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But it would do her even less good to sleep if this was the only chance she had to gain his trust

She kept her gaze on hiht on Just as she had the night he’d co his golden looks, and she wondered what had made him so dark and sadistic on the inside She wondered if he even realized that’s what he was, or if he so this was okay That everything he did was okay

He smiled sheepishly as he caled not to recoil froainst her better judged too; she wasn’t stupid But she was so, so thirsty More so, even, than she was hungry

"No screa, his hands poised at either side of the gag She noticed it then, the bandage on his right hand,all the blood at her house She’d barely nicked him, it seemed

Her heart beat an erratic rhythain, this ti herself to keep eye contact with him She needed tofell frohed "Thank you," she croaked aridly She tried to smile, but her lips were cracked--the skin too dry, too brittle-- her wince instead

He frowned as he reached behind hi the bedside table He turned to look, and then balled his fist Violet could read frustration in every tensed round out "I should’ve had soht place" He banged his fist on the table and the dishes rattled noisily

Beside him, Violet jumped too "It’sokay" She didn’t want to cry, but she was so vulnerable, trapped here with aher acquiescence, and he settled down again, s once more His mood shifts were erratic, not at all subtle, and Violet worried she wasn’t sharp enough to keep up with thelass of water to her lips

Like the night before, she gulped at it, desperate for asit slowly, doling out a little at a time

When he pulled it away, she strained to follow, but the strip of sheet wound around her neck tethered her Her head snapped, a brutal reminder that she had only so much leeway

She bit back the desperation that threatened to overwhelm her "Wh-what’syour name?" Her pulse pounded in the base of her throat and her skin tingled all over She had no idea what she was doing, if she was saying the wrong things or not It felt like a dangerous ga, and she held her oorried she’d played hilanced down at his hands, a frown on his face as he studied the fists lying in his lap He’s been quiet for too long, she thought I pushed him too soon