#leering

He tied her down so she would be still. So that he could get a look at her. 

The light tackled her, a shroud for her to wear, that pinned her to the floor just as surely as gravity ever could. He marvelled at the way it would create shadows, the shading of her musculature seeming far too sculpted, utterly surreal. She’d stared up at him for the first five minutes or so, but by now she’d settled down into something more comfortable. 

He didn’t care. He preferred looking at her side on. He wanted her to be comfortable under his gaze, just this once. He wanted to see her in her natural state. The thought made him smile. Her natural state, tied and trussed, left naked on the floor for some man to leer at her. Seemed somehow appropriate, in that moment. It was always in that moment, the captured second where everything felt right, before another came along and suddenly the magic shifted.

Her eyes were closed. He wondered if she was sleeping. For a moment he thought of nudging her with his foot, but such a thing seemed distasteful. Like touching the painting in the gallery, pressing your nose up against the glass in the museum in an attempt to get even closer to history. But you were reserved, you were polite, and you kept your hands and appendages to yourself. His foot remained still. 

She didn’t stir. Her mouth had opened at the beginning, as if to ask him what the point of all this was, but the words had died in her throat, murdered by her better judgement. He had purpose in his eyes, and that was enough to deter her from questioning his motives. He stared, and she was stared at. 

It was only later, once he’d untied and dressed her, and they were resting on the sofa together, that she asked him what it was he had wanted from the scene. He hadn’t said anything, for the longest moment; the television show had changed by the time his lips had fallen open, and he hadn’t looked at her when he spoke. 

“I needed to know.” His eyes narrowed, a hesitation as he searched for the words. “If you were right.” Each word fell with a deliberate rhythm. She frowned, before tilting her head to the side.

“And?”

He smiled.

“You were.”