Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 18 - Changes

Kay woke from a deep and sound sleep as the real world intruded relentlessly into the cozy warmth of the bed she did not remember getting into, and although his scent lingered, he had gone.

Talia and Cat must have seen them kiss, and embarrassment heated her face. How would she face them? Better question yet... how would she face Marcus?

Burying herself under the covers and staying there sounded nice, but Cat warned her that if she chose to hide in her room again, Marcus would break down the door and take it off its hinges, never to replace it again.

Cat was not prone to idle threats, and it would amuse the damned woman to do it, especially knowing why Kay hid in her room like a teenager.

Another realization hit her: by being with Marcus, more had changed than her state of celibacy. The changes in her were not subtle, a wall had been torn down somewhere inside of her, and it altered her, although she couldn't tell how.

Why did she feel free, as if she had never known freedom? What had she been freed from, she was still a prisoner?

She relaxed into the bed as her mind puzzled at it; at best, she could describe it as if she felt whole after having been two separate people her entire life.

The one she showed the world and the one she hid in the shadows, somehow knowing something about her, was not the same as everyone else. That what hid inside was a threat to her cozy world that would be unacceptable to her parents, her and friends.

Last night, she finally let go of the rigid control she exercised over that other half of her, which was not at all what she had feared or was made to fear—it was just another part of her that fit seamlessly into the other.

After all, we were all two people. The one we show the world and the one we don't.

Sometimes the shadow part of us needs the light to remain balanced, and sometimes the light needs the shadow to be visible. All her life, she clung to control with such unyielding fear that she was off balance without ever realizing it. Control was good, but fear was not.

"Are you leaving that bed, or must I help you? The engagement party is tomorrow, and you still need to buy a dress," a droll voice asked from the hallway, and Kay's cheeks heated as a grim smile settled on her face.

Marcus had not locked the door, and Cat apparently didn't have the decency to knock.

Well, if the Cat was curious, then...

Kay swung the covers from her body, got out of bed, and strode toward the bathroom in her birthday suit.

Daniella would have died of shame.

The look of stunned amazement on Cat's face was priceless. It gave her the confidence she needed to stop and turn, indulging the naughty succubus who got to flex her boundaries for the first time.

"When you're finished staring, close the door or wait outside. I doubt if Marcus would take kindly to one of his men getting a good look at his new prize," she taunted the stunned vampire, who automatically backed up as her jaw snapped shut, and she lowered her gaze, slamming the door shut with a suggestion of rose to her cheeks.

Throwing Cat off kilter took some doing, and laughing, something she had not done since she was abducted; Kay slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Flashes of the night before slipped into her mental space and made her feel as off-kilter as the vampire, but she could not afford to allow herself to ponder.

Cat would repay her for her prank, and she smirked, but the smile wavered as she realized she was more content than she could ever remember being.

Yesterday, she thought she would never feel like this, yet finally finding herself in a moment of surrender, put the past behind her and allowed the hurt to fall away.