I opened my eyes.
A pair of eyes stared back at me.
I flew back and fell out of bed. I landed on my ass but didn’t even register the pain that shot like lightning up my back.
I skidded along the floor until I ran into the wall. My eyes were bulbous and my breaths rasped shallowly in my throat. My heart beat faster than a rabbit’s. I stared at the lump in my bed.
But it wasn’t a lump.
It was a man.
And he’d been staring right at me.
But if he was in the same room as me—in the same bed as me—he had to have gotten in somehow.
I peered around the room for the door or entrance or passageway he must have used.
But I saw nothing.
I glanced back at the bed. The man still lay there, unmoving.
Dead?
He grumbled in his sleep.
No, definitely not dead.
I crawled along the wall sideways, keeping as much distance between me and the man as possible.
My sexy negligee rode up and exposed my nakedness underneath. I drew it down to cover myself. Then a boob popped out, on full show.
Why would someone dress me up in this thing? It concealed nothing!
I got to my feet. It was the only way not to flash the man.
I peered at each of the walls in turn. None showed any means of entry.
How the hell had he gotten in here?
I cursed myself for falling asleep. If I’d stayed awake, I might have seen how he entered!
The man rolled over and smacked his lips. He was a slumbering giant.
And any minute now, he was going to wake up.
And find himself locked in a room with a half-naked girl.
It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out how that situation would pan out.
The man groaned and tossed the blankets to one side. He swung his legs out of the bed and stretched his arms.
My heart rate reached a fever pitch.
I needed a weapon. Something to defend myself with.
But what? There was literally nothing in this place!
The pen and paper!
I didn’t think about how effective a weapon it would be. I just needed the confidence it would give me.
I dashed for the desk and snagged up the notepad and pen. I removed the pen cap and tore a single page from the notepad.
The man struggled up onto his feet.
“Hold it right there, bub!” I said in as stern a voice I could muster.
“Ngh?” he said.
His hair stuck up with a bad case of bedhead. He stumbled from one side to the other, unsteady on his feet. He wore nothing but his underwear. A rather fetching—and very distracting—pair that worked wonders in revealing his impressive physique.
“Stay away!” I said.
“Wha?”
“What are you doing in my room?”
Okay, so it wasn’t my room but I was here first, goddammit! If he wanted somewhere to sleep, he was going to have to find his own place!
The man blinked, doing his best to wake up. It was only then that he noticed me standing there armed with my pen and paper. He peered at the rest of the room.
“What the hell?” he said. “Where am I?”
“Where are you?” I said. “You’re in my damn room! Get out!”
He raised his hands.
“Look, I’m as surprised I’m here as you are,” he said. “There’s no need to get all aggressive. This is a mistake. I’ll go.”
He turned from me and marched toward the nearest section of wall. He placed his hand to it, feeling for where the door ought to be. He turned and surveyed the rest of the room. It was a little dark and dingy with the doused lights.
“So, where’s the door?” he said.
My shoulders fell. I’d been hoping he would lead me to it.
“Why don’t you show me?” I said. “You must have used it when you came in.”
“How could I when I don’t even know where I am?”
“You were lying on my bed a minute ago!” I said. “I rolled over and there you were. You must have gotten in somehow!”
“I’m damned if I know,” he said.
“Your eyes were open!”
“Sorry. Sometimes I sleep with them open.”
“It’s freaky.”
“I can’t help it.”
This wasn’t getting us anywhere.
“Who are you?” I said.
“Chax. Who are you?”
“I’m Madeline. Maddy. Are you the one that locked me up? I swear, I won’t tell anyone what you’re doing. I don’t even know what you’re doing here! Just let me go and I’ll never tell anyone anything, I swear.”
“I didn’t lock you up.”
I looked him over. His expression seemed genuine enough. He appeared to be telling the truth but since when did that mean anything?
“Seriously,” I said. “If you’re part of this, just let me go. I’m no danger to you.”
“I told you. I don’t know what’s going on here. For all I know, you’re the one that put me in here.”
Was this guy trapped the same way I was? I didn’t know whether or not to be relieved. I mean, I wasn’t on my own now. That was a good thing. But if he had no clue about where we were either, it didn’t exactly bode well for either of us.
I lowered the pen and sheet of notepaper but didn’t put them down.
“All I know is, I woke up here yesterday and I don’t know where I am,” I said. “I checked the walls for a door but couldn’t find one.”
“There’s no door?” he said. “Then how did we end up in here?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I can’t be here,” Chax said. “My parents need help bringing in the crop. I only went out for a walk in the woods and…”
He froze and turned to me.
“What?” I said, prepared to bring my weapons up at a moment’s notice.
I knew what the words on his lips were going to be next. Just as they had been on mine.
“The bright light,” he said.
The blood drained from my face. I’d been expecting it and yet it came as no less of a surprise.
“I couldn’t move,” he said. “I was stuck there, pinned in place. I couldn’t
