I just want to thank all who left reviews on the last chapter. They were just what I needed to boost my confidence and keep working on this story. If you can keep them coming, that would be awesome and extremely helpful. Also, it'll just be a little while longer before Erik comes in. I don't want to rush anything, so it would mean the world to me if you guys would be patient with me and stick around.

Reminder that this story is very dark and it may be triggering. Read with caution, and please review.

Nothing But A Lie

Chapter 3

Stiff and sore from the inability to relax in sleep, Christine woke in the morning to bright sunlight coming in through the window. She was too warm, and she kicked off the heavy bedding before stretching out her legs and arms. It felt nice, until she suddenly remembered where she was and tensed again. Her eyes snapped open and she flung herself off the bed, leaned against the wall, and observed her surroundings.

The room was a lot like the single bedroom in her apartment but bigger, and it had light beige walls instead of white. Dominating the space was the huge bed she had slept on. Alone? She couldn't quite tell. The other side was made nicely with no evidence on having been used, but that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't. He could have made it to look like that when he'd gotten up. That thought made her stomach twist.

There were matching end tables on either side of the bed, and a dresser against the wall across from it, with a smaller TV than what was in the living room. A door—to the closet, she assumed—was in the inner corner next to the dresser. Besides that, the only other decorations were some frames on the wall; a couple pictures and a document of some sort. Altogether a clean, stylishly furnished, normal room, she thought. Weird.

Christine could hear the shower running from the bathroom in the hall, so she decided now was as good a time as any to snoop. She went to the framed document first, finding that it was a master's degree in business administration for one Sky Payne, class of 2004. Christine shuddered. He'd had a master's degree by the time she was only six years old. That was just…creepy. Along with all the other things wrong and awful about this situation, the age gap was just another one to add to the list.

She went to the photos next. There was a group picture with his family she assumed, and they all looked very happy and normal, outside on a sunny autumn day. He had a large family, with an older, strikingly handsome couple in the center of the photo and three younger couples, and then Sky. It was easy to tell apart his brother and two sisters from their spouses, all of the Payne's having dark hair and dark eyes. They were all very attractive, well-dressed people. Sky was the only one out of the group who wasn't extremely beautiful.

The other picture was of a beautiful baby girl with wide chocolate eyes and dark curls, gazing off in the distance with a pearly, tiny-toothed smile. She was adorable, and probably less than a year old.

"That's Peyton," Sky's voice sounded from right behind her, and she gasped and whirled around to face him fearfully. She immediately looked away, however, as she discovered he was clad only in a towel and his lean, muscled torso still glistened with wetness from his shower. She could not recall a time in her life when a man was so exposed to her, and her mouth curled in disgust.

"Who is she?" Christine eventually asked, glaring at the white-carpeted floor.

"Family," Sky answered vaguely, unable to stop his heart from giving a painful squeeze. His fists clenched when he thought of the baby's mother, the despicable woman who'd broken all of her promises and left, taking the perfect girl away with her...

Ah, he didn't want to anger himself in front of Christine and scare her now did he? He shook those all too painful memories away and strode around her to the dresser.

She flinched at his sudden jerky movements, watching as he rummaged through his drawers with some frustrated expression on his face. There was something deeper going on about that little girl, she decided. Wondering if she'd ever find out what that was, Christine leaned against the wall again and watched Sky cautiously.

"Unless you want to watch me get dressed I suggest you go get cleaned up yourself," Sky warned with a sarcastic smile. Christine fled from the room the second the threat left his lips, not even attempting to hide her eagerness to escape from him.

Her suitcase was still in the bathroom, which was now humid and smelled of male soap scents. She was still too hot from waking with heavy blankets on and in the sunlight, and she craved a cool shower. Sky had packed her toiletries in the front pocket of her suitcase, and she was thankful that she wouldn't need to use his soaps.

Making sure the door was shut and locked securely, she took the quickest shower of her life, terrified of where she was and who might come in uninvited. She shuddered in disgust for being in his shower, for knowing how he had just been in this same place, naked as she was. Stressed tears flooded her eyes as she hastily dried herself and dressed in jean shorts and a white blouse with short sleeves. Then, she stared at the red stripe on her arm for a very long time, running a shaky finger along the now scabbed flesh.

This was all just too weird, too scary. Was this constant fear just something she would have to live with now? Christine clenched her teeth hard, willing the tears not to come flooding out. It was difficult, but she managed to hold them inside with enough concentration.

