A Promise

Whatever I want

Jack's POV

Even in the darkness I could see how tired she was. Exhausted from fighting, the fear and pain draining her energy. Tiny sobs still shook her as I scooped her up from the corner she had crammed herself into, her skin cold to the touch after being on the cement floor for a few hours. Her body tensed the moment I touched her, too weak to protest, still trembling as I carried her out of the grimy cell. The numbness of the aftermath growing with every minute. She tucked her arms against her chest, her shoulders tense and her eyes darting around the room, taking in her surroundings as much as she could while steeling herself against my touch. The dread she felt seeping out of every pore.

A part of me loved it. The fear. Knowing that I could do anything I wanted to her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Knowing that no one would ever find her. Knowing that she knew. I could see it in her eyes. The hope that was ebbing away with every passing second. She couldn't fight off a honeybee right now, much less me. And with her leg like that she wouldn't be able to walk for at least a day or two, running was out of the question. Lucky me.

But another part of me paused everytime she flinched. Every wince when her knee fell the wrong way, or as she picked at the scabs on her palms. It'd been a long time since I'd had a soft spot for someone. It was a dangerous thing to have in my line of work. Probably just a phase, I'll be done playing with her in a week or so.

Her dazed gaze flickered across the room as we left the cell, landing on the various tables and equipment I had out. The basement was a mess, an active workshop for my job. Tools were scattered around the benches, disassembled weapons and projects half completed on every surface. But its not like I had guests often. Especially not down here. I hadn't wanted to leave her down here, I knew exactly what happened in those cells. How disgusting they were. But I wasn't exactly planning on bringing a girl home, and I needed to deal with the guy from the diner. It builds character... helps keep her in line.

It was so strange, seeing her last night. Tucked away behind the dumpster. Her eyes so wide, I could see every bit of those honey brown circles from across the parking lot. The wind teasing her hair in front of her face. Looking down at her now, those same wide eyes were streaked with red. Puffy and strained. Every now and then her swollen lips would pull and twist as she sniffled. Her pale skin was a splotchy pink from the cold air, dark circles hanging under her eyes. A spray of beauty marks scattered across her cheeks. Little dots here and there under her eye, on her cheek, above her brow, hiding under her pouty lips.

I had to duck under the low hanging ceiling over the stairs, something I had hit my head on numerous times when I first moved here, and as I took the last step onto the main floor of the house I watched her lips part in surprise at her new surroundings. Her brow furrowed in confusion, as my boots padded across the soft carpet. Cutting past the living room, her eyes touched on the tall windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling, watching as the early morning light fell across the leather furniture and bounced off the tv screen. Compared to my nightmare of a basement, I'm sure the change was quite shocking. I studied her expression, but she just stared, dazed and confused, still wondering if this was all real or some horrible dream.

Continuing down the hallway, we passed the guest bathroom and I pushed the door open to the master bedroom. My bedroom. She eyed the bed nervously as I made my way to the attached bathroom; where I kept most of my first aid stuff. Setting her down on the counter, I dug through my drawers and pulled out a roll of medical wrap.

After turning the roll over a few times I finally found the seam of the fabric and pulled it open. Her eyes flew open at the sound of the rubbery material ripping apart. I could almost hear her heart pounding from here. Starting the bandage just below her knee, I wrapped it around her leg a few times before bringing it up behind her knee and wrapping it around another few times just above it. I had to bend over to reach her knee and for a second I thought she might try to knee me in the face or kick me, but it's not like she would get far. And from the look on her face, she knew her odds.

"You know, these wraps work a lot better directly on the skin..." I tried to move slowly as she stared at me, white knuckling the edge of the counter. Flinching every time my arm grazed her leggings, and then wincing as the jolt traveled through her knee. "But something tells me your not gonna let me take your pants off." I chuckled at my own joke, my smile only growing at the horrified expression on her face from my suggestion. It was so easy to get a rise out of her. Passing the bandage back down, I made an X behind the knee and did a few more laps above and below before the wrap eventually ended and I tucked the tail into an open fold. "Don't worry. We'll get there..."

"What are you gonna do to me...?" Her voice was hoarse, dry and cracked from crying. The closest she'd come to calm this whole time. A quiet question from the terrified girl in front of me. I stood up, staring at her as I thought about my answer for a moment.

"Whatever I want..." It was the truth, "I"ll take care of you... keep you safe... keep you here with me." I nodded absentmindedly, my eyes pausing on her bandaged knee before wandering up her thighs. Dark visions of her flashed through my head. Sultry images of what was under those ripped leggings. Her shirt like wrapping paper covering a gift that I had yet to open. "There's lots of stuff I wanna do with you. So many things I could think of... and after all it's not like you could stop me." Her shoulders crumpled a bit, deflating under the implication of my words. 

"Are you gonna kill me?" This question was even quieter than the last. Her desperation running out as the depressing acceptance fell into place.

"I don't plan on it." I admitted, wondering for a moment if that answer was better or worse for her, "Sweetheart, if I wanted to kill you, I would've shot you back in that parking lot and buried your pretty little body somewhere they'd never find you. I don't want to kill you... seems like a waste. Such a cute face left for the worms. I'd much rather have it here all to myself. That is... as long as it's worth my while." Her mouth twisted a bit. "But I'm sure you'll make yourself useful while you're here..." The silence hung heavy between us. Her eyes focused on the center of my chest. "But for now, let's get you to bed. Get you rested up. Let that leg heal. You're not much use to me if you can't even stand on your own."

Scooping her up off the counter, she was locked into her blank stare. Frozen as I carried her without a noise of complaint or a single whimper. Soon she was tucked under the sheets, the duvet seeming to swallow her tiny body. Her tangled hair splayed across the pillow. It'd been a long time since I'd had a woman in bed with me. I'd let her have her few last nights to herself while I finished up downstairs. Peeking at her figure curled up in the fetal position one last time, her shoulders shook with silent sobs as she began to accept her new future. Her future with me.