Chapter 7
“Oh my god, I missed you!” I coo as Piet rubs his body against my legs, probably wondering why I’m not petting him, but Zane has my hands still linked behind my back with his sex cuffs.
He can deny it all he wants, but I know he’s got to be at least a little bit freaky with all the “supplies” he bought for me.
Not to mention, normal people don’t just kidnap someone and tie them up in their basement, even in the name of self-preservation like he’s claiming.
He could’ve just left me there and called an ambulance as an innocent bystander, but nope.
He’s clearly looking for some type of thrill in his life too.
It’s the only explanation for how we’ve found ourselves here.
“Piet, behind me, so I can pet you,” I tell him, wiggling my fingers, but, as usual, he doesn’t listen.
Instead, he drops down at my feet, unfazed that a strange man picked him up and brought him to a basement where his owner is tied to a chair.
I look up at Zane. “This is cruel, you know? You could at least unhandcuff me so I could properly say hello to my dog who was all alone for hours because of you.”
“No.” Zane gives me a pointed stare and shakes his head. “I’m already being nice by letting you see your dog before I kill you.”
I snort a laugh. “We both know you’re not going to kill me.”
“Yes, I am,” he scoffs as though I’ve offended him, but it’s not really selling it for me.
He’s doing a terrible job of convincing me that this isn’t part of some crazy, elaborate hookup. He bought dildos for fuck’s sake. What’s his plan with those? Obviously they’re going up someone’s ass. I vote mine. God, I’m going to get hard again just from thinking about this fantasy.
“Do you think you could unzip your sweatshirt again for me? Or put the mask back on? Or preferably both? It’s only fair if you’re going to keep me tied up down here that you give me something pretty to look at.”
Zane glares at me. “Something is seriously wrong with you.”
“Hey, it’s your fault for kidnapping me without stalking me first to know what kind of person I am,” I tease. “That’s kidnapping 101.”
“Whatever,” he sighs. “So what’s your deal? Is anyone expecting you tomorrow? What’s your job? Are you in a relationship? Nosy parents who you talk to every day?”
“Well, I…” I trail off, attempting to answer him, but wow, when he puts it all out there like that, my life seems even more pathetic than I’d previously been wallowing about.
“I have your phone so I can go through it to confirm. But I only just started charging it, so it’ll be easier if you just tell me,” he pushes, like maybe I didn’t finish because I don’t want to tell him and not because the answer is so sad.
“Sorry. I kind of realized that no one will notice I’m gone, so I was having a silent little pity party.”
He doesn’t look like he believes me. “No one?”
“I’m an artist,” I explain. “I rarely take commissions, and I don’t have anyone currently waiting on anything, so no one to report to there. I mostly post what I make on socials, and occasionally, I’ll sell smaller pieces in a booth at the art fair downtown, but that was only a few days ago.”
“What if you don’t post on socials?”
“People will assume I’m working on a new collection.” I shrug the best I can while still restrained. “Sometimes I go weeks without posting anything before I offer up a bunch at once.”
“No partner?”
I roll my eyes. “Did you not hear me offering myself to you on a silver platter? I’m very single. Unless you’d like to change that?”
“And your parents? Any other family?” he pushes, completely ignoring my advances. He’s so rude. It’s so hot.
“Just my parents. We aren’t close. They’re older and aren’t the best with technology, so they rarely call. They also hate the city, so they never visit.”
“This is way too convenient,” he mutters, almost too quietly for me to hear. “What about your friends? Do I need to cancel any plans you have?”
“Do we need to continue focusing on what a loser I am? Or can we skip to the part where you take your pants off?” I tease, trying to focus on something more fun than my nonexistent social life.
He shakes his head, once again refusing to acknowledge my great ideas. “I need to try to sleep. I have shit I need to do early in the morning, so just stay there, and I’ll deal with you when I get back.”
