The Abduction of Kelsey (7 page)

As he stared at the wound, James’ training in emergency medicine from his brief stint as a volunteer firefighter kicked into gear. He checked her pulse, which was steady and strong. Though there was a lot of blood, it appeared the bullet had only grazed the skin rather than penetrating the muscle. She had probably just passed out from the shock.

He applied direct pressure until the bleeding slowed. Grabbing a towel, he ripped it into strips and tied a makeshift tourniquet around her leg. As he worked, he kept glancing at Kelsey’s face. She would probably come to in a few seconds.

As he was working, the realization that someone might have heard the shot gave him pause. Though his neighbors kept pretty much to themselves, would the sound of a gun firing spur someone into calling 9-1-1?

Don’t panic. They’re probably all at work. And if anyone does question you, you have no idea what they’re talking about.

James put the thought firmly from his mind. He had a patient to tend. He got a stack of towels from the linen closet. He used one to mop up the puddle of blood from the floor tiles, and slid the rest of them beneath her leg to elevate it. He pushed the wet strands of hair from her face and leaned close to her ear.

Gently, he shook her shoulder. “Kelsey. Kelsey, honey. Open your eyes. Everything’s okay. You shot your leg, but it’s just a flesh wound.”

She moaned as he lifted her head and placed a folded towel beneath it. Her eyelids fluttered but didn’t open. “Stay calm, stay calm,” James murmured, not sure if he was talking to Kelsey or himself. He threw a washcloth in the sink and ran water over it, squirting some liquid soap on it as well. He retrieved the first aid kit from the cabinet and returned to Kelsey’s side. Crouching again beside her, he carefully unwrapped the makeshift tourniquet from her leg.

The bleeding had stopped, which was an excellent sign that the damage wasn’t too severe. He carefully blotted the torn flesh with the damp cloth and applied a thin layer of antibiotic cream. Finally he wrapped a thick padding of gauze and bandages around her calf to hold the wound closed while it healed.

As he worked, James was surprised to realize any vestige of the rage he’d experienced the night before due to her callous rejection had evaporated. He would be bigger than that, he told himself. Kelsey needed him. He would nurse his darling girl back to health. In the process she would come to understand how much he loved her, and she would be grateful for his care and devotion. From there, it would only be a short journey to love—he was sure of it.

Just as he finished applying the bandages, Kelsey came to with a sudden cry. Her eyes fixed blankly on his face and then she winced with pain. “What happened? Oh my god! You shot me! You shot me!” She began to wail.

“Shh, Kelsey, hush, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’m taking care of you.”

Kelsey tried to twist away from him. Maneuvering himself so he was sitting behind her on the floor, James hoisted her upper body so she was leaning against his chest, and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He nuzzled her damp hair. “See what happens when you’re a bad girl? You could have killed one of us. Luckily the bullet just grazed your leg.” He kissed the side of her neck. “Now you need to calm down. You don’t want to make it start bleeding again, do you?”

Eventually Kelsey stilled in his embrace, her wails quieting to a steady whimper. James cradled her in his arms, a sense of deep well-being pervading him. He kissed her neck tenderly and nuzzled her shoulder. Her bare breasts were perfect, her skin was so soft. He held her tight.

“I want to get you into the bed, Kelsey. I’m going to carry you, okay? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to lift you into my arms and carry you into the bedroom. Don’t try anything stupid, okay? Promise?”

She nodded and he released his tight hold of her. Standing, he bent over her and lifted the lovely, naked girl into his arms, careful not to jar her wounded leg as he carried her into the bedroom.

He laid her carefully on the bed. She was trembling, though from cold or shock he wasn’t sure. He would have liked to stare for hours at her gorgeous body, but he reached for the covers and pulled them over her. When he reached down to stroke her cheek, she closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Poor darling, she was overwrought.

James stretched out beside her on the bed. Kelsey turned back toward him, her expression beseeching. “You can’t keep this up. You can’t keep me here. Jesus, James, this has gone way too far. Surely you can see that. Please, please, just let me go.”

