thecutedara

Kidnapped, Taken to a private island. I never thought this could happen to me. I never imagined one chance meeting on the eve of my eighteenth birthday could change my life so completely.

Now I belong to him. To Julian. To a man who is as ruthless as he is beautiful - a man whose touch makes me burn. A man whose tenderness I find more devastating than his cruelty.

My captor is an enigma. I don't know who he is or why he took me. There is a darkness inside him - a darkness that scares me even as it draws me in.

My name is Nora Leston, and this is my story.

Two Heart

I walk tirelessly for hours in the hot sun, until the flip-flops I'm wearing give me a blister. I stick close to the beach, hoping to find a boat tied somewhere, maybe in a cave or a lagoon.


How did I get here? Was it by plane or helicopter? Julian did mention yesterday that he had originally discovered this place while flying a plane. Maybe that's how he brought me here, via a private plane?


That would not be good. Even if I found the plane sitting somewhere, how would I fly it? I imagine it must be at least somewhat complicated.


Then again, with sufficient incentive, I might be able to figure it out. I'm not stupid, and flying a plane is not rocket science.


But I don't find the plane either. There is a flat grassy area on the other side of the island with a structure at the end of it, but there's nothing inside the structure. It's completely empty.


Tired, thirsty, and with the blister beginning to bother me more with each step, I head back to the house.


"Julian left a couple of hours ago," Beth tells me as soon as I walk in.


Stunned, I stare at her. "What do you mean, he left?"


"He had some urgent business to take care of. If all goes well, he should be back within a week."


I nod, trying to keep a neutral expression, and go upstairs to my room.


It's just Beth and me on this island. No one else.


My mind is whirling with possibilities. I can steal one of the kitchen knives and threaten Beth until she shows me a way off the island. There's probably internet here, and I might be able to reach out to the outside world.


Do they truly think I'm that harmless? Did my meek behavior thus far lull them into thinking I would continue to be a nice, obedient captive?


Julian is the one I'm afraid of, not Beth. With the two of them on this island, attacking Beth would've been pointless and dangerous.


Chapter 21