I stole from the wrong man

Dinner or....

Maya's POV

I had no idea how long I'd been in the room. But it was long enough to try the door six different times.

I wandered back into the room with nowhere else to go. Might as well see what my kidnapper considered "hospitality."

The bed was big enough to sleep four people without anyone accidentally kicking somebody else. I pressed a hand against the mattress….Soft. I could sink into it.

The walk-in closet was…. I don't know, unnecessarily huge. Half of it was empty, the other half held neatly pressed shirts, a few hoodies, and clothes that looked like they'd never met a wrinkle in their lives.

The bathroom was worse. There were marbles everywhere, the bathtub was big enough to swim in.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. "You've officially stolen from the wrong rich guy."

I wandered back into the bedroom and dropped onto the mattress with a long sigh.

A sound in the hallway pulled me upright…footsteps.

My head snapped toward the door. Xavier?

I looked around quickly. My eyes landed on a tall ceramic vase sitting beside the window. "Perfect."

I picked it up with both hands and moved beside the door, my heart thudding against my ribs.

The footsteps stopped right in front of the door. I watched the handle turn slowly followed by the swing of the door.

I was about to fling the vase at him…

"Miss!"

I froze. The vase stopped inches from a young maid's face.

Her eyes went wide. Mine probably looked no better.

"...Oh." Slowly, I lowered the vase. "I wasn't going to hit you."

She glanced at the vase. "...Of course, mam."

"I was..." I cleared my throat. "Inspecting it."

The poor woman looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or run. She settled for an awkward smile. "Sir asked me to bring you downstairs for dinner."

I set the vase back where I'd found it, dusting off my hands. "You can tell your sir I'm not hungry."

The maid hesitated. "I... don't think that's going to work."

I smiled politely. "Then I guess we'll both be disappointing him.”

The maid gave me a helpless little smile in return. "I'll... let him know." She backed out of the room and quietly pulled the door shut.

With nothing else to do, I dropped back onto the bed. I tried counting the lights on the ceiling and the lines in the wallpaper. I signed, giving up. Maybe if I slept long enough, I'd wake up and discover this whole day had been one spectacular nightmare.

Just as I started drifting off…The bedroom door flew open with a sharp crash. I jolted awake, a startled shriek escaping my lips. My heart slammed against my ribs….Xavier

"Xavier," I whispered.

He stepped forward, his expression stern, the amusement he'd worn earlier had disappeared. He slowly walked towards me.

I climbed off the bed before he reached me. "If you're here to apologize," I said, "you're late."

"I sent for you."

I frowned."I wasn't hungry."

He chuckled darkly. "You don't get to decide that."

I folded my arms. "Oh, I don't? Last time I checked, I was still me."

"So stubborn." He said through gritted teeth.

I looked him straight in the eye. "You dragged me into your house, locked me in a room, and now you're telling me when to eat." I paused before adding."What would you call it?"

His gaze stayed on mine. "I'd call it dealing with the consequences of your choices."

Without another word, he grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly.. I struggled, but his grip didn’t loosen. "This is my house," he said darkly, dragging me toward the stairs, "my rules."

"I didn’t want to be here," I protested. "Let go.”

He tightened his grip. "You better learn to deal with it.

The stairs felt endless as he dragged me down, ignoring my protests, some bruises already forming on my legs from my desperate kicks. "Stop…Xavier."

"No one takes what's mine and simply walks away."

The dining room was already set. A long table filled with food that I was hoping I wasn't expecting to eat alone.

He pulled out a chair. "Sit."

I looked at it, then back at him. "No."

He waited. "Is that your final answer?"

"It is." I nodded.

He yanked a pair of handcuffs from his pocket, snapping them onto my wrists before roughly seating me on his laps.

"Let me go." I pulled at the cuffs. “What do you think your doing?” I shot him a glare.

He slid the plate toward me. "Eat."

I turned my face away. "I said I'm not hungry."

He sighed. "You really love making things hard, don't you?”

"Yo….”

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Don’t test me, Kitten," he warned. "You've been running your mouth all day," he said. "I let it go but it's time to get serious.”

He roughly shoved a spoonful of food into my mouth. "From now on, you do as I say.”

I glared at him over the edge of the table. "You're insane." I spat.

"Oh." He paused, as if he'd only just remembered something. "Luna likes strawberry ice cream, doesn't she?"

"...What?" My heart stopped.

"I said..." A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Luna likes strawberry ice cream."

Every bit of color drained from my face. "How do you know Luna?"