The Face With Two Skeletons

by Tropicwhale

disclaimer: Not mine

Author Talk: SO, I had two versions of this chapter. I don't know why. They were almost identical but this version was clearly better. Like...CLEARLY.

Chapter Forty-One:

Zack woke with a start. He was blindfolded and, as far as he could tell, naked. He tried to move his hands only to discover that they were tied behind his back and he was propped against some sort of steel support beam on a cold concrete floor. Something was touching his scar on his arm and chest. He jerked away. "Don't move." A deep, gravelly voice sound in his ears and he was yanked back to his original position. "Did getting it hurt?" the man asked and touched Zack's bicep again.

"Yes."

"Good. I'm glad."

"Why?"

"Because" the man drawled. The man's hand drifted down to Zack's thigh. Zack started again. "I said don't move, Zack." Zack started and sat still as he could. "You know. You've been upsetting me for some time now but moving in with a federal agent? Really?" The hand drifted across Zack's waist and up to his shoulder.

"Were you the one that blew up my apartment?"

"Zack." The man whispered into his neck. "Zack, Zack, Zack. Do you know how sexy you are?"

"Please stop." Zack's heart was pounding in his chest. He was yanked to his feet suddenly.

"Careful." The man admonished when Zack stumbled. He was led, turned, and then pushed backward. He braced himself, worried that he would break his wrists in the fall but he landed on a bed. Sprawled, he turned his face where he thought the kidnapper would be.

"Why are you doing this?" He felt the bed sink next to him and his hair was brushed away from his forehead.

"Isn't it obviously, silly?" Zack felt hot breath on his face. There was a kiss to his jugular then a bite. Zack thought he understood.

"You have been stalking me under the delusion we share some romantic history."

"No, we share romantic history. Zack, don't you remember?" There was a sigh. "Well, I'm not surprised. You've done so much. Don't worry, though. I'm not angry or anything. I'll just have to remind you. That's the fun part." Zack's kidnapper lay next to him and cuddled close. He turned Zack's head to the side and kissed him on the mouth. There was something familiar about the technique of the kiss. Zack tried to pull away and opened his mouth to say 'stop' but then there was a tongue in his mouth. Zack tried to move away and then he remembered something he once read. Perhaps, if he allowed the sex to occur, then he would survive longer; perhaps even getting the chance to escape. He kissed back. He spread his legs and arched toward the other man. The man groaned and stroked Zack's growing erection. Zack endeavored to focus on the kiss, which was quite good, and not think on the fact the man had planned on raping him. "Zack." The man moaned plaintively and moved to lick circles counterclockwise on his neck. This felt different from other sexual encounters. Zack couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why but it was different. The mouth slipped down his body, hands stroked his skin and held him close.

Then Zack had a sexual eureka moment. It was about him; his physical pleasure, his emotional state. His kidnapper was attempting to engage sexually with Zack the exact way his other sexual partners seem to actively avoid. It was quite possibly the closest Zack had ever come to being loved by another human, or rather the closest he'd come to understanding the need to physically express the love impulse. On instinct, Zack started to participate as much as he could in the encounter, with his hands tied behind his back. He employed a trick he learned from Zerbrowski and used his legs to flip his kidnapper onto his back who gasped in a very familiar way. Zack started. His kidnapper rolled his hips and gasped again. Zack felt lightheaded, he rolled his hips to meet his kidnapper's. Zack was dizzy with confusion and doubt. It couldn't be real but then his partner gasped again. Zack smiled, it was real. He leaned close and whispered "Kiss me, please?"

Author After Note: Originally I wrote this to be a sex scene, I think originally-originally a rape scene but two things stopped me...well, three. The first was that it was a little dark for what the story is and I have issues with rape scenes in general, I don't like them and I don't like writing them unless they are absolutely necessary for character growth. The second was Zack is (apparently) too practical for himself to get raped and that he would actively engage in sex to seek a chance at escape or to keep the kidnapper complacent. This often is the case with people taken in hostage situations (I was reading about female hostages in Somalia and Uganda). Keeping the kidnapper calm is rule one for staying alive longer. So, there's that. Oh, Zack's practicality. Also, the kidnapper...it is not in his psychological make-up to rape Zack, that is not what he wants out of this encounter. If Zack started to truly resist or say no? He would stop. So three reasons for the no rape-ness of this chapter. Why it is stopping here and not further down the line? I like the final line. I like what it represents in Zack being dominate and taking charge of this situation. Its' kind of sexy to me. Naked Zack, hands cuffed behind his back, blindfolded, straddling his captor and demanding what he wants? yum.

It also keeps you in suspense longer.

Love from the Dorkside (I'll be in my bunk);

Tropic