Unfold Me (4 page)

Or is he only trying to test me to see what I’d do if he seriously pissed me off? Maybe he just wants to spare himself disappointment if it turns out that I lied to him about my intentions with him. Or maybe he’s trying to find something to use against me. It isn’t as if I hadn’t done something similar. I blink. No, I can’t think about that now. I can’t think about Archer. But my mind doesn’t listen.

I’m kneeling on the floor of Archer’s room, the carpet biting into my legs. He’s brought me here because I’ve finally relented and agreed to do what he told me, but now that he left me in here alone and naked, and told me to wait for him, I just can’t keep still. My eyes flit around the room, and I listen for a moment, but the hallway is quiet, so I rise to my feet and pad over to the nearest shelf.

Maybe there’s something that can give me an insight into what the man wants or who he truly is. Maybe there’s something I can use against him or to escape. But all I can see on the shelf are dustless books that look brand new. I open the closet, but it’s filled with suits and clothes he doesn’t wear. The drawer of a nightstand is filled with condoms, and the cabinet only contains sex toys, so I immediately close that.

This isn’t Archer’s real room. It can’t be. There isn’t anything personal in here, which still tells me nothing. In my frustration over the lack of my findings, I don’t notice the door unlocking, and when they open, it’s already too late. I drop to my knees and lower my head as he taught me to do, and I want to make myself invisible.

“What have you done now, Kitten?” Archer’s voice is empty of all emotion, and I dare to lift my eyes toward his. His blue depths stare at me, his forehead wrinkled, but his lips are slightly tilted upward as if he’s glad he caught me disobeying him.

“I’m sorry, sir.  I was just... bored,” I say, hating the tremor in my voice, but after days in the dark, cold dungeon, I have no desire to go back. “It won’t happen again.”

“No, it won’t.”

I can hear the sound of the belt being pulled out of the loops, and a shudder shakes my body, but that’s not the worst part. The worst part is the heat pooling between my legs.

My phone vibrates and I find myself back in reality. Lilith is asking me to hold onto Isaac for a little longer, because moving him anywhere or finding him a safe place would be way too difficult. That means I’m stuck with him... Great. I eye the cabinet across the room. The pills are in there, but I don’t know how many Isaac has been taking. I need to gradually decrease the dosage, but he looked more or less fine, so he should be okay until tomorrow. Maybe. I could always contact that woman who gave me the pills, but she’s selling those damn things and wouldn’t really want me to get him off them, or she’d simply tell me he was taking more than he actually did so I’d buy more.

After I take a sip of my morning coffee, a smile breaks out on my face. Isaac actually ended up cleaning the mess he made yesterday, and he hasn’t even asked about the pills. Granted, he’s been giving me strange looks, trying to avoid being in the same room as me, and hasn’t said a word, but at least he didn’t try to kill me while I was sleeping on the couch, and he hasn’t tried to ransack any other part of my apartment. Maybe he’ll finally start to trust me, except that’s almost impossible when we’re barely speaking to each other, but I don’t know what to say to him, and I doubt he’d be willing to talk to me anyway.

But as I look toward the door, I nearly drop my favorite cup to the floor. Isaac is watching me from the door, a mischievous smile stretching his lips. His hair is still wet from the shower and... he’s completely naked. My eyes travel up from his thick, erect cock to his perfectly sculpted abs. I can’t breathe. I’m frozen in spot, my cup still on its way to my lips. His bruises and cuts have turned dark and purplish, but none of that takes away from his hotness. I know Raphael would only choose the best and force them to keep their bodies in perfect shape, but...

“Good morning.” He steps into the kitchen, breaking through my hazy mind.

“Um...” I finally put the cup on the counter, and meet his eyes, intent on not looking down again. “Why aren’t you dressed? Did I forget to mention I have a no naked people in my apartment policy?”

His steps are confident as he makes his way toward me, then traces his finger across the counter. “You look tense. Maybe a little workout could help with that,” he says softly. The way his blue eyes look at me through those thick, long eyelashes makes me squirm.

“I’m not a morning person.” I turn around and lean on the sink. God, why is he doing this?

“That’s because your mornings haven’t been entertaining enough.” He places his arms around me, and I can feel him pressing himself against my ass. My eyes close for a moment, and I sigh as his hands roam up and down my body. We shouldn’t be doing this. I should tell him to stop... I should... He pushes his hips forward, and I gasp.

“No,” I finally find my voice. “Let go of me.”

“Why not?” he breathes into my ear. “No one has to know.”

“Let go. Now,” I say more forcefully, and he pulls away from me. Taking a deep breath, I push myself off the sink, ignoring the heat spreading through my body, and turn to face him. “We’re not having sex, got it? Go get dressed.”

The smile fades from his face, and his eyes are narrowed at me in confusion. Then he drops his gaze to the floor, and bites his bottom lip. When he looks up at me again, his face is serious.

“If you’re worried your friend will find out, don’t be. She won’t. I won’t tell her,” he says. “You paid a fortune for me. I know that’s nothing for you, but...”

I raise my finger to shush him. “I’m not interested.” And I’m totally glad I’m not Pinocchio right now, so I keep my face expressionless. “You’re wrong about me. What I told you is true. All I want is to help you. I know you think that people like me don’t care about that. I get it. You’ve been surrounded for way too long by people who didn’t give a damn about you, but only about their own pleasure, and I know it’s hard to trust someone. But I’m not going to have sex with you and you don’t owe me anything. Well, maybe there’s one thing you can do to repay me...”

