Page 34 of Mine

That’s interesting.

I sigh, relaxing my head against the door, desperate for Astor to come back and finish what he started.

No man has ever made me behave the way I did tonight—like a willing and wanting slut with zero shame about it. I’ve never felt such an instant feral need for sexual intimacy. His touch alone turned me into a completely different person. Confident, uninhibited. I kind of like her.

Sometime around five in the morning, I get sick of myself and all my brooding, undress, and crawl into bed, naked.

Because sleep helps everything.

Nineteen

Sabine

I awake, my subconscious hovering in that dreamless, confused state between sleep and wakefulness.

A man enters the bedroom. I must have heard the door unlock.

The tall silhouette is barely visible in the darkness. It’s that time of morning right before the sun rises. Always darkest before dawn.

I can’t make out the man’s face, but there’s no question that his full focus is on me.

Am I dreaming?

Without a sound, he crosses the room, stopping next to the bed. I am now aware that I am very naked under the covers.

A lock of hair is swept away from my brow. A knuckle gently caresses my cheek.

I want to reach up and grab his hand, hold it next to my heart. But the touch disappears, and my skin is left feeling cold and wanting.

The man sits in the armchair facing the bed. He leans back, settles in, and watches me.

I’m not scared. In fact, it’s the opposite. I feel very, very safe.

Am I dreaming? I must be. Because why would Astor watch me sleep?

Speak, I think. Say something.

Instead, my eyes drift closed and sleep finds me once again.

Twenty

Sabine

Day one of my captivity: I slept like a rock for five hours.

Now, with clearer focus, I am sitting on the edge of the bed, listening to the rain tick against the window, trying to make sense of what has happened to me. I have been kidnapped and am the prisoner of a man whom I crave like the last box of Girl Scout cookies—Thin Mints, to be clear. Everything else is a jumbled mess of confusion.

I wonder what this day will bring, what Astor intends to do with me, how long he plans to keep me. And last, but not least, if he plans to kiss me again.

As if all this isn’t enough to send a woman teetering on the edge of a mental break, mixed with these emotions is the sick realization that outside these walls, no one knows I’m gone. I have no friends, no family, and my boss thinks I’m on vacation. No one misses me. No one is asking why I haven’t responded to text messages, or why I haven’t come home.

It’s eye-opening and very depressing.

A loud, brusque knock at the door sends my heart jumping into my throat. I grab the thin gray throw blanket from the edge of the bed, surge to my feet, and wrap it around my naked body just as the door unlocks and opens.

A woman breezes into the room, carrying a canvas bag over her shoulder. Her mood is almost tangible, as sour as the weather outside. While I’m shocked to see a woman at all, she is not surprised to see me. In fact, she’s annoyed and making a concerted effort not to look at me.

Yes, I’m insignificant. I get it.

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