Midnight Bride The CEO’s Temptation

Nancy looked to the window where Paul had been, but he was gone.

Noah put his hand on her shoulder and said, "At least Wolf wasn't with us..."

Nancy shuddered. She could easily imagine what Paul would have done had the dog been with them. She turned to face Noah and said, "This has gone too far, but I have a plan to make it stop."

Noah smiled hopefully. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," Nancy replied. "But I was hesitant to ask…."

"Don't be silly." Noah laughed. "I am at your disposal. Tell me what you need, and if it is within my power to do it, then I will."

"Can you help us escape?"

"You want to escape?" Noah pondered this for a moment. It had not crossed his mind that this would be her request. Then, finally, he said, "Sure, I will help you. What do you want me to do?"

"I have a contact on the outside," Nancy explained. "But I have no way of staying in touch with him. With his help, nothing can stop us."

Noah opened his mouth, but a rifle fired three times in succession before he could say a word. They looked to where the sound had come from and saw Paul approaching them. Nancy was shocked, "Quickly," she said.

"Go. Find Crystal. She will tell you who it is that you need to contact."

Paul fired again, and they both flinched.

They both knew that he was missing on purpose. At any time, though, he could aim.

****

Crystal waited until she was sure that the incense had done its work before returning to her room. Then, when she saw how weak he looked, she could not help but laugh. She smirked and said, "My, how the mighty have fallen!"

"When will you let me go?" Eric whined.

"Before coming in to see you, I secured Nathan to his bed," Crystal explained. "Once the two of you have learned to be obedient and kind, then I will consider letting you both go.

You will prove that you've learned your lessons by becoming the best of friends."

"Best friends?" Eric sneered.

Crystal had left the door between the two rooms open, and when Nathan heard what had been said, he began to curse. "If that is the case," he shouted, "then we will die in these beds. I would never befriend such a lowlife piece of shit."

"Chill your t**s, boys." Crystal chuckled.

Nathan and Eric both frowned.

"We're not boys," Eric insisted. "We are men and both grown-ups,"

"And we don't have t**s!" muttered Nathan on the other side.

"There." Crystal smiled and said, "Look at that, you two things in common. Anyway, It's supper time."

Eric gave her a funny look. "Darling, our hands and feet are restricted. How will we eat?"

"With your mouth!" Crystal replied. "Obviously."

Eric sighed. "Be reasonable. If you are not going to let us go, then you feed us by hand." He laughed and said, "Let me have a look at what you made. Did you cook it by yourself?"

"Never mind that." Crystal fetched the meals, brought the first dish over to Eric, and sat down beside him. She offered him a spoon full of peas, and he ate them without incident.

Nathan called to her from the other room, and she said, "Hold your horses. I will feed you next."

Crystal brought a bit of meat to Eric's face. He took it, and as he chewed, a thought occurred to her. "I should have a servant do this," she said. "I don't know what I was thinking. I must not have been thinking at all!"

"I won't eat unless you are the one feeding me," said Eric.

"I won't either," said Nathan. "So, what now? Will you feed us, or will you let us starve to death?".

"I'm tempted to let you both starve to death," Crystal admitted. "You are like a couple of hard-headed baboons, and I rather suspect that you actually would starve yourselves on principle. So, it seems that I must feed you..."

"Excellent," Nathan smiled and said, "Feed me first."

"You were already feeding me," Eric grumbled. "You should finish what you started."

"But I'm starving," argued Nathan.

"Bullshit!" Eric's face turned red from rage, and he said, "Between us, you were the last to eat.

Nathan glared at Crystal. "How dare you feed him first! I am the one who is injured and need more food to recover,"

"That's enough!" she shouted. "If you guys cannot act in a civilized manner, you will go hungry." She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and then she said, "I will feed you both at the same time."

"How will that work?" Eric wondered.

"I will give you three bites, then I will give Nathan three bites," Crystal explained. "And I will go back and forth until you are both done eating. Since I have given you some food already, it is Nathan's turn."

Crystal walked into the next room, and when she showed Nathan his food, he humphed.

Crystal gave him a dirty look. "What is your problem now?" she asked.

"My food is inferior to Eric's," he replied.

"What's up with that?"

"You were shot in the abdomen," Crystal reminded him. "You are on a special diet." Nathan smiled and said, "I knew that you cared about my well-being!"

"Don't make me regret this," Crystal said angrily. She brought some pasta to his mouth, but he flinched away from it. "What now?!?!"

"It's too hot," Nathan complained.

"Too hot, my ass!" Crystal shouted. "I am sick of your games."

"Try it for yourself...."

"Fine," Crystal growled. She stirred the pasta, filled her spoon, and brought it to her mouth.

The heat caught her off guard, and she nearly choked. It was actually ridiculously hot, just like he'd said. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I will blow on them for you."

Nathan ate two more bites without incident, and then it was Eric's turn to eat again.