Nancy stared at the woman who was dabbing her wound before stealing a gaze at Damon. He was drinking wine and staring at her as if he had nothing else to do in the world. She looked down at all the hot water around her. They were sitting in the huge bathtub naked and had four maids moving around their bathtub.

Damon's stare was making Nancy utterly uncomfortable. Nancy stared into his eyes too for a moment but when Damon bit his lower lip and smirked Nancy looked away instantly. He wanted to play with her. Or he didn't know any other way to make these days easy for him.

Damon tilted his head to the maid who placed the grapes on his left and ordered her. "Get these to her." The maid nodded at once and walked around the bathtub to put the plate on Nancy's side.

Nancy looked at the plate and the maid was about to go away when Damon yelled. "What do you think you are doing? She is exhausted! Help her eat." But moving his eyes to Nancy he smiled instantly. Nancy forgot to blink. She didn't know what he was doing. Or why was he doing it?

This is what he had been doing for the last two hours. She knew she had told him she was exhausted when he was about to force himself on her. It was certain he was holding her down for that. But wasn't it very petty of him?

The maid extended her hand to Nancy's mouth but she couldn't stop looking at Damon now.

Nancy gulped before shaking her face a little. "I am not hungry."

Damon got his face all concerned but didn't move an inch of his body while inquiring. "How are we to regain your strength then?"

Nancy was still embarrassed by the moment when two maids touched her body and gave her a bath in front of Damon.

"I..."

"Don't tell me you don't like grapes. I saw you eating those in your bowl in the morning."

When Nancy didn't move an inch he gritted a little in a very low voice. "I want to see you eat now." The voice had a kind of warning that could make one's blood freeze. Nancy opened her mouth a little and accepted the grapes.

She started moving her mouth but then winced when the maid who was cleaning her wound finished tying the knot over her bandage. Damon recalled this maid to be the same one who was removing her makeup fast and rough.

"Slap her," Damon ordered calmly but the said maid looked up scared for her life now.

Nancy asked back. "What?"

"Slap her hard enough to blow this room up or I will make you kill her." Nancy turned to the maid and saw her gulping visibly. Nancy didn't think much of it and slapped her so hard that the maid fell to her sides supporting her body with her palms on the floor.

Damon's smile shrank all of a sudden. A wave of surprise passed his face while his body moved to get more attentive. For the first time in the last hour, he wasn't leaning on his back all relaxed.

He expected Nancy to fail this for the first two tries but it was too obvious that sound was melodious enough. It would be unfair if he doesn't praise it. But the moment that maid tried to regain her position and moved her hand away from the cheek Damon raised his brows. She had a split on the lip.

Damon raised his hand and looked at the other maids. "Did you see that? Did you?"

"Yes," All of them replied in an instant.

"Slap her again. I wasn't ready for it." This time Nancy looked at him and gulped hard. But before she could make up words her strength failed her. "You said..."

"Slap her again."

"I don't want to slap her." Nancy's voice barely came as a whisper but her daring eyes and straight back were enough to convey that it was him she wanted to slap. Damon stared at her for one long minute. She had dared to do what she had done.

Nancy watched his nose flaring again. She wonders if he would finally stop playing the games and remove the mask that was even more suffocating.

"Out!" Damon ordered. And, not a second later the staff walked out Damon came at her. Nancy tried to turn around and in doing so got the plate of grapes in the tub.

"Ahh..." Nancy gasped loudly when Damon got a hold on her hair and pulled her head back. "Who do you want to slap?"

"I didn't mean it."

"Don't get back on your words like a coward, Nancy. Tell me who you want to slap?"

Only now Nancy regretted her attitude. It was confirmed that he won't ever let her slide for once. "I didn't..." Nancy sobbed and felt his hold going soft on her hair.

"It seems you have gained unnecessary strength. It is time that you get exhausted again. Do you want to get exhausted again, honey?"

"No, please, no..." Damon slapped her ass hard and hissed in her ear.

"The next time you tried to be mouthy in front of my staff. I will fuck you in front of my staff."

"I am sorry." Damon raised his brows and asked, "You are sorry for what?"

Nancy thought about it a little before she came up with it. "I am sorry for misbehaving."

Damon rolled his eyes and turned her to him before asking.

"So, you admit you misbehaved?" Nancy gulped hard and nodded her head.

He was about to say he would punish her for this but then recalled it was a good situation to make her believe he could be soft for her.

