I wasn’t sure what to say. I hadn’t meant it when I said no?
That wasn’t right. I’d definitely meant to refuse.
What I hadn’t meant was to hurt him.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my eyes burning.
My mind registered that it was fucked up that I was apologizing to my captor for preventing him from taking advantage of me. But that didn’t make my sense of guilt abate.
He stopped in his tracks and stiffly turned back to me. For a moment, my heart leapt. I thought he was coming to kiss me, to hold me and tell me he’d never ask me to debase myself for him again.
Instead, he picked up my collar where it already lay on the mattress, chained to the bed and waiting for me. Without a word, he locked it around my neck.
He turned to leave, but I caught his wrist in the strongest grip I could manage.
“Wait,” I asked again. “Don’t leave like this. I didn’t want to upset you. I just… I can’t give you what you want.”
He turned back to face me, his face carefully blank. “I won’t force myself on you,” he said, his voice rough.
“Thank you,” I whispered. I pulled his hand toward me and pressed my lips against it, softly communicating everything I didn’t know how to put into words. I wasn’t sure how to express what I was feeling, but I knew I didn’t want to hurt him.
He blew out a shuddering breath, and the tension melted from his powerful body. He leaned down and brushed a kiss across my lips, a silent apology.
“I’ll see y
ou tonight,” he promised.
He pulled his wrist free from my grip and walked out of the bedroom, leaving my body and my heart aching for him.
Chapter 17
“A board game?” I asked, nonplussed. “You want to play a game that involves an actual board?”
Andrés’ dark brows rose as he set the chess pieces out between us, white for me, black for him. “Is there some other kind?”
“You’re kidding, right? How about World of Warcraft? You know, something with multi-layered storytelling, cool effects, and kick-ass heroes?” I gestured at the board. “Who’s the hero in this game? What’s the story? There isn’t one. It’s just us, staring at some funny pieces that don’t have any special abilities at all.”
“Chess is a battle of wits. It’s just you, against me. But you can be the hero in this scenario, if you want.” One corner of his lips tipped up in an indulgent smile.
I considered making a quip about him being the perfect real-life villain, but I held it back. Mostly because it hit too close to home, and I didn’t want to hurt him. He might be my captor, but I was coming to see him as more than that. Andrés wasn’t an evil man, even if he was holding me against my will. He put my needs first, in his own weird way. Even when he was obviously desperate to fuck me, he held back. After I’d refused to give him my virginity a few days ago, he hadn’t pressed me for it again. Instead, we split our time between reading comic books and playing kinky games.
Tonight, he had a much more vanilla, much more boring game in mind.
Chess. Ugh. So analog.
“You don’t have to look so disdainful,” he said, still smiling. “I’ll teach you how to play. If you really hate it after a few games, we can stop. I’ll warn you now, I will win. So don’t let that deter you from enjoying the game.”
“You’re a little cocky,” I remarked drily, reaching for my queen to examine the exquisitely-carved pieces. They were worn from age and use, but the quality of craftsmanship was still discernable.
“I’ve been playing for years, and it’s an impossibility for a new player to beat someone with my kind of experience.”
“Who says I don’t know how to play? They do have online chess, you know. I’ve dabbled. I know the rules, even if I do find it boring.”
He grinned. “Knowing the rules won’t prepare you for playing against me, but it will certainly make these first few games more interesting. How advanced are you? Who taught you how to play?”
“An online tutorial taught me how to play. I get the rules and know some trickier strategies. I pick things up quickly.”
He shook his head. “A tutorial isn’t going to prepare you for playing against me, but show me what you know, and we’ll go from there.”