Falling For My Captor

Chapter Eight

-Kyle-

Kyle felt his muscles go rigid. He knew she'd been up to something. Alice's eyes admitted what she refused to: she'd been playing him. Though he still didn't know what she trying to get out of this, the idea enraged him.

"You were trying to manipulate me," he accused.

Alice's cheeks reddened, and she attempted to pull away from him. He responded by holding her tighter with one arm and capturing her chin with his other free hand.

"Why?" The question was a demand.

She shook her head.

"Alice, why?"

Tears were pooling in her eyes when she looked at him. "Because...I don't know...I can't do this, Kyle. I can't play wife with you."

He released his grip on her all at once, causing her to stumble backwards. The pain in his chest was unbearable. This wasn't the first time she'd told him that. Why did she refuse to accept the truth? Refuse to see her happy ending was with him?

"You wanna go back to your family?" he snarled. "Back to a world that won't protect you from evil?"

Alice blinked back the tears while she weakly nodded her head.

"Fine. If you won't let me protect you, I won't force you to stay." He marched over to his horse and untied the reins. With a brief glance at a bleary-eyed Alice, he mounted and rode off.

-Alice-

The feeling wouldn't go away.

The feeling that Alice had majorly screwed up.

She took her time riding Chimney back to the stable. Kyle's horse had already been cleaned up and stalled again, so she figured he was inside doing whatever necessary to work out the pain. Alice removed Chimney's tack and sponge bathed him before putting him back in the stall.

No sound gave away Kyle's position in the house. Everything was eerily quiet. As Alice moved down the hall towards his room, her ears picked up the sound of his shower. She wanted to wait in his room to speak with him. But she didn't have the words to say. Besides, Kyle probably wasn't in the mood to see her now.

Alice quietly padded down to her room, where she stripped off the shirt and jeans to shower. She let the minutes pass unrushed. Whatever was waiting for her outside these shower walls would be unpleasant, so she wanted to drag out the peace as long as she could.

Still, the feeling nagged her.

-Kyle-

Kyle stood in the threshold between the bathroom and bedroom, listening to the sound of her shower running. He hadn't known she was bathing when he'd stormed into her room. Instead of leaving though, he stood idly between the bedroom and bathroom, considering the options.

Tomorrow, he would take her back to her family. But only if she promised to never give him away. The only other option was to force her to stay, and he realized now he didn't want her love unless it was freely given. So he would take her back, against all he said and believed. Even though it would kill him.

The shower cut off. Kyle knew he should leave to give her privacy, but he didn't budge. His feet wouldn't mobilize.

Alice gasped when she saw him, though he couldn't yet see her. After a moment of waiting, giving her time to cover herself, Kyle turned to face her. She seemed smaller all wet, bundled up in that enormous towel. His heart throbbed against his ribs, willing him to scoop her up in his arms.

She was beautiful. As she'd always been. Like an angel kissed by Heaven itself. Not beautiful in the world's terms; not long-legged and bony; not seductive and used. But beautiful to him.