Chapter 10 I Once Owned a Chinchilla

"Have a seat," Ransom said, pulling out one of the nice chairs from the dining room table.

Leena nodded a polite thank you and carefully slid into the seat. Ransom pushed her chair in just slightly as she sat, and then let Leena make the rest of the adjustments herself. She hadn't caught the scent before, but when he pushed her chair in, she noticed his cologne. It was a musky, woodsy smell, probably teakwood, mahogany. She liked it a lot. It made her want to breathe him in.

"I'll be right back," he said. As we went back through the door from which they had just come, he waved two fingers and as soon as he walked out, two guards walked in. They were different people from the ones who had been in the basement with her.

She wondered where Manny and Mateo were now. Perhaps they got a break. Perhaps they'd gotten in trouble. She wondered where Ransom was going.

"Where are you..." she began to say, but he had already left her sight. Leena sat awkwardly at the end on the long side of the table. Her new guards (she presumed) didn't look at her, and they stood like the stone statues in the park.

Leena tucked her hands under her thighs out of anxiety, and her leg bounced rapidly as she gazed around the room wondering where exactly she was. She wasn't sure how long she had been knocked out for, but it couldn't have been too long. Surely, she was still in Pennsylvania at least...

Pretty soon, Ransom came back into the dining room carrying a small white plastic case with a red cross on it. A first aid kit. He pulled out the chair at the head of the table and slid the first aid kit onto the table and took a seat.

"Oh, is that for me?" Leena asked, growing slightly uncomfortable in the silence. "Or did you...?"

"It's for you," Ransom said seriously. He opened the case and began to reach inside. Then, perhaps remembering that there were two other people in there, he turned around and waved the guards out of the room.

"Thanks," Leena said, "for the first aid." She reached for the alcohol wipes, but Ransom closed the lid and pulled the case away. Leena froze in confusion. He'd just said this was for her, but now he wasn't letting her touch it?

Ransom flicked a harsh gaze at Leena. "I'll do it," he said.

"You don't have to-"

"I said I'll do it." His voice was a little gruff, which confused Leena. He had just been talking to her and teasing her in the basement, but now his voice was different. In fact, ever since they'd left the basement and come upstairs, he'd been pretty quiet. She wondered if he was mad at her or just angry with his men.

"Okay," she said, a little afraid to oppose him. He was the clear boss around here, and she still didn't know what kind of business he was running.

Ransom held out his hand palm up. Leena looked at it, not sure what he was wanting, and when he got impatient, he grabbed her hand gently and pulled it towards him. His touch was firm, but his hands were warm.

Leena felt her face go red again as Ransom began rubbing the alcohol wipe carefully over the cuts on her hands and the one on her arm. Her whole arm tingled, and she was suddenly starting to feel very jittery. She focused on Ransom's face. He seemed very focused as he hunched over her hand. His mid-length curly hair came untucked from behind his ear and fell down to create a sort of curtain to hide his face, but Leena could make out the slight crease in his left brown.

The alcohol was cool, but it stung on some of the deeper cuts. Random flipped over her hand and touched the sensitive creases of her palm with his fingertips. It was such a soft, mindful touch, but it tickled slightly, and she almost jerked her hand away.

"Sorry," Ransom said. He peeked at her from behind his hair, and she thought she saw a smirk on his face before he put his head back down to continue his work. Did he see her blushing? Did he sense that his light touches were driving her crazy and sending electric pulses through her belly and between her legs?

Leena clenched her teeth and cursed herself. She had told Brian that she wanted to wait to be physically intimate, but the truth was that she really just didn't want to do it with him. She thought s*x was a bit overrated and that it was just something people threw in books and movies for the butterflies in the belly effect. Sure, she found men attractive, and she thought about physical things sometimes, but she had never experienced butterflies in her own belly before. However, she was able to recognize them right off the bat.

"I thought you said you had some more questions for me," Leena said, hoping to distract herself. She squeezed her legs together and cursed herself for having such thoughts about a mystery man.

Ransom let out a little amused huff of air. "I want you to tell me about yourself," he said, his voice low and soft.

His velvet voice made her feel like she had warm sand poured over her. It was warm with the illusion of being soft, but really it was a bit gritty. "What do you mean? I already told you my name and age and occupation and all of that. You want my social security number too?"

Ransom looked up, wearing a smug smile. "Maybe I already know that. Tell me something I don't know."

Leena almost wanted to laugh. She was caught off guard by his little remarks like that because she couldn't tell if he was joking or not. But something about this whole situation made her believe that he could easily get her social security number if he wanted to. In fact, all he'd need to do to get it directly from her was put his hand on her b-

"You've got a splinter," Ransom said, reminding her thoughts not to veer off again.

She cleared her throat and tried to ignore him. Maybe it would be better not to look at him at all, she thought. That was clearly what was making her think that kind of crazy stuff. She twisted her head to the side and looked at a great big painting on the wall. It looked familiar, like it might have been by someone famous. She didn't doubt that it was.

"You squeamish?" he asked.

Leena flinched, forgetting once again that he had asked her a question. "What? Oh, no, I just..." she didn't know what to say to him. She was just thinking about his hands? She was just thinking about the fact that he could probably easily find her social security number or buy a super expensive authentic painting? That he smelled good, and she liked his hair? That his voice was like velvet?

"So does it hurt then?"

The concern in his voice sounded genuine, and Leena accidentally looked at his face again. There they were... those eyes. She'd never seen eyes so dark before. It was amazing how much brightness they held. He was looking at her with his head slightly cocked, his face turned up at her with a worried gaze.

Her eyes traveled all over his face. She just couldn't help it now that he was so close to her and they were in a more normal setting. He was so handsome, she thought.

Ugh, why am I like this? she said in her head, rolling her eyes.

Ransom scoffed lightly. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?" he asked with faux offense. "You know I'm just tryin' to take care of you...."

Sh*t, Leena thought. She hadn't meant to make that facial expression. She just meant to think it. It was meant for her anyways. She was rolling her eyes at herself!

"I once owned a chinchilla!" she rushed to say.

Ransom's eyebrows lifted slightly, and the corner of his mouth twitched with amusement. "Is that right? Tell me more?"