My job is to protect those I love, those I owe a debt to, those that are innocent. I owe Siren a debt. I won’t let her fall into any other category.
I turn off the water, get dressed, and then walk back to my bedroom.
Siren is awake, with the covers lifted up to her chin like that will protect her from me.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
I walk over to her side of the bed and pull a bottle of water out of the nightstand and set it next to her. I’ve kept a few bottles of water in the nightstand so I could take my medications the first thing in the morning.
“I’m going to work,” I say.
Her eyes widen, and a smile forms behind her lips. She thinks she can plan. She can search my house to find dirt on me. But even if she did, there is nothing here. She will find no personal detail about me if she ripped this house apart room by room.
I walk to the door, though, as a plan forms to keep her safe. She’s safe in my house, sure, but she’s safest in this bedroom. She won’t be tempted to run away if she can’t see how easy it would be for her to run down the beach and away from Julian’s property. Here she won’t be tempted to leave.
“Enjoy your cage until I get back,” I say as I close the door and pretend to lock it from the outside. But there is no lock on the outside, although she doesn’t know that.
I hear her run to the door and pound on it hard.
“Zeke! Don’t! Don’t lock me in here!” she shouts from behind the door.
“It’s for your own good. I wouldn’t want you to wander and fall into the hands of a man who isn’t as kind and patient as I am.”
“I’m claustrophobic!”
“Good thing that room is huge then.”
“What about food?”
“I asked, you said you weren’t hungry. I’ll be back by dinner time.”
I start backing up as she keeps pounding on the door but doesn’t once test the door handle. She believes me. She truly thinks I locked her inside the room.
“Zeke…please.” Her voice is soft and begging.
It should make me want to help her. I’d help any other woman who spoke to me that way. I’d tell them the truth. I’d find another way to contain them. But not with Siren. Siren’s sultry plea makes my cock hard. It twists me into a one-track man who wants to devour her.
She’s safer locked in my bedroom.
So I walk away and hope Siren doesn’t realize the door isn’t locked. She’s as free as she was before she was kidnapped, but I’m not the devil she thinks I am. I’m much worse. I’m the kind who pretends to protect her but ultimately destroys her—just as soon as my beast within breaks through.
If Siren is smart, she’ll run. She’ll save herself before my beast escapes. Because when he does, she’ll never be safe.
11
Siren
Fucking bastard.
Asshole.
Buttmunch.
Jackass.
Coward.
Zeke fucking locked me in his bedroom. And it pisses me off. I’m not an animal he can just lock up!
But apparently, I am. That is exactly what he did. He locked me up and is holding me hostage.
And now what do I do?
He expects me to wait until he returns so he can order me around and have his way with me—I don’t think so.
That sure as hell isn’t happening.
My thighs clench, my nipples pebble, and my mouth runs dry just thinking about Zeke. I slept next to him all night. Somehow, my dreams were all about him. Dreams—not nightmares.
In them, he wasn’t much different than the man I’ve come to know since he bought me—the strong, silent type. He would just look at me and I could tell everything he was thinking—exactly what he wanted me to do.
And I did it. I undressed slowly. I touched myself, spread the moisture between my legs over my lips so he could see how wet I was for him. He was commanding without saying a word. And I wanted to follow his every desire.
But then I woke up. I remembered no matter how attracted I am to Zeke, I will never fuck him. For a split second, when I saved him in the water, I thought he might be the rare good guy who would never hurt a woman. But now I know the truth.
He locked me up simply because it was the easiest course of action. He knows he doesn’t need to tie me up, although he might try to just for his own twisted enjoyment.
Currently, a simple lock on the door is the only thing between me and freedom.
I fold my arms over my chest as the air conditioning kicks on and chills my arms and legs. I’m still naked except for Zeke’s oversized T-shirt.
I should find more clothes.
I should break down the door or one of the windows.
I should run.
But I can’t.
The island is too small. Zeke could find me easily. Or Julian…I won’t risk Julian finding me. So I’ll stay.
I walk over to the dresser and pull out drawer after drawer until I find a pair of sweatpants. I put them on, feeling less naked, even though I have to roll the waistband several times and tie the string around my body to keep the pants up.
I may not be able to escape, but at least I can find out more about Zeke. I can gather as much ammunition possible on the man. I need him to get me off this island. I need answers.
So I dig through all of the drawers in his dresser. All I find are clean boxer briefs that somehow already smell like him. I inhale the sweet mix of ocean, fresh-cut grass, and intangible man. I find socks, T-shirts, and jeans. All I learn is that he likes his clothes casual, yet designer.
I dig through the nightstands on either side of his bed. I find water bottles, pain pills, and a tattered copy of Moby Dick. He reads apparently. Or at least he likes this particular book.
I find nothing else I might expect from a monster like him. Nothing kinky. No BDSM stuff. No handcuffs, ties, whips. I don’t even find a condom. Maybe he isn’t into safe sex? Maybe he’s one of those sick bastards who likes to impregnate women and then beat them until the baby no longer exists?
Fuck.
I slam the last drawer shut, trying not to think that way anymore. Zeke isn’t an angel, but he can’t be that big of a monster, can he?
I sit back on my heels and look around the room. There is no door other than the one leading to the hallway. No closet to search through. No bathroom to rummage through. I’ve officially run out of things to search in the first fifteen minutes he’s gone. And I’ve learned practically nothing about Zeke.
Wait…there is no other door! No bathroom!
I stand up and look again. That can’t be right. This room is too beautiful and grand for a bathroom to not be connected to it. But there is no door. There is no place for another door to be; it would ruin the enormous ocean vista out the windows.
My belly rumbles. I place my hand on my stomach and frown. Not only do I not have any food for however many hours Zeke is gone, but I don’t have a bathroom.
I sigh.
I won’t let him win. He’s just doing this to agitate me and rile me up, so when he returns, I’ll fight harder. That’s probably what his sick mind is thinking. That’s why he didn’t touch me last night. He knew I was too exhausted to fight hard.
I eye the big bed and climb back under the sheets. I’m not tired since I’m used to only getting a few hours at a time. And despite it not being the smartest thing I’ve ever done, I slept just fine with Zeke next to me all night.