Chapter 1

Alex screamed once again into her gag, like she had been periodically doing for the past hour. The muffled noise only served to frustrate her more, and she struggled uselessly against her bonds.

Her eyes were blindfolded, her wrists tied together and stretched above her head. Her ankles were also tied together, and to something else, sturdy. The way she was stretched out left her effectively immobile, but only bordering on painful--more uncomfortable than anything else. Judging by the softness under her back, she guessed that the implement used to bind her was a bed. This frightened her.

Her wrists chaffed as she struggled against the course ropes, stubbornly refusing to give up hope, although she knew that it was hopeless. She couldn't get herself free. The pain in her wrists was nothing though, easily dealt with, especially when there was something more pressing gnawing at her mind, her entire body—the horrible, numbing fright.

It couldn't have been more than a day before, though to Alex it seemed like a lifetime, that she was walking home from the grocery store, just a small bag of essentials in her hand. Her day had been perfectly normal thus far, actually, her life had been normal thus far.

She had grown up in a little suburban home with two loving parents, no siblings, but a wonderful dog named Shell. Going through high school, she never quite stood out. She had her group of friends, and two boyfriends, though nothing serious. When she graduated, she enrolled at the local college. Once again, she made some friends, went to some parties, but still kept her grades as her top priority.

After spending her freshman year in a dorm room, she rented an apartment for herself. She liked living alone much better than with roommates, and deemed the extra money spent on rent worth it. She loved to walk, and since she didn't mind making her way to school or work on foot, she saved money on gas. She barely even drove anywhere.

Everything about her was completely average, and her looks were no exception. Her hair was a mousy brown, though long and soft. Her features were pleasant, though nothing anyone would describe as strikingly beautiful. She had a skinny, short figure, with small, perky breasts. Alex always thought her breasts were too small, her legs and arms too skinny. Indeed, it looked as though her arms would snap as easily as a twig if just a little too much pressure was applied.

The tears were streaming out of the corners of her eyes, as silently and steadfast as a faucet. Little pools of water formed in her ears. She thought about her average life, which had really yet to even begin. She had been working, studying for her future—a future that would never be. What was she thinking? She could get out of this, she could survive. She didn't know why her kidnapper wanted her, or even who he was.

She'd been walking on a semi-isolated street, though not even a particularly dark or scary one. It was only three o'clock, and the sun was shining brightly, her grocery bag swinging in her hand. Someone had come up behind her and pressed a rag to her face, and before she could even comprehend what was happening, she had passed out. The next thing she knew, she was here. Wasn't this sort of thing supposed to happen at night? It wasn't fair that she had been kidnapped like this in the broad daylight, when she should have been safe.

Though she wasn't really sure why she was here, she had a pretty good idea. An idea she wouldn't let her mind fully form. She wasn't rich enough to be worth ransom to a kidnapper.

Someone came into the room, and Alex's whole body tensed. The fact that she couldn't see him made the whole thing even more dreadful. She heard him close the door, and his footsteps fell heavily as he walked slowly over to the bed, then just stood above her. Alex screamed with anger and fear into her gag, and shook her body as best she could.

The man knelt over her for a minute, and Alex's heart rate increased. She moaned in fear, not able to control herself. She felt him reach behind her head, lifting it up and removing the damp gag from her mouth. As soon as it was gone, Alex sucked in her breath and screamed with a freedom that had been denied from her for the past hour.

Her release only lasted half a second, until she felt a strong hand clamp fiercely over her mouth.

"Don't do that," a voice growled in her ear, making Alex yelp in panic.

He pulled his hand away, and Alex swallowed her breath, forcing herself not to scream again.

"What do you want?" she asked. Her voice didn't even sound like her, wispy and shaky.

He didn't answer, instead once again reached behind her, this time removing her blindfold. Alex blinked her eyes as her dilated pupils were suddenly accosted with the light. She tried to force herself to see what was around her, but had to wait till her eyes became accustomed.

