by D. L. Wu
“I'll take care of you in the meantime, I promise,” he said beseechingly.
She believed him.
He smiled at her and because of the tender moment they both sensed they were having, he took a chance. He softly caressed her forehead again. She didn't admonish him this time. Her hand slowly came away from her mouth. Before the hand could drop down, he quickly grasped it. To her absolute amazement, he took her hand and brought it toward his own thick, soft lips where he kissed it three times. Jaime's dreamy sigh made him smile and wink at her.
“Shall we go have breakfast, Luv?” he whispered.
She nodded and giggled suddenly. “But can you cut me loose, right away?” She jerked her head towards the bathroom. “I would rather do it solo this time.”
“Oh, bollocks,” he smiled as they both sat up. “Here we go.”
He started to pull the tape off. Both of them squealed and moaned at the pain of having the hair on their arms ripped away. Once loose, Jaime rubbed at the redness on her fair skin, but didn't jump up immediately as Evan had expected her to do. Instead, she stared at him for a moment. He, in turn, did the same. When it became uncomfortable for her, only then did she burst up off of the bed and disappear into the bathroom.
***
“I would love to take a shower,” Evan told her as he rubbed through his blood matted hair as he stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. “But I'm not quite sure how to do it, seeing as how I don't totally trust you won't bolt yet.”
“I'll give you my word,” she said softly. “I told you last night, where am I gonna go? We're in the middle of nowhere.”
He turned to her, his hand hidden within the depths of his hair as he wore a twisted grin. “Lotsa places you could go, Darlin'.”
She shrugged. “I'd be too scared to go anywhere by myself, honestly,” she replied. “I promise I won't. But . . . but . . .” She hesitated for but a minute. “To help you gain trust in me, I'll let you tie me up here in the bathroom, to prove to you that . . . that I want you to trust me.”
Evan's eyes widened with surprise. “I thought that you . . . that you were terrified of the tape last night.”
She smiled demurely. “Cuz I thought you were gonna tape it across my mouth.”
Evan couldn't help the pleased laughter that burst from his lips. “Oh, Sweetheart, I'm sorry.”
She shrugged shyly.
“So you'd really allow me to . . . ?”
She nodded.
“I wouldn't have to tie you up at all if you . . .” He grinned. “If you came into the shower with me.”
Her eyes widened with shock and she extended her arms. “Tie me up, please,” she beseeched.
Evan laughed again.
Jaime stood quietly as Evan gently pulled her arms behind her and wrapped the duct tape once around both of her wrists. He figured with her arms bound behind her, she wouldn't be able to open the door anyway, so he really didn't have to affix her to anything stationary. Once done, he made her sit down within the open bathroom doorway.
***
Jaime sighed deeply as she leaned back against the door molding. She heard the shower running and felt the hot steam as it filled up the room. She couldn't help the mixture of feelings she was experiencing, then and there. Loneliness for home, a foreign longing, even a tingling lust consumed her.
She was well aware that he was naked just a few feet away from her. She longed to have a look, but refrained from doing so. She forced herself to remain where she was sitting. She really wanted to go home. Yet at the same time, she found herself wondering as to why she was having such weird and pleasant sensations running throughout her body. They were unlike anything she had ever felt before and left her feeling confused the more she experienced them.
CHAPTER 7
They took to the road again, but soon stopped at the nearest McDonald's for breakfast. Jaime sat in a booth near the order counter so that Evan could see her while he bought their food. He was still quite aware that if she really truly wanted to, she could have jumped up and run out the door in order to get away from him. There would be nothing he could do to stop her. Yet, she hadn’t done anything of the sort. Instead, she sat there and waited for him. He grimaced and carried the tray of food over to her. In truth, he was quite amazed and proud that she hadn't run away.
“What?” she wondered, an amused smile playing about her lips as she noticed his twisted expression.
He set the tray down before her and then sat in the booth beside her. “Coke for breakfast?” He scrunched his nose.
“What's wrong with that? It's caffeine, just like your coffee.” She pointed at his steaming cup.
“Coffee is a normal thing to drink for breakfast,” he replied.
“Well, you already know that I'm not very normal.” She giggled and bit into her hash browns as if she were famished.
“Join the club.” He winked at her as he sipped at his coffee.
“Besides, I never had coffee before,” she added.
He looked up from his cup with surprise. “Really? How come?” he asked with curiosity.
She shrugged, feeling a tad hesitant, unsure if she should get into a personal conversation with him. It would be like inviting him into her private life and she wasn't quite sure if she was ready for that. “I don't know,” she sighed, thinking about her father again. Then it just came out, almost as if she had no control. “I guess because my dad never drank coffee.”
Evan nodded with understanding as he began to eat his breakfast. “When did your father die?”
She shuddered a little with both sadness and mistrust. But then she figured, What could it hurt? “Just a little over a month ago now,” she whispered.
Evan was immediately sympathetic. He stopped eating and placed his hand across hers as it lay on the table. “I'm so sorry, Luv,” he whispered. “Must still be hurting an awful lot.”
