Kiss Me in the Dark Anthology - Monica James Page 0,10

body trembles in rage as he storms through the boat and slams me to my feet. I attempt to run, but he grabs me by the throat and shoves me backward. My back hits a support pole, and I gasp for breath.

“You want to act like a dog, I’ll treat you like one.”

“Please,” I beg, tears and spittle running down my face. But he doesn’t listen.

With his fingers still clutched around my throat, he reaches for a length of rope and forces my hands behind my back. With the rope, he then viciously ties it around my arms, just under my breasts, so I’m bound to the pole.

“You don’t have to do this,” I plead, but he’s so angry, he won’t listen to a word I have to say.

When he drops to his knees and forces my legs shut so he can tie them to the pole also, my fight dies, and I begin to weep. By the time he’s bound my ankles, tiny snivels wrack my body. I’m bound to the pole by my arms, legs, and feet. I’m not going anywhere.

Yet what scares me the most is how he won’t look at me.

“Saint…” It’s too late to take it back.

His head snaps up, and he launches off the floor, roaring into my face, “How do you know my name?”

“I-I…” I fumble over my words, his once smooth, chartreuse-colored eyes now a flaming amber.

“Tell me!” he yells, his breath fanning the hair from my cheeks.

“I h-heard one of the men call y-you th-that. I’m so-sorry.” I am gasping for breath because my fear is robbing me of air.

“Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness because I am far crueler than those two upstairs,” he growls, cupping my throat once again. Swallowing hard, I bow backward in an attempt to escape, but I have nowhere to go. “I have a lot more to lose than they do, so don’t force me to hurt you.”

He releases me, and I sag forward, sobbing. I have never felt more defeated in my life.

When he reaches for a roll of duct tape, I whimper. “Pl-please do-don’t gag m-me. I can’t st-stand it. Pl-please.”

My pleas go unheard as he stretches out a length and is about to fasten it to my lips. It’s my last chance. “Please, Saint, d-don’t…” I don’t even care what he does to me for using his name. I’m dead anyway.

I brace for the suffocation, squeezing my eyes shut, but I don’t get it. I get nothing.

“Fuck!” he roars before I hear something smash. He’s going to kill me; I’m sure of it. But when I hear his heavy boots pound along the floor and up the stairs, slamming the hatch closed, it appears I’m not sure of anything at all.

My heavy eyelids open, and I take in my surroundings. He’s gone. I’m still tied to a pole, but he’s gone. The smash I heard was the duct tape being hurled against the wall, shattering a glass in the process.

I have no idea why he didn’t gag me. The fact I used his name was enough of a reason to. But he didn’t, and I need to know why.

But for now, I surrender to the exhaustion, anticipating what day two holds.

She isn’t what I was expecting. She is strong-willed and stubborn. I have no other choice but to break her. It’s for her own good.

Day 2

I’ve been awake since well before dawn.

The night wasn’t kind to me. I had hoped to pass out from fatigue and the splitting pain in my head and not stir for hours, but that wasn’t the case. I slipped in and out of reality, but I eventually stayed awake, counting the stars I could see through the small window to my left. It was my only glimpse of the outside world.

When the sun peaked across the horizon and the moon surrendered to her light, I waited for my punishment. My attempted escape made Saint so angry last night, I’m certain my retribution was coming. But I waited and waited to no avail.

I can hear them up on the deck. The boat has either stopped or is going at a very slow pace, but they are merely torturing me. In some ways, I wish they’d just get it over with because the waiting…that’s half the torture.

I don’t know where we are, why they kidnapped me, or how they knew where to find me. Our location was off the grid. I didn’t see a soul for miles. If they