Chapter 47: Compromise

I have nothing to ask but that you would remove to the other side, that you may not, by intercepting the sunshine, take from me what you cannot give. - Diogenes

Lifting me in his arms, he lies me down on the bed. His eyes hold me spellbound. He kicks off his shoes and peels off his shirt.

The bed shifts under his weight. He kisses the inside of my right thigh, and I jump. He slides his body up next to me, lying down with his head on his elbow.

"I want you. But we must talk." His hand softly strokes my arm. 'How did you get out of the room?'

I chew on the inside of my lower lip. "I picked the lock."

"How did you pick it?"

"I used one of my hair clips, it wasn't that hard, really."

"Why did you do that? And more importantly, why did you play Ave Maria?"

"Because living without freedom in a cell is akin to walking the underworld with Hades. It is no way to live."