Tears rose to the surface and immediately blurred her eyes. She didn't want to cry again because of her dad. Not in front of Evan, nor ever again. She was so tired, but a few tears still escaped her eyes and she swiped at them with her other hand.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “Not yet,” she whispered.
He nodded with understanding. “Okay.”
After a moment of silence between them, with only Jaime's sniffling cutting in between, Evan spoke up and held his coffee cup toward her with a sweet smile. “Try it,” he offered.
She gave him an uneasy smile and a small watery laugh. “I don't know, should I?”
“Sure. Make this whole adventure about experiencing wonderful and new things and then maybe it won't seem so bad,” he said enthusiastically.
She couldn't resist his precious smile and his sweet demeanor. She took his cup of milk-laced coffee from him and carefully sipped at it.
He waited for her verdict with wide eyes. “Well? What do you think?”
She nodded with a smile, handing the cup back to him. “It's good. Makes you feel all warm inside.”
“There you go!” he murmured happily.
Jaime silently watched as Evan finished his breakfast. She really did feel all warm inside and it wasn’t because of the coffee. She began to wonder if this was the way it felt when you were falling in love with someone.
“Want anything else?” he asked as they prepared to leave.
She shook her head dutifully, albeit dreamily.
Evan noted her faraway look and he couldn't help but to smile. “What's up? You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said airily.
“Shall we hit the road again, then?”
She nodded once more. This time, she reached out for his hand as they stood up. He promptly took hers and led her out of the restaurant.
***
“Before we stop for the night,” Evan said as he drove along, “we'll get some clothes and more supplies, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed and suddenly felt the urge to ask him s
ome personal questions. It took her a minute or so to summon the courage to do so. “How come you don't want to tell me why you're running?”
He looked at her for but a moment as he drove and then turned his attention back onto the road. He shrugged, moments later. “Maybe because I feel like it's none of your business.”
Her eyes widened with surprise at the answer, yet she didn't let it go. “Well, it kinda is my business,” she rationalized, “seeing as how I'm here on the run with you and have no choice in the matter.”
“Good point.”
“So it would be nice to know why we're running.”
“Is it absolutely necessary, though?” he continued, frustratingly evading the question. “I think you would be able to carry on the rest of your life quite nicely not ever having known, wouldn't you think?”
She didn't answer.
“After all, didn't you tell me yesterday that you didn't want to know anything about me?” he reminded her quite cockily.
“Yes, I did say that,” she agreed. “But a girl can change her mind, can't she?”
“All the girls I've ever known in my life have had that prerogative, my special darlin’,” he said so eloquently.
Jaime's heart leapt.
“This is why I get in trouble with women all the time.” He laughed at himself.
“What sort of trouble is that?”
“You do want to know about me, don't you?”
“Well, I figure we'll be on the road together a long time. We'll need something to talk about. Maybe if I feel like you've told me a lot about you, I can start talking about myself,” she offered.
“Sounds fair.” He nodded. “Do you know what a philanderer is, my dear?”
“Not really.”
“A bloke that absolutely loves to chat up women. One who can't get enough of them to suit him.”
“So, you're saying you're a philanderer?” she asked innocently, shifting in her seat.
“Yes, a dreadful one. Love 'em and leave 'em. That’s always my motto, Darlin'.”
“Why is that? Because you can't find the right woman? Someone with whom you could settle down and raise a family with?”
“Whoa, who said anything about settling down?” He laughed. “Not even looking to find that yet. Far from it, I fear. See, you still don't really understand the concept of a philanderer.”
She gazed thoughtfully at him. “So you're saying you'll never settle down with a woman?”
He gave her an inquisitive smile. “Well, maybe someday, I suppose, but certainly not any time soon.”
“Are you afraid of commitment?”
Evan laughed again. “Only from the lips of a woman does that sort of observation come from. Yeah, a major fear of commitment. Women seem to love hearing that, though. Trust me.”
“I wouldn't think so,” Jaime said with wonder. “I would think women would want to find a guy who could commit himself to them.”
“You are a woman like that.” He smiled at her. “And I truly hope you find a guy willing to be shackled to you some day.”
She gave him a peculiar look then, but shook it off. “So you've had lots of lovers, you said. How many?”
His eyes widened playfully. “Nothing like getting right to the heart of the matter, huh? Why on earth do you care as to how many lovers I've had?”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Just making conversation.”
“And you are now intrigued with my roguishness, no doubt.”
“Don't flatter yourself.” A small burst of laughter slid past her lips.
“Get used to it!” he retorted.
“Aww, come on! More than one hundred lovers?”
He laughed again, this time with surprise. He became a tad thoughtful. Jaime waited with curious wonder for him to speak.
“Um, probably not that many, but I don't really keep count.”
“Are you considered a good lover?” Jaime boldly asked.
Evan wasn't too shocked by her interest in him, but he tried to pretend to be. “Why do you want to know this? Would you like to find out for yourself? Is that it?”
