The Krinar Captive

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Slowly waking up, Emily became aware of the fact that she felt good.

Really, truly good.

She was neither hot nor cold, and the blanket covering her was of just the right weight and thickness. The mattress underneath her was incredibly comfortable as well; it was as though she was sleeping on something custom-made for her body. She was also surprisingly relaxed. The ever-present tension in the back of her neck was absent for the first time in months.

A smile of contentment curved her lips, and Emily snuggled deeper under the covers. This had to be the best night of sleep she’d had in ages. She could hardly believe it had occurred at a cheap little inn in a remote area of Costa Rica.

It had to be the fresh air and exercise, she decided, still reluctant to open her eyes. All that hiking must’ve worn her out. Hiking… Something buzzed at the back of her brain, something disturbing—

The fall off the bridge! Gasping, Emily jackknifed into a sitting position, her eyes flying open.

She wasn’t at the inn.

She also wasn’t dead.

For a second, those two facts seemed irreconcilable. If she had dreamed the entire horrible event, shouldn’t she have woken up at the last place she remembered going to sleep? And if it hadn’t been a dream, where was she? Why wasn’t she dead, or at least badly injured?

Her heart racing, Emily took in her surroundings, clutching the blanket protectively to her chest. She could feel the soft material brushing against her body—her naked body—and the realization that she wasn’t wearing any clothes increased her panic a thousandfold.

Where the hell was she?

It wasn’t a hospital, she was sure of that.

She was sitting on a large round bed that had the weirdest mattress texture she’d ever come across. Neither traditional spring nor memory foam, it seemed to be shaping itself to her body. The impression was so strong she could practically feel the thing moving underneath her.

Other than the bed, the room was completely empty. Emily couldn’t even discern the source of light that bathed everything in a soft glow. The walls, floor, and ceiling were cream-colored, as were the sheets on the strange bed.

There were also no windows or doors.

What the f**k?

Feeling like she was hyperventilating, Emily tried to take deep, calming breaths. There had to be an explanation for this—a rational explanation. She just had to figure out what it was.

Moving cautiously, she scooted to the edge of the bed and swung her feet down to the floor. The fact that she could move so easily, with no pain or soreness, was disconcerting. If she hadn’t imagined falling off that bridge, shouldn’t she have at least a couple of broken bones? The alternative—that it had all been a vivid dream—didn’t make much sense in light of her current location.

Standing up, Emily pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around herself, trying not to give in to the panic that fluttered at the edge of her mind, when part of the wall in front of her dissolved.

It literally dissolved, letting a man enter the room.

Tall and powerfully built, he stepped through the opening as casually as one would walk through a doorway, his large body moving with fluid, athletic ease.

“Hello, Emily,” he said softly, his dark eyes trained on her. “I didn’t expect you to be awake so soon.”