Her voice had risen to a hysterical pitch. She tried to fling the covers from her body. She pushed ineffectually at James, and when that didn’t work, she tried to scoot down to the end of the bed. Alarmed she was going to hurt herself, James reached for her, catching her in a tight bear hug as he forced her head down to his chest.

“Kelsey, Kelsey, you need to calm down,” he urged, as he pinned down her arms against his body. “You need time to rest and recover. You have to lie still.”

Finally he let go of her. He pressed her gently but firmly against the mattress, making sure her head was comfortably resting on the pillows. “You’re being a bad girl again, Kelsey.” He smiled to take the sting out of his words and kissed the top of her head. “If you struggle like that again, I’ll have to tie you down.”

The image of her from the night before, wrists and ankles tied to the bed, legs spread wide, hair wild around her face, leaped into his mind and shot directly to his cock, which stiffened with the memory. He would have to be careful until her wound healed over a bit, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun while nursing her back to health.

He could make it part of her training on how to be a good girl. He would tie her down and put her through a series of erotic exercises designed both to teach her and to please him. She would be punished or rewarded based on how quickly she learned to honor and obey the man who had chosen her.

The prospect excited him and he reached for his cock, giving it a hard pull. He wanted to fuck her then and there. He could almost feel the hot, wet tug of her cunt drawing him inside her, hugging his shaft in its tight embrace. It took every ounce of self-control not to lift himself over her and plunge into her.

The realization that she was crying dampened his lust. He was being selfish. He forced himself to focus on Kelsey’s needs. “I’m going to give you some painkillers so you can sleep, okay?” She didn’t respond. James let it pass. “While you’re resting, I’m going to go over to your apartment and get some of your things. I know a girl likes to have her own things around her—makeup, shampoo, special nightie and whatnot. It only takes about ten minutes to get from my place to yours. I know a back route that avoids any traffic.”

Her face was turned toward the wall, but at least she had stopped crying. He patted her thigh and stood. “I’ll be right back.” He loped to the bathroom and opened his medicine cabinet, glad he still had some of the pain medication left over from his knee surgery. It was powerful stuff.

He returned to the bedroom with a cup of water and two of the pills. “Here you go. Take these. They’ll help with the pain.” He pressed the small pills against her lips. At first she wouldn’t open, but then a spasm of pain moved over her face, and her lips parted. James placed the pills on her tongue and held the small paper cup to her mouth. Kelsey drank.

“Will you let me go, James? Please?” She touched his arm.

He shook his head. She still didn’t get it. “Rest, sweetheart. We’ll talk when you wake up.” She sighed, but she closed her eyes, again turning her head toward the wall. James sat quietly beside her, resisting the urge to stroke her hair, to cup her breast, to pull her close. Now was the time to be selfless. Later he would indulge his sensual desires. He would teach her to lust after him as he lusted after her. He forced himself to be contented with just looking at her, and marveling at the fact that he possessed her, and the realization they would be together forever.

Eventually her breathing slowed and deepened. “Kelsey,” James said softly. She didn’t respond. He touched her shoulder. She didn’t move or react. James lifted himself carefully from the bed and went to the closet, retrieving the ties he’d used the night before, the ones he’d already designated in his mind as Kelsey’s ties.

Reaching for Kelsey’s left arm, he carefully looped the tie around her wrist and then lifted her arm over her head, bringing it to rest on the pillow. She didn’t move. The dose of medicine he’d given her had knocked him out cold, and he was easily seventy-five pounds heavier than she was. She would probably be out for a while, which was all to the good. She needed her rest after the ordeal with the gun.

James quickly and quietly wrapped the second wrist and then tied them together and knotted the ends of the tie to the headboard, just in case she did wake while he was gone and get any crazy ideas about escaping.

He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. While the water was heating, he mopped up the blood with the already-soiled bath towels and then piled the lot of them into a corner for later washing. He found the bullet and its casing and placed them carefully in the trash for later disposal. Finally, he retrieved the gun from the floor where it had fallen placed it carefully on the counter.

After a quick shower, James returned to the bedroom. He put the gun on the bureau, next to his wallet. He watched Kelsey sleep as he pulled on jeans and a polo shirt.

