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Chapter One

Eitan

I lie on the bed next to her semi-sleeping body. Since her breathing is no longer even, I know she’s partially awake, though she likes to act like she’s still asleep when I’m here with her.

I think she likes to feel the heat of my body against hers, which is fine by me because it’s a start.

Her barriers are firm and hard, but I’ll break through them no matter what I have to do or what sacrifice I have to make to make it happen.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” I whisper gently as I run a finger down her bare arm.

Tracing the curves of her body has always been one of my favorite things to do, but up until recently, I’ve only ever been able to do it with my eyes.

I never took it for granted, though. Just being able to see Brodie was more than enough until the stolen moments we’ve been able to have recently.

Of course, she still hasn’t really come around.

She still likes to pretend that she hates me, that I’m worth nothing to her, and that I’ll never be everything she needs, but I know better. I know her better than she knows herself.

She moves her leg, and the chain, the one keeping her tied to the bedframe, rattles.

"Eitan..." she murmurs, not opening her eyes. "This is getting silly. Just let me go."

She opens her eyes and looks at me. I smile at her. She has beautiful, shining eyes.

"Go where?" I ask softly. "You're right where you're meant to be."

"Eitan."

My hand traces down the front to her plump naked breasts that she is trying to hide behind her arm. She shifts under my touch. I know she will need some time to get used to being here, and she needs to come to terms with the fact we're meant to be together. She's perfect in every single way.

I need to be the one who takes care of her.

I smile and sit up. She reaches for my hand, and I let her take it. "Please, Eitan, I'm cold."

"I'll turn the heating up in here for you, make you nice and toasty. "

I look at her. She’s dressed in that schoolgirl skirt she likes wearing so much. She has nothing else on. I want to admire her in every aspect. But she also needs to be protected.

I go into the next room, and I hear her tugging on her chain. I sigh, disappointed. I was hoping she would come to her senses on her own. We belong together.

She's mine.

She belongs to me.

She's like a treasured piece of art or jewelry. Something rare and special.

I've rigged the motel up to solar power. It's way off the grid, and no one is going to find us here. I turn the heating up for the room and then go to check the weather outside. It's raining today, and it is cool, so I'm not surprised she's cold, but tomorrow promises to be warm.

The jerry tank is catching all the rainwater, and it's running through a purifier, but I also have a pump running water up from the nearby river.

It’s our own little paradise where no one will ever find us.

I still make little trips to town, but I've always kept to myself, and that's how people know me, so they don't ask me a lot of questions.

When Brodie first 'ran away', I was questioned by the police, but in the privacy of the front yard, I told them that Brodie had wanted to escape the town for the longest time. She wanted to be free from my mother.

They knew my mother was a strict Christian woman. She lived and breathed through the Bible, and Brodie had rebelled against that.

I just kept to myself, and my mother let me pass through life without hassle. She doesn't ask where I live or what I'm doing. We haven't been close since she drove my father away.

I step into the woods and follow the path down to the river to check my fishing traps. Fresh fish for dinner would be great. The motel has a kitchen I've also hooked up to solar power, and it serves its purpose.

It might not look the best as it is run down and abandoned, but the kitchen is clean, and so is Brodie's room.

Everything for Brodie must be perfect .

I check the traps and bring them in. Three fish are swimming in the net.

I take them out and gut them on a stone nearby before I throw them all back into the net and carry them back up to the motel. I stop. I'm soaking wet from the rain, but it makes me feel alive and fresh.

I need to change before I see Brodie for dinner.

I fry up the fish in garlic butter and herbs and serve it on a bed of rice. I change into dry clothes and take the food to Brodie.

"Lunch is ready," I say as I walk in.

She's sitting up, hugging her knees.

"Have you been crying?" I ask, concerned.

"I just want to go home," she says quietly. "I miss Mom."

"No, you don't, you hate Mom." I give her a reassuring smile. "I'm taking much better care of you anyway. Here, it's not too hot anymore."

I give her a plastic fork to eat with, and she takes the food. She turns her back to me as much as she can, and she snarfs down the food.

"Slowly, you're going to choke."

"I would kill for a cheeseburger," she comments. "From the diner in town."

"It's a bit far away, but I'll see what I can do," I comment. I notice her face fall, and I lean over, kissing her shoulder.

"It'll be okay. You need to get used to the new normal, Brodie." I start to eat my food. I'm on guard, though, and when she flips around to stab at me with her plastic fork, I grab her hand and take it away from her.

"Eitan," she groans out. "Let me go."

"No," I say sternly as I stand up. "Now you can eat with your hands."