I reluctantly nudge him.  He must have cut himself and judging by the volume of blood, it is not a simple scrape.  He needs medical attention.  I would go and call for an ambulance but I am mortified for anyone to find out that I am in here so a better plan will be for us to sneak off and take him to the hospital.  His eyes flutter open and my stomach tenses knowing I am going to have to deal with what transpired last night.  The fact that I cannot remember anything at all, after almost a year of lusting for him, is absolutely maddening.  And from what little evidence remains of our little tryst, it is pretty clear it is never happening again. 

“Sadie,” he whispers.

I can feel my cheeks reddening with embarrassment.   “Hey, I think you might have hurt yourself.  I am just going to take a look and we can get you to a doctor.” 

I reach for the rope that is holding his arm captive when I stop and look at the handy work.  The rope is knotted in familiar figure eights.  The same way I always tie knots when I go out on our family sail boat.   I definitely tied these knots last night.  Seriously, what was I thinking?  I know, some people find that kind of kinky, but there is no way I ever have.  Why did I tie him up like that?  This is just humiliating.  He must think I am insane.  I quickly go to untie him, when he grabs my arm tightly with his other hand and pulls me towards him.    

 “Sadie,” he stares at me with his blue eyes.  They are more piercing than ever.  “Listen to me, do not untie me.”

I feel like crying.  Honestly, this has been a very emotionally taxing situation thus far and now he is scaring me.  However, at this point I really have no choice but to comply.   

 “Don’t be upset, Sadie.  I promise I will explain what happened later,” he says, as he releases my arm.  I back away slowly from him, fighting the urge to bolt out of this room and take my chances topless in the hotel hallway.  So he knows that I do not remember anything from last night?  Did he take advantage of me?   “Your clothes are hanging in the shower on the towel bar,” he offers.  He must realize how foolish I feel almost completely naked in front of him like this.  I nod, heading back in there and pulling back the curtain.  Sure enough, all of my clothes are hanging there.  It looks like everything was wet, but everything has dried since except my bra, which still feels a little damp.  Seriously, what the hell happened last night?  I slip my clothes back on and return to the room. 

“Okay, now go and open the curtains,” he nods towards the windows.  I obey without hesitation.  It honestly feels like one of those outer-body experiences.  My mind is racing at warp-speed, while my body is simply going through the motions.  The room fills with sunlight and his body seems to relax. 

“I need you to go over to the mini bar and get my water bottle.”  I fling open the door to the fridge and pull out the bottle, filled with what appears to be cranberry juice.  I bring it over to him, popping the top.

“What about this?” I ask, my hands motioning to the blood stains. 

He stares down at it for a moment, a look of sadness appearing on his face.  His eyes move back up to meet my gaze and he clears his throat.  “Sadie,” he swallows and I can see the lump in his throat.  “It’s not mine…”

Normally, I would be asking about a million questions right now.  Especially while I have him here tied down with nowhere to run until he tells me the truth.  But for some reason unbeknownst to me, my mouth is not working anymore.  My vocal chords have gone on strike and I am literally mute in my state of fear and unease.  I refocus my attention as he starts violently thrashing his arm in an attempt to free it. 

“Just let me untie you,” I offer. 

“Sadie, no!” he bellows.  His eyes narrow as he stares at the bottle in my hands.  “Take the lid off.”

I nod, unscrewing the lid and handing him the bottle in his other hand.  I can see his eyes flash with excitement as he brings the bottle up to his lips.  As he chugs the contents, the color returns to his face.    His eyes brighten once again and he sits up.  He licks his lips before pulling me towards him and before I know it his lips are on mine.  His kiss is deep and passionate and I am starting to feel dizzy again just from his touch.  He smiles as he pulls away, watching the surprise on my face.

“Okay, now I need you to listen to me very carefully.”

I nod dumbly.  Honestly, the way that kiss just felt I will pretty much obey anything he says.  In fact, if he wants to throw down right now while he is half-tied to that blood stained bed, I will straddle him without hesitation.  He has that much of an effect on me.  I am certifiably insane.

“Do you trust me?” he asks, with sincerity in his eyes. 

I nod dumbly again. 

“Alright, I want you to open the door.”  I hesitate for a moment, but head over to it and open it.  Luckily there appears to be no one in the living room off of the suite.  They must all still be asleep.  “Good, now I need you to go back to the fridge and grab me another bottle.  Do not unscrew the lid, okay?”  I nod again, as I snatch another bottle for him and head over to the bed.  “Okay, now do not give it to me yet.”  I wait there on stand-by beside him.  “I want you to back away and when you throw it to me, I want you to run out of here and lock the door behind you.  Do you hear me Sadie?”

I cannot even process what is happening right now, so once again I nod like a complete idiot.  At least as far as the fight-or-flight decision goes, I can bolt out of here without guilt or hesitation. 

“Now Sadie, now!” he yells. 

I throw the bottle across the bed to him and sprint for the door.  I am just about to lock it behind me when I look back and see him grunting and groaning like he’s in pain. 

“JC,” I call out to him, with concern.

His eyes have darkened again and he looks at me with hungry desire.  A monstrous smirk appears, as he breaks his arm free from the bedpost in one swift motion.  In a panic, I slam the door shut.  My heart is beating out of my chest and I can barely catch my breath as I bolt out of the hotel suite altogether and run as far down the hotel hallway as I can until I reach the nearest stairwell.