Big Sky Read Online Free PDF Page B

of bumfuck in case you haven’t noticed. I’m about ten times stronger than you. I could have you at any moment I chose, no matter what you started out wearing or what you were doing, so get in the goddamn tub. I know you’re tired and exhausted and stressed, just soak for awhile, and I’ll make us some food.”
    He mercifully left her then.
    She sat on the toilet lid while the water ran, and finally shut it off when she couldn’t stall any longer. She heard clanging about in the kitchen. She’d have to bathe eventually. If the door didn’t latch, it didn’t latch. Did she believe she was going to be able to go long here with all of her clothes on? She’d seen the way he’d looked at her in the diner that first day. He’d no doubt been planning to take her even then. Losing her job was just an excuse for him to take advantage of a bad situation.
    Finally she pushed the door shut and peeled her clothes off. She took a washcloth from a basket on the floor and wet it to wash the dirt off her feet, then she sank into the hot water, careful to keep her wrapped arm out of the tub. Whatever plans he had for her, he hadn’t lashed out in anger when she’d run. Even after she’d kneed him in the groin, he’d only subdued her struggling. He’d tended to her wounds. How bad could he be? And he wasn’t repulsive, at least, which was much better than she would have gotten on the streets.
    Something deep inside her rose up, growling over the fact that she’d rationalize and stop at anything short of killing him. He couldn’t do this to her. Whatever century he was living in, she wasn’t his chattel.
    A soap dish with homemade peppermint soap had been attached to the edge of the tub. She lathered up and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent, trying to calm her heart rate and form a plan. She jumped when the door was pushed open and rushed to cover herself.
    Luke stood in the doorway in jeans and bare feet, his cowboy hat, boots, and shirt long gone. “That’s a syndet bar so you can use it for your hair, too. It’s got goat’s milk and coconut oil in it. It makes your hair soft.”
    If he’d been using the soap for that purpose himself, he was an excellent advertisement for it. She flushed and looked away. “Don’t look at me.”
    “I’ll see you soon enough.”
    The tears started again, but he ignored them.
    “I’m making burgers, so be quick about it.” He shut the door softly behind him.
    Her legs shook as she stood and pulled the drain on the tub. Whatever he planned to do to her, she wished he’d just do it. The anticipation was scaring her more than whatever he intended. She dried off with a towel from the basket and then put the bathrobe on. She wanted to put her normal clothes back on, but she was afraid he’d stop being nice. His kindness might be a mask, but the longer he wore it, the longer she lived.
    Except for tying her up in the truck, he hadn’t been cruel to her. He’d let her use the bathroom, given her a snack, patched up her scratches...
    She tied the belt as tightly as she could, even though she knew it wouldn’t stop him. The old hardwood floors creaked as she made her way into the kitchen. It was a throwback to the past, with appliances that looked like they were from the fifties and a green-and-white tile floor. The walls were a bright, sunflower yellow, and there were green gingham curtains on the windows. It was what she imagined a farmhouse kitchen would look like.
    “Sit.”
    He brought over the burgers and some chips and sodas.
    “Eat.”
    “Stop barking orders at me.”
    He arched a brow. “I saved you from starving in a ditch, I’ll bark all the orders I want. Now eat.”
    Veronica stared at the burger. Every tiny demand she gave into was one step closer to... something. She didn’t know what, exactly, but it felt that each time she did what she was told, they moved further along some plan known only to Luke. A plan to rebuild her? To unmake her? Part of her thought