“Wait!” I shout because there are so many things we need to talk about logistically. “What about when I have to go to the bathroom? Or when Piet does? Did you at least get his dog bed? He’ll need some water and food too. You could make it easier, and we could all just sleep in your bed together.”
“You’re not sleeping in my bed,” Zane shouts before he composes himself, hopefully thinking through the other questions because I’d love to take a piss before I attempt to sleep in this uncomfortable chair.
He says nothing else as he turns to head upstairs, leaving Piet and me alone in the basement.
“Well, I guess we’re holding it tonight, huh? Actually, you probably got to go already, didn’t you?”
Piet neither confirms nor denies as I hear Zane bashing around upstairs. His bedtime routine sounds intense.
A moment later, his footsteps descend back down the stairs, and I sigh in relief at the bucket he’s holding. He sets it down then walks over to me, tugging at the belt across my chest. “I’m going to help you up, so you can pee in that bucket. Pete already went.”
“I knew it, you lucky dog.” I chuckle as Zane unstraps the belt and helps bring my arms over the back of the chair as he pulls me up to stand. The pain in my skull returns, and I wince as I sway in place, a little dizzy.
“If you want to piss, it’s gotta be like this,” he insists. “I don’t trust that you didn’t use that whole sex thing as a distraction to convince me to let you go free, so you better not pull anything.”
Interesting… he didn’t believe me that this really is a fantasy of mine? Is that why he didn’t want to go along with it? I guess I’ll just have to try harder to show him the whole captive–captor dynamic turns me on… among other things.
“You know, you’re going to have to unzip me and hold my dick then, right? My hands are still cuffed. I knew you wanted to touch me all along.” I laugh as I point out the flaw in his plan.
“God-fucking-damn it,” Zane mutters. “Fine. I’ll uncuff your hands, but your legs are staying bound to this chair. You so much as move to make an escape and your face is going to meet the concrete. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah. So scary. I also need to take out my contacts.” Zane steps behind me to uncuff my hands.
I shake my wrists out before removing the contacts quickly, placing them in his hand to throw away for me, then I unbutton my own pants—how boring—and relieve myself.
The second I’m done, he’s handing me my glasses and barking orders.
“Zip yourself back up now and sit back down.”
“And so bossy.” I smirk and quickly take off my beanie to see if that helps my headache at all before I do as I’m told.
Zane freezes, staring at my hair. “It’s pink.”
“Yeah, don’t you remember from the restaurant?” I remind him. I know the hat was on, but my curls were visible before I went all incognito stalker-mode.
He shakes his head as if trying to focus and grabs both my arms to tug them behind my back.
He ignores my question, and the handcuffs click back around my wrists seconds later before he dumps the bucket in the sink.
Thank God it won’t have to smell like my urine down here. That would totally kill the vibe.
“Really? What’s the rush?” I complain. “I didn’t even try to escape. You could’ve given me another minute to snuggle Piet.”
“I’m not taking any chances.” His voice is growing more gravelly as he must be getting tired. “I can’t.”
“You know, this would be a lot more comfortable if you just let me sleep upstairs. I promise I’ll stay on my side of the bed.”
“No. You’re staying right here. This is where you’re sleeping.”
“Ugh, but this is worse than an airplane seat. At least those are slightly padded. Oh, you could use your sex cuffs to cuff me to your bed! I don’t care what you say; no way it’s your first time doing that.”
“Goodnight, Mason.” He completely dismisses me, backing away once he confirms I’m cuffed again, leaving me down here with Piet as he walks up the stairs. The snick of the door shutting behind him echoes throughout the basement, and I know that’s likely all I’ll see of him until morning.
“Well, I guess we need to think of a better plan to get him to realize we’re serious about this, huh?”
Piet lets out a sleepy sigh as he lays his head back on my feet, and I try to get some shut-eye.
“Mason… Mason, wake up…” I hear the voice calling my name, but it sounds like it’s far away.
