“I’m about to give you one.” He took the napkin out of his lap, tossed it on his plate, and turned toward the doorway. “Vanessa?” he called, his voice raised.
A woman appeared carrying a black book. Her long, straight brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and matched the rest of her. Efficient, no nonsense. She had dark skin and her face was pretty, and she looked to be the same age as Luka. But her frame wasn’t the standard delicate feminine one—she was more muscle than curves.
I imagined when she wanted to, Vanessa could be downright intimidating.
“Did you finish?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Her curious, distracted gaze wandered over to me, and then she must have realized how unprofessional her answer had been. “I mean, yes, sir.”
“That’s weird, don’t call me that.” Luka scowled. He took the black book from her, which wasn’t a book. He flipped open the cover, examined the iPad inside, and seemed satisfied. “Thank you,” he said, dismissing her.
She nodded and disappeared through the doorway.
“Your assistant?” I asked.
“No. She’s new.” He slid the iPad across the table toward me. “This is yours.”
“What?” I stared at the tablet with disbelief.
“It won’t connect to the Internet, but I put some books on there, and also this.” He tapped an icon that led to the videos stored on the device, and then tapped again. The video went fullscreen and began to play, and my mouth fell open.
“Is this from today?” I grabbed the tablet to examine it closer. It appeared to be video of my molecular biology lecture.
“Yeah,” he said. “Vanessa will video your classes every day and bring the footage to me.”
I paused the video and stared at him, trying to sort through the competing emotions. I was thrilled he’d arranged this so I wasn’t really missing the lectures, but less pleased that he could hold the videos for ransom. He could get me to do almost anything for those videos, and he knew it.
“Notice your new iPad has a clock at the top of the screen.” Luka’s eyes gleamed. He was excited about doling out the assignment to me.
The tablet suddenly felt heavier in my hands.
After lunch was over, he glanced at his watch, and it was clear it was time to return to my prison cell. I fought not to drag my feet up the stairs. I was already sick of the green striped wallpaper, and I longed for Avery’s garish Christmas lights duct taped to the ceiling.
Luka hovered in the door, looking unsure of how to proceed. We hadn’t touched. The distance between us should have been reassuring, but it wasn’t. My betraying body wanted him closer. It desired his warm skin against mine, and I cursed myself.
“I’ll be back at six fifteen,” he said.
I lifted my chin, trying to look unaffected. “All right.” It was supposed to sound snide, but my voice weakened and turned breathless. “I’ll be here, waiting for you.”
His shoulders tightened, and it looked like he was wavering. Was he going to step into the room, shut the door, and start something? And, did I want that? No, I told myself, clutching the iPad closer. He’d already given me what I needed.
His decision had been made and the faint desire in his expression drained away. “See you later.” Luka was halfway out the door, and lobbed the comment over his shoulder. “Have fun with your assignment, but . . . not too much fun.”
Chapter
Eighteen
At lunch on Thursday, Luka announced he’d leave my room unlocked. The doors to the bedrooms were to remain closed, and the computer in the office was password protected, but I could move about the first floor as I wished. Being from a family of criminals, the whole house was wired with a sophisticated security system. If I entered a room without permission, he’d get his text alert, and I’d go back to square one.
“Naked and chained to the bed,” I’d repeated, exasperated. “Yeah, I know.”
His ‘assignments’ had gotten progressively more challenging, but also thrilling, and I always completed them. I couldn’t shake my ingrained desire to please and succeed, and needed to ensure my class videos would keep coming.
Monday’s task hadn’t been too bad, at least not until Luka had returned and quizzed me on it. He’d wanted to know exactly what I’d thought about during my two sessions, and made me describe in detail my memory of the previous night on the table. He’d also had two fingers inside me, coaxing both the words and the suspended orgasm from me.
Tuesday had two assignments. He gave me back my razor and instructions to go completely bare below the waist. The second task was to wait naked for him in a specific position on the bed so he could inspect my work. I had to sit with my legs wide open and feet flat on the mattress, leaning back on my hands, so everything was clearly on display the way he thought I looked my best. He’d come home from work, carried in a glass of wine, and sat in the loveseat staring at me. Butterflies had fluttered in my stomach, but his heated, lustful stare made me feel powerful and desired, too.