How long had it been?

My mind was scrambled—second-guessing the hours I’d spent in this godforsaken basement. Three days or four? Two or five? Without access to the sun’s cycle, it all seemed the same.

While running my thumb along a fragment of glass, the sound of the door opening wrenched my head up. The light bulb overhead blazed bright, making me squint and cower in the sudden flood of illumination.

Then he stepped in.

Once again, he had two plates. A mismatch of food like before. A peach this time, along with a hard-looking bread roll, raw carrot complete with its green top, and what seemed like a ramekin filled with honey.

My stomach growled, perking up at the thought of being fed. That was the only part of me pleased to see him. All other parts hissed in warning to leave me the hell alone.

Last night, after his rare show of compassion by leaving me alone in the bathroom, gratefulness had cultivated warmer feelings toward him. I’d wondered—just for a second—if my plan at being amiable and obedient was working.

I’d granted him an orgasm without too much hate in my heart. I’d let myself soften as he’d trembled under my hand. I’d had more hope than hate if I was honest...clinging to belief that honesty would get me free.

But once again, I’d been so stupid.

I hadn’t attacked him or fought. I hadn’t cursed or put up any sort of fuss.

I was ridiculous.

I mean, I’d dressed in front of him for goodness sake! I’d allowed him to command me, all because I believed each glimpse he earned of my body, each secret that I shared would slowly grant me his trust. Trust I could use to make my escape.

You’re an idiot, Gem.

A total star at bad decisions.

All that stupid hope and all those stupid plans had blown up spectacularly in my face as he’d hauled me from a perfectly adequate bedroom to a mildew-rotten basement.

I had no more friendly attempts. No more hope that I could appeal to him.

He’d proven he wasn’t normal.

He was dangerous in his unpredictability. Cruel in his brokenness.

And I wasn’t playing this game anymore.

I will get free.

I’ll kill him if I have to.

Making eye contact, he stopped before me and dropped to the floor. Sitting cross-legged didn’t fit his physique or his tight slacks. The abused material strained over his thighs, the stitching pulling apart between his legs. I tried to look away. To refuse the plate as he slid it across the floor to me. I didn’t want to watch him with fascination as well as fear.

His shirt was once again the beige affair with stains and buttons missing. His cuffs were gone, and a hole had begun against his rib cage where his chest burst the threads. He’d somehow taken expensive clothing and turned them into rags. His scruffy jaw and unruly hair down to his shoulders completed the portrayal. The only thing about him that didn’t scream destitution and loneliness were his eyes.

Nondescript in color, they were dark enough to blend with his pupils, leaving his stare almost supernatural. They gleamed with obsidian thoughts, coal-black with opinions, ice-cold with secrets.

“Eat.” He cocked his chin at the plate.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. “If I eat, I’ll need a bathroom again.” I gave him a nasty smile. “Cause and effect and all.”

“And I told you, you already have a bathroom.” Looking over his shoulder, he glanced at the bucket. “You’ll become accustomed to it soon enough.”

“But that’s the thing.” I bared my teeth. “I don’t want to become accustomed. No person should. I’m a person, not an animal. I’m a girl—”

“You don’t have to remind me what you are.” His dark gaze cast over me from head to toe. “I’m fully aware of your sex and species.”

“Then why won’t you treat me as one?”

A sudden cold laugh fell from his lips. “You think being human automatically grants you shelter, food, and comfort?”

“Don’t forget safety.” I sniffed. “Safety from illness, pain...injury.”

He smiled just as evil as his laugh. “Safety is not a right, girl. Safety is an illusion.”

“Safety is what you promised me if I did what you asked.”

His mouth bracketed with anger, grooving his skin and highlighting his scruff. “And you haven’t done what I asked.” His brows dipped, shadowing his gaze even more. “At least, not today.”

My stomach flipped.

Bastard.

“And I won’t do what you ask until you move me to a better prison.” I shivered against my will but added a cough with sly intentions. “I’m getting sick. I’ll die of pneumonia down here.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Eat your food.”

“No.”

“You’ll do what I command. And after, once your rumbling belly is full...I’ll think of something else you can do.” His gaze once again lingered on my breasts.

My traitorous nipples pebbled beneath my borrowed clothes.

Instinct told me to look away, to barricade myself from his thinly veiled threat, but I couldn’t stop watching him.

I watched him watching me.

I wanted to memorize his face, so I never forgot the man who’d trapped me, belittled me, and abused. I would find some way to punish him.

I will.

As long as I knew his face, I would track him down and ensure pain for my pain, despair for my despair. I didn’t even need to know his name.

Dipping his bread into the honey, he took a controlled bite. “If you behave and do what I ask, you’ll survive another day.”

I gave him the finger. “If this is my life, why would I want to survive another day? If you’re going to keep me down in the darkness, why the hell would I be nice to you?”

He stilled. His fingers wrapped around the bread until it broke into crumbs and scattered over the damp floor. “Are you forgetting who’s the guilty party in this mess?”

I kept my head high. “You. You are. You’re holding me prisoner.”

He glowered and discarded the crushed bread for his peach. He bit into it. Juice glistened on his lips as he licked them slowly. “I’m not going to repeat our circumstances. I’m not going to repeat how you were the one to enter without permission. You’re the one forcing me to gather double the food and fuel necessary for a long winter. You’re the one who’s demanding things of me I don’t have the capacity to give. You.” He pointed the dripping peach in my direction. “You’re the guilty one. All I’m trying to do is protect myself. I can’t let you go because you’ll talk. I can’t seem to kill you until I’ve had my fill. Whatever I do to you is entirely my right because you upended my world. You’ve ruined everything.”

He massaged his temples and shook his head as if scattering painful thoughts. Inhaling hard, he snapped, “If I can be nice enough to provide for you—all when I had no intention of ever sharing my home again—the least you can do is quit your fucking complaining, eat your goddamn food, and agree to do whatever I ask.”

I sucked in a breath.

It was the most he’d ever spoken to me. His voice shaking off the cobwebs of silence. His fury was a tangible thing, snaking through the air, caressing my arms, running hot fingers through my hair.