“Mmm?” I hum in response as I slowly wake up, blinking as Zane’s sexy face that’s leaning toward me comes into focus through my glasses. “What’s going on?”
He examines me for a moment before responding. “Fuck, okay, you’re okay. I was worried you were dead.”
My head is throbbing again, and my body aches from sitting in this chair. Last night comes back to me in full force as I remember I’m supposed to be a kidnapped victim who will soon be dead. Which, wait… “You were worried? I thought you wanted me dead?”
I knew he was a liar.
“I do! Just… not yet. I don’t have time to deal with a dead body today. I have to go to work soon.”
“Sure, whatever you say.” I chuckle at the absurdity of that comment. When is it really a good time to kill a person?
“I’m serious,” he huffs. “Now, how much does Pete eat? I already took him out and moved his water down here while you were sleeping like a baby.”
“Such hospitality,” I joke. “He eats two cups. I, on the other hand, prefer eggs and toast for breakfast with my coffee black. Sausage if you’re feeling extra generous.”
“Come on, Pete, let’s go eat some breakfast,” Zane calls to my dog, disappearing upstairs with Piet trotting after him like the world’s dumbest little accomplice.
Zane isn’t even saying his name right. All while I’m left alone in the basement with a pounding head, a stiff neck, and the growing realization that my dog has adjusted to my kidnapping way too quickly.
“Cool,” I mutter to the empty basement. “Awesome. Love that for me.”
Cabinets are opening and closing above me, and I hear the telltale signs of Piet eating his breakfast. It’s all so strange for a man who keeps insisting he’s going to kill me. Not that I think he’ll follow through with it.
What murderer brings your dog over to watch your execution?
The basement stairs creak again as Zane comes down with a goddamn protein bar. But at least he has a coffee.
I stare at the bar in his hand. “Are you serious?”
“It’s food. I’m not making you sausage.”
“This is the worst kidnapping ever,” I pout.
“You were supposed to be dead. But since you’re not, I’m being nice by giving you anything. Eat.” He crouches in front of me and tears open the protein bar, holding it in front of my face.
Not exactly the command I was daydreaming about when he was my waiter, but given the circumstances, I think we’re headed in the right direction. I raise my brows. “Wow. Hand-feeding me? We’re moving fast.”
He rolls his eyes, clearly unamused. “I’m not uncuffing you.”
“Not until I prove to you that this really is a fantasy of mine, right? That’s what you said last night. You don’t believe that I’m serious about wanting to get facefucked by you in a bloody hockey mask.”
“I… What? No! I never said that.” He sounds horrified, but something about the way his eyes scan me curiously is so unconvincing as he continues.
“And this whole thing was an accident that I’m desperately trying to deal with in a way that won’t ruin my entire life, not some dark romance fantasy or whatever the fuck you called it. ”
“Uh-huh, suuure,” I agree, grinning as he still holds the bar in front of me. I lean forward as much as I can and flick the tip of the bar with my tongue and groan sensually. “Could be your dick.”
“Mason! What the fuck? Do you want the fucking bar or not? Eat it, or I’m throwing it away.”
Fuck, he doesn’t play around in the morning, so I take a bite and chew. It’s not bad, but no protein bar is actually good, and I really do need something in me if he’s going to leave me here all day.
“Can I have a sip of the coffee now, Kidnapping Daddy?” He rolls his eyes but brings the coffee to my lips as I take a sip. “Damn, that’s good. I could totally get used to you taking care of me like this.”
He continues to feed me and let me drink the coffee until both are gone. Piet’s finally made his way back downstairs and is lying beside Zane. Such a traitor.
We repeat the same awkward bathroom situation as last night, with Zane in a race with himself to get me back in the handcuffs. When I’m all settled back in the chair, he confirms everything is locked and tight.
“I’ve got to go now. Don’t try anything stupid. I’ll be back before my shift to check on you.”