His Jaguar Tattoo

Human Toy

"His...wife." Zuri chucked another dart at the board. It stuck in the cork around the edge, not even remotely near the bullseye. "His...wife!"

She'd been doing this since she found the dart board in the game on the top floor about ten minutes ago. It was therapeutic, a good way to let off steam.

Once all the darts had been thrown, she sat down at the black wood bar and placed her head on her folded arms. Zuri sorted through her thoughts, wincing every time she thought about Drew's intentions. He wanted her to be his wife. That went beyond anything she could have originally anticipated. She'd expected to be a slave or something, since he was clearly a freak, but this was almost worse.

"Miss Welch?" a masculine voice called from the open doorframe of the room.

Zuri lifted her head to see a stout older guy in black clothes. She assumed he was one of Drew's henchmen. "Hi."

"I brought your clothes," he told her. "Which room is yours?"

"My clothes?"

"Yes, Miss. The Boss ordered we bring your wardrobe from your guardian's house."

She blew out a sigh. "Mine is the first room on the left."

"Thank you," the man said before disappearing.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, she realized. He wants to keep me here forever. Of course he's going to bring my clothes.

After forcing herself to slide off the barstool, Zuri headed for her room, dragging her feet. She didn't feel like putting away clothes, but it would be a good excuse for her to talk to the man. Maybe he would give her some answers.

The man was carrying the last of three boxes into her room when she entered. They gauged each other cautiously for a moment. A friendly smile eased across Zuri's face.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" she said.

"Depends," he replied. "What kinda questions?"

"Oh, you know. Like what kind of work does Drew do? And how did you come to work for him?"

The man shifted uncomfortable on his giant feet.

"Here, let's start with something easier," she suggested. "What's your name?"

"Benjamin. But everybody calls me Benny."

She smiled at him again. "How old are you, Benny?"

"Thirty-four."

"Cool. How old is Drew?"

Shrugging slowly, Benny dodged her gaze. "I dunno. The Boss doesn't talk about personal stuff with us."

Zuri nibbled on her cheek, deep in thought.

"Well, I need to head back to the guard shack, Miss. Have a—"

"Wait!" She blushed. "Can't you stay a little longer, Benny? I have a few more questions."

"I probably can't help you much anyway. Sorry, Miss."

"Okay," she relented. "Do you know when Drew will be back?"

He shrugged again. "Not until late, I think. Business took him to New York today."

"And what, exactly, is his business?"

"I should let him tell you that, Miss."

Zuri pursed her lips but let him leave. Obviously, he wasn't feeling helpful anyway. She would just have to wait for her crazy captor to get home and interrogate him. What would she do in the meanwhile?

Exploring seemed like a good idea. Zuri had stopped her wandering earlier after she'd found the dart board. Now she could see what else this mansion had to offer. There were four rooms off the bottom floor hall. One was an extravagant guest bedroom, the second a masculine study, the third a cinema room, and the fourth had been converted into a meeting space with a long, white glass table and fancy swivel chairs.

Zuri doubled back to Drew's study for a little investigating of her own. Unfortunately, all of the desk drawers were locked up. The few papers laid out didn't make enough sense for her to understand what Drew did for a living. She'd already assumed he was into real estate since he was her grandmother's landlord, but many people did real estate as a side job.

After the study had been meticulously rummaged through, Zuri abandoned it and the rest of the bottom floor. She hoped the second floor would be more exciting. To her initial joy, she stumbled into Drew's home gym. The equipment seemed mostly new, though everything showed signs of use. Zuri tested out the treadmill, excited to try all of its special features. Her college gym was less updated and not nearly as nice.

College. Sighing, Zuri moved to glass wall that looked over the backyard. Would Drew let her return to her classes? People would wonder where she was. Not to mention she enjoyed college and wanted to pursue an education. Drew probably didn't care. If he did, he would've considered that before stealing her away.

Her thoughts dispersed as she noticed the backyard didn't have a fence. The lawn stretched for about twenty yards before the forest started. Zuri glanced over her shoulder, paranoid. She felt like Drew could hear her traitorous thoughts, the plan forming in her head.

Night had almost completely fallen. Running would be difficult to do in the dark with trees to maneuver around. And there was always that threat he'd issued. Zuri pressed her hand against the glass of the window and rested her body against its cool surface. Her breath left a trace of fog.

Don't cry, she scolded herself. You've already decided not to. Be strong.

Her mind had drifted to being home with her grandmother. She just wanted things to be normal again. She wanted to fall asleep in her own bed, knowing that when she woke her life would be free to live as it always had been. Not like it was now, under the dominion of a controlling lunatic who wanted to force marriage on her.

The sound of the front door ripped away Zuri's sensibilities. She bolted out of the gym and flew down the staircase. Drew stood in the foyer, studying her through curious eyes.

"You're home," she remarked, breathless.

"Miss me?" His lips twisted in bitter sarcasm as he strode past her up the stairs.

"I...I just need to talk to you." Zuri followed the path his broad shoulders carved through the dark house.

Drew didn't speak until he'd reached his bedroom at the end of the hall. "Not tonight, Zuri."

Disappointed, she watched him shrug off his jacket and wrestle the tie from his neck. The rising moon threw a pale strip of light across his body, illuminating his face. He looked exhausted.

"Goodnight," Zuri whispered, turning to leave.

"Wait."

She hesitated in the doorway.

"Come here," he ordered.

A worried expression crossed her face. What does he want?

"Zuri," he called, voice harsh, "come here. Don't make me wait."

"Okay." She padded quietly over to him, praying he would save his malicious intentions for someone else.

Drew licked his lips as he stared down at her. Cupping a hand to her cheek, he murmured, "Goodnight." A gentle kiss was pressed to her forehead before he sent her away.

Zuri held in her repulsion until she was alone in her room. Angry, she wiped the remnants of his saliva off her forehead. Gross. I am not some human toy, something he can boss around and enslave. I'll get him back. I don't know how, yet, but I will.