“No!” she squealed. “Of course not!”
“Sounds like it to me.”
“You’re wrong.”
“We'll see about that.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” she asked, offended.
“Did you have a good look at my junk when I was in the shower? Is that why you're asking?” He grinned.
She looked mortified.
“Size doesn't always correlate with how good a bloke is at sex. But in my case, you can safely assume I will blow you away,” he continued with his arrogant elucidation, hoping that he was either thoroughly shocking her or absolutely turning her on. He sensed it was a little of both when he saw her reaction.
Her eyes were wider than he had ever seen a girl's eyes get and her cheeks were a bright scarlet red. “You're very crude!” she gasped.
“I try,” he answered smugly.
She quickly turned toward the window, burning with embarrassment.
He couldn't help but to smile proudly. “I'm just having a bit of fun with you, Sweetheart,” he apologized.
“Mmhmm,” she mumbled awkwardly.
“’Cept, I really am huge!”
Jaime coughed with mortification.
“Sorry.” He laughed.
“No problem,” she hissed. “But I should be the one to decide if you're huge or not, Mister.”
It was Evan's turn to widen his eyes. She was playing the game, too. She looked back at him, amused by his mystified expression, with a playful grin upon her face.
“All right, then.” He nodded, laughing once more. “I think we're even!”
***
Jaime managed a shy giggle, her heart racing with anticipation. She had never expected their conversation to take such a sordid turn. Still, she was enjoying herself even if she was loathe to admit it.
“So,” he said and added one last jab. “When do you want to make that decision, my love?”
Her eyes widened again, but this time, she surprised him. He was teaching her to be as crude as he was. “I guess next time you can tape me up while you're taking a shower.”
Evan burst into laughter. “Sounds to me as if you don't mind being bound up. Now that is pretty kinky!”
Jaime flushed with embarrassment. She suddenly feared she was giving this philanderer some ideas. Her head filled with terrifying visions of bizarre sexual practices being performed on her. She winced as the thoughts circled inside her head and released a tiny, fearful sigh.
“You alright then, Luv?” Evan prodded with consideration.
Jaime had to see the expression that went along with his tender words. She turned her head quickly back toward him and wasn't disappointed. He was gazing at her sympathetically as he looked back and forth from her to the road.
“I'm sorry if my trash talk is upsetting you, Sweetheart. You say the word and you won't hear another sound from me.”
She sighed. She didn't mind it all that much, but should she let him know that? “I just . . .” she stuttered.
He kept most of his attention on her, as much as his driving would allow. She could tell that he was totally attuned to her and it made her feel special. People usually didn't listen. They mostly pretended to be interested in her at school. No one seemed to be fully focused on her, yet he seemed to be. Was it because he was as much of a captive with her as she was with him and had no choice but to listen? Or did he truly care about what she had to say?
“I'm not used to it, that's all,” she finally admitted.
“Then I'm really sorry,” he murmured.
“My dad never talked like that to me before.”
“Well, I should hope not.” Evan smiled sweetly at her.
“No boy's ever talked to me. Period,” she continued softly.
“I'm sure they have, sweet one. You're a very, very beautiful young woman.”
Jaime's breath was literally sucked fro
m her body at the sound of his tender musings. She didn't mean to gasp, but his words surprised her immensely. She also didn't mind seeing that handsome smile of his.
“Thank you, but . . .” she stuttered, “I'm not at all.”
“Why are you so down on yourself?” he asked gently. “Believe me, you are very beautiful. You have to remember, I've seen my share of women, so you need to trust my judgment about that sort of thing.”
She stared at him out of the corner of her eyes as he drove. “But you also have to say that,” she added perceptively. “You have to keep me happy to get what you want, don't you?”
She wasn't as naïve as he’d thought and it caused him to smile. “That is true, to an extent,” he said. “But honestly, couldn't I keep you happy in other ways? Buying you things or something? I don't have to say you're beautiful in order to keep you happy. I just really think it's true.”
She was now gazing at him in a completely star-struck fashion. He was going to win her over to his side so easily. By the end of their adventure, she would be telling the FBI she went with him freely and willingly.
He continued his seduction. “You have the most beautiful azure blue eyes. They speak to me.”
Jaime's heart was literally racing because of his words, the tone of his voice, and his lovely accent. She now knew for a fact that she was in love. The only thing she wasn't sure of was whether he could ever love her back. He was her kidnapper, after all. He could still very well be planning on raping and murdering her. She didn't fully trust him yet, but she could not deny that she was falling in love with him.
“And hair like sunshine,” he continued as if he was reading a love poem to her. “I've never met a girl quite like you, Sweetheart. Beautiful on the outside and in.”
“Evan!” she gasped suddenly, almost blurting out that she loved him. Yet she stopped herself from doing so.
Evan’s eyes bored into her momentarily as a tender smile formed across his lips. He decided that her heart most likely could take no more, for the moment, so he stayed quiet for a long while. They were soon lost within their own thoughts as the conversation died between them.