Chapter Two

Bunny was encased in a soft warmth she never wanted to part with. It felt like she was lying weightless in the clouds. But it also felt like she had a head full of cotton, her mouth dry enough for her tongue to stick to her top palette.

She slowly shifted in the gentle embrace of whatever she was wrapped up in. Her eyes fluttered slowly and she lifted her head an inch or so above the pillow. And then the horror came flooding back. With a racing heart, she froze.

That is, until Bunny realized that she was also completely naked, save for a thick collar that was fastened around her neck. It wasn't uncomfortable physically, but mentally it threw her into a frenzy. She reached up in a panic to rip it off and found that it was secured with a lock.

Okay, just relax. Chill out. You're going to get through this. It's just a collar. It's not going to kill you, Bunny thought to herself.

Her eyes began adjusting to the low light. What she saw gave her a change of heart: instead of freezing in place, the organ now plummeted like a weight into her lower stomach.

The walls around her were filled with sex toys of every sort. There were recessed walls with shelving and drawers lining them to the midpoint, hooks hanging with whips and other implements above them.

Around the room, an array of wicked machines and imposing restraint systems stood like wardens.

"Hello, sweet Bunny," A voice, gentle as silk, sounded through the silence.

Bunny realized she had been holding her breath as soon as she gasped. Her head whipped around, and she immediately recognized the movement as a mistake as the soft pounding turned to a roar of pain. Her hands flew up to cradle her head.

"Careful now, my Bunny," The man murmured, drawing closer, "You're going to need a few hours to get back to normal. Haldol and Ativan are a hell of a combination. Extremely effective at sedation, but there are drawbacks."

Bunny opened her mouth in response but found her voice faltering. It felt like her mind was stuck in place, a record scratching, desperately trying to gain traction.

How could this happen to her?

Just a few weeks ago, she had been celebrating her upcoming graduation from college. She had been accepted to her first choice university for graduate school. Her life was good.

This isn't fair… She thought, tears welling up before she had time to stop them. Large, fat drops began to run down her face as her chest tightened like a fist.

A coldness settled over her that not even the plush blanket wrapped around her body could stave. She was as good as dead, wasn't she?

No, she thought fiercely, You can't think like that. Others have gotten out of similar situations. You can do this. Just concentrate, cooperate, and wait.

Her captor had been watching passively until she began to cry, then he clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Now, now, Bunny, enough of that, or I'll give you something to cry about." There was a vein of amusement in his voice.

He's mocking me, she realized with bristling fury, How fucking dare he?

"I'm sorry, sir, I just can't help but think my parents must be so worried," She whispered, looking up at him through her eyelashes in a submissive gesture.

His face immediately darkened.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He asked softly, but she could feel anger lurking under the surface of his words.

"I- I'm sorry?" she stammered, confusion in her shrill voice.

"You heard me. Answer the question." He was now stalking toward her, gleaming leather loafers padding softly on the wooden floor.

"N-no! Of course, I don't. I'm so sorry. I just… I wanted to explain why I was crying." Bunny was now scrambling backward, trying to keep herself covered while replacing the distance his long legs were quickly eating.

Her captor stopped at the edge of the pad she was lying on. It was large, easily the size of an area rug, and thick enough to protect her from the wooden floor beneath.

"Then don't try to play me. Your old life is gone, Bunny. This is your reality now," Her captor said evenly, eyes boring holes into the top of her bowed head, "I promise it isn't as bad as you think it is. There are far worse men out there who take women to torture them for gratification. I'm not like that."

She sniffled, still softly crying in the hopeless way only a broken person can.

"Understand that if you follow the rules, you'll be fine. I will punish you if you misbehave. Your pain doesn't necessarily bring me pleasure, but I will cause you pain all the same."

As his voice faded, leaving a hollow silence interrupted only by her hiccuping sobs, Bunny felt herself crumple to the ground once more.

She had absolutely been trying to "play" him, after all. The first rule of survival was to humanize yourself to your kidnapper, or so the crime shows would have her believe.

"Why are you doing this? Why won't you just let me go? I won't tell anybody. I swear I won't." She whimpered softly.

"Because I want to." He answered simply, "And it had to happen to somebody. Would you like to pick somebody to trade places with?"

Fury flashed through her chest, and she snapped her head to look him in the eyes.

"Actually yeah. I would. I can go ahead and name a few people I wouldn't have any sympathy for in my position. Why? Are you offering to kidnap one of them instead?" She hissed, baring her teeth. Flashbacks to mean girls and bullies flitted through her mind, the objects of her ire through her younger years.

Bunny wasn't sure where this feeling of bold defiance had come from, but the release of anger felt cathartic. It was like she was gaining ground in some way.

Her captor's eyes darkened, and she began to suspect she had made a mistake.

"What a bitter bitch," Even though his voice was still low, it had deepened significantly, "Wishing this upon a person is insane. "

Before her better judgment could stop her, Bunny's eyes bugged out of her head, and she let loose a bitter laugh. His eyebrow raised.

"Are you fucking serious? I'm insane? Me? You have me locked in a bedroom doubling as a sex dungeon after hunting me through the goddamn woods like an animal, and now you're sitting there saying my desire for revenge against people who have actually done wrong by me is-" She stopped short as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

Her captor knelt, head lowering to look down at her as she sat, trembling with fear.

"I'm warning you, Bunny. I love a woman with a little fire in her blood… But I'm only going to put up with so much before I put you in your place."

Bunny snapped her mouth shut with no intention of taking it any further. So much for gaining his sympathy.

The scent of cedar and smoke wafted off of him, and she imagined it was his cologne, spritzed lightly on the crisp black sweater he wore. The aroma was enticing, like something that called you home. She shifted uncomfortably.

His forearms rested on his knees, large hands clasped as he stared steadily at her. His deep, dark eyes were unreadable.

"I'm sorry," She whispered through free-flowing tears, "I'm so sorry…" But it wasn't just her captor she was speaking to.

She was sorry for so much more than that.

"May I ask something?" She whispered, eyes focused on the floor.

"Of course, Bunny. Just mind your manners." He responded, sounding amused.

"Why did you choose me? Was it my looks?" The question had been nagging at her since the first moment she realized she was being kidnapped. Bunny had always been beautiful, often aware of the favors it earned her. Her captor let out a barking laugh.

"That's quite the assumption, Bunny," He murmured, reaching out to cup her chin in his hand. She stiffened but thought better of pulling away. "How incredibly vain."

He stroked her cheek gently with his thumb, humming thoughtfully to himself. But he didn't answer the question.

Suddenly, her captor released her and stood up, striding toward the door. After opening it, he turned around to look at her one last time.

"I'll be back in a few hours, little Bunny. There's food and water beside your bed. You should recoup your strength before our first training session, especially after our playtime in the woods."

She could have vomited at his usage of the word, "playtime." It was clear that's all this was to him: a game. She was unlucky enough to be both his opponent and his prize.

With that, he slipped out of the door.

Bunny glanced over, noticing a box with water bottles and single-serving packages of snacks.

But she couldn't possibly eat. She didn't have the energy to do anything, and her stomach was turning as it was.

Instead, Bunny curled into a ball on the soft padding, pulled the blanket around her, buried her face in the pillow, and cried.