“I hardly know what to say. I can’t believe my luck.”
That was what he loved best about her. She wasn’t exuberant even during her greatest joys. Gillie understood the value of decorum; she was a lady down to the tips of her toes. She didn’t curse, and she never raised her voice. A woman like that made a man better, stronger; she knew her place and she did her best to help him shine.
“Understandable. Just know you have my abject apologies for subjecting you to that cretin. I will not allow it to go on any longer than it must.”
“It’s all right,” she said, eating some eggs before adding, “I can bear anything.”
Rowan heard the unspoken subtext: She can bear anything, as long as she has the promise of a future with me. His heart swelled. Overcome by emotion, he plucked her left hand from where it rested on the table’s edge and sealed a kiss into her palm.
“You are an angel,” he murmured huskily.
She inhaled sharply and tugged away, curling her fingers as if to save the sensation. Her subtlety aroused him. Gillie wasn’t playing the coy virgin; she was innocence personified. When he made love to her for the first time, she would never have known a man’s mouth on hers.
He finished his breakfast in silence while she ate almost nothing, another sign of her elegance. “Thank you. That was wonderful.”
Gillie nodded and started clearing the table, the model of demure femininity.
“Well, I’m off for the day. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Again, she didn’t trust herself to speak, so she contented herself with a wave. It was probably hard for her to see him leave. Rowan realized he must present an unbearable temptation, which only reinforced his good opinion of her. He would respect her less if she clung and cried and begged him not to leave her. She was a woman of indomitable strength and impeccable refinement.
He went contented to his rest.
Taye stepped out of the bathroom. “Christ almighty, I thought he’d never leave.”
Gillie slumped, bowing her head over the sink. “You can’t keep sneaking around like this. They’ll kill you if they catch you.”
“If. Don’t worry about me.” He offered a cocky grin.
“I have to. You’re the only friend I have.”
“C’mon, sweetheart. You have to admit, you like the adrenaline. You kept Tightass happy by feeding him my breakfast, and then sent him on his way thinking you can’t wait to run off with him. That’s genius.”
Her lips curved into a half smile, despite the fear-induced nausea. “It was kind of funny listening to him talk about you, knowing you could hear every word. Do they know you can leave magnetic impressions on digital recordings?”
Taye shook his head, sitting down at the table. “No, and they won’t until it’s too late, either.”
“So they don’t realize you’re manipulating all the cameras down here.” She cracked some more eggs, scrambling them deftly in the skillet. “Or that you have a third power.”
“That’s me.” Bitterness tainted his voice. “The biggest freak in the sideshow.”
Gillie aimed her spatula at him. “At least you’re not the freak who laid the golden egg, nor does the chief torturer want to bang you silly.”
He widened his eyes in mock surprise. “Your language is appalling.”
“There’s something seriously wrong with Rowan.”
“Ya think?”
“I mean it. He doesn’t want a real woman. He wants one that doesn’t argue, doesn’t eat, doesn’t have bodily functions… just lives to gratify him.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty pathological. If he wasn’t down here torturing us lab rats, he’d be on the streets cutting people into bite-sized pieces.”
“Thing is, this is familiar to me.” Gillie gestured, and he came into the kitchen to serve himself. “There was a serial killer… I saw something when I was a kid. I’d only just arrived here. He killed because he was trying to create a lobotomized sex slave.”
“Dahmer,” Taye supplied. “You think Rowan is like him?”
“I think they share certain fantasies. I doubt he could perform with a woman he didn’t perceive as completely submissive.”
He arched a brow. “Should I be worried that you know this stuff?”
“You wouldn’t believe what comes on late-night TV.”
“And you watch it because you don’t like sleeping at night.”
A shudder rolled through her. “No. I don’t want him coming in on me while I’m unaware.”
“No wonder he scares you,” he said quietly. “If he figures out you’re not who you pretend to be-”
“It won’t be pretty. But I’ve done what I must to survive.”
“If his obsession with you ever reaches the next level, he’ll come to your bed.”
Gillie propped her elbows on the table. “I know.”
“And what will you do?” There was a peculiar tension in him now.
“I’ll lie there with doe eyes and take it. I want to see the sun again, Taye. Maybe you’d rather I play the medieval maiden and say I’ll die rather than let him sully my body, but he can’t touch me where it matters. I can put up with anything, as long as it means my freedom in the long run. And once I have it, I’ll never let anyone take it from me again.”
“Relax, I’m not judging you. I think you’re incredibly strong.” He dug into his breakfast, probably starving from the time he’d spent hiding in her bathroom.
She dipped her chin. “Are you being funny?”
“Not at all. Not all strength comes from brute force. Ever heard of the power of passive resistance? Gandhi?”
“I hardly think that comparison is appropriate.”
“Look, Gillie, I insisted on these visits because I wanted to stick it to Rowan. I knew it would get into his craw and chafe. But in the past few weeks, I’ve come to respect you. Not everyone could adapt and thrive as you have. You’re a rare person.” He cut a square of French toast and looked away. “You give me someone besides myself to think about, someone to fight for. I’m not sure what kind of person I was before Rowan worked on me that second time-and from certain fragments of memory, I don’t think I want to know-but I’m not that guy anymore. I could be better, if I only had the chance.”
His intensity moved her. Gillie reached out and covered his hand with her own. “We’re both getting second chances, and we won’t waste them.”
Taye threaded his fingers through hers. They were both pale, but his hand was a good deal larger. Ordinarily, it amused Gillie that he could tweak the cameras to show her sitting alone at the kitchen table, lulling all of Rowan’s suspicions. Now she had the thought that he could do more than hold her hand.
Unlike with Rowan, the contact didn’t give her the creeps. Taye felt warmer than a normal human, as if his gifts fevered him. But his eyes didn’t reflect a febrile glitter. Instead, they were the calm, cool green of tropical waters. She’d seen them many times on cruise line commercials.
“What?” he asked. “Do I have food on my face?”
With his free hand, he wiped his mouth with a napkin as Gillie shook her head. “I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you. Before, I only had inchoate dreams. Now we have plans.”
Taye inclined his head and withdrew his hand, leaving her faintly disappointed. “Speaking of which, we need to use our time wisely.”
“Yes, I’m sorry. Your ability isn’t foolproof.” Using electricity, he could manipulate the locks on the cell doors, and not long ago, he’d managed to get himself free. But he wasn’t sure enough of himself to risk their one chance at escape… yet. So Taye came to her in these practice runs, bright with the pleasure of sticking it to their captor. Silas knew, of course, but he had his own reasons to hate Rowan. The doctor could compel his obedience but not cooperation; the two differed vastly.