Page 33 of Beautiful Devil

As quickly as it started, it was over. I could have cried, until I opened my eyes and remembered where I was and who he was: mykidnapper. He was off of me and out the door in a heartbeat, leaving me feeling even more alone and confused.

Why did I miss his touch as soon as it was gone?

* * *

It’s been a week since I last saw Fabrizio, and I’m bored out of my fucking mind. Never in a million years did I think I would miss being able to clean or run errands as much as I do now.Maria continues to bring me food every day and, though I don’t want to, I eat it. I need to keep up my strength if I have any chance of getting out of here alive.

Ever since mymoment of weaknesslast week with He Who Shall Not Be Named, I’ve taken to putting myself on a schedule to keep my mind and memory of that morning at bay.

Every day, I wake up and do my stretches followed by some meditation before Maria shows up with my breakfast.

Once, she walked in on me while meditating. I must not have heard the turn of the lock, but when I opened my eyes, they landed right on her. Standing stock still with the tray of food still in her hands, she stared down at me on the floor with a perplexed expression on her wrinkled face.

Just when I was about to open my mouth and explain to her what I was doing, she’d already set the tray down on my bed andscurried away. Since that rather interesting encounter, I’ve tried to gauge the time as best I can, despite not having a clock in this room.

After eating breakfast, I do yoga. I’ve only taken a handful of classes, but I had a beginners’ yoga DVD that I used to pop in at home if I needed to de-stress or if I couldn’t get out for a run.

Running is my favorite form of exercise. There’s just something about it that’s so exhilarating. The feeling of my feet hitting the pavement, the way the wind touches my skin and makes me feel like I’m weightless, and the relief I get from a clear head. The feeling of finally beingfreefor once in my life. I’m always on a high after my runs and notice my moods are so much better whenever I get one in. But being trapped here…doesn’t allow for early morning jogs, and it’s not as if Fabrizio has offered me a treadmill. Although I feel like he would get some kind of sick thrill out of seeing me run and run, knowing I’d never get anywhere. Like a hamster on a wheel.

When I’m finished exercising, I shower and get dressed in my daily uniform of leggings and a t-shirt. Usually, I’ll sit at the window seat and look out at the rose garden and try to count all the new blooms until I lose track and have to start over. Super riveting, I know.

Once I’m finished with lunch, I take a nap. I don’t know why not doing anything makes me so tired, but it does. Sometimes, I’ll meditate again after waking up, eat dinner, and sit on the window seat to watch the sunset. Then I go to bed just so I can wake up and do it all over again.

Fucking Groundhog Day, every day.

Except today is different. I was able to do my stretches and meditate, but Maria still isn’t here with my breakfast.

What if something happened to her?

Trying not to worry, I transition into another yoga position, but stop as soon as I hear the key in the lock. In walks Maria, carrying the same tray with my breakfast. Not uttering a word, she sets it down on the bed and leaves.

Huh. That was odd. Even without a clock to tell the time, I’m pretty sure she was late. Maria is never late.

I pick at my food, but I feel it in my gut: something is wrong.

Even with trying to pick apart what it could be, my thoughts wander back over to Fabrizio…pinning me against the wall…touching all over me.

My dumb ass didn’t even put up a fight or try to stop him.What the fuck was I thinking?

I’m remembering how his hands left a hot trail on my body as they dug into my hip and neck, before moving up to my face. But mostly, I remember how good his thick finger felt when he pushed it into my soaking wet core.

I’ve never been so turned on in my entire life. I was so fucking hot for it, I would have let him go down on me then and there if he’d dropped to his knees. My need to get off was so bad I almost lied and told him some shit about that Dante guy just so he would finish me off. I’m still disgusted with myself for surrendering my control to my kidnapper like that. But in the moment, nothing else mattered but his skilled fingers inside of me.

What had tipped me over the edge was when he ground his erection into my thigh. The thought of what was underneath his dress pants almost had me coming all over his hand in less than two minutes. And he had the audacity to be smug about it too.

Getting mad at myself all over again, I stand up and pace around the room.

I knew when I saw his face in Diavolohe was bad news. This bastard fucking kidnapped me and has kept me locked in this goddamn room, demanding answers about some guy namedDante–who I don’t even know and, from the sounds of it, never want to know either. If what Fabrizio said is right, then that means Gallo got mixed up with Dante, which has now put me in the middle of things.

Oh, my God, I can’t breathe. I need air. I rush over to the windows and try to force them open. Walking back over to the bed, I plop down on it, putting my head between my knees, and try to get my breathing under control. I need to get out of this room and back to my shitty little apartment. I have to look for a job.

As these thoughts are running through my head, I hear the lock in the door turning again.

I look up to see Maria walking in, carrying a small white tray, bringing the smell of homemade ravioli wafting through the room with her. She must notice the frantic look on my face as she moves closer and puts her hand in mine as she sits on the bed beside me. A wave of calmness washes over me from her touch alone. She’s managed to calm me down enough to slow my breathing and ease my panic attack without muttering a single word. Nodding her head at my tray of food, she gets up and pats me lovingly on the shoulder like a mother would. Tears spring to my eyes because I miss my mom so much, but Maria’s touch manages to bring me a familiar sense of calm.

She starts toward the door, and I panic once again. I can’t be locked in this room for another day, let alone a week without getting some answers or finding a way out of here.

I jump up from the bed and yell, “Wait!”

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