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"Yes" His hand pauses at the curve of my spine "They know"

I wonder what he told them and how they reacted I wonder if it o?" I already know the answer, but I need to hear him say it anyway

"No, Nora," he replies, and I can feel his s me closer, he holds me until we both eventually fall asleep

Chapter 16

Over the next few months, my life on the island falls into a routine of sorts When Julian is there, my world revolves around hihts

He’s an unpredictable lover--gentle one day, cruel the next And sometimes he’s a mix of both, a co I understand what he’s doing todoesn’tme to associate pain with pleasure, to enjoy whatever he does toand perverted it is And always afterwards, there’s that unsettling tenderness He turns ether--all in the span of one night

And his training is working I go into his aret from a particularly brutal session Julian tells me that I’m a natural submissive with latent masochistic tendencies I don’t know if I believe him--I know that I certainly don’t want to believe hi resonates with me on some level Toys, whips, canes--he’s used them all, and I have invariably found pleasure in so

Of course, he’s not always sadistic Solove to me when I’m nearly out of my mind with need On days like that, I don’t want to leave the island All I want is for Julian to keep holdingme, in whichever way he can

Perhaps that is thepart of it all--the fact that I now crave my captor’s love I don’t even know if he’s capable of that e it froh So the way, I’ve lost my hatred for him, and I don’t even knohen it happened I still resent s are now separate fro his visits to the island, I now eagerly await thein to understand how pets feel, waiting for their owner to come home from work

"Why can’t you conduct more of your business froether in thehtmares

"I do as much reaze is coollyas he turns his head to look at me He doesn’t like it when I question him about his business It’s a part of his life that he seeet the sense that he’s sheltering lier parts of his world Beth is fully aware of what Julian does, of course, but I don’t know if she knowsthan I do

"Yes," I tell him honestly "I want you here" It’s pointless to pretend otherwise; Julian knows exactly how I feel He’s very good at readinghis best to facilitate it

Sure enough, at ht, baby," he says softly, "I’ll try to be here s me toward him for a kiss that makes me dissolve in his embrace

With each day that passes,into that nebulous tione, I occupyall around the island, and the occasional fishing expeditions with Beth Julian brought us a large-screen TV with a DVD player and hundreds ofrainy weather, too

We’re still not exactly friends, Beth and I, but we’ve definitely grown closer Partially, I think she likes the fact that I no longer try to escape After my one failed attempt to bash her over the head--and the horrible incident with Jake that followed--I’ve been a model prisoner

Of course, it would be foolish to be anything else Even during Julian’s visits, when his plane is here, it’s locked inside the hangar I found on the other side of the island I’ar in his office, where only he can access theot my hands on the keys, I sincerely doubt there would be an operatingme how to fly it

No, ht ine

As days turn into weeks and then into months, I try to find more activities to fill upafter Julian when he’s not there

The first thing I do is start running again

I begin with short distances at first, to make sure I don’t strain my knee, and then I slowly increase both speed and distance I run either in thebefore I a my days on the track team I can do a three-mile run in under seventeen minutes--an accomplishment that makes me ridiculously happy