Page 22 of The Commander

“I am going to undo all your bindings and let you go. Do you know this old children’s place, this school? Did you go there as a child? Hum, no?”

She shook her head. Bastian could see he had her full attention now. She met his eyes, looked at his mouth, confused, distrusting the offer to let her go. Smart girl. She should be very concerned.

“If you go down the hall and take the first right and follow it, it circles all around to the other side of the building. Don’t go straight. That is where the red hats are, and you don’t want to run into them again. You will see several doors that lead to classrooms. Those rooms all have doors that open to the back of the building into big wide fields. What were they once, some kind of game field?”

He paused, running his hands over the ropes one last time before he had to cut them. They were so pretty on her pale skin, but she’d been in this position too long.

“A game field and then the woods. There were houses on the other side of the woods.” She swallowed and licked her lips again.

Poor thing. If she got through this next part, he’d have to remember to get her some water.

“Before I came here. Yes. You would have been a child then. But pay attention, Kitten. There’s nothing there now, just more woods. Many places to hide. Freedom, if you like.”

Her eyes darted over his face. Searching. He liked that. Unfortunately, now that she was paying attention, it was time to let her out of his sight. “One of those classroom doors to theoutside is broken. Destroyed at some point, and I didn’t have it replaced. It keeps things interesting, I think. Anyone who gets to it can leave the building and run away.” He made a motion with his hands like a fluttering bird.

She flinched away, missing the graceful move. Kitten had terrible manners. He was going to have to do something about that.

“Away?” She encouraged him to continue.

“Yes. Away. There are red hats on the grounds—watching for rebels—but they know not to touch any human who comes out of that door.”

Her lips thinned into a line, as if she were afraid to ask for clarification. Bastian waited. How brave was she? How daring? How much did she want to risk escaping that tendril of arousal he’d tapped inside her?

If she didn’t ask, he wouldn’t say. Instead, he petted the skin of her back, her thighs, her upper arms, learning her. She shivered when his hand brushed her lower back.

“What are you saying? What do you mean?”

“I’m going to release you. Let you go, Kitten. And I told you how to leave this building untouched.”

“You’re not.”

She didn’t believe him. He couldn’t blame her.

“You don’t want to leave? You have said you are innocent. That this is all a mistake. I’m going to let you go.” He gave her what he thought was a teasing smirk.

She winced, cocking her head back and away.

So much for that. There was improvement needed there, then, on his part.

“Please. You’ll let me go?”

Taking his knife again, he swiftly cut through the bindings at her ankles, above her shoes. Human feet were so tender.

He’d be nice to her and let her keep her shoes.

Seeing that the bindings on her ankles had rubbed into her skin, he rubbed the marks and hurts away, enjoying how her breathing increased as he touched her. Fear and desire.

Her bones were like a bird’s. Very fragile. Alluring. In comparison, their physiologies were the same—head, body, arms, and legs. But the ease with which she could be broken compared to her ability to survive fascinated him.

“Does this feel good when I rub your feet, your calves? How do my hands feel on your skin, Kitten? Do you like that?”

She made noises of denial, as if she wanted him to stop. He ignored them. His touch bothered her, and not because she was afraid. Some prey could block pleasant sensations out, but she was not some prey.

Too late for her. She was his now. Meant for him. She could never block him out.

He cut her bindings off from her knees, planning in the back of his head when and where he would use rope again. He looked forward to it, to everything.

“Hold still now while I do these for you. Be still, Kitten. Do you need me to help you be still? Don’t struggle.”

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