by Rowena
She gives me a look—as if she expected more from me.
“You’re talking about fairy tales,” she said. “I really doubt things work that way. Anyone who says they’re hitched to their dream guy, that they found ‘the one’—everything they’d hoped for and more—is lying. If not to you, then to themselves. For the most part, people just settle. And if you’re settling, best to get something major out of it.”
“Hm,” is all I say, considering her words and what they must mean about her.
I have a strong sense that what she’s doing and saying, it’s not her. I’m not sure she even knows yet.
“What—you disagree?”
She looks fully engaged and genuinely interested in my response.
I half-shrug. “I don’t think the whole idea’s a fairy tale at all. There are definitely people out there who can make you feel like whatever you were looking for—or didn’t even know you were looking for—you found it the moment you find them.”
She had been looking at me directly until I said the last part.
“Do you suppose he restocked a day of clothes?” she says as she looks toward the dresser. “They took our old ones.”
I suppress a chuckle.
The girl knows how to dance, how to pivot. She must’ve learned it in the debutante academy.
“Probably not,” I say. “He’ll probably wait until we’re totally depleted since it seems his theory is that we won’t need more than what we have now, so…”
“Well, he’ll soon realize how wrong he was,” she says quickly, and almost as if she actually believes it.
I say nothing for a moment, watching her try to hide her nervousness.
“So this Brick,” I say, my eyes intently on her as she deliberately avoids them, “you think he’s worried sick about you right now?”
“Of course, he is! His future wife suddenly disappeared, so… what the hell are you laughing at?”
“You sure are committed,” I say once I can. “That’s a good sign. Although not for our chances of getting out of here. But I admire it—you stick to the plan. Tenaciously. You’re pretty loyal.” I pause. “So you’re convinced Brick was about to propose to you and then later promise to love and cherish you for the rest of his life…”
“Absolutely!”
“So you love him. And you’re certain he loves you?”
She doesn’t answer for a while.
“What does that matter?” she says eventually, still avoiding my eyes.
“Are you kidding me? At times like this, love will tear up the earth to find you. Do you think he’s worried or relieved you might be gone?”
“How dare you?” she says, her blue eyes finally snapping back to me.
Shit, if she could have reached me fast enough, my cheek would be stinging from a slap.
“Of course he’s searching desperately right this second. Of course, he loves me!”
I hold my hands up defensively in a silent plea for her to calm down.
“If you say so. But if Brick were in this situation right now, do you think he’d fuck some strange girl immediately to get out quicker?”
This time, she does come at me, but I restrain her easily.
Even if she’d been taught self-defense, she is no match for my strength and my restraining technique.
I put all my natural advantages to use, including whatever skills I got from high school wrestling.
“You’re mad because you know the answer,” I say right into her ear as I hold her against me, both of us breathing deeply from our little dance. I squeeze her tighter. “You know he’d fuck that girl’s pussy so quickly…”
She manages to stomp down on my toes. Hard.
Probably a good thing since it killed my growing erection at having her body pressed against mine, all our parts a hair’s breadth away from each other.
“Ha!” she says, taking the opportunity to spin away from me and put some distance between us.
“Oh, Courtney,” I say calmly through the residual pain. “You will pay dearly for that.”
I can hear her gulp from here.
5
Courtney
What does Dustin mean?
Oh, whatever—it’s just some idle threat uttered in quiet agony.
I got him good too.
Well, that’s what he gets for all those horrible words he said to me!
Anyway, no matter the growled threat, I have the distinct impression Dustin wouldn’t hurt me, that he doesn’t want to injure me in any way.
He likes messing with me, obviously, and he thinks it’s funny to surprise me with his dong, but he hasn’t done a single thing to make me think he’d force himself on me or anything.
Plus, that would be against the rules, and the billionaire freak might not be into things going that far.
The kidnapper seems to want us to give in to whatever he has figured is just beneath the surface; he wants to watch us both surrender helplessly to uncontrollable feelings.
Well, me, in particular, since it’s clear that Dustin—probably just about any guy—is fine with the terms and willing to get it over with as soon as I’m ready.
What a gentleman.
He even offered to help me out if I ever get horny again—without penetration outside of his fingers and tongue!
Did he also go to finishing school or what? So chivalrous.
Bet he’d open my doors, throw his coat down on puddles to help me cross...
“So that’s the whole thing for you?” he says, his rich voice a surprisingly welcome intrusion on my thoughts. “Marry a millionaire and become, what, a socialite? Go to parties and organize fundraisers…”
“None of your business! What’s wrong with you?”
He shrugs. “Nothing else to do, I suppose. All we have to occupy us is our words. Plus, I always wanted to know more about you, and my window was always limited. You intrigued me since the first day I saw you, and I never quite got you out of my head, even up to recently.”
His words throw me for a moment. He said them so gently, so...genuinely.
