Chapter Three
Zadie
Amirpulledintoaparking spot in front of my dorm. Adrenaline had me rooted to my seat, but he didn’t seem in any hurry for me to leave his SUV. Silence covered us like a suffocating blanket.
He tapped his thigh and commanded, “Come here, Zadie.”
My stomach bottomed out, but I didn’t let it stop me from crawling over the console to do as I was told. I’d only ever sat in Amir’s lap, and I found doing it again was as easy as riding a bike. He positioned me sideways, my legs draping over his rangy thighs. Then his hands were in my hair, tangling in the sides, tipping my head back.
For a long, drawn-out moment, he only stared, but it felt penetrative, like he was invading me. If he hadn’t been holding me the way he was, I would have looked away.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked.
I rubbed my lips together. “Whatever you want me to.”
The air vibrated around us. Amir’s shudder was subtle, but he held me so close, I couldn’t miss it.
“That’s right. Because I own you, Zadie Night.” He dragged a finger down my cheek. There was no affection in the move. It was solely proprietary. “You’re my own, personal little good girl. Right now, you’re going to run inside, lock up behind you, and text me just like I told you to.”
My head was in his vise grip so I couldn’t nod. My smile was tremulous, but I managed. “Okay. I’ll do that.”
He dragged his fingers out of my hair, only to claim my cheeks. “Don’t worry, Zadie. Your boyfriend is safe as long as you cooperate.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
His midnight eyes turned to stone. “That’s right, he’s not. Glad you feel me on that, little mama.” He gave my butt a smack then opened the door. “Get out.”
My escape wasn’t graceful, but as soon as I found my feet, I ran from my captor and didn’t look back. When I shut myself in my bedroom, I fell down on my bed, sucking in air as deeply as my constricted chest would allow, then I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of my room to send to Amir.
Less than a minute later, he replied.
MyCaptor:That isn’t what I told you to do, Zadie. Try again.
Me:This is my room.
MyCaptor:Do I need to come back and explain myself to you more clearly?
I knew what he wanted, I just didn’t want to give it to him. I also didn’t want him knocking on my door, so I held the phone out again, this time snapping a picture of my unsmiling face, wrinkling my nose so he could see how annoying I thought he was.
Five minutes ticked by without a response. I held my breath, waiting for him to bust into my room and throttle me for making a face at him. When my phone chimed with a text, I yelped.
MyCaptor:Being cute won’t get you out of this. You know that, right?
Me:I wasn’t trying to be cute. I’m sorry.
MyCaptor:Go to sleep. Remember to answer immediately when I text.
Me:Okay, I’ll remember.
MyCaptor:Say good night to me, Zadie.
Me:Good night, Amir.
Of course there was no reply.
It didn’t matter anyway. I’d gotten his attention like I had wanted. My mistake was underestimating the depth of Amir’s depravity. Well, one of my mistakes. I hadn’t really planned what I’d do with his attention once I had it, but this...this hadn’t been a possibility in my wildest dreams.
After two sleepless nights, I was drained walking into my last class on Monday. Fortunately, it was a large lecture, so if I zoned out, my professor probably wouldn’t notice.