Bound to Happen Ch. 06

While my night was far from dreamless, I hadn't woken up tied down to anything. In fact, from how everything was still piled on the desk exactly how I had done it the night before, it seemed no one had even tried to get in. I stayed under the blankets for a long while, afraid that getting up would just make whatever hell I was in for today start earlier.

I wasn't sure how long I laid there before there was a soft knock on the door. "Ms. Ella?" a soft feminine voice called from behind the door. "Mr. Hawthorne wanted me to wake you for breakfast."

I sunk further into the blankets as the woman unlocked the door. When she wasn't able to push the door open, I heard her soft knock again. A couple of minutes later the door was relocked and she began to walk away.

I knew that I couldn't hold up in this room forever. Eventually I would need to eat something but I could at least postpone the inevitable a few more hours. Right?

"Ella?" Leo's voice sounded from the door a few minutes later.

Again, I said nothing, closing my eyes and pretending that I was still fast asleep. There was a jingling on the doorknob as he tried to force the door open. I heard him order someone to bring him his phone.

"There you go Boss." I recognized Travis' voice from yesterday.

It was quiet for a few minutes. "She's still asleep. Looks like she pushed the desk in front of the door last night."

I had obviously been right about the cameras hidden somewhere in the room.

"Want me to get a few of the guys to force it open?" Travis asked.

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. I silently begged.

"No. I don't want to scare her anymore than she already is." There was a gentleness in his voice that confused me. "We'll let her sleep till lunch."

The two men walked away and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I laid there for probably another fifteen minutes before I needed to get up to use the bathroom.

I stared over myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. I had expected there to be bruising on my ass from where he had hit me with the ruler but there were none. Maybe the hits weren't quiet as bad as I had thought. I recall parents telling their kids that they wouldn't be able to sit down when they were done with them. I had sat fine yesterday so they must not have been that hard, but they certainly did feel like they were.

Heading back out to the room I went to the closet to find something to wear. I looked around, wishing I could be excited by the closet. A quote from one of my favorite movies as a kid came to mind. 'I have my own mall.' I had never seen so many clothes in my exact size. There were more jeans than I had owned in probably ten years. There were dresses ranging from simple sundress to extravagant evening gowns. What the hell was going on? How could he treat me like he did and then turn around and give me all of this?

Slipping into a pair of jeans, that fit like a damn glove, and a simple tee I headed back out into the room. Checking the windows found that they sealed shut. Still, I spent a good half hour trying my hardest to pry the damn thing open. When that didn't work, I searched the room for something hard and heavy. Eventually I ended up yanking the shower curtain rod off the wall and using that to slam into the glass. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There wasn't even the slightest crack in the window. Of course, I would get the crazy stalker who was smart enough to replace the windows with, probably, bullet proof glass.

Defeated, I made my way over to the books to see what he had stocked them with. It was all smut. I should have figured that. Give me things to read that would get me horny so he'd have less work to do. I couldn't even blame that on him though. It seemed like every single book on the shelf had been on my TBR list that had been growing longer and longer for the past couple of years. I probably shouldn't be surprised that he had managed to hack my phone to get the list.

There were all types of stories on the shelf. Second chance, paranormal, enemies to lovers, anything you could think of. Sadly, what there seemed to be more of than anything were dark romances. Stories where the heroine was stalked and kidnapped, and yes, even raped and assaulted in some cases. I had always been fascinated by those types of books. Dark fantasies that good, respectable girls weren't supposed to have. And ones that you'd never fess up to. Now that I was living in one, it just wasn't as appealing as it had been when I was reading about it in the apparent safety of my home.

A few hours went by and there was another knock on the door followed by the same soft female voice this morning. I had been reading one the of the paranormal books, wanting something that could ACTUALLY never happen to me. Though who knew, I thought this could never actually happen to me and look how that turned out. Maybe if I ever escaped, I'd get caught up with a pack of horny shifter.

"Ms. Ella? Are you awake? Lunch is being prepared."

I stayed silent on the couch. I was hungry but the idea of leaving the safety of the room wasn't something I was willing to do.

