Free Base by Cathleen Ross Page B

wouldn’t budge. When she noticed the deadlock attached to the side of the window minus its key, she swore under her breath. The glass looked thick and difficult to smash.
    She forced herself to slow as she walked down the hall, past the bathroom where Jack had left the door open. He was shaving. She crept towards the front door and quietly tested the lock.
    â€˜It’s deadlocked.’
    Ruth jumped, then slowly turned.
    Jack stood in the hallway, his shaver in his hand. A fine line of water made its way between his pectoral muscles. ‘You looked me straight in the eye and made a deal.’ Every muscle in his body was tensed.
    Fear made prickles of heat break out on her brow. ‘Under duress.’
    â€˜Ruth, I said I wouldn’t hurt you. I’ve kept my word. I expect you to keep yours. Since you can’t be trusted, tonight you’re cuffed.’
    Her heart started to hammer. ‘I won’t be your prisoner.’
    â€˜You’re not. You’re my woman.’ He turned and walked back into the bathroom as if that settled the matter.
    Double damn. The house was in lockdown. Jack had thought of everything as if he’d been planning on capturing a woman and bringing her here. Momentarily stymied, she plodded into the kitchen, poured herself some muesli from a packet Jack had left out on the bench and sat at the kitchen table.
    There was an expensive brand coffee machine on the kitchen bench, the type that took a pod and tasted delicious. Might as well take advantage of it while it was there. She strode back to her bedroom and grabbed her cup. Short of using up the bottled gas on the barbeque and boiling water there had been no way of making a hot drink back at the apartment. Fortunately, she had stocked her boat and her tank was full of gas. There was a way out, for her.
    If she planned to escape, she had to gain Jack’s trust. In Jack’s penis-shaped brain, that would mean a hell of a lot of sex. Just for a heartbeat, she allowed herself to recall the extraordinary way he’d played her body like a delicate instrument. He may have some strange ideas regarding the role of women on his base, but he certainly knew his way around a female body. No. She wasn’t going there. Jack had no concept of equality. What he wanted was a woman who would look up to him—see him as the super human he thought he was; one who would be happy to have sex with him so he could chill out at the end of the day.
    Maybe she should find a rubber doll and leave it cuffed to the bed as a present. Her mouth turned upward as she slipped another pod into the coffee maker and turned on the button. The aroma penetrated her brain and she watched the coffee, rich and bitter, start to fill her cup. Once full, she took a deep sip. Bliss.
    Two cups cleared her brain fog and got her thinking. There was no point in trying to deceive Jack by pretending to like him, even if he did turn out to be fantastic in bed. There was a reason she’d failed Drama at school. Jack was street smart. He’d take all the sex he could get, but he’d see right through her. It’d be a whole lot of work and play acting for nothing.
    She finished up her breakfast, washed up the bowl and cup, and made her way to the bathroom. Jack had finished shaving. In his pressed army fatigues and spit-polished boots, he was devastating. He walked into the bedroom and returned a moment later with his shirt on.
    â€˜Bye, Ruth.’ He bent and kissed her full on the mouth like a partner would.
    Her lips tingled, but she clamped them together, determined to stop any physical response to him. She stepped back and let him move past her. Jack might be stronger and faster than she was, but she was smarter. She’d find a way to escape the base.
    And Jack.
    At zero nine hundred, she heard the lock click open at the front door. ‘Ruth, are you ready?’ Vassar called.
    â€˜I’m here.’ Ruth strode towards him. She