"I will let it slide only this time." Nancy let her breath out and Damon smiled.

"What were you thinking?" He asked and Nancy looked at him.

"What?" She whispered,

"You thought I would punish you. Did I disappoint you? Did you want the punishment?"

"No, no,..."

"Relax,..." Damon held her chin in his palm and stared into her eyes. "You will be fine. Just hang on. Can you do this, Nancy?"

She nodded slowly before looking at his broad shoulders. He was giving her a scare. Damon tapped his other hand on her cheek. Damon used all of his power to not hurt her. "You will learn. You will learn all of it, don't worry."

Nancy gulped while Damon rose to his feet and walked out of the bathtub. Nancy shut her eyes in disgust. She was still not used to looking at him naked.

"I have asked the staff to prepare a hearty meal for us. Let's not get late for it."

Nancy stepped out of the tub and found him wrapping a towel on his hips. In an instant, he wasn't looking like a beast but a model on the cover. Damon moved his fingers in his hair and got them on his back to remove them from his forehead.

Nancy had an arm on her chest and seeing her trying to hide literally nothing Damon shook his head. But the moment Nancy walked to the bathrobe he stopped her. "Don't!"

Nancy looked at him shocked. She wondered what he meant. "We can't get you exhausted, remember?" Nancy raised her brows realizing he was helping her get on the robe. She gulped finding him at her back but did accept his help. She didn't say a word but now for a fraction of a moment, she wondered if he did mean what he said. Was he giving her a chance? She gets he was eccentric and could be what he was in his meaning of chance. But was it really a chance? It had been a miracle that he hadn't hit her for some hours. Even when they were together all of this time in their room where most of the violence does happen.

Nancy made her way out of their wing with Damon walking beside her. She moved her head a little while getting down the stairs. She knew it was a wild thought. She couldn't cater for this thought and let her guard down. Damon couldn't give her a chance. Why would he give up on a punching bag? He didn't have any reason to be nice to her. And, somehow even after all that had happened between them, Nancy could tell he wasn't attracted to her body. She didn't know how but she knew it to be true.

A server pulled the chair for Nancy and making sure Nancy had seated fine Damon moved to his chair. Nancy knew he didn't look like a person who would settle for anything even slightly less. Then, how come he was giving her a chance? She had to think hard. She knew she was smart and would soon be able to look through him.

A server made the plate for Nancy and Damon was quick to fill in. "You have to finish whatever is given to you. Your nutritionist has set your plate and he knows better than you." Nancy looked at the plate and it was indeed more than she ever had for a meal. At least, since she moved to Alaska. She already knew she couldn't finish all of it.

"I don't think I can finish all of it."

"Take your time. There is no hurry..." Damon smiled but then added with a stern look. "You will keep sitting here until you don't." Nancy narrowed her eyes when he wasn't looking and was busy getting his napkin on his lap.

He wasn't someone who would care for someone's food. Nancy wonders when did he get the time to order his employees to arrange such a meal for her. She was with him all the time since he picked her up from the hospital. And, at the time he had picked her up from the hospital he wasn't nice at all.

Did he tell his employees before coming to pick her up from the hospital? But then did he know she would kill her brother? Nancy recalled how it was Damon who forced her to kill her brother. She never had a choice to fight back with him. She looked at the table and recalled what he had talked about the chance. He did show all of it after those killings. He made it look like he was nice after her brother was out. Nancy wonders what she was being rewarded when she hadn't earned any of it. She held the fork and pierced the peas on her plate. Her mind was numb but only for a moment. Because in the next moment, she raised her eyes to match his gaze. He had a smirk playing on his face.

She now knew that he knew none of those men were her brother. And, he also knew that she knew. He was indeed trying to get something out of her. And, he knew that she wouldn't be manageable if he actually made her kill her brother. The words lurked around her mouth for a moment. She wanted to drop this newfound theory on his head. She wanted to tell him that she knew that he knew that she knew how none of those men was her brother but then remained silent.

She reminded herself that it was always her intelligence that got her into trouble. She could make him angry if she made him realize that his plans weren't working.

Nancy slowly leaned back into her chair. This time all relaxed and calm. She didn't know what he was playing but for some reason, he couldn't hurt her in this play. And, if he couldn't hurt her she could test some waters and see how deep she could gamble in this ocean called Damon Anderson.

Our girl doesn't have power but she does have a brain. Voila!