Asa wakes at 4:30 am and already wants more drugs. He watches Sloan sleep on her back. His father slept on his back and said it kept him ready for anything. Sloan used to sleep on her stomach, which makes Asa wonder if she’s afraid of him. Also, Sloan used to sleep naked, but she wears a shirt now. He remembers the first time he saw her. She was instantly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and he loved her innocence. This fixation quickly turned into an obsession with corrupting her.

His father always told him that men who used women for anything but pleasure were stupid. Asa wondered if his father would have said the same thing about Sloan when he decided to pursue her. He remembers his calculated approach. He had been a gentleman at first because his experience has shown that women rarely think well-mannered men are as likely to be dangerous.

He’d been lovesick and lonely when she left him for two months. Now he thinks he could marry her to trap her for good, but if she also got pregnant, it would really limit her options. Even though Sloan always insists that he wears a condom, he is willing to tamper with one.