Page 11 of Take Me

The other one pinches the skin at the back of my neck, and I see a flash of something long and sharp in my peripheral vision just before it hits. A thick needle penetrating my skin. The prick is sudden and sharp, making me tense up in every sore muscle.

“No, no,” is all I can say as pressure builds beneath my skin. “What are you doing?”

“ID chip,” the man holding me says.

The other one picks up a scanner and holds it to my neck. There’s a beep as it reads the chip. “245314,” he says.

“Correct. Make sure it says she’s off limits.”

“Already done.” The man behind me cuts the ropes on my wrists, and the other one hoists me up in his arms and carries me from the room. Once again, he holds me in his arms against his chest, almost like I’m human and not just a sack of potatoes.

I try to catch a glimpse of his features, but the harsh fluorescents are too bright. All I see are flashes of dark hair, more stone walls, and green iron doors.

It’s not until he carries me through one of those doors and the light becomes softer that I can finally make him out.

He has a distinct longish face with a straight, prominent nose, long, low brows, and intense hazel eyes that make me feel like he can see directly into my soul with a single glance.

I have to avert my gaze when he looks down at me. It’s like getting too close to the sun. But when he places me on a mattress in the corner, I can’t help peering up at him again.

He’s tall and lean, dressed in slacks and a black silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing tanned arms covered in dark hair. He sports an upscale haircut and a short beard trimmed in even lines.

This guy definitely doesn’t spend his days in a dark basement. He looks more like a businessman—a CEO of a profitable company.

“I’m Mikhail, but you’ll call me Sir.” He starts unbuttoning his shirt as he aims the magnetic power of his gaze at me. “You’ll address every other man down here the same way. Are we clear?”

I curl up on the mattress and nod into my arms. It’s all I can do.

“What do you say?” he demands.

Humiliation wrenches at my gut as I mutter, “Yes, Sir.”

The iron door creaks as someone comes in, speaking in a Romanian accent. “Where do you want these things?”

Mikhail must respond with a gesture because the door slams shut with a metallic clank a minute later, leaving me alone with my captor.

“Scoot over.” Mikhail gives me a nudge as he lowers himself onto the mattress.

He doesn’t need to ask twice. I turn around and huddle close to the stone wall, praying he will go away. At least, some part of me does. Another part can’t stand the idea of being alone in this windowless prison cell, naked and shaking with cold.

A quick flicker of my gaze across the space tells me that’s exactly what this is. A cell. There’s a mattress, a toilet, a sink, and chains on the walls. That’s it. I’m surprised the toilet is of the normal porcelain kind and not just a hole in the ground.

What surprises me even more is when Mikhail lies down behind me and covers us with a thick blanket.

I tense up so hard that my body stops shivering for a moment.

“Don’t fight,Koshechka.We need to get you warmed up.”

Then the strangest thing happens. This man, who has kidnapped me, stripped me of my dignity, and shoved me into a cold prison cell slides an arm under my neck, one over my waist, and gathers me to his now naked chest.

Warmth envelopes me on all sides, and the effect is instantaneous.

I can’t control it, just like I haven’t been able to control anything else that has happened to me on this horrible night.

A tear drips from my eyes, onto his arm. Another one falls onto the mattress, and then I’m weeping. I try to keep it down—I really do—but it doesn’t work. Soon, I’m sniffling and jerking as sobs rack my body.

“Shh,Koshechka,” he soothes, using the Russian endearment for kitten, as he slips a hand up to brush my wet hair out of my face. He doesn’t say anything else, just holds me as I crumble under the force of it all. And God, I don’t want to admit it, but with the way he strokes my arm and holds me tight, it almost feels safe.

It reminds me of Nikolai. His special brand of sadism mixed with comfort.

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