His head shoots up, and he gives me an expectant look.

“You need to cut down on those pills.”

He looks away. “Why do you care?”

“Because I do. Those pills... They’re going to destroy you,”

He grimaces. “It’s too late for that.”

“No, it’s not. You have a chance to live a good life, far away from people who caused you so much pain. But first you have to free yourself from the last bit of their hold over you.”

“Yeah, as if things were that easy.” He crosses his arms.

“I know they’re not.” I open one of the drawers and take out a small box, offering it to him. He eyes me carefully, then takes the box. “One pill,” I say. “For today, so you can stop going through my stuff and trying to seduce me to get it.” He flinches, and I realize he’s been really trying to get me to give him the pills in exchange for sex.

He immediately pops the pill into his mouth and swallows, his shoulders relaxing. Maybe I shouldn’t have done this, but he had way too many yesterday, and I can’t imagine what effect not having any today would have on him. My experience with those pills, probably the same or similar ones, was quite short because I hated living in a haze and it would leave me drowsy, and Archer didn’t like that much either. I wish I could ask Isaac about Archer, but he’d be suspicious then.

“When did you start taking them?” I ask as I pour him a glass of water.

“I don’t know.” He shrugs, but I have a feeling he’s lying, so I hand him the glass.

“Thanks,” he says quickly and gulps down the liquid, then places the glass on the counter.

“Now go get dressed,” I say.

He watches me for a moment, but then he heads for the door. Unable to help myself, my eyes fall on the scars that crisscross his back. No one should’ve gone through what he’d been through. Part of me wonders if Archer is responsible for some of those, but that’s probably not his style. He knows all about inflicting pain without leaving any permanent marks. As for Raphael, it seems that he gives his slaves different purposes, and allows his clients to mark some but doesn’t allow it with others. I can’t wait for the moment he goes down. If only Archer would go down with him, but I know he’s too smart for that. The cops will never get him, and I’ll never get my revenge... unless I come up with a brilliant plan.

Isaac starts to turn back, and I avert my gaze and focus on the pot on the stove. I can see Isaac’s reflection on its shiny surface, and there’s disappointment on his face. Does he think I don’t like him? Has my rejection hurt him? I don’t know what to think, but I push those thoughts away. I can’t let him know that I find him attractive. That would only encourage him more, and there can never be anything between us.

It’s been a couple of days, and I’m still getting nowhere with Isaac. I keep glancing at him as we sit in my living room and watch some boring TV show. Isaac’s eyes are glued to the screen, and he hasn’t said a word. His face is expressionless, and even though I’ve been giving him only one pill a day, there don’t seem to be any visible withdrawal effects, except I have to keep monitoring him so he doesn’t do anything stupid.

Physically, he’s fine, but emotionally... I’m not so sure. I just wish there was a way for me to talk to him about it without getting some sarcastic remark or a one-syllable answer. I wish I could see into that pretty head of his. I don’t know if he’s plotting someone’s murder or just doesn’t care about anything. It’s frustrating, and I’ve never had to take care of anyone other than myself, so I’m pretty much lost as how to proceed.

“Would you like something to eat?” I ask, wringing my hands. I can’t sit here in silence for a minute longer. I’ve been trapped in this apartment for way too long. Actually, I don’t remember the last time I spent so much time indoors. My head feels as if it’s about to burst, and I have a feeling I’m going to start climbing walls soon if I don’t get some fresh air, away from Isaac.

He just shrugs, and I get to my feet and head to the kitchen. As I open the fridge, I realize we’re starting to run low on groceries. I guess I could order delivery, but I’d rather do it myself. After I make ham and cheese sandwiches and place them on plates, I lean on the counter and lower my head to my hands. If I leave Isaac alone here, there’s no way of telling what he’ll do, especially since his emotions are probably affected by withdrawal. When I lift my head, I see Isaac in the hallway, coming toward the kitchen, so I pick up the plates.

“I was just taking this to the living room. Anything else you want?” I lift up one of the plates.

“Just water. I can get it myself.” He passes right next to me, so close that the plates nearly fall out of my hands, even though there’s more than enough space.

“Okay.” I straighten my back and make my way to the living room. After I place the plates on the glass table, I settle back on the couch. Isaac comes a moment later and picks up his plate without looking at me. I munch on my sandwich, and when I’m done, I jump up and stride to the balcony. I lean on the railing, gazing at the city.

The sun is warming my face, and the cars are whizzing past. A group of people is laughing in the park just across from my building. No, I can’t stay in this place a minute longer. I need to go out. But as I turn around, I found myself face to face with Isaac, and I gasp, my back colliding with the railing.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he says, his eyes focused on something behind me.

“The view? Yeah, I guess,” I say, flustered, trying to walk past him, but he blocks my path. “Is there something else you want me to see?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

“Maybe I was wrong...” he says softly, leaning forward.

“Wrong about what?” He grips the railing at each side of me and lowers his head until his lips brush my neck. “Isaac... we talked about this. I won’t...” He flicks his tongue over my earlobe. “Stop it.” I place my hands on his chest. “I don’t want...”

He presses me harder against the railing.

“Isaac, damn it!” I give him a gentle push, but it’s like trying to shove a mountain. “If you want more pills...”