Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Chapter 6

        Jo woke up slowly. She felt the warmth of her sheets around her and snuggled in further, groaning at the throbbing in her temples. She must have had way too much champagne last night - she hadn't been this hungover in years.

She slowly tried to piece together the night before, but the more she came to, the more she noticed was off. Her sheets didn't feel the same and it was far too quiet for her apartment in downtown San Francisco.

        Suddenly she remembered; the footsteps, someone grabbing her, everything going dark. Her eyes shot open. She winced at the light filtering in through a large window across the room. As her eyes adjusted the panic in her chest began to rise once more. This was not her apartment. She sat on a large king sized bed, tucked into a swath of creamy silk sheets. The bed was in the middle of large room - so large it had its own sitting area by the windows with a couch and two armchairs. A fire roared in the fireplace near the sofa, crackling occasionally in the otherwise total silence. 

        Jo slowly put her feet on the floor, feeling unsteady as her mind raced through everything that happened before she was taken. Suddenly, the last words she heard came trickling through her head, like ice in her veins. Sleep, mio amore. Her stalker.

        Who was this man and why did he want with her? Jo recognized the luxury of the room she was in and she knew she was only beginning to understand the resources he must have at his disposal. Her unease only increased - something told her getting away from here wasn't going to be easy. 

        Just as her feet touched the floor she heard the lock click in the door across from the bed. Jo froze, standing next to the bed, her arms clutching the night stand for support as the door slowly opened. A man entered, tall with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He was a tailored man, from his suit to his hair there wasn't a thread out of place. 

        "You," Jo gasped. There stood the man from the grocery store. The one who had saved her brother's wedding by appearing at just the right moment, flowers in hand. 

        Jo felt her knees begin to buckle. The man raced forward to catch her but she flinched away from him. "Don't touch me!" He ignored her cries and swept her off the floor, holding her close to his chest as she struggled against him. He carried her across the room and laid her on the couch beside the fire, before crouching down in front of her, trying to meet her eyes. 

        Jo glanced his way, his cold blue eyes filled with concern as he watched her. She sat still, trembling beneath his gaze.

        Noticing her discomfort he stood and seated himself in an armchair, close enough he could help her if she needed but far enough to give her room to breathe. He sat forward in his seat, watching her anxiously. He gestured to a pitcher of water on the coffee table in front of her. Realizing how dry her mouth was, Jo leaned forward and poured herself a glass of water, her shaky hands giving her some trouble.

        "Don't be frightened, mio amore." His voice was softer than she remembered and it startled her. She kept her focus on her hands, bringing the glass to her lips. Her eyes wandered the room as she drank, glancing first out the window and then across the room to the door, wondering if he had locked it after he came in. She put the glass back down, feeling a little more composed.

        Jo took a deep breathe, deciding it was better to understand her situation before trying to get out of it. The last bit of hope - that this was all a misunderstanding and she would be back in her own cozy apartment by nightfall - glimmered just beneath the surface, giving her some strength. Meeting his eyes she sat a little taller, trying to appear braver than she felt.  

        "Who are you? What do you want?"

        "You don't remember me?" 

        "I remember a man who offered me his flowers. I don't know you."

        "But I know you, Jo. I've known you for some time now."

        Jo tried to hide her shock, her fear trading itself for a growing anger. "What do you want?" she said, the strength in her voice surprising her. 

        "You." 

        Jo's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What does that mean?"

        "It means, mio amore, that I love you. It means I've brought you here to be with me, to be by my side where you belong."

        Her stomach dropped. She got to her feet, her legs steadier than they were before, and began to back away from the insane man before her. "You can't just steal someone away! I don't know you, what gives you the right to presume where I belong." His eyes narrowed at her, his gaze following her closely as she backed away from him. He stood, his full height seeming to tower over her even at the distance she was trying to put between them. 

        "You've lived your life, until now, making your own decisions. Your reality has changed. The sooner you understand that, the easier your life here will be," he growled.

His eyes held a darkness that wasn't there before that scared her, sending a shock of fear down her limbs that stunned her into action. She turned on her heel and ran to the door. To her relief the door was unlocked but she had barely pulled it open when a hand slammed it shut from behind her, locking the door and caging her in. Jo cried out, trapped.

        He gripped her shoulders and spun her around to face him, putting his hands against the wall on either side of her. He moved his face close to hers, his eyes a shade or two darker than before. She met his stare, her resolve crumbling in the face of his cool resolve. Though he wasn't rough with her, power radiated off of him in waves that knocked the breath out of her lungs. 

        Jo looked down, tears gathering in her eyes.  

        He gently gripped her chin and brought her gaze back to his. "I will never hurt you Jo, you need to know that. But you are never getting out of here and if you do I will find you. I will always find you and bring you back to where you belong." He leaned in to kiss her forehead and Jo flinched away from him. When she glanced back up his brow was furrowed and she thought she saw a flash of hurt cross his face before he composed himself. He pulled away from her and straightened his jacket, running a hand through his hair nervously. 

        "I have some business to attend to. I'll have some lunch brought up for you shortly."

        He left as quickly as he came and as the locked clicked into place Jo sank to the floor, unable to hold in the sobs building in her chest. She cried until she fell asleep curled up beside the door of her gilded cage.