Naturally he knew where she lived. He couldn’t even count the times he’d sat in his car in her apartment complex parking lot, watching to see when she might come out, and who was with her. Now he was going to see inside the place! He would touch her things and examine her possessions. He would select the items he would instinctively know she wanted. She would be grateful and happy to have her things around her. It would help her acclimate more quickly to the situation.

Moving toward the bed, he bent down and gently kissed the sleeping girl’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon, darling,” he whispered.

“I got your favorite. Here, have a sip.”

Groggily, Kelsey opened her eyes. Something was pushing at her lips and she realized it was a straw. James was sitting on the bed beside her, holding a bottle of sparkling apple cider that was in fact her favorite thing to drink, and which she hadn’t been able to find since she’d moved to the area.

“How did you—” she started to ask, but then bit her lip. She didn’t want to know. She sipped at the bubbly drink as he held the bottle for her, avoiding his intense gaze. The dull throbbing in her calf bloomed into sharp pain as she came fully awake, and the traumatic and bizarre events of the last twenty-four hours unfolded in her mind like a horror movie. The straw fell from her lips as she gave a small cry.

“What? What is it, Kelsey? Are you in pain?” James set the bottle on the night table and reached toward her face. Instinctively Kelsey raised her hands to ward him off and saw the neckties dangling from her wrists. What the hell? Had he tied her to the bed while she’d been sleeping?

James smiled, his eyes glinting as he answered her unspoken question. “Just a precaution while I was gone,” he said. “You looked super hot tied down like that. Did you ever engage in bondage play with Adam?”

His words hit her like a smack in the face, though she shouldn’t have been surprised. She didn’t reply. Seemingly unperturbed, James said, “Want to see the pictures?” He held up his cell phone, his tongue moving over his top lip like a cat licking its cream.

Kelsey shook her head, sliding her eyes away from the cell phone. She reached for the knotted silk on either wrist, fumbling to untie it. James slapped at her hands. “Stop that. I didn’t tell you to take those off.” He picked up a prescription bottle from the night table and shook a pill into his palm. “Take this. Just one this time, so you don’t crash again.”

He touched her lips with the pill and Kelsey opened her mouth, accepting it. When he placed the straw at her lips she reached for the bottle, but he pulled it away. “No, no. I’ll do it.” He held the straw again to her mouth and Kelsey sipped, hating him.

“When can I go home?” she said, trying to keep her voice calm and rational, as if that might somehow rub off on him. Surely he couldn’t keep her there much longer. The whole thing was nuts.

“This is your home now, Kelsey. We can never go back to what was before. I’m sorry I took you by force, darling, but now that it’s done…” He shrugged, letting the words hang.

Panic rose like bile in Kelsey’s throat. “Listen to me, James,” she said earnestly. She grabbed at the sheets to cover herself and tried to pull herself more upright. A white hot poker of pain shot through her calf. She winced and blew out a breath, but pushed on. “You can’t do this. Just let me go. I promise I won’t report you. I swear to god. I’ll resign from the bank and—”

“Not necessary,” James interrupted. “You already quit.”

“What? I—”

“All taken care of,” James rolled over her words with his. “I gave Reynolds the news early this morning. He was a little disappointed that you left so abruptly, but young people today…” Again James shrugged, adding a grin. The grin fell away as he reached for the sheet, ripping it away from Kelsey’s naked body. “No one will miss you, Kelsey. You’re mine now, don’t you see? All mine.”

The blood in Kelsey’s veins turned to ice. “No!” she shouted. She shoved as hard as she could at James’ chest and tried to swing her legs around him with a vague idea of leaping from the bed. The burst of blinding pain in her calf reminded her of just how disabled she was at the moment. Even if she managed to get up, how could she possibly hope to get away? A wave of dizziness made her sway, the walls swimming before her eyes.

James was like a rock against her efforts to shove him aside. Languidly he stood and reached for her wrists, catching both in one hand. He jerked her arms over her head and tied the neckties to the headboard, ignoring her struggles. “You’re not behaving, Kelsey,” he said with a shake of his head as he stared down at her. “And after all I’ve done for you.”