Taking a few deep breaths, she slowly combed through her damp hair with care, stalling for time alone. There had to be a way to escape, or call for help. There just had to.

Outside the door, Sky checked his watch, finding he still had a half hour before the board meeting. He was curious to see what Christine would do while he was gone. Probably try to escape, not knowing that he had hidden cameras and microphones set up all around the apartment and could access everything with his smart phone. Well, if she did try, she would get punished. That was her fault, not his. And if she yelled or screamed, there was always the basement…

Christine jumped at the knock on her door. "Finish up, baby," Sky called. "I want to talk to you before I have to leave." He was leaving? That was slightly comforting. She wondered for how long.

She stared at her reflection for a moment before leaving the bathroom. Her eyes were red rimmed and a little swollen, but other than that and the terrified expression on her face, she supposed she looked as good as she would get for the time being. She opened the door hesitantly, finding Sky leaning against the wall waiting, dressed in stylish business casual attire. His face was clean-shaven, his dark hair gelled, and his face was fixed in a pleasant smile. Christine was assaulted by the scent of his freshly applied cologne. Did he always have to wear so much?

Sky nearly gasped when Christine emerged, her hair damp and dressed in her little shorts. The girl really was much too tempting for her own good, even without a hint of makeup and puffy eyes. He offered his hand and she hesitantly took it. He grinned at her before leading her to the kitchen, where he showed her where she could find food whenever she got hungry. She nodded along distractedly, obviously eager to be left alone to try and escape.

'There's one more thing I want you to know before I leave," Sky said, leaning against the counter. "Did you know that some of the ground floor apartments have basements?"

Sky's darkened tone caused Christine's hands to tremble, and she slowly shook her head.

"Well, ours does," he said slowly, taking a strand of her silky hair between his fingers and ignoring how she flinched when he'd said ours. He could see she was slightly confused along with wary. He took one of her limp hands. "Come on. I'll show you."

Sky led her beyond the kitchen to the laundry room, where an expensive washer and dryer cramped together, taking up half the small room. The basement door was also in the tiny room, and Christine watched as Sky unlocked it with an everyday silver key and gestured for her to enter.

When she hesitated, Sky grabbed her hand impatiently with a sigh and pulled her down the stairs with him. "I thought I told you no hesitating," he muttered, and he could hear her stressed breaths come quicker. At the bottom of the staircase, he flicked on the light switch, which illuminated a single dull bulb in the center of the ceiling. He'd done what he could to make the basement as dark as possible, knowing of Christine's deep fear of the dark. It was an easy conclusion to come to when he'd observed her all those nights and found she refused to sleep or walk around her apartment without some type of light on.

Horrified, Christine studied the basement. The walls and concrete floor were painted pitch black, and the only light came from the dull light bulb, casting the room in a dim, eerie glow. The room was completely empty save for a set of chains bolted to the center of the ground with open shackles on each end. She could only guess whom those chains were meant for.

Sky noticed where she looked, and he nodded. "I can assume you understand where you'll be if you can't keep quiet and well behaved while I'm gone. Or do I need to demonstrate?" At Christine's horrified, confused expression, Sky flicked the light back off, and the room went pitch black. At her frightened squeak, Sky found her hand in the darkness. "Will you be a good girl so I don't have to lock you up down here in blackness?"

"Yes!" she sobbed, quivering from head to toe, clinging on to Sky's hand for dear life. "I promise I won't yell or try to leave. Just turn the light on, please!"

When he did, Sky wrapped his arms around her shaking form and she didn't try and resist. She held him back unthinkingly, crying into his hard chest. She felt him stroke her hair and shush her soothingly, and she took the comfort greedily, uncaring for a moment that it came from her kidnapper.

She hated herself for being so weak.

"It's okay baby," he crooned. "I won't ever bring you down here unless I have to. I promise." Sky smiled down at Christine's head, unable to contain his joy. She was actually holding on to him! Things were looking better and better for them by the minute. Maybe she'd be ready for a first kiss by tonight…

Anticipation lightened him. Sky gently pulled away from their embrace and brushed the tears from her cheeks. Her wide, violet blue eyes stunned him, and her full pink lips were so tempting that he very nearly leaned down to taste…but it wasn't the right time yet. Instead, he took her hand, leading her back upstairs.

