right first and open it with cautious curiosity.

The room behind the door is not a bedroom, but what appears to be an office. An office that's in a terrible state.

I would have taken him for an organized person, someone who leaves his desk in less of a mess than I did when I was still attending school. Piles of paper and notes are scattered across the wide table, covering almost all of it. There are bookshelves to my left filled with books and files, and while the shelves seem to be mostly in order, the rest of the room is a mess. It's kind of dark in here because the drapes are partly closed, only letting in slim rays of sun.

I don't know why, but I walk over to the window to open them. As the room lights up, I get an even better understanding of the chaos around me. It's not limited to the desk, but also to the floor surrounding it. The walls of the room are also plastered with notes, adding to the overall disarray.

I jerk in shock when a shrill ringing sound penetrates the eerie silence that has surrounded me until now. I didn't even notice the phone until just now, as it's half buried under a pile of papers. I stare at it, my eyes wide in shock, as if this was the first phone I'd ever seen in my entire life.

My next move comes as a big surprise to me.

With a trance-like serenity, I step next to the desk and reach for the phone.

"Hello?"