The discordant piles of furniture had disappeared; in its place stood a bedroom… of sorts.
A bed was clearly the focal point, built with wood of rich caramel. There was a side table, a drawer. And beside those ordinary things, I recognized the spanking bench. A few other standalone pieces, whose overall shapes I recognized from the dungeon that I remembered from my time in slavery, all designed to hurt.
Blood raced through my veins, and for a moment, I was back there, running through the woods, away, away. A man’s voice calling, “Melody!” Who had been chasing me?
I had told Sam when I remembered my life back home. He had said, You please me, Melody. But I had never told him my name. Confusion and dread knotted in my stomach.
What had I done?
In a trance, I crept toward the bed, as if the intricate carving in the headboard would have my answer. A nymph stood by a river, her hands covering her ears, mouth open. Her expression was a mixture of horror and fear, like a reflection of my own heart.
“That’s Echo,” said a voice behind me.
I whirled around to see Sam come inside and casually close the door. He was wearing a red plaid shirt, hung open to reveal a white undershirt, and his well-worn jeans. How could he look so beautiful and ordinary at the same time? He had brought the smell of the woods in with him, and I realized he must have been out for a hike, perhaps chopping another tree. My sweet, harmless lumberjack—how wrong I had been.
“Sam, no,” I whispered.
He sat down on a stool, hooked his boots in the rungs. “Some people think she slept with Zeus, but that’s not true.”
“It’s mythology. None of it’s true.”
“Don’t interrupt,” he said mildly. “But Echo didn’t sleep with Zeus, or maybe she did, but that’s not what got her in trouble. It was because she helped him go off and rape all those little mortal girls by distracting his wife. It was Hera who put the curse on her. Echo can’t speak unless spoken to. She can only repeat what others have said.”
I hugged myself, gripping the wet, ragged silk of my suit. “Why are you doing this?”
“The story has a sad ending. Echo falls in love with a man, Narcissus, but he doesn’t want her.” Sam slanted me a look. “Obviously he doesn’t realize what he has in her. So poor rejected Echo lives in the woods, pining and fading away until all that’s left of her is her voice.”
I bolted for the door, made it just outside before his hands gripped my legs and dragged me back in. My fingers clasped dirt and then nothing, helpless on the wooden floor.
“But I’m not going to let that happen to you,” he whispered against my ear. “You see, I’m never going to let you go.”
He released me, and I scrambled away. I huddled against the far wall, panting, while he considered me thoughtfully, not having broken a sweat. He closed the door, locking us inside.
“There’s an alternate ending to the story. In this one, there was a god who fell in love with her. Echo, being rather cursed, rejects him. He gets so angry that he sends his followers. They tear her apart, Melody. Her pieces are scattered across the Earth.”
I began to shake. “Is that what you did to Amanda?”
His face darkened, with pain not anger. “I would never have hurt her that way. And I’ll never hurt you like that. You know that. You trusted me once.”
“Never again,” I spat.
He rubbed his forehead. “You’ll need time to adjust, but I hate to see you like this. It may be hard to believe right now, but I do love you. If I didn’t, I’d ship you back to Brendan well-used. That was the plan, but it changed pretty quickly once I met you. You changed my mind.”
His expression softened, turned rueful. “You’re the whole package, smart and sexy, but your capacity for submission is a beautiful thing. So sweet, begging me to collar you.” He held up a round silver collar.
This was what I wanted, dreamed of, but not like this. “Wait, please.”
“This one’s not leather. It’s not coming off.” He approached me.
I cringed away from him, holding my hands over my head.
“Shh,” he soothed. “Don’t look so terrified. It’s unnerving. I’m going to take care of you. I’m going to hurt you, just a little, and then make you come. It’s not a very scary proposition. What more do you want?”
“Freedom,” I whispered.
“Freedom’s an illusion. We all live in prisons of our own making. You picked this one. Kinky games in the city wasn’t enough for you, but those men were too brutal. Little Goldilocks, walking into houses that aren’t yours. This will be just right for you, Melody. I promise you that.”
“Brendan will come find me.” When had the man I feared become my potential savior?
“I don’t think so. Not after the way we left things last time.” His expression hardened. “Brendan didn’t deserve you.”