Christine sighed in relief when they reached the top, and her hold on Sky's hand loosened. She watched Sky check his watch and curse softly. "I have to go now, but I should be back in a couple of hours, maybe sooner. Unpack while I'm gone. The bottom two drawers of my dresser are empty for you, and there are extra hangers in the closet." Sky hesitated, and then squeezed her hand and kissed the top of her head. She stood frozen as he grinned at her, and then strode through the kitchen and living room and out the door. She heard the click of a lock seconds after.

She dashed to the front door, attempting to open it, but it was no use. It was locked from the inside, just as he had said. Christine sighed, feeling very weak. Her stomach was beginning to hurt from being empty for so long, and she reluctantly went back to the kitchen in search for food.

Much like the bedroom, the kitchen was much nicer and larger than the one in her apartment, with glossy granite countertops and sleek black appliances. Everything was very clean, she noticed, not just the kitchen but the whole apartment. She supposed conditions could be much worse. She'd heard awful stories about kidnapping where women were kept in disgusting conditions with no food or water and were constantly beaten or raped…or both. Perhaps she could count herself lucky that all she had to deal with was a cut and a couple head kisses…

But it was only her second day.

Shivering, Christine mechanically prepared a bowl of cereal and brought it to the table. The silence was deafening, so she turned on the TV for background noise. After forcing herself to eat the entire bowl, she cleaned it all up and downed two full glasses of water. All the crying had made her feel dehydrated.

Knowing she'd likely be in trouble for it, Christine couldn't help but try opening the windows next. But true to Sky's word, they were bolted shut. She banged on one in frustration, and held back tears as she marched to the living room and sunk down onto the sofa. The apartment was freezing, and she wrapped herself in the throw blanket Sky had wrapped her in the previous night, curling up in a ball on the far end of the couch. She tried to watch television, but it was no use. She just kept staring off into space, imagining every horrible scenario that could, and quite possibly would, happen to her. A few more tears escaped her eyes, but after a while she just numbly lied there, thinking, dreading.

The meeting was long and tedious, and Sky let out a long sigh of relief when the matters were settled and everyone stood to leave. After a few handshakes and friendly banter with his employees, Sky got out his phone and checked the surveillance in his apartment. The stats showed that the girl had tried the door around the time he left and all of the windows not long after. He smirked and shook his head. Naughty girl, already breaking his rules.

Of course, he should've known she'd at least try. But hey, it was her fault that she would be punished. Skimming through the recordings, he found that she didn't scream or yell, but she did bang on one of the windows. Perhaps she had seen someone and tried to get their attention. His teeth clenched. That was a big no-no. It looked like she hadn't unpacked like he told her to either. That only made him angrier, and he shut off his phone and put it back in his pocket. Was it so hard to just do as he said?

He left the empty conference room and made his way back to the apartment, frustration fueling his quick strides. He thought on what her punishment would be, wanting to choose something other than the knife. The basement? No, then he wouldn't have her company for a while. A spanking? Appealing, but that would probably excite him a little too much. So what, then?

Christine jolted into a sitting position when Sky came in the door, immediately cautious. He slammed the door behind him and she flinched, watching fearfully as he locked the door quickly and turned to glare at her. She huddled deeper into the blanket. He was angry.

He stood in the doorway, unmoving, dark eyes on her. She could feel her heart racing, her breath coming quicker at the unmistakable anger on his face. The only sounds were from the TV, and she thought she might scream if he reached into his pocket to pull out the knife. Or worse…

What would he do to her now?

"Christine, I thought I told you to unpack your things while I was gone."

She shook at his carefully controlled words that held not even an ounce of their usual warmth. "Oh, I…I forgot. I'm s-sorry." Her voice couldn't seem to be louder than a whisper.

"Hmm, not sure if I believe that. Especially when you tried to escape right after you promised me you wouldn't." Sky slowly walked toward her, and she seemed to shrink deeper into herself the closer he got. The fear in her eyes only made him angrier. If she were so afraid, why couldn't she have just done as he said? With a frustrated sigh, he sat down on the other side of the couch, putting his face in his hands. "Looks like my girlfriend is a liar."

She watched him rub his face in a frustrated motion, and her stomach clenched. What was she supposed to do? Apologize to her kidnapper for trying to leave? Ridiculous. She wasn't the least bit sorry, but she was still terrified of getting punished. Would he put her down in the dark? The thought made her want to weep. Not the dark...

When she was four, her parents had taken her camping one weekend when the weather was nice. Christine loved to play and explore by herself, and they'd accidentally let her wander too far one afternoon, and she'd gotten lost. Nightfall came, and with it the absence of warmth and light, and for hours Christine had sobbed in the pitch-dark forest until her parents finally found her. Since then, she couldn't stand the dark. Even now, the thought of it crippled her with anxiety.