Has he truly been affected by me as he says, or is this just part of his seduction? Is he that good? Should it matter?
I guess I appreciate the effort if it is just a way to break me down so he can get in my panties and get us out of here faster and back to our lives.
Oh my gosh, I never even thought about what Dustin got pulled away from, how his life got interrupted.
“What about you—are you married now? Engaged?”
He has no ring on, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Some married guys take those off.
He shakes his head.
“Girlfriend?” I ask, finding myself a little too invested in a negative response.
He shakes his head again and my body relaxes.
“It’s been some time since I had a serious girlfriend,” he says. “I’ve been dating casually for over a year now.”
I don’t know why, but something that feels a bit like jealousy courses through me briefly.
Why would I feel possessive of him? Even for a moment?
I suppose it’s the nice words he said earlier: I never quite got you out of my head.
Plus, the way he looked at me when he was talking about finding everything one was looking for in a single person… I got the silly impression he was talking about me.
I’m not sure if he was sending that message or if I just wanted it to be for me so badly.
God, why would I? He can’t do anything for me.
My parents would be so disappointed if I ever brought home a guy like him.
What a waste of all that money getting me polished in every possible way!
I was bred for a prince, dammit.
“What’s wrong, princess?”
I don’t know why, but something cracks and the truth spills out.
“I guess I’m just really worried about the consequences of this whole thing. If we do anything, I could be ruined!”
&nbs
p; “In what way?”
“I don’t know—I’m pretty sure Brick would lose interest. Word might get around I got spoiled by the likes of you, no offense.”
He lets out a dry chuckle.
“No, seriously—I really don’t mean anything by that. I just grew up in a different world. You and I were never meant to be in the same sphere…”
“Life has demonstrated otherwise since we’ve been brought together twice before. And here we are again.”
I let out a short breath. “Dustin, I’m sure you’re a perfectly nice guy, and you’ll make some lucky chick an awesome husband someday. I know you like me—you’ve said it in a million ways since the first time I laid eyes on you when we were—what? Nine? But you know as well as I do we can never be together. And as simple and easy as the kidnapper’s terms sound, I just can’t do that with you; I’ve been saving myself for… more.”
His face looked impassive as I spoke, a mask of hidden emotion, but he suddenly perks up at my last words.
“Wait, what do you mean ‘saving yourself?’”
“I mean exactly what just occurred to you, I think—I’m a virgin, Dustin. So this isn’t just about refusing to sleep with some guy from the wrong side of the tracks. No offense.”
Actually, I’m not even sure he heard my unintended insult—he looks absolutely shocked.
Well, now he knows why it’s so important to me to just wait for help to get here.
“Don’t look so surprised. Guess it’s not part of your debutante stereotype?”
He only shakes his head, still looking struck.
Well, at least he’ll leave me alone for a minute.
Wrong.
“So let me get this straight,” Dustin says as he begins to pace, taking two steps before turning back around and doing it all over again, “you’ve never had sex before…”
“That’s what ‘virgin’ usually means. Although you’re right—I could have been talking about my anus…”
He gives me a look that calls me a smart-ass as he continues pacing, then he runs his hand through his thick dark hair.
My hand itches with jealousy, wanting to do the same to him, then my eyes get stuck on his bicep again.
He really is a magnificent masculine figure, and I really wish I could just…
But no, I have to suppress that stupid base part of my brain.
I have a goal. I must keep my eye on the prize.
“I like that you waited for me, princess,” he says, pausing his pacing.
Okay, can he get any more ridiculous?
“Say what? No, no, no, Dustin, I can assure you that saving myself had nothing to do with you.”
“And everything to do with auctioning yourself off to the highest bidder? But none of that matters now, does it? You’re here with me. Stuck with me. And whether you want to or not, your freedom depends on how quickly you accept your fate.”
“Fuck you, Dustin Prusso!”
His lips turn up in amusement. “Exactly. And I know you want to.”
“Just… shut up!”
I’m trying to think of what else I can hurl at him when the creepy voice suddenly fills the room again.
“I’ll take this moment to remind you, Courtney, that things will only get harder from here. You might want to take heed. Of course, I’m actually looking forward to it! More entertainment for me!”
I don’t know what to do with that info.
“Oh, and I must say, your virginity is a surprising twist. Sure, I’ve heard you state it, but people lie. Especially girls—they lie all the time, so I wasn’t banking on it. And, of course, I can’t watch or listen in on you twenty-four-seven.” He pauses again. “So you might have been telling the truth. Huh…”
I wait for more, but nothing more comes.
Then I start thinking about his words, wondering where he might have planted cameras and listening devices.
My breathing increases and I start freaking out at the thought that...
“Hey,” Dustin says gently with a reassuring, soothing pat on my shoulder.
