was wearing a t-shirt, sweat pants, and the kind of low-soled shoes that dancers liked to use. Mimicking James.
“Ready for what?” Elise asked.
He swept a hand toward the door.
“Step through,” Adam said. “Give yourself to me.”
“No,” she said.
“I’ll have to retrain you if you keep refusing,” He said, shaking out His arms, rolling His shoulders, cracking His knuckles. “Don’t make me do it. I hate training.”
The way He said the word “training” made prickles crawl over her skin.
He didn’t mean fighting or dancing.
Elise backed away slowly, contemplating avenues of escape. There was nowhere to hide in the empty room. The windows were blocked. And when she brushed aside the red drapes that should have hidden the garage door, she only found brick wall.
The sole escape was through that white door.
“Come on,” He said, almost teasingly. “Just walk through the door.”
Adam almost managed to sound like James, too.
Her heart broke a little.
“Stop pretending,” Elise said. “I’m not going through the fucking door. I know what comes after that. So whatever you’re going to do, get to it.”
He spread his fingers, flexed His hands. He was so immensely tall. Unnaturally so. He seemed to become taller every time she looked at Him. “What comes after?” He asked.
“Rape,” Elise said bluntly. “Mind and body.”
“Surely you don’t think I would ever hurt you, Eve,” He said, voice painfully soft. “Not when it took you so long to come back to me. I will never hurt you with the intent of causing pain—I am no sadist. I am not your captor, or your enemy. I am your husband, and require you to be with me.” He pointed to the door again. “If you won’t do that, then it’s my duty—my pleasure—to remind you of our union by any means necessary.”
Elise pushed the drapes aside again. Still no garage door. Adam approached her, and she sidestepped quickly, sliding along the wall of mirrors. The barre bumped into her hip.
“Stop trying to look like him,” Elise said. Her reflection in the mirror was auburn-haired, hazel-eyed, but the tear that slid down her cheek was black.
“Like who?” Adam asked. He sounded so puzzled that she almost believed He didn’t know the answer. But there was no way that He didn’t realize what He was doing to her.
It was all a game. She was supposed to be some kind of fucking toy .
He took a quick step closer, and Elise jumped back. He was faster. He pinned her in the corner with a hand on the mirrors on either side of her head.
She reacted on instinct, bringing her knee between them. Elise drove the bony spike into His stomach. He didn’t react.
Elise grabbed His neck and tried to slam His face into the mirrors. Adam slipped from her grip, reappearing on the other side of the room.
With a war cry, she threw herself at Him.
The dance hall elongated. The distance between them grew immense. She could still see Him as if He were only a few feet away, but running didn’t close that gap.
“I can’t believe you want to hurt me,” He said. “Maybe it’s the setting that distresses you. Let’s try this somewhere else.”
When she blinked, the studio was gone again. Elise was still trying to run, so her toe caught on the grass. She lost her balance and sprawled onto the ground.
Elise pounded a fist onto the earth, frustrated.
She didn’t have to look around to know where Adam had moved her this time, but she did anyway. The wilderness was dark. Elise was on the grass next to a sapling that glowed with inner light. This was the jungle setting that she had first reached through the gateway in the ethereal city. The one that she had thought was Earth.
Wasn’t it Earth?
How had she gotten there this time? She didn’t remember leaving Motion and Dance, or finding her way back to the dark clearing.
“Because it’s not real,” she said aloud. The sound of her voice grounded her in a way that nothing else did.
It was all just
“Ready for what?” Elise asked.
He swept a hand toward the door.
“Step through,” Adam said. “Give yourself to me.”
“No,” she said.
“I’ll have to retrain you if you keep refusing,” He said, shaking out His arms, rolling His shoulders, cracking His knuckles. “Don’t make me do it. I hate training.”
The way He said the word “training” made prickles crawl over her skin.
He didn’t mean fighting or dancing.
Elise backed away slowly, contemplating avenues of escape. There was nowhere to hide in the empty room. The windows were blocked. And when she brushed aside the red drapes that should have hidden the garage door, she only found brick wall.
The sole escape was through that white door.
“Come on,” He said, almost teasingly. “Just walk through the door.”
Adam almost managed to sound like James, too.
Her heart broke a little.
“Stop pretending,” Elise said. “I’m not going through the fucking door. I know what comes after that. So whatever you’re going to do, get to it.”
He spread his fingers, flexed His hands. He was so immensely tall. Unnaturally so. He seemed to become taller every time she looked at Him. “What comes after?” He asked.
“Rape,” Elise said bluntly. “Mind and body.”
“Surely you don’t think I would ever hurt you, Eve,” He said, voice painfully soft. “Not when it took you so long to come back to me. I will never hurt you with the intent of causing pain—I am no sadist. I am not your captor, or your enemy. I am your husband, and require you to be with me.” He pointed to the door again. “If you won’t do that, then it’s my duty—my pleasure—to remind you of our union by any means necessary.”
Elise pushed the drapes aside again. Still no garage door. Adam approached her, and she sidestepped quickly, sliding along the wall of mirrors. The barre bumped into her hip.
“Stop trying to look like him,” Elise said. Her reflection in the mirror was auburn-haired, hazel-eyed, but the tear that slid down her cheek was black.
“Like who?” Adam asked. He sounded so puzzled that she almost believed He didn’t know the answer. But there was no way that He didn’t realize what He was doing to her.
It was all a game. She was supposed to be some kind of fucking toy .
He took a quick step closer, and Elise jumped back. He was faster. He pinned her in the corner with a hand on the mirrors on either side of her head.
She reacted on instinct, bringing her knee between them. Elise drove the bony spike into His stomach. He didn’t react.
Elise grabbed His neck and tried to slam His face into the mirrors. Adam slipped from her grip, reappearing on the other side of the room.
With a war cry, she threw herself at Him.
The dance hall elongated. The distance between them grew immense. She could still see Him as if He were only a few feet away, but running didn’t close that gap.
“I can’t believe you want to hurt me,” He said. “Maybe it’s the setting that distresses you. Let’s try this somewhere else.”
When she blinked, the studio was gone again. Elise was still trying to run, so her toe caught on the grass. She lost her balance and sprawled onto the ground.
Elise pounded a fist onto the earth, frustrated.
She didn’t have to look around to know where Adam had moved her this time, but she did anyway. The wilderness was dark. Elise was on the grass next to a sapling that glowed with inner light. This was the jungle setting that she had first reached through the gateway in the ethereal city. The one that she had thought was Earth.
Wasn’t it Earth?
How had she gotten there this time? She didn’t remember leaving Motion and Dance, or finding her way back to the dark clearing.
“Because it’s not real,” she said aloud. The sound of her voice grounded her in a way that nothing else did.
It was all just
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