The woman left again and about thirty minutes later Travis came by telling me that he had left my lunch on a tray in the hall. I waited about fifteen minutes before pushing the desk away from the door just enough to see out. No one was in the hall but there was a silver covered tray on the floor in front of the door.

I ate the turkey salad sandwich as I continued to read. When I had read so much that my eyes started to hurt, I put the book down and looked over at the door. Since no one had tried to open the door to get me for lunch I decided that it would be an okay idea to move the desk back. I could just push the chair in front of it so that I wouldn't have to struggle so hard if they left my dinner in the hall. I mean it wasn't like it was impossible for them to get into the room. Travis had suggested getting someone to help him push it open. If I could move it Travis and Leo could have easily pushed the door open if they had wanted to. The desk being there was more theatrical security for me and I knew it so why leave it there just so that I would have to struggle with it.

I started cleaning the desk off so that it would be easier to move. Once it was cleared off, I grabbed the lamp that had fallen off the desk when I had moved it last night. The cord was slightly unplugged so I went to push it back in. That was when I noticed actual plug and the outlet. They were odd looking. The outlet was circular and the plug wasn't what I was used to either. I knew what that meant but I refused to put it into words right now. What good would it do?

When another knock on the door sounded hours later, I kept quiet.

"Ms. Ella... We know you're awake. Please come out for dinner. It's not good for you to stay in there."

I said nothing.

"Ms. Ella...Please come out."

Silence.

"Someone will be up with your food soon." The woman said after a few minutes.

She was right. I knew she was. Eventually Leo would get angry and come in here or I'd get stir crazy and end up walking out myself. About twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door and another woman's voice told me my dinner was out there. I waited another fifteen minutes before cracking the door.

A heeled boot kicked the door in causing me to stumble backwards. The woman from Leo's office yesterday stood in the doorway with a cold smile on her red lips. Past her shoulders I saw the man Leo had referred to as Jack. Panic swirled in my chest as he glared at me. From how angry Leo had been yesterday I hadn't expected to see this man again, especially not outside my bedroom door. Stepping in Kimberly closed the door, cutting off my view of the angry guard.

"Get out." My voice was horse from not using it all day but I still tried to put as much force as I could behind it.

Rolling her eyes, she headed towards my closet and disappeared. I gawked after her. Part of me wanted to run from the room but with Jack outside I didn't dare risk it. I could try to fight her but then Jack would hear the scuffle and come in. I was trying to decide what I could do when she walked back out of the closet and tossed a black set of lacy underwear, a sheer pair or black thigh highs and a black dress on the couch.

"Get dressed for dinner."

"And why the hell would I do that?" I questioned, crossing my arms across my chest, my attitude reminding me of a pissy high schooler.

"Because Leo told me to get you down to dinner by any means necessary. So that means you can do it yourself or I can call Jack in to hold you down while I do it." Her red lips pulled into a vicious smile that I could have sworn turned the room ten degrees colder.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me." We stood there glaring at each other for a few moments and when my stubbornness got to be to much she sighed. "Oh Jaaack." She quietly sang out as she took a couple of steps towards the door.

"Okay fine!" I snapped, snatching the clothes off the couch and heading into the bathroom. I was just pulling the wrap dress on when she walked in. "Excuse you." I gasped, pulling the dress around to cover myself.

Her eyes scanned over me, not completely unlike Leo had done countless times before. However, with Leo there was usually at least the slightest hint of something that could be considered warm behind his dark eyes. Kimberly's emerald green eyes were as cold as stone.

"Sit down." She ordered, pulling the small stool out from under the vanity.

"What's the point?" I asked, securing the tie at my hip before making my way over to the stool.

"Don't you want to look pretty for Leo?" It may have been my imagination but I could feel a bit of jealously coming off this woman.

"Not particularly." I grumbled. At one point yeah, I had wanted to look pretty for him. Just last month I remember seeing him cross the street, making his way to the shop, and I ran into the back room to fix my hair and adjust my clothes so that I looked as presentable as possible in my work shirt. "He's not seemed to have any issue with how l looked the past few ni-ow!"

