I was Zorie, a woman who sought revenge for a friend and for herself, and in so doing I had killed my own self.

He went through the vehicle usage manual in his head and recalled the simulator training. Then he unlocked the car, ushered her in, and started the engine. All went well until he rammed into the car parked in front.

I don’t remember everything I did to you last night. It wasn’t moral or legal, but I’m not sorry.

There are people who might be with you for much of your waking hours for many years, yet when they are gone you find they’ve left the smallest of marks on you. There are others who will always mark you deeply no matter how little the time they spend with you. Those people leave you with scars and blemishes, with love kisses, with mind-bending alterations of whatever it is inside that makes you who you are.

Think me bad, if you want. I am not. I will be your knight in bloody and cracked armor...

I’d chained her up because I was angry. Everyone got angry at their partner at some point.

Fear, excitement, all rolled into one. Her monster was coming.

Mako raised his leg and planted his boot on her butt. Not too much pressure, just enough to let her feel the weight and maybe the grit on the sole, reminding her who had control.

Her legs might tremble but she’d said what she had to. Maybe because she knew this would get harder to do the longer she was here. Soon, if he had his way, and she was afraid he would, she would lose her courage. She would cherish this time –a memory of when she still had balls.

If this was Narnia, she wanted fawns and moralistic heroes who offered you cloaks and sips of warming beverages. Not leather cuffs threaded with steel.