I have no clue when he made his way closer to me—all I know is that his hand on my shoulder, his warm, broad body so near to mine does start to comfort me and takes my mind away from disturbing possibilities.
“It’s okay, princess. If he wanted to hurt you, he would have. And I have a feeling he’ll leave you alone after this whole thing ends—however it ends.”
“Correct!” the distorted voice interjects, making me jump.
Dustin pulls me into his arms, pressing me against him in a hug.
My breathing continues to slow down, and anxiety slowly exits me.
I could stay like this for a very long time, completely content.
Except Dustin’s heady masculine scent starts to affect me, awareness of his hard body on mine sinking in.
My blood pressure spikes again, and my heart speeds up with anxiety once more, but of a different kind.
Just as I think I feel him starting to grow, he pulls away, leaving me feeling somewhat bereft, and a bit cold.
I miss the warmth of his hold, the security I felt wrapped in his muscular arms.
But, of course, I don’t say this.
Dustin moves even further away from me, leaving my side to sit on the bed several feet away.
I follow him, plopping down next to him, leaving a proper amount of space between us.
“Tell me about your family,” I say softly.
That short moment between us tenderized something in me, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.
“Is it just you and your parents?”
“I have a little brother,” he says. “He’s in his freshman year of college.”
“Oh! What’s he studying?”
“Computer Science. He wants to work in IT so he’s definitely not planning to end up in the family business.”
“You’re the one carrying on the legacy, right? It’s pretty cool you’re actually following in your dad’s footsteps.”
“Yup. Sort of anyway. It’s steady, solid work. There’s always a need for it.”
“And you actually enjoy it?”
“I do. I went through a business program so as manager and co-owner of a landscaping company, I’m not actually out there on the field doing the work my dad used to do, honest and honorable as it was. But sometimes, I mix things up. It’s nice to be outside and with nature, even if you’re trimming it.”
“Huh. Well, I can only imagine the drooling housewives when you do show up,” I say with a smile.
Shit. I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud.
He grins as my cheeks heat with shame.
But he knows I’m pretty severely attracted to him by now, right? He knows how hot he is!
It’s probably why he decided not to bother with girlfriends anymore. I mean, why buy a cow when people are handing you free milk cartons left and right? Skim milk, fat-free milk, whole milk, chocolate milk, lactose-free milk—women, young and old, must be throwing panties at him constantly. What point would there be to cuffing himself to just one?
“Not just housewives in large houses. We work with businesses and even the government. We’re not about mowing lawns—we’re primarily involved in planning and designing, and sometimes maintenance. We work out irrigation, sustainability. Anyway, what about you?” he asks. “If you weren’t auditioning to be a trophy wife, what would you be doing?”
I elbow him lightly, flashing him a friendly smile.
Then I find myself sobering up—it’s something I haven’t thought about for a while.
“Well, I studied Plant Biology in college, so I guess something along those lines? I’m actually interested in working out in the field, myself. I love nature, so I’d find something that lets me go out and play in it. I guess I’d be a Botanist. Maybe even get involved in organic farming in some way.”
“Hmm,” he says, drawing out the sound. “Sounds like we’re not really that different underneath at all.”
> 6
Dustin
Listening to Courtney go on about her fantasy alternative careers, I find myself warming at her obvious excitement, the quirks in her mannerisms, her tentative smile.
She is beautiful and much sweeter than she gives herself credit for.
What I hear underneath her words is that she doesn’t want what her parents have picked out for her at all—she only wants to please them. Doing what they want is the least she can do, considering all they’ve given her, and being the loyal, committed gal she is, she feels she owes them.
How do I tell her she owes it to herself to be happy? That if her parents don’t care for that for her, then fuck ‘em?
But I just listen to her go on for now.
I like the sound of her voice.
Our days continued in this pattern: we awaken, freshen up and eat (or vice versa), chat, eat, chat some more.
The only alternative to chatting was sleeping, and both of us prefer to feel alive and connected to the here and now with another living soul.
Needless to say, we covered a lot of ground as days and nights ran into each other.
To be honest, although I learned a lot more details about her and what she’s been up to over the years, my feelings about her have remained the same; they’ve only deepened, in fact.
I know now, just as I knew when I met her all those years ago—she is mine.
I felt a calm certainty the first time I laid eyes on her, and nothing has changed since then, though we went on to live separate lives and continued down diverging paths.
But fate in the form of a deranged billionaire has brought us back together again, and it’s time for Courtney to accept her place by my side.
She doesn’t know it, but it has all been for me—she’s been saved for me.
No more running.
She thinks we’re so different, but as we both learned over the past few days, the differences are shallow.
Like me, she really wants a big family.
Like me, she wants to live on a large piece of land on a hill, the nearest neighbors quite a ways away.
Like me, she wants to visit the largest and oldest Wisteria around the world, which means a trip to Japan and Sierra Madre, California.