Swallowing her fear, Christine raised up onto her knees on the sofa, letting the blanket fall around her, and put a shaky, hesitant hand on Sky's shoulder. His head raised slowly, his brown eyes confused, and she met them with her own. She made her voice as sweet as she could, but it still shook. "I'm really sorry for disobeying you, Sky. It won't happen again. I'll go unpack right now."

Sky wasn't fooled by her little show, but was still charmed, and so he didn't stop her when she got up and went to unpack her things. She was quite enchanting when she tried to be, and Sky had to remind himself that he still had to punish her. If he didn't, she would think she could get away with anything.

Christine was stacking her clothes in the dresser as fast as she could, and she was beginning to think that she had successfully evaded a punishment. That is, until Sky came in and began watching her with a strange expression on his face. She didn't like that look one bit, and she was suddenly extremely afraid for what he might say or do. Still, she continued to put her things away and attempted to avoid his gaze, shaking all the while.

Sky's lips turned up in amusement at the girl trying to ignore him. She was so easy to read. Didn't she realize?

"Christine," he softly said. "I still have to punish you."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she sighed. "I know," she breathed. "What are you going to do?"

Sky gently took her hand and led her to the bed, guiding her to sit beside him. "It's what you're going to do, actually. I'll go easy on you, just this once." He paused, and then, "All I want is a kiss."

Christine paled. "A kiss?" she squeaked, removing her hand from his and then fearing his reaction. He didn't seem to notice, thankfully. He stroked her hair.

"Yes. I think it's time for our first kiss."

"B-but…I don't know how!" she nearly wailed out her pathetic excuse, her head shaking frantically. Sky stopped it with his hands.

He told her patiently, "You'll learn."

She froze, her mouth gaping, tears streaming from her eyes. He brushed the moisture away with his thumbs.

"Kiss me," he whispered. "And I won't lock you in the basement for the night."

Christine whimpered, but closed her eyes and leaned in, disgust evident in her terrified expression. Her still lips met his eager mouth for a fraction of a second, and she immediately pulled back.

Sky's teeth clenched. She called that a kiss? The girl had just barely brushed her perfect, soft lips against his, and he craved so much more. He knotted his hands into her hair and she gasped, her eyes going wide. "You're going to have to put in a little more effort than that, baby," he scolded, and then his lips crushed hers, his patience exhausted.

Oh, she tasted so good; so good that he wasn't even annoyed with how she whimpered and struggled to break away. It was another second before he realized how unresponsive her lips were, and that was enough for the annoyance to come through. "Respond to me," he growled. "Or else." He was pleased when the threat seemed to work, and her lips moved against his. It was subtle, but it was there, and it was enough.

He was too strong, she realized, as her struggling made no difference in his determined kiss. Crying quietly, she gave up fighting and puckered her lips a little to make him think she was kissing him back. But it wasn't real. It never would be with him.

A swelling rage built up inside of her, and she realized as Sky kissed her passionately, that she hated him. She hated him more than she'd ever hated anything or anyone, and the intensity of it frightened her. It was wrong to feel such dark emotions, wasn't it? She felt as if she would combust from the heat of it. Still, she clung to the hate, not allowing herself to feel anything more from the kiss, even though it wasn't as unpleasant as she'd expected it to be. At least he wasn't sticking his tongue down her throat.

Sky eventually found the strength to pull away, the taste and feel and scent of her still swimming around in his head, making him dizzy. God…how could one girl have such an affect on him? His eyes fluttered open, and her face was flushed with anger. Ah, didn't like that, did she? Well, too bad. She'd better get used to it.

He beamed as his hands fell from her hair, and that pleased, charming smile was enough to send a red haze into her vision. She could not control herself as she let out a shrill cry and slapped him hard across the cheek, the loud smack seeming to echo throughout the room.

Sky gaped at the girl, shocked. She was shaking, and he watched as her wide eyes went from raged to frightened when she must have realized what she'd done. His euphoric happiness from their kiss faded, and he watched her fear worsen when his jaw clenched tight and his eyes darkened.

Christine slowly shook her head, mouth agape, and tried to stand and flee from the room.

"Oh no, you don't," Sky fumed, grabbing her upper arms and holding them so tight that she cried out in pain. "You're in big trouble now, sweetheart."