Panic rose in my stomach, my dinner churning insideme as I fought to keep it down, but my sudden anxiety was nothelping. I couldn’t stop my thoughts from racing a mile a minute asI realized I nearly enjoyed that good night kiss. And it made mefucking sick.
I jetted for the bathroom, feeling my dinner risingup, and I managed to make it to the toilet just in time. I hurledup everything I ate, completely emptying the contents of my stomachinto the bowl. When it was over, my body shivered as I flushed awaymy dinner and took deep breaths in an attempt to relax myself. Ihonestly felt better now that my stomach had room for the knotsagain.
When I was finally calm, I washed away the evidenceof the arousal I didn’t want to admit was there between my legs. Ithen washed my face, brushed my teeth, and rummaged through thedrawers for something to sleep in. I found some silky littlenighties and slipped a bright purple one over my head; I wasn’teven surprised when it fit perfectly against my body.
Plopping myself on top of the bed, I thought I hadfallen on top of a cloud. It was soft and lush as my body meltedinto the embrace of the bed. A huge upgrade compared to the paddingI had been sleeping on in my dog cage. Wrapping myself in theluxury of the comforter, I curled into a ball and relaxed against the fluffiest pillow I had everlaid my head on.
I laid there for a while, just basking in the warmthand reflecting on my status in life. Even though I now had Darren,I was more alone than ever. No one was on my side now, no one wasfighting for me but myself. And then I thought of Kayla. I wonderedwho had bought her and if she was all right. Her company had helpedkeep me sane during our days as slaves back at that warehouse, andnow, I had no one but the monster who lurked within thesewalls.
It was going to be the toughest test of my life,putting up with Darren’s bullshit and making him feel like he wasmy king or some shit. Maybe I would just skip to the chase and killhim the first chance I got. But then what about the guards? Theywould probably just kill me. Unless I got Darren alone … maybe offin the woods where I could easily stab him with something. Then I’dtake his phone and deactivate my collar and GPS, but he’d no doubthave a password. I’d have to get him to activate it somehow andthen strike.
This plot would take time, not as much time as myoriginal plan, but I’d still have to get him to trust me just alittle. Maybe in a month’s time, Icould accomplish my goal. I’d have to train, though, and ready mybody for battle. Darren was big, and he had skill I was sure I had barely tapped. Maybe I could set up a trap in the woods.So many ideas swam in my head, but I needed more information beforeI could set anything in stone. I could probably get what I neededonce Darren gave me a tour of the estate. Then I’d go fromthere.
Satisfied with my new plan, I burrowed further intothe pillows and blankets and drifted off into the sleep Idesperately needed, dreaming of blood and black eyes.
~*~
Holy fuck.
I had never been so close to breaking my word in allmy life. That was not the kiss I was expecting. Not even close. Ifigured she’d give me a quick peck, and I’d have to catch her chinto keep her there while I took what I really wanted, but she justcharged in. And fuck if it didn’t drive me to want to fuck herright then and there against the wall.
Her bravery was so sexy, but I met her exhilaratingaggression head-on with my own, and I felt it growing,overshadowing my self-control. The terror in her eyes only made mydick that much harder, and I had to let her go before I reneged onmy own deal and fucked her into oblivion.
Pushing off the wall, I walked away from her doorquickly before I turned around and changed my mind.
Fuck. I had never felt more elated in all my life. Ifinally had her, in my home and under my control. For the rest ofher life. She was so perfect, so alive, and so tempting. I knewthings weren’t always going to go that smoothly, as she would needtime to adjust, but I had all thetime in the world to bring her to her knees. And I would enjoyevery minute of it.
I headed down to my office with the intent offinishing up some work to get my mind off her, but instead pulledup the security feed to Jaden’s bedroom on my desktop. I watchedher curl into herself under the silk sheets. She was awake, though; I could see the wearinessthreatening to pull her under, but she was fighting it, lost inthought of her new situation as well as likely plotting herescape.
The thought had me laughing on the inside. Even ifshe somehow managed to escape the property, if my men didn’t findher within the first twenty minutes, the local police department Ihad in my pocket certainly would. She’d probably try to go to themfor help, but they would just hold her there until I came to gether. What would come next would be a night that my little warriorprincess would never forget. I would rip the thought of any furtherattempts of escape out of her head and replace it with pain untilshe no longer knew what the word “escape” even meant. She was mine,and I was never letting her go no matter how much she tried tofight me.
Eventually, Jaden would grow tired of the fight. Shewould grow tired of losing, but I wasn’t about to let her dwellon it. I knew how to engage thefire in her, but I also knew how to keep it at a