The face before her finally stood out in perfect clarity. He had dark brown hair, which was scruffy and hung over his forehead and into his eyes, a strong, straight jaw line, and piercing eyes. The first thing that registered in Alex's mind was how strikingly handsome he was. Then she wondered why such a handsome man would kidnap someone, especially someone as plain as her. She knew murderers and rapists could come in any shape and size, but she just never pictured someone so young and handsome doing such a thing.

Then a more gruesome thought came into her mind. He was letting her see his face, which she could then identify if she ever got out of here. Did that mean he had no intention of letting her go?

"What do you want?" she asked the question again, her voice even more terrified this time, if that was possible.

"This is pathetic, Alex," he said to her as if he was gently chastising a child.

The first thing Alex noticed was his voice, how deep and pleasant it was. She was disgusted with herself for thinking about her kidnapper's beauty when her life was in danger. The very next thought to occur to her, almost simultaneously with the first, was that he had said her name. This wasn't just some random kidnapping, he knew who she was. And what did he mean by saying this was pathetic?

Alex shook her head, "I don't understand."

The man sat down on the bed next to her. Alex quickly noticed the rest of the room. The walls were painted a pale yellow color. The floors were wood, and the only peace of furniture in the room was an armoire on the opposite wall. The one window was high, and revealed only the blue sky, nothing of where she was.

"You're very beautiful," her kidnapper stroked her face. Alex disagreed silently, but for some reason this gesture didn't send a wave of fear through her as it should have. He said it as though he were genuinely just trying to give her a compliment.

"Please," Alex said, though she didn't know what she was begging for.

Her kidnapper stood up and walked to the window, then came back to the bed. This time he had a knife in his hand. It looked to only be a pocket knife, but it made Alex panic.

"No!" she screamed, "Please, let me go. I won't tell anyone."

The man once again sat next to her on the bed, there was a look of mild amusement in his eyes. Alex started sobbing, she was about to be killed by some sick man who thought it was some sort of joke. She struggled against her bonds, waiting for him to slit her throat.

Instead, he pulled the bottom of her shirt away from her body and placed the knife against it, tearing it through the fabric. The blood drained from Alex's face.

"No!" she sobbed helplessly.

He snapped the pocked knife closed and put it in his jeans pocket. Grabbing fistfuls of her now cut shirt, he tore harshly. The sound of the fabric tearing sent shivers down Alex's spine. The tear in the fabric stopped at the color of her t-shirt, but the man didn't seem to mind.

Alex's stomach was bare, as were her bra-encased breasts, the torn pieces of her shirt lying off at her sides. Her shallow breathing could now be physically seen in the rise and fall of her stomach. The man didn't look at her face, only gently laid his big hands on the bare flesh of her waist. Alex's muscled jerked in reaction. She was surprised at how tenderly he simply held her, running his thumbs over her ribs.

After a minute or so, he looked up at her face and grinned devilishly at her. He reached for her bra, and Alex screamed.

He placed his hand over her mouth, "I told you not to do that. Do I need to gag you again?"

Alex didn't say anything, only started to sob harder. There was a flash of something in the man's eyes, something that almost looked like regret, but before Alex could even register this, he pushed up her bra.

Alex whimpered as he stared at her bare chest. This was something that she didn't even let her boyfriends do. She specifically only dated guys for a short period of time, breaking up with them before they could start complaining that she wouldn't have sex with them. Why had she done that? she wondered now. This was going to be her first time, and it was going to be rape.

"Please," she begged again.

"Please what?" he asked in his creamy voice, "Please stop?"

"Yes," her voice was desperate. She knew he was just toying with her now.

He once again cupped her waist, and this time he let his thumbs stroke the underside of her breasts. Despite herself, Alex felt a tingle between her legs.

"No, I don't think I'm going to do that. If you want it to stop, then you're going to have to stop it."

He was mocking her. "How?"

"Get yourself free."

Alex sobbed. "I can't." What kind of game was this?

"You can," he said confidently. He stared at her breasts, and continued to play with them. Alex was completely helpless, she couldn't stop him, not tied up the way she was. He tweaked her nipples with his fingers, gently rolling them around. Before she could stifle it, Alex moaned for a completely different reason now.