Survival

by J Marie

  “Cheers,” he said, holding his glass out to me. I clinked my glass to his and brought it to my lips. The taste was sweet and crisp as it trickled down into my belly. I was more of a hard liquor kind of girl, but this was actually pretty good.

  I laid back on my elbows, crossed my ankles, and looked out at the water. I wanted to run into it and swim as far away from here as I could. But I still didn’t know where here was and I was fairly certain I would die a horrible painful death when the collar would surely activate and send my lifeless body to the bottom of the ocean where no one would find me.

  “So you’ve really lived here all your life?” I asked, honestly curious.

  “Yes. Like I said, this was my family’s home,” he replied.

  I nodded in acknowledgment. He was no stranger to this area then.

  “It’s an awfully big house for just one person. Have you ever thought about moving anywhere else?”

  “Well, I have an apartment in upstate New York, a cabin in Aspen, Colorado, and a private island in the Caribbean to name a few, so I guess that should answer your question.”

  “Wow, that’s a lot,” I replied a little shocked and envious.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Just curious.” I shrugged.

  “Do you know what I’m curious about?” he said deviously, his body leaning toward me as he eyed me up and down.

  I turned to him, suddenly very cautious about his sudden curiosity. “What?”

  “What your childhood was like.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. He was trying to get me to open up to him, but I suppose it was fair since I had asked him the very same question.

  I shrugged. “It was good. I was a very active kid. My parents let me join gymnastics when I was little. When I got bored of that and my dad had nothing left to teach me about fighting, I went into martial arts. I’m sure you can already tell I was a bit of a tomboy.”

  “Yes, I can see that.” He almost chuckled. “And what about your parents? What were they like?”

  And now I’d had enough.

  “Why are you bothering to ask me this? I thought you didn’t want me thinking about my past life.”

  Darren responded with a no nonsense glare and I felt myself grow agitated.

  Oh God, how dare I question him?

  “Your childhood is different, and besides, I’m trying to learn as much as I can about you.”

  “Why? So you can attempt to manipulate me some more?”

  “Jaden, just answer the goddamn question. Don’t ruin the nice time we’re having.”

  Yes, because we were having such a grand ole time.

  I released my sigh through my nose and glared at him.

  “My mom is a hairdresser and my dad died when I was twenty-one. There, happy?”

  I looked away from him now, pissed off I had given him that little bit of information, even though I was sure he was already aware of it. It was hard for me to talk about my dad, since the wound was still fresh. Even after four years, I had never really gotten over his death, and I wasn’t sure I ever would.

  “I know,” Darren said softly. “And I’m sorry. That must have been hard for you.”

  Yeah, he knew. Of course, he knew. He knew everything about me that was on paper. But the paper didn’t give away shit when it came to the real deal. My fingers fidgeted with the glass and I kept my eyes from his. I needed to change the subject.

  “What about your dad?” I asked a little more angrily than I had meant.

  “He’s gone, too,” he replied casually, shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal. “Died last year.”

  Good, I thought. But instead of saying that, I just nodded slowly.

  “So where did you develop your love for motorcycles?” he asked, thankfully changing the subject.

  I couldn’t help but smile at that. God, I missed riding. There was so much freedom involved and the feel of the throttle in my hand amped me right up. He must have noticed the brightness in my face as the thought of my bike brought back happy memories of my dad and me.

  “From my dad,” I said. “He taught me to ride dirt bikes when I was young and then we moved on to the street when I was old enough and got comfortable. He was a Harley lover, but I’m more of a Ducati fan. What about you?” I asked.

  “I had always been into them, but my mom thought they were too dangerous. That didn’t stop me, though. My brothers and I all taught ourselves to ride, and I now own several bikes.”

  “Will I ever get to see them?” I asked. I really wanted to know what he had. It actually excited me a little.

  “Maybe.” He shrugged. “If you’re good.” His eyes flicked up to mine as a slight smirk crept into the corners of his mouth.

  I nodded.

  We talked more about our love of riding and all the fun experiences we’d had over the years. I was surprised at how easy I found it to be talking to him when we had something in common. I suppose we did have a lot of common ground; I just didn’t want to admit it.

  During our conversations, we snacked on some fruit and crackers and shared a salad while enjoying the breeze from the water. Darren then got up and took off his shirt, throwing it to the side of the blanket. Damn, he looked good from this angle. In this light, he looked a little too muscular for my taste, but he was impressive nonetheless.

  “Come on, let’s go for a swim,” he said, holding his hand out to me.

  I thought about secretly breaking off the handle of the champagne glass, sneaking it into the water, shanking the shit out of his neck, and letting him bleed out until the current took him away while some sharks finished him off.

  God, I’m so murderous!

  It was pretty far-fetched anyway, so I set the glass down, took his hand, and let him pull me to my feet. We walked hand in hand, as we made our way to the shore, my hand engulfed by his giant one while he tugged me along.