"Oh sorry." Kimberly apologized as she ripped the brush through my hair, not seeming sorry in the least.

Taking the brush from her I began gliding it though my long hair, carefully getting the knots out. It took some time since it hadn't been properly brushed since I was taken and my hair was known to knot at the slightest of movements.

"You know." Kimberly began, watching me in the mirror. "I don't think you have any idea just how lucky you are."

"Lucky?" I scoffed, putting the brush down and turning to look at her. "There is no way you could possibly think anything about this situation is lucky."

"Right." She laughed. "Having a guy that looks like Leo between your legs every night. Being taken care of like he's taking care of you."

"Being ripped away from my friends, held prisoner and raped repeatedly?" Did she really see any of what was going on as something to be happy about?

"You were more than happy to leave those friends of yours when you thought it was for a job." She reminded me. "And you're calling this place a prison? I saw that apartment you lived in. The entire place could have probably fit into your bed room alone."

"Just because it's a pretty prison doesn't change the fact. And if you'd like to take my place, be my guest."

Kimberly's mouth set into a tight line and I had the inkling that I may have struck a small nerve. Perhaps a part of her did want to be in my shoes. "You have no idea how bad all this could have been. You should be grateful he's making sure you're comfortable. If I were in his place and you pulled this crap you wouldn't get meals sent to your room. The only way you'd get your next meal would be to come to me and make up for the fact you acted like a complete brat before I let you eat anything. Well before I'd let you eat food that is."

"What?" I could feel my eyes bugging out of my head as I stared at her. The smile she gave me told me that I hadn't misunderstood any of that. If she were my captor and I had done this she'd have made me...satisfy her before I'd ever get food. My mind went back to Leo's toy room and the strange gag that I had seen. Was she the one that gave it to him?

"Maybe we should get you down stairs before he starts getting ideas like that." She suggested with grin. "Your heels are by the door. Slip them on and I'll take you to the dining room.

I was on autopilot, my mind reeling. Leo, Jake and now Kimberly. Was everyone in this place fucking nuts? When we stepped out into the hall, I was relieved to see that Jake was no longer there. Maybe she had sent him away when I had been changing for dinner.

There was no one in the dining room when we walked in so I was able to look around a bit. The walls were a light grey color, making the room feel big, bright, and welcoming. There was rectangular chandelier hanging from the ceiling over top of a large dark wood table with ten chairs surrounding it.

My eyes landed on a buffet table sat against the wall with a large bouquet of white roses and blue orchids. Footsteps from behind me had me turning around just in time to see Leo walking into the room, a stack of papers in his hands and his phone pressed to his ear. The surprise in his eyes was unmistakable when he looked up and saw me, a smile spreading across his gorgeous face.

My face heated with a shy satisfaction, anger boiling my stomach a second later. Chock up the satisfaction as a result of the life-long self-esteem issues I had. The fact that someone that looked like Leo looked at me like I was the most precious and desired thing on the planet made my heart flutter, despite just how insane he was.

"Nina. I've got to go. I'll go over these a bit later and I'll call you around one tomorrow. Bye." With that he hung up the phone and made his way over to me, passing the papers and the phone to Kimberly who he barely acknowledged. "You look stunning. I'm glad you decided to join me." He told me as his eyes scanned down the dress and then back up to my face.

"I didn't know I really had a choice. I mean when Kimberly came in saying she had orders to get me down here 'by any means necessary'." The audacity of this man. Acting as if I came down because I wanted to see him or out of the goodness of my heart when he had sent someone up to get me with the permission to do whatever they needed to get me down here.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he turned to glare at the woman. "Explain."

"No one hurt her." Kimberly said, holding her arms up in a 'calm down' gesture.

"I specifically said I didn't need her any more upset than she already is."

"I know." Her face fell before she looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I wanted to surprise you. You were so unhappy when she didn't come down. Besides from what you've told me she stubborn. She would have gone stir crazy up there long before she broke and came down here to see you."

