The next morning, Erik allowed me to take a bath without him observing me, but I knew he was on high alert right outside the door. My ankle was no longer swollen and I managed to walk around on it just fine when I woke up. When I was done, he brought me out to the kitchen where he made pancakes and sausage and sat my plate in front of me. I had suggested that I'd cook for him again, but he accused me of putting him to sleep with the best meal he'd ever had and refused.

I guess he learned his lesson about trusting me to my own devices because he even made me sit in the bathroom with him while he took his shower. With all the extra precautions, it was noon before what I understood to be his normal morning routine was finished.

He pulled on a pair of jeans and left his chest bare, reminding me how perfect he was and how badly I wanted to run my fingers up and down the hardened planes of his body.

He allowed me to follow him out on his screened backporch, but he put deadbolts on the screen door. Did he actually think I would run through the woods in nothing but a men’s flannel shirt? He hadn’t even allowed me to wear panties even though I knew he’d washed them this morning.

Erik was looking at me as he brought out a metal box and dumped it on the table. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest.

He sat down in a wooden chair, retrieved a handgun from the box, and started wiping at it with a cloth.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Cleaning my guns.”

“I thought you were retired.”

“I am. Doesn’t mean I can’t own a few,” he replied.

"You own more than a few," I said before I could stop myself.

He didn’t say anything.

I reached into the box and pulled out a handgun. Tracing the outline of the weapon with my fingers, I admired it. It was surprisingly lightweight.

“Careful now. That one’s loaded,” he warned.

“These things kill people,” I whispered, more to myself than anything else.

“Guns don’t kill people, Alexis. People kill people.”

“I want to learn,” I said.

Erik paused for a second and stared at me through his narrowed gaze. “To kill people?”

“Maybe. Not people. Just someone. Can you teach me?”

“I can teach you how to shoot if you stick around long enough,” he said.

“How long will it take?” I asked, pointing the barrel of the gun at a tree in Erik’s backyard. I pretended that the trunk of the tree was my parent’s killer’s face.

Erik reached up and took the gun away from me and returned it to the case.

"Depends on how good of a student you are. I'll teach you self-defense. How to track. How to hunt. But I won't teach you how to kill people. You don't need that kind of conscience haunting you."

“Do you talk to anyone besides yourself living out here?” I asked.

“I don’t need anyone to talk to.”

I swallowed.

“I’ve got a garden and the lake. I keep a freezer full of meats. I go into town for supplies when I need them. I know some of the folks on a first name basis. The tourists like handmade things. Sometimes my knives sell,” he said.

I smiled. “I’d love to live in Arrow Lake one day. It’s so peaceful and secluded here.”

"That's why I chose it." He rose from his chair, grabbed a rope, and led me to sit down.

“What are you doing?”

Before I knew it, he had my arm tied to the back of the chair.

“I have to go grab something. I’ll be right back. I won’t go far.”

“Dammit, Erik!” I exclaimed, stamping my foot on the floor. “I’m not going to run off.”

I watched as he unlocked the deadbolt and opened the screen door. He turned and said, “You have ties to the Italian mafia. You tried to run before. Not trusting it.”

I cringed and let out an aggravated growl that surprised me. I shouldn’t have told him anything. I had a feeling that he’d use that against me. So I sat there in the little wooden chair and fumed as I waited for him to get back. I thought I heard him chopping wood or something on the other side of the house, but I couldn’t see him.

When he came back on the screened porch, he sat down like nothing had happened.

"Erik, I promise I won't run off. There's no need to do this to me unless you just like it when I'm tied and looking like a helpless damsel in distress."

"I like it," he exclaimed, smirking a little.

I sighed. Apparently, this was a joke to him.

“What if I scream? What if I scream so loud that your neighbors hear me out here?” He’d given me no choice but to threaten him.

“You can scream all you want. My nearest neighbor is almost a mile away,” he said.

“Maybe someone’s looking for me,” I said. “If someone were missing, they would come this far out to find them if they had to.”

“Yes, I’m sure they would do that for you,” he said. “Sucks for me, doesn’t it?”

He almost looked sad, but then his expression changed into a Cheshire grin.

"Tell you what," he said. "Promise me you won't scream, and I'll untie you for the rest of the night."

“Okay, I won’t scream. I promise.”

Erik returned the handgun to the box and knelt down on the wooden planks. Before I knew what was happening, he was between my thighs, and my legs were cradled over his shoulders.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“You promised you wouldn’t scream. Let’s see if you’re able to live up to that promise.” He grinned and kissed my inner thigh.

“Oh God,” I whispered.

I couldn’t resist his touch. The way his lips brushed against my sensitive skin. The way his beard tickled me.

“Open for me, beautiful,” he moaned, pressing his lips against my pussy. “I’m going to make sure you get exactly what you want.”

I leaned back against the wooden chair and parted my legs. I figured out reason number two of why he wouldn't give me my panties. Not only did he not want me to leave him alone, but he also wanted me exposed and bare, so he could go down on me any time he wanted. He knew I loved his mouth on me, making me come over and over again.

I tried so fucking hard, but I couldn’t keep my promise. My hands were tied to the back of the chair, so I couldn’t even cover my moans. He flicked his tongue over my clit and then alternated between lapping and sucking my clit. I surrendered everything the moment he used my pussy juices to wet his thumb and then push it against my forbidden hole. When I came, I screamed for mercy. I screamed for more. I screamed Erik’s name.

His mouth glistened with my cream when he glanced up at me. "More?" he asked.

I nodded and his mouth went back to my clit. I came again in a matter of seconds with my legs trembling around his face.

I panted hard, willing to accept my defeat, but he reached around and untied the ropes anyway.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he said.

The rest of the day went by quickly. We spent our time in Erik's backyard where he showed me his garden and then walked me around in his tool shed. Not one time did I think about leaving again. I was just doing a good job of pretending that this relationship between us wouldn't be taken…just like my parents were taken from me.