Page 74 of His Captive

“Like you want to fucking devour me,” he says cockily.

“Then, stop looking so devourable,” I say hopping back into bed and laying out beside him. My body mirroring his.

“Devourable? Pretty sure that’s not even a word” he tells me taking a strand of my hair and twisting it around his finger.

“Says who?” I question.

“Um…says the Oxford English dictionary.”

“Neither was wifty-wafty until last year. Apparently they add new words all the time, maybe I could make a recommendation,” I suggest.

“You have been spending far too much time playing scrabble with Buddy,” Ethan tells me.

“Well, it's not like there’s much else to do around here.”

I regret what I’ve said when the smile slips off his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” I add quickly, hoping I can still recover his good mood. I like him so much when he’s being fun.

“Yeah you did,” he corrects me, and I lose him for a moment.

“So, what would you like to do today?” He raises his eyes back to mine, his chocolate irises drawing me in and making me fall a little harder for him.

“I don’t know,” I lift my shoulders.

“Well, how did you spend your Sundays before you decided to become a professional thief?” He’s back to being fun again and the relief makes my tummy fuzzy.

“Nothing, except for work. I took every shift available, because I needed to pay Sorrento back.”

“Ok, so what would you have done if you didn’t have to pay Sorrento back?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “Maybe, I would have had a go at making some friends. My mom was sick during my time at high school,” I explain. “I never had many friends because I wanted to spend all my free time with her. The doctors were never sure how long we’d have her with us. And then, when she left us, I wanted to be there for my dad.” Ethan takes my hand in his.

“I know, I sound like the saddest person on the planet, but I was happy. I never took my parents for granted like the kids at school used too, and now that I’ve lost them both I’m really glad I didn’t.”

“That’s not sad, Lysa,” he said, bringing my hand to his lips, and kissing the back of it softly.

“I’m sorry,” he says, so sincerely that it makes me wonder what the apology is actually for.

Was it a sympathetic sorry, perhaps a sorry for everything he’s done to me? Or maybe it’s an apology for making me fall so helplessly in love with him, despite the fact I really shouldn’t.

“I’ve just remembered, I have something I need to take care of today.” He pulls away from me and gathers his clothes from the floor. His cold demeanor seeming to creep in out of nowhere.

“Ethan?” I sit up confused, What could I have said to change his mood so rapidly.

“Buddy takes Sundays off, I’m sure he would like to spend some time with you,” he tells me, pulling up his jeans before he walks out of the room without so much as a glance back at me.

I let a few hours pass before I head down to the library and begin reading the book I find about English history. The door knocking interrupts me, and when it opens straight after, I know who it is without looking.

“Boss said I might find you here.” Buddy puts his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

“Did he send you to find me?” I ask, closing the book and placing it on the table beside me.

“No... well not really.”

“You suck at lying, Bud,” I tell him, curling my legs up and making room for him on the sofa beside me.

“You feeling sad, Miss?” he asks. “I don’t like it when you’re sad. I don’t think Ethan likes it either. Even if he thinks he does.”

---