His lips felt foreign and unwelcome against hers. Body rigid, mind blank, Sloane just sat there without any idea of what to do.

And then it was over in a second. He pulled away, a strange grin on his face. "See. I'm taking care of you just fine. It'll be a while before you can walk, but it's healing well."

She didn't know how to respond. Her focus was on the peck that hadn't been offered or asked for. It didn't occur to her at that moment that he could have done so much more, taken more than just a kiss.

He stared, waiting for an answer. A simple nod was all she was able to manage.

"Okay. You rest now. I'll come back later with dinner if you're up to it."

She watched him leave, heart racing and stomach aching. The door closed with a gentle click, signaling that she was alone again.

Her back rested against the headboard as she just stared at the door.

He kissed me. Why?

She sat there for several minutes, questioning his actions before a nagging feeling started up. It was frustrating that she couldn't figure out why.

Once she was tired of the frustration, she made her mind move on, or at least tried to.

What am I supposed to do? What do people who've been abducted do?

After so long, her back began to ache. For fear of falling asleep for the millionth time, she didn't want to lie down, but there wasn't much else she could do. It was lay down or stand and the latter wasn’t a very good option. In an effort to relieve the back pain and avoid sleep, she eased herself over the foot of the bed, kneeling as she leaned forward. The stretch felt good, inspiring her to continue with the rest of her body. It reminded her of a scene from “Ruthless People” and even made her chuckle.

But it didn't take long to finish stretching, so she climbed back onto the bed, heaviness settling on her chest. She never would have thought that being someone's prisoner would result in boredom. So, of course, she succumbed and fell asleep...again.

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"How do you feel?"

Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice. It didn't strike an instant fear anymore. At least not at that moment.

He helped her into a sitting position before he placed a tray in front of her. It resembled something you'd give a toddler. The steak was cut into small cubes and there wasn’t any need for utensils to eat the roasted vegetables.

She looked up at him with a small frown that he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he spread a napkin open and sat it next to her. "I tried not to make the tea too sweet. Although, a real Southerner appreciates the glucose." His smile gave away that he was joking.

"Thanks." She took a sip of the tea and nodded. "It's good."

"Then, eat up." He motioned to the tray.

She thought about it for a minute before deciding that since she didn't feel sick or any different from how she’d been feeling, he hadn't poisoned her breakfast. It would be safe to eat dinner. Or at least she hoped so.

The steak was amazing, the veggies paired well, but she found herself wishing for a warm yeast roll, like the ones O'Charley's serves. But what did she expect being someone’s prisoner? When she finished eating, she took small sips of the tea.

"What's…" Nerves came out of nowhere. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask him her question or why it had even popped into her head. "What's your name?"

"Carter." He sat on the edge of the bed, never taking his eyes off of hers. "And you're Sloane."

Shock washed over her. While she knew he had taken all of her things, her driver's license hadn't been on her at all. The last place it had been sitting was in a compartment of her car's center console.

Now the fear was back. She tried to hide it, tried to keep her breathing normal.

"Sloane." He said it slower this time, as if he were testing it. "I like it. Kinda unique."

The smile he flashed her would have been a dazzling smile in different circumstances. But her mind was focused on the fact that he'd found her car.

"How?" She blurted, covering her mouth with one of her hands.

"How what?"

"Uh...how did...how did you find my car?"

Carter looked a little confused at first. "I know these woods like the back of my hand." He held one of his hands out for emphasis.

"That wasn't a park entrance." Her voice held no emotion while her heart raced.

"Of course not."

"What did you…um…what did you do with my car?"

"Don't worry. I took care of it."

It was her turn to look confused. "What does that mean?"

"I took care of it." He repeated as if she'd know what he meant. "Just like I did with the others."

Her body went cold; there had been others. She didn't need to ask him what he meant by that. But she did anyway.

"You aren't the first person to stumble onto my land." Carter shrugged a shoulder, a look of nonchalance on his face.

"Your land?"

"I have a lot."

"Have many people have been…hurt on your land?"

"I don’t know. Don’t really pay attention." The way he answered was as if it didn't matter.

"What happened to them?" She wasn't sure he’d heard, but the quick flicker of annoyance that crossed his face told her otherwise.

However, he ignored the question. "So you need to use the bathroom?"

His question caught her off guard, but her answer was an automatic yes.

She watched as he produced a key from his jeans pocket and unlocked the padlock, freeing her ankle. She didn't dare try to run, knowing she wouldn't have gotten two feet away with her foot. Even if she could have gotten away, she was sure getting lost would give him all the time he needed to recapture her, resulting in more beatings.

He slid his arm around her waist and helped her stand. Leaning against him, she realized how tall he was; the top of her head reached the center of his chest.

It seemed to take forever to make it up the narrow staircase, but Carter was patient and helpful. He took the burden of her weight most of the way.

Once they reached the top, he gave her a few seconds to rest before turning to the left. A few more steps and she was looking into a tiny bathroom.

Carter positioned her as close to the toilet as he could and stepped an arms length away.

She pressed her lips together and let her eyes dart to the door behind him.

He didn't say anything as he just stood there and waited.

"Um...could I have some...privacy?"

"Ya want me to leave?" He cocked his head as if she had asked a stupid question.

"If you don't mind."

"No." His response was curt and he crossed his arms over his chest, much like a petulant toddler.

She swallowed hard before taking a deep breath. She debated between doing this as fast as possible or taking her time. There were pros and cons to either choice, but she opted for quick to avoid flashing too much of herself to him.

Trying to keep her balance as she lowered shorts and underwear at once made it a little more difficult to complete her business as fast as she would have liked. She tried to maneuver her body so Cater wouldn't see anything, but where he stood, she was sure he caught glimpses.

Once done, she washed her hands while he watched with an unnerving intensity. She was positive he was making sure she didn't try anything even though there didn’t seem to be any available weapons.

"Ready?"

She wanted to scream no, but that wasn't an option. So she just nodded and allowed him to put his arm around her again.

It took just as long going back to her prison as it had taken leaving it. And she hoped he'd at least let her stay out of the shackles.

"Sit." He motioned to the bed and her heart sank as he leaned down, grabbing the chain.

She sat as close to the headboard as she could even though she knew that wouldn't stop him from attaching the chains.

"Leg." He held out his hand.

Her slight hesitation brought out an exasperated sigh from him. He took a step forward and leaned down to grab her ankle, chaining her up in seconds.

It was obvious that she was pouting, but that didn't keep Carter from sitting beside her. She pushed herself toward the wall, but he moved closer.

She didn't know what to expect or what to do. She didn't want to talk to him. If it were possible, she was even angrier with him than before; he didn't let her have any privacy to pee and he put the shackles back on her. She wanted him to go and leave her alone.

But he didn't.

Instead, he edged closer, placing a hand on the back of her head and kissing her. This time, he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

Without thinking, she bit him.

He jerked back with an aggravated moan. His face was red and his eyes bulged in anger.

"What the hell?" Carter snarled before smacking her.

Her head whipped to the right and tears pricked her eyes. She started to reach up, to touch where his hand had made contact, but that same hand gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him.

His face was inches away as he spoke. "You will never do that again or you'll find out what happened to the others."

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Banner photo found at https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image?phrase=ankle+shackle