"So, you thought you'd get her down here by acting like I gave you permission to do whatever you needed to?" she gave a slight nod as her eyes began to shine with fake unshed tears. "Go, we'll discuss this later." He said, waving his arm in dismissal.

I was fully aware that my mouth was hanging open at the performance of the year that this woman was giving. When Leo's back was to her the corner of her lip twitched up and she gave me a small wink before turning on her heels and leaving the room.

"You know she's full of shit, right?" I asked, pointing towards the door Kimberly had just exited.

"Did she hurt you?" he asked softly,

"Does ripping a brush through the knots in my hair count?"

"No." I could tell he was trying to suppress a laugh at that. "No, I don't think we can count that as hurting when it comes to taming this mane." His fingers reached out to stroke a lock of my hair, the end curling around his finger. "So, she didn't hurt you. And I wasn't happy when you refused to join me for breakfast and lunch, which you knew I wanted you too."

Chewing on my bottom lip I turned my head away from him.

"Why didn't you come down?"

"Because I didn't want to see you." I whispered. Not to mention it was an attempted act of defiance. If I stayed up there when he wanted me to come down then it would be a way to show that he didn't control me.

"How long would you have stayed in there?"

"I don't know." I admitted.

"So maybe long enough to go stir crazy before you came to me."

I cut my eyes up at him. "Just because the things she said in that moment were technically true doesn't mean she isn't full of shit. Do you know what she implied she'd do if she were in your shoes?"

He gave and exacerbated huff as he shook his head. "I can guess what it was about."

"Seriously? She's the one that gave you that gag gift isn't she." I asked, wide eyed at his cavalier attitude.

"Was the pun intended?" he laughed.

I felt the corners of my mouth tighten, fighting against the small smile that threated. "Shut up." I hit his arm lightly. "She did though, didn't she?" he gave a small nod I let sighed. "Why would she by things like that when she's completely obsessed with you."

"Kimberly likes when the two of us work together. I'm pretty sure that's what she was getting at with that little...gag gift."

"She wants to...while we...I mean when you..." I blinked a few times to try to force the image out of my head. "Why would she even suggest something like that when it clear all she wants is you."

One of his hands cupped my cheek while the other made its way to my hip. "Are you jealous?" If any other angelic looking man in any other situation had given me that look, I'd have melted into a puddle on the floor.

Knocking his hand away from my face I turned away from him, bringing my attention back to the flowers. "I knew you were crazy but I didn't think you were delusional." My fingers reached out to touch the soft petals of the orchid.

"Funny. Because I knew you were hard headed but I didn't know you were dishonest." He shot back, his arms wrapping around my torso. "Those are the kind you like, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "What'd you hack into to find this out?"

He let out a small laugh before burying his face into the crook of my neck and planting a soft kiss there. "Actually, you told me about these."

I pulled away, turning to look up at him. "When?"

"I came in and was looking at flowers on my phone." He reminded me. "I was looking for something to send my sister for as a congratulation and asked what kind of flowers I should get."

"I suggested roses thinking it was for a girlfriend and when I found out it was your sister, I told you to send her a live orchid so she could possibly keep it longer." I recalled.

"Then we started talking about color and you told me you were always a fan of the blue ones, any blue flower really, because to you they always looked kind of mystical."

"How do you remember that?"

"Once I really started to see you as more than just the coffee girl, I remember everything we talked about." His hand reached up to cup my face again and he leaned forward to kiss me.

Turning away I leaned forward and pressed my nose into one of the roses, taking a deep inhale, feigning naivety. Leo placed a soft kiss on the top of my head before he walked away, telling me he'd be right back. Once he left, I looked around the room to see that no one was here before rushing over to the window.

It was to dark outside to see much further than the patio. The moon was a mere sliver in the sky, something I thought was a bit odd since I could have sworn Leo and I had been walking under a moon that was a little over half full when we were looking for Thor. With the moon being so small there was absolutely no way for me to see what was out there. I knew there had been a fence at the front of the property but did it wrap around the entire thing?