Chapter 9

The letter was done. I reread it once more, making sure it sounded just like Cora. I folded it neatly and left it on the kitchen table where Dimitra, Cora’s mom, would find it. I smiled, picturing her concern and worry. It would buy me some time, at least until she started calling Cora’s friends and realized something was wrong.

I crept up the stairs, careful not to make a sound. I reached her bedroom door and slowly opened it, peering inside. Cora lay on the bed, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow. I had to admit, she was beautiful, even in her sleep. Her long, wavy brown hair was spread out across the pillow, and her face was relaxed and peaceful.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the bed. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the chloroform bottle and the rag I had used on her earlier. I held the rag over her mouth and nose, and within seconds, she relaxed into a deeper, uninterruptible unconsciousness. I stepped back and took a moment to admire her. She was so delicate, so vulnerable. I could do anything to her, and she wouldn’t be able to stop me.

As I felt up Cora’s unresisting body, all whilst untying her from her bed, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of wrongness. Regardless, I couldn’t stop as I gently ran my hands up her legs, reveling in the smoothness of her skin and delighting in the tingling sensation.

I clenched my jaw, trying to drive away the building lust. It was an unfamiliar feeling to me, and one that I found both alluring and disconcerting. Never had I experienced such an organic desire, and it was something I could not brush aside. It interrupted my thoughts, a cloud of confusion that kept me from focusing on the task at hand.

As I continued to unbind her, I found myself becoming more aggressive in my movements. I had a mission, and yet here I was, distracted by my own primal instincts. I felt a bubbling rage in the pit of my stomach, and I was almost unable to contain it.

Shibari-style, I bound her hands behind her back, but as I moved to wrap the rope around to the front of the body, I couldn’t stop myself from making sure to outline her breasts with the rope. The ropes encircled her entire body, a visual cage that gave me a sense of power and control. I ensured that each rope was secure, with no room for escape. I finished by tying her ankles together, a final restraint to keep her immobile.

As the desire to keep touching her grew stronger, I couldn’t help but pause for a moment. I was no stranger to the ways of the world, and I had never taken advantage of anyone in a sexual manner. However, I was never in a position where I felt attracted to the person I had captured.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I didn’t have time to ponder the implications of Cora’s effect on me. I needed to act, and fast. Her mother was due back any minute, and I couldn’t risk her stumbling upon a bound and unconscious Cora.

With a grunt, I lifted Cora’s limp body and carried her toward my car. She was surprisingly light, almost fragile in my arms. As I lowered her into the backseat, her head lolled to the side, her eyes shut tight. I felt a pang of guilt, a flicker of something unsettlingly close to remorse. But I quickly pushed those emotions aside. I reminded myself that she was a pawn in someone else’s game, a tool used to manipulate me. She was a means to an end, and I couldn’t let sentimentality get in the way.

I started the car and pulled out of the driveway, my tires crunching on the gravel. I needed to get her far away from here, somewhere secluded where I could figure out what to do with her. But where? My usual workshop was too risky. The last thing I needed was for someone to connect Cora’s disappearance to me.

I pondered my options, my mind racing. Then, an idea struck me. The abandoned cabin in the woods. It was a place I knew well from my childhood, a place no one would think to look. It was isolated, hidden deep within the dense wilderness, the perfect place to keep Cora contained until I figured out what to do with her.

The drive was long and arduous, the silence broken only by the sound of the engine and the rustle of leaves against the car. Cora remained unconscious, her breathing shallow and even. I watched her in the rearview mirror, her face pale and drawn, her hair a tousled mess. A part of me wanted to apologize, to explain that this wasn’t my intention, that I was just trying to protect myself. But I knew it would be futile. She wouldn’t understand.

As I pulled into the clearing near the cabin, the sun began to rise, casting long shadows across the landscape. I parked the car behind the thick brush, camouflaging it from view. I then got out and carefully lifted Cora from the car, carrying her toward the cabin door.

The cabin was small and dusty, filled with the musty smell of disuse. I stumbled over old boxes and cobwebs, making my way to the bedroom. I gently laid Cora on the bed, her body limp and unresponsive. I knew I needed to secure her, to make sure she wouldn’t try to escape.

I searched the cabin for anything I could use to restrain her, not wanting to use the good rope, and eventually found some duct tape in a dusty toolbox. I taped her hands and feet, making sure to rub the circulation back into her limbs as I secured her to the bed. As I finished, Cora’s eyes fluttered open, her gaze blurry and confused. She looked up at me, her face a mask of bewilderment.

“Where am I?” she whispered, her voice raspy and weak.

“You’re safe,” I said, my voice gruff. “For now.”