"This is my house!"

"Sure. Sure. So how long will you be in there naked?"

Argh! Annoying bastard.

I moved forward and went straight to his closet. From the clothes Luke had picked for him, I grabbed a blue T-shirt and quickly threw it on.
Its hem fell effortlessly around my lower thighs, laying bare the visible height difference between him and me.

He was tall sure, but Jack was at least two or three inches taller than him.

"Annie? I'm still waiting for you out here."

"Go clean the doors or something!" I yelled as I sat on his bed. "Don't make me use the fucking collar!"

Silence.

Was he gone?
Maybe.
It had grown oddly quiet on the other side of the door.
If he was, then I could comfortably leave his room. But, what if he wasn't gone?

"Zack? Zack?"
Silence.

I stood on my bare sensitive feet and walked up to the door. Hesitation nibbled in the flesh cages of my heart, cautioning me on the action I was about to take.
Casting it aside, I unlocked the door and then delicately gripped the doorknob.

Twisting it was supposed to be the easier part, but how did I make the door blast in?
Oh, I didn't!
It was the man who was now infiltrating the room and sweeping me off the floor with one arm around my waist.
He didn't waste any time or wait for any resistance, he simply swung me through the air before tossing me on the bed.

The feeling of being dumped on a bed was too familiar, but it felt thrilling for some unholy reason.

"Jack!" I cried raising my hands at him protectively.

Shoot!
What had I just called him?

"I wasn't done with you!" He declared jumping on the bed, making me crawl backward like a worm afraid of being squashed.

I had forgotten about the ring of power on my finger and given in to the instinct of curling away from danger.
Or maybe it was the devil side of me that wanted to see how far things could go.
Using Zack for my entertainment wasn't something I had planned. But it wasn't such a bad idea.
Especially when he made me feel like I was playing around with the previous version of Jack.

"I'll kick you where it hurts, I swear!"

"Hahaha! I would so love to feel your foot crushing against the hardness of my balls. Do you think that would make me cum faster or delay it?" He asked, a naughty grin spread evenly on his lips while he continued approaching me on all fours.

"You're a pervert."

"A handsome and gentle pervert who only wants to be your pervert."
Gawd!
When he said such vulgar things, the urge to smack him across the face could only grow twice adeeper.

"Get away from m-" I ordered shoving my right foot at his face but he caught my ankle and pulled me downward in an instant.

He was strong. Damn strong.
But I refused to give up without a fight even though every cell in my blood wanted to be drawn closer to Zack.
What was this?

"You know what, I remembered something back there, want to hear it?"

"No!" I declined fiercely while resisting his invasion between my thighs.

"I bet you'll like this memory. maybe it's one of the reasons you hate me."

Memory. Reasons.
I ceased struggling and gazed straight into his green eyes. A serious veil quickly dawned on my face, making my body go still as the deep waters.
"What, what is it?"

For the first time since I captured him, I saw a firmness in those eyeballs that felt so real.
He stopped trying to tease me and just opted to lay next to me, his head supported by the flatness of his palm and the strength of his elbow.

"I saw a woman. She looked just like...you."

I inhaled rather stiffly, my hands instantly gripping handfuls of the velvet duvet we were lying on.
"A-anything e-else?"

Zack nodded.
"She, she died...in my arms."

I frowned.
A woman who looked like me!
Mom?
But Mom never died with Zack around.
Could it be that my aunt had died and I hadn't been informed?
Curse that woman. I'd never forget what she had me go through, only for Jack to save me in the final moment.

I exhaled relieved, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them.
"That, well, that doesn't sound like a memory related to me."

Zack frowned. "But...she held my hand and said something. I feel it was very important but I can't recall the-"

"Maybe you should lie down and rest. Since violence can't help you remember, maybe going easy on your ass will work! But don't think I'm doing this from the kindness of my heart. If it were up to me, I'd have left you rotting in the cells."

"Wow! That was damn...harsh."

I flashed a pretense grin before pushing him to fall on his back.
It was my chance to slip away.

It would have been the perfect opportunity, but Zack just couldn't leave me alone.
He had to wind his arm on my waist and hurl me backward.
My back slammed on his chest, and my ass landed on his groin.

**********************
3RD POV
**********************

An iPad stood still in the cages of his hands as he flipped through the videos he was watching.
No, not watching.
Luke was examining his subjects.
To be precise, observing Annie and 'Zack' and their interactions.

He had been watching them for a week now, from the first time she had used the collar on him, to the current occurrence. Which was...their inevitable pull towards each other. He had seen them fight, flirt, and even, play around.
He could see them on the bed through the hidden cameras he had his men install without the knowledge of even Matt.

But he had been considerate enough to make Annie aware that there were at least two extra cameras in the apartment but none in her room. She hadn't asked him to take them down, which was in her best interest. But he had told her that they would only be checked in case her data was off its usual trail.

It was a lie.

While Luke did care about Annie as his patient, he had started his little observation of the man they were calling Zack just like he was observing 'Jack'.

Their present selves didn't match the data of their past selves. Something that had led Luke to some wild conclusions that even he couldn't believe.
But he could confirm that something was going on between Annie and the person known as Zack. Something that both of them weren't aware of...chemical attraction.

The results of having them stay together despite being 'enemies' had proven one theory to be partially true - Zack wasn't the Zack Annie had been hating all these months.

Luke grinned staring at the live footage of the two on his bed.
J/Zack had his arms wrapped around a protesting Annie, his chin on her shoulder, holding her close to him protectively.
There was no denying that their chemical attraction had gone beyond the outer body. Their brain waves could indeed seek comfort from each other.

Luke's grin widened, growing into a vicious smirk that wasn't fully evil. He couldn't help but feel fascinated by the fact that two different minds could be switched and still function.
How did it work?
What were the consequences?
Was the procedure difficult?

All these questions made his brain feel like it was about to explode.
Yes, he was loving the feeling of being clueless about such a marvelous discovery.

Humankind hadn't reached such advanced medical technology. And yet the evidence was right in front of him. Evidence that human brains could indeed be surgically switched and adapt to a new body.

"This is beautiful," he drooled caressing the screen, his eyes glistening with tears of scientific affection. "I want to cut you open myself and study just how complicated your brain is right now. But, my dear sweet Annie will have my head if I touch you, the father of her child...Jack!"

"But wait..." He threw the iPad on the couch watching his genius madness next to his chair. He didn't even mind how dim the bedroom he occupied was. All he could think of was the marvelous discovery he had unraveled.
Damn!

He hadn't even made an effort to inform Annie that her real Jack was the man holding her at that very moment.

He wanted to observe them from a distance and collect the data of how powerful chemical attraction is even with two people not knowing or having forgotten each other.

He started laughing in the darkness, throwing his head back and losing himself in his cackle.

"More! I want to see more of you two my dear friend. You've offered me such rare and gorgeous knowledge. I'll make sure I treasure it and treasure you as well, along with those whom you love!" Luke yelled in his maniacal laughter.