Page 20 of The Biker's Captive
Her relieved smile warms my heart, and at the same time I feel my chest tighten.
I pull her blanket up and tuck her in. She's already sleeping soundly as I leave the cage. This time I leave the door wide open.
9
WILLOW
My sleep is long and dreamless. I don’t know how long I’m out, but when I wake, I feel rested in a way that I haven't felt since the accident. My body feels lighter, and a warmth glows in my chest. There are new aches in my body, ones that make me blush to remember.
A smile pulls at my lips as I think about what happened with Pans. I don't know what came over me. I've never been so bold with a man, but I wanted to connect with him and show him tenderness.
I didn't know he was going to be so rough. The way he grabbed my hair, the way he pulled my head down his shaft--just thinking about it sends a delicious wave of heat between my legs.
Pans was rough, and I liked it.
I sit up on the bench bed, and the first thing I notice is that the door to the cage is wide open. For the first time, I’m not locked in.
I should feel relieved. But strangely, I feel desolate. It’s silent, no creaking from upstairs, and with the door hanging open, it feels like I’ve been abandoned.
“Pans!” I call out, but there's no answer.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and carefully lower myself to the floor. My ankle still throbs, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was.
Holding the metal bars for support, I hobble out of my cage. There's a railing on the side of the staircase, and I use that to help me up the stairs. I'm sweating by the time I get to the top of them. But the door opens.
“Pans?” I call. But the house is silent.
An uneasy feeling gnaws at the pit of my stomach. He wouldn’t have abandoned me, would he? He must still be on club business.
It takes me a good few minutes to explore the cottage, hobbling between rooms and stopping to catch my breath. In the few days I’ve been resting, my body has gotten weak.
In the main living room, there's an empty beer can on the coffee table and a stack of car magazines, but no signs of life.
In the kitchen, I find the bread and make myself a cheese sandwich, gulping it down hungrily and washing it down with a glass of water.
There’s a large bedroom at the end of the hall, and the window looks out over a valley of dense trees and all the way to the ocean. There’s a duffle bag in the corner and the bedsheets are ruffled. I guess this is where Pans has been sleeping.
When I open the window, I can make out the distant sound of waves crashing.
I breathe deep, filing my lungs with salty air. And then it hits me. I’m free.
Pans said they caught the man who was after me. I don't know what they'll do to him. But I trust that Pans will make sure it’s safe for me.
I’m finally free.
Pans has been nothing but kind to me, keeping me safe in his weird way. But I’m sure I’m nothing but a plaything for him. What would an older man want with a tubby younger girl like me?
But now that I’m free, there’s nothing stopping me from walking out the door.
I could walk right out of here or hobble out of here. I could catch a ride and continue on my way to mom’s grave and the fruit farms of Southern California.
Gina bought my purse to me which had my phone and wallet. I don’t need my other possessions.
I could go before Pans gets back and realizes his mistake. If he’s even coming back for me.
What if he got what he wanted and now he's set me free? Maybe that’s why he left the cage open.
A cold shiver goes down my spine. I rushed into things with a man I barely know. How did I expect it to end?
