3. - – Sera
CHAPTER THREE
-
SERA
The sound of the lock clicking wakes me. For a second, I think I’m dreaming, but then the door opens, and he’s there. The monster from my nightmares. He carries another silver tray in one hand and something darker in the other.
“Good morning,” he says easily, as if we’ve woken up in the same bed after a long night instead of holding me captive in a concrete cell. He sets the tray on the table and glances toward me. “Sleep well?”
I don’t say anything, just glare at him. “The silent treatment,” he muses. “That’s cute.”
“Go to hell.” I finally answered.
His mouth curves faintly. “Still spirited. Good.” He lifts the lid on the tray. The steam rises as the room begins to smell savory. “You’ll eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You said that yesterday, too.” He drags a chair across the floor, the scrape of metal sharp enough to make me flinch. He sits, legs spread, resting his elbows on his knees. “Tell me, little captive, are you trying to die?”
“I’m not eating anything you give me.”
He lets out a low laugh before moving the chair closer to where I’m sitting on the floor. “Do you think I’ll poison you, or do you just want to see if I’ll make you?”
I lift my chin to look at him. “Maybe both.”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment. The only sound is the low hum of the vent and the steady tick of something mechanical behind the wall. Then he moves so fast that I barely register it, and his hand grips my jaw.
“Careful,” he murmurs, tilting my face up higher. “I like defiance. It’s a massive turn on. But I like breaking it even more.”
“Then you’ll be surely disappointed,” I snap, the words spilling before I can stop them.
He laughs once. “You’ve got a sharp tongue on you.
” His thumb presses into my cheek. “Let’s see how long it lasts.
” He releases me suddenly and turns back to the table, grabbing the fork.
He brings it to me, the metal cool against my lip.
“Open.”
“No.”
He lets out a sigh before shaking his head.
“This again?” Before I can snap back, his arm snakes around my waist, dragging me onto his lap.
His hand slides back up my throat, his thumb pressing under my jaw.
“You still think you are in control,” he says.
“Even now. But I promise you, I’ll teach you how good it feels to let go. ”
My chest heaves at his words. I don’t want to open my mouth, but the tremor in my jaw gives.
“Good girl,” he whispers, voice low and infuriatingly gentle. “Just like that.”
The fork presses again, slower this time. I breathe through my nose, every muscle locked tight, until finally, he slips another bite past my lips.
“See?” he says, withdrawing the fork. “Not poisoned."
He feeds me another bite, and I hate how my body obeys before my mind can stop it.
When he finally sets the fork down, I can feel his heartbeat against my spine.
He brushes a thumb across my lower lip, wiping away traces of food.
“Defiance looks pretty on you,” he murmurs before shifting, letting me slide off his lap and back onto the floor.
I take a moment to steady my breathing before asking the question that has been on my mind since the beginning.
“Why me?”
He studies me for a moment, then crouches down to my level. “Because I could.”
“You’re a monster.”
He grins faintly. “You keep calling me that. But you haven’t even met him yet.”
My stomach turns as the food starts making its way back up my throat. He stands, straightens his sleeves, and nods towards the tray. “Finish it. I’ll be back in an hour. And if you're good, I might reward you.”
The lock clinks behind him. The echo lingers longer this time. Like a promise I don’t want to understand.