  When the water of the shore splashed over my feet, my skin tingled at the temperature, which was a little bit chillier than yesterday, but it still felt nice. I stopped for a second, wondering about my collar, but trusted that Darren wouldn’t lead me to certain death if he had anything to say about it. . I was pretty sure he’d die along with me anyway.

  Darren started pulling me into the water faster than I would have liked; the water was now at my knees and much colder than I was ready for.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I screeched, pulling him back. “Can’t I have some time to adjust?!”

  “Sure.” He smiled, and then picked me up and tossed my body into the water, fully submerging me. How in the hell had I not seen that coming? I emerged from the water, splashing around while trying to regain my composure.

  “That’s not what I meant, asshole!” I yelled, splashing at him. His laugh was genuine and light as he walked toward me through the water.

  “I bet you’re used to the water now.” He grinned.

  I scowled at him, turned, and dove into the water. I only got a few feet before Darren caught up to me and wrapped his arms around my torso, pulling me from the ocean.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, grinning.

  “I was going for a swim. That’s why we came out here, wasn’t it?” I asked as he pulled me to his chest.

  “Well, yeah, but you took off without me.” He almost sounded sad.

  “Not my fault you can’t keep up.” I shrugged.

  “I’m pretty sure I caught up to you fairly quickly,” he said, tightening his grip on me for emphasis.

  “What do you want, a medal?” I asked, sarcastically.

  Damn, I was hilarious.

  “Nope, having you as a prize is just fine,” he said as he lowered us deeper into the water. He just seemed so playful and carefree today. I wondered what had gotten him in the mood.

  He pulled us out past the sandbar until it was up to his shoulders and well past my head. He let me go, and I had to kick my feet to stay afloat while all he had to do was stand. We swam around for a while,
and I floated on my back here and there, just enjoying the warmth of the sun while the taste of salt water lingered in my mouth. When I opened my eyes some time later, Darren was nowhere to be found.

  I turned around in the water frantically as I looked for him, but he was nowhere in sight. Hopefully, he drowned? Yeah, right, as if a man like him would go down like that. But I still secretly hoped as I continued to scan the water for him. Maybe I could head back to the shore, grab his phone, and unlock the shit around my limbs; maybe get the fuck out of here. But before I had a chance to move, I felt a presence rising behind me from the water.

  Darren pulled me from behind to his chest and sank us both under the waves. Instinctively, I fought against his arms, but they acted like chains around my waist and there was no use escaping them. He twisted us under the water and then finally pulled us back up for air. He kept a strong hold of me as I gasped for air and splashed around. He chuckled heavily behind me.

  “Surprise.” He laughed.

  Oh, he thought he was being funny, did he? Well, I had something funny for him. I took some water and splashed it up right into his face, but then he just whipped me around and dunked me into the water again.

  When he pulled me back up, he turned me around to face him, my legs now straddling his hips as he lowered himself into the water.

  “Are you done splashing?” he asked me, smiling.

  “Probably not,” I replied.

  “So feisty,” he said.

  He took my wrists and placed them back over his shoulders so my arms linked around his neck. I hated being this close to him; it was uncomfortable, but I knew I would eventually have to fake the comfort.

  He kept his hands on my hips as he circled us in the water, and I decided I didn’t want to look at his face anymore, so I rested my chin on his shoulder, hoping he would take it as me just cuddling up to him. He did, and he relaxed against my body as his arms curled around my sides and his hands rested on my back.

  “So tell me about your tattoos,” he said against the back of my head.

  “The feathers are for me, and the anchor is for my dad.”

  “I get the anchor being for your dad, but why are the feathers for you?”

  I had to laugh a little because it was a huge contradiction to my current status in life.

  “They’re there to remind me to be myself and to always take the good with the bad.”

  “How fitting.” I heard him chuckle. Glad to see he saw the irony in that.

  “What about yours?” I asked, still keeping my chin on his shoulder.

  “The golden eagle on my forearm is also for my dad, and the shield is the symbol of my organization. The Latin is a family motto.”

  “How fitting.” I had to chuckle, and I was pretty damn sure a smile cracked across his face.

  “The sleeve is for my family lineage. I’m German and Scottish.”

  “How nice,” I said.

  “Yeah. Like I said, there’s more coming, just been a bit preoccupied lately,” he said giving me a slight squeeze.

  “What would you get?”

  “Maybe something for you.”

  I took my chin off his shoulder and looked him in the face, raising my eyebrows in total shock.

  “Why would you do that? You don’t even know me,” I asked.

  “Because …” He chuckled. “Contrary to popular belief, you mean a great deal to me, Jaden, regardless of time spent. Though I don’t show it, I’ve never been more excited to have you in my life. You’re going to be the best investment I’ve ever made. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman and soon, once I have you trained, you can begin to enjoy everything I have to offer you.”

  “The only thing you’re offering me is a set of chains and a massive headache,” I replied bluntly.

  “You say that now.” He smirked. “But eventually, when you’ve come to accept your place, you won’t see the chains anymore.”

  “Oh, I’ll be that brainwashed by then?” I mocked, heading straight for dangerous territory.

