I snort a laugh. “An interesting story to tell the grandkids, you mean? How did you and Grandpa meet, Granny? Oh, he stood idly by while I was brutally raped, and then instead of taking me to a hospital or to the police, he stole me away and locked me in a cabin in the middle of fucking nowhere and hoped I’d fall in love with him. Which I did, of course.” I snort again. “What a fucking fairy tale.”
His jaw tightens. “There’s nothing I wanted more than to stop what happened to you last night, but whatever you choose to believe, I was powerless to prevent it. What I can do now is take care of you from here on out and ensure you want for nothing.”
“Except my freedom.”
He shakes his head at the ceiling. “Another repetition, Calla.”
I’m about to continue the verbal sparring, partly because I find I’m enjoying myself, but then a dreadful thought slips into my mind, and I recoil in horror. “Oh my God. Last night with that… that… animal. He didn’t use protection. I could have caught all manner of diseases, or even be pregnant.” I get to my feet. “You have to take me to the hospital, Hawk. Right now.”
He stays seated, unconcerned with my outburst. “You’re fine,” he says.
“How do you know that? Are you a doctor?”
His lips quirk upward. “No. I don’t think I have the bedside manner for it.”
I glare at him, incensed. “You think this is funny? This is my health. My life. My body.”
Except it wasn’t. Not anymore. That man stole it from me, and I know Hawk is only biding his time until he can do the same. I doubt very much he took me so he’d have a bit of company out here. He wants to fuck me, to own me, to steal my independence. He’s just more upfront about it.
He folds his arms over his enormous chest, and his biceps bunch. I find myself staring at them, a strange warmth unfolding in my abdomen.
“First, you’re not pregnant. They’ll have given you an implant to prevent that. Second, the trainers are clean. You think the men who run The Elite would risk the women who make it through the program being riddled with disease? No, of course they wouldn’t. They carry out regular and rigorous testing to ensure everyone is clean.”
“Oh.” I fold my arms, mirroring his position, except my arms are spindly, unlike his, which are wider than my thigh, and collapse back into the chair.
He gets to his feet and crouches beside my chair, then strokes my cheek with the back of his forefinger. “You’re very beautiful, Calla. But you’ve also been through a traumatic ordeal. I want you, but I’ll never force you. I’ll wait for you to come to me.” He straightens and looks down at me with a victorious grin. “And you will.”
Before I can respond, he turns on his heel and leaves me alone by the dying embers.
“Hawk, come see this,” I whisper, beckoning to him.
He steals over on silent feet, belying his huge frame, and crouches beside me. I point down to the lake below where a deer is drinking. Beside her is a little baby deer—I have no clue what the real name of a baby deer is.
“Isn’t that gorgeous?”
He nods and then smiles, and my insides quiver with excitement. Five weeks have passed since I awoke that evening and found out my fate, and while, in the real world, that’s no time at all, out here in the midst of nature, it feels like a lifetime.
He’s stuck to his word and hasn’t laid a finger on me, but as time passes, I grow more and more needy. The physical injuries I suffered have healed, and while the mental ones will take a lot longer, with Hawk’s patient and gentle manner, I know they will fade, over time.
“Look at you, at one with nature.”
He stands and holds out his hand, and I take it without question. We meander through the dense forest that surrounds his cabin, locked in silence, but it’s comfortable and I don’t feel the need to break it.
Every day, Hawk burrows further into my heart, quietly and without overt effort. I’m aware this looks seriously fucked up, and for all I know, my growing affection is very likely a form of Stockholm syndrome, but if it feels real to the person, who is to say it’s wrong?
And, God, it’s real to me.
As the sun begins to set, we head back to the cabin, and within ten minutes, Hawk gets to work on starting a fire. I watch his muscles rippling beneath his shirt, and my stomach rolls deliciously. I get to my feet and stand behind him, a hairsbreadth from us touching. I’m not sure whether he senses me there, but he turns, and his pupils dilate as he looks down at me. He sets the poker beside the fireplace, then straightens once more.
“Calla.” He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, and I shiver at the feel of his roughened fingertips against my far softer skin. “What do you want?”
I answer with a single word, the only one that matters. “You.”
I half expect him to question me, to ask if I’m sure, but there’s none of that. He lifts me into his arms, so effortlessly, and strides into his bedroom. I’ve only been in here once on a day he drove into town for supplies. Curious, I went through his things, hoping to learn more about the man, but his room contained only the bare minimum of shirts, jeans, boots, and underwear. No personal items, which surprised me, considering he brought me some of mine. Then again, Hawk doesn’t strike me as the sentimental kind of man. He’s all hard lines and solid muscle.
He
