Giver of Light by Nicola Claire

anymore of anything.
    Jonathan rose from his couch and came over to sit on the side of the bed. I decided I'd play along for a bit, the more compliant I was, perhaps the more information I could gather. Maybe even spot a weakness I could exploit.
    “Did you sleep OK on the couch?" I asked softly.
    He smiled sweetly at me and brushed a strand of my hair off my face.
    “As long as I am near you, I am happy.”
    I swallowed, pretending to be all buddy-buddy was not easy, could I be convincing enough? I had to try.
    “What happened to me? How did I lose my memories?” I knew pretending I could remember something was reckless, but not asking what happened to me would seem remiss as well.
    “It was relatively simple, we were on holiday and you fell down some stairs and banged your head. That's all. You were out for several days, the doctors said you didn't have a bleed, so no operation was necessary, but when you woke up, you couldn't remember a thing. I am sorry, Lucinda. I wish I could make this easier on you.”
    He seemed so genuine, but then he always did, didn't he? If this was all a lie, then Jonathan was a consummate actor, if it wasn't a lie... I couldn't finish that sentence, I just couldn't. This was not my life. This was not my life. This was not my life.
    Arming myself that day was not an option, nothing suitable came to hand. Delaying my escape seemed like the only reasonable thing to do.
    So, our daily routines started that night. We'd take turns showering and dressing, he never stepped over the mark, but when we went to leave the room, he withdrew a key from around his neck and unlocked the door. Escape while he showered was not an option. And escape while he was in the room just took on a whole new meaning.
    He would prepare breakfast for me, read bits and pieces from the newspaper while I ate, then we would go for a walk around the property. Every day I seemed to be able to manage less and less distance. This did alarm me, but not nearly as much as it did Jonathan. His concern was palpable.
    No matter what I tried over the next few days, I couldn't find anything silver, I couldn't find any weakness to take advantage of and I simply couldn't escape without either. I spent the nights exploring the house, which Jonathan and the other vampires had no issue with. I made out I needed to get my memories of the property back and perhaps exploring would help. They could hardly argue if this life of mine now was true and I soon became aware that there was nothing in the house that could aid me in my endeavours. Hence, no objection from my jailers to my night time pursuits.
    The rest of the time I spent pretending to be interested in Jonathan, asking questions about what he did for a living, what we used to do together, what our plans for the future were. All of his answers were given with enthusiasm and without hesitation. He doted on me, anticipating my every need, spending every moment with me, trying to make me laugh, to smile even. His care and attention were limitless.
    I began to have serious doubts the longer I was there. Not only had I not discovered a weakness, nor found a weapon to aid in my escape, I was beginning to actually like Jonathan, even if I couldn't remember being married to him.
    “When will you go back to work?” We were playing a game of chess in the corner of the large open plan lounge, Jonathan's vampire mates were here and there throughout the lounge and maybe back in their own quarters, as only two were present with us now. Jonathan was sipping a wine, I had a glass of water. Wine only seemed to make me more light headed than usual.
    “I've taken extended leave for a while. I am hoping having my company will help you regain your memory. You enjoy my company, don't you?” He flashed his devilishly handsome smile at me, it really was quite remarkable. Initially I had tried to ignore it, now it was something I wanted to see.
    I smiled back and received a mock sigh in return. “You stun me