  “If that’s what you want to call it,” he said dismissively.

  “Then what would you call it?”

  His arrogance was starting to piss me off.

  “I’d call it love,” he said seriously, staring straight into my eyes.

  I was silent for a moment, shocked he even knew what the word was, but obviously, he had no idea what it even meant.

  “Wait, are you really … expecting me … to fall in love with you? Because Stockholm Syndrome really isn’t my thing.”

  “You really underestimate my methods of persuasion, don’t you?” he said with danger gleaming from his eyes.

  “And you underestimate my inner strength,” I said confidently.

  His face grew into a menacing gaze, and though it terrified me, I refused to back down.

  “I told you I was going to enjoy breaking you, Jaden. By the time I’m through with you, I’ll be so deep in your mind, you won’t know which way is up anymore. All you’ll be able to think about is pleasing me because it’s the only thing that will protect you from my rage should you ever disobey me. And finally, when I have you twisted so nicely around my fingers, everything will become second nature and you won’t have to think about it anymore. You’ll be able to anticipate my will and then you can live the happy life I want for you.”

  God, I was so disgusted by his words. All I wanted to do was shove his stupid fucking delirious head under the water until the bubbles stopped breaching.

  “What you want is a goddamn robot with tits and a vagina. Now, let me go. You’ve officially ruined my mood … again,” I said trying to pull myself from his hips. He laughed at me again and then pulled me tighter to him, bringing me inches from his face.

  “I’ll let you go when I damn well please, which will be never, by the way,” he growled at me.

  The lightning strike of the thunderstorm approaching over the horizon and the thunder rolling along with it caught my attention.

  “Darren,” I said, nodding my head over his shoulder.

  “What?” he snarled turning to look behind him. A disappointed sigh slipped from his nose as he turned back around. “Time to go.”

  He kept a strong hold on me as he walked us back to shore until my feet could finally touch the ground without the water being over my head. He continued to keep a firm grip on my hip, ushering me through the water until we reached our blanket.

  The wind was picking up as we put the contents from our picnic back into the basket. Darren picked up the blanket, shook the sand from it, and then draped it over his shoulder. I picked up the basket, and he grabbed the umbrella, folding it back up and leaning it against his shoulder as well. He took my hand in his, and we walked back up to the house.

  Tension remained around us from our argument, or maybe it was just me since I knew I was the one not getting their way. When we got to the back patio, Darren leaned the umbrella and blanket over the side railing of the patio and ushered me inside the house just as the rain began to fall.

  We were still soaking wet from our swim, and I felt a little awkward standing in his living room while I dripped water on his hardwood floor. Why hadn’t we brought towels?

  The air conditioning was starting to chill my skin as Darren took the basket from my hands and set it on a nearby table. He then looked over at me and noticed I was starting to shiver.

  “Hmm …” he said, rubbing his chin. “I’ll give you three choices—hot tub, sauna, or shower.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Admission

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the vast amount of choices now laid out at my feet, and I didn’t hesitate in case he decided to take them away.

  “Shower,” I said immediately. I needed to get this salt water off my skin before I became too itchy.

  “Good choice,” he said. And then he stopped and looked at me for a second. A grin slid across his face. “Wait here just one second.”

  My brows furrowed as he t
ook off into the parlor. He was gone for only a few seconds but as I continued to shiver, my irritation grew. I wrapped my wet arms around my torso in a failed attempt to keep myself warm until Darren finally came back, holding two large shot glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

  “How about a shot of Jack to warm you up?” He grinned.

  I lifted one eyebrow at him, surprised he was offering me one of my favorite brands of whiskey, but then grew angry at the lack of towels I expected him to bring back.

  “I thought you were bringing us some towels,” I said with a grimace.

  “You won’t need a towel in a minute,” he replied as he poured the whiskey into the glasses and handed me one.

  I took the shot glass from him, and he set the bottle down on the glass coffee table next to us. I didn’t even wait for him before I slugged the shot back, its strong liquid burning down my throat and warming me from the inside out. God, I needed that. I had wanted a drink since before I had been kidnapped.

  Normally, I would never allow myself to get drunk around him. I needed to keep my guard up and always be ready; plus, I didn’t want to reveal something that would potentially get me in trouble. But I could handle one shot. Or two.

  Darren raised an eyebrow at me, surprised I wasn’t so shy when it came to drinking.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I really needed that.”

  “I can see that,” he said, and then threw his head back and drank his shot down. “Want another?”

  “Sure,” I said, eyeing him now. One more couldn’t hurt. We both did another at the same time, and I set the glass down on the table, finished with my fit of drinking while the harsh liquor burned inside my stomach with the first shot. I was feeling better already.

  “How about one more,” he said taking my glass and filling it up a little more than he had the other two.

  I gave him a suspicious look but threw my head back and emptied the contents down my throat. After three shots in a row, my throat and stomach were really starting to burn. That was enough for me.

  “Last one,” he said, pouring another.