I Belong to Her

Chapter 9

I wake up slowly, in stages. First, I feel the tickling sensation of my hair on my face. Then the warmth of the sun on my uncovered arm. For a moment, my mind is floating in that soft, comfortable limbo between sleep and wakefulness, between dreams and reality.

I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to wake fully because this is so nice.

Then I realize I can smell pancakes cooking in the kitchen.

My lips curl in a smile. It's the weekend, and my mom decided to spoil us again. She makes pancakes on special occasions and sometimes just because.

The hair tickles me again, and I reluctantly move my arm to push it off my face.

I'm more awake now, and the warm feeling inside me dissipates, replaced by harsh, gnawing fear.

No, please let it all be a dream. Please let it all be a bad dream. I open my eyes.

It's not a dream. I can still smell the pancakes, but there's no way it could be my mom cooking them. I'm on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, held captive by a woman who derives pleasure from hurting me.

I stretch carefully, taking stock of my body. Other than a slight tenderness in my bottom, I seem to be mostly fine. She had only taken me once last night, for which I am grateful.

Getting up, I walk naked to the mirror and look at my back. There are faint bruises on my buttocks, but nothing major. That's one of the benefits of my skin I don't bruise easily. By tomorrow, it should look completely normal.

All in all, I seem to have survived another night in my captor's bed.

As I brush my teeth, I think back to last evening. The dinner, my silly plan to seduce her, my feeling of betrayal at her actions. 

I can't believe I had begun to trust her even a tiny bit. Normal people don't kidnap girls from the park. They don't drug them and bring them to a private island. Men who like normal, consensual sex don't keep women captive.

No, Ryujin is not normal. She's a sadistic control freak, and I can never forget it. The fact that she hasn't hurt me badly yet doesn't mean anything. It's just a matter of time before she does something truly awful to me.

I need to escape before that happens, and I can't take my sweet time seducing Ryujin. She's far too dangerous and unpredictable. I need to find a way off this island.

After I take a quick shower and brush my teeth, I go downstairs for breakfast. Lia must've already been in my room because there is another fresh set of clothes laid out. A swimsuit, flip-flops, and another sundress.

Lia herself is in the kitchen, and so are the pancakes I'd smelled earlier.

At my entrance, she smiles at me, yesterday's tension apparently forgotten. "Good morning," she says cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

I give her a doubtful look. Does she know what Ryujin did to me? "Oh, just great," I say sarcastically.

"That's good." She seems oblivious to my tone. "Ryujin was afraid you might be a bit sore this morning, so she left me a special cream to give you just in case."

She does know.

"How do you live with yourself?" I ask, genuinely curious. How can a woman stand by and watch another woman being abused like this? How can she work for this cruel person?

Instead of answering, Lia places a large, fluffy pancake on a plate and brings it to me. There is also sliced mango on the table, right next to a bottle of maple syrup.