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He’s baiting me, and as badly as I want to turn in on myself and refuse to play his game, there is nothing like not knowing what your opponent’s next move is. It’s clear to me that this is a game to him, and I’m the unwilling pawn.
“Tell me.”
Smiling, he seems pleased that I’ve taken his bait. “As you read in the contract, you are mine now. You belong to me, and I can do with you as I please.”
“That contract doesn’t mean anything. You can’t buy a person, and you forced me to sign it. It can’t possibly be legal if I didn’t willingly sign it.”
“I know your dad kept you in the dark, and I know you’re naive, but you are not stupid. You know what kind of family you come from, and you know that we don’t play by society’s rules. You are part of my world, and in our world, that contract is binding till death.” His words are like a knife cutting any ounce of hope that I had.
I don’t know why I even dare ask my next question, but if I don’t, I won’t know how to prepare for my next fight.
“What do you want from me then?”
“Everything. Starting with you sleeping in my bed every night. You will live here with me, and there will be no privacy. For now, you will stay in this room. If you want freedom, you have to earn it, and you can do that by following the rules and obeying me. If I tell you to do something, you do it. There will be no fighting.”
“Of course,” I scoff. “You kidnap me and expect me not to fight when you try and hurt me? You’re right… I’m not stupid.”
“I didn’t kidnap you, and I haven’t hurt you…” The words trail off, and his gaze narrows on me. My throat bobs as I swallow around the lump of fear there. I’m terrified and trying my best not to show it. Julian is the type of man that will take a mile if you give him an inch.
“Yet,” I add.
“Correct, yet. You can keep yourself safe and earn freedoms so long as you obey me.”
It’s like being at home all over again. Trapped. No freedom. No joy. My stomach twists into a knot, and I think I might puke.
“A month from now, you will become my wife, and then you will be completely mine. In the time leading up to that, I want your complete submission. You will listen to me and trust me without question.”
Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away, fisting the sheets a little tighter. Tears are a weakness, and I don’t want him to see how weak I am, how weak I feel. My chest tightens, and anger rips through me.
Why would my father give me to this man? Why would he let him take me without right or reason? This isn’t how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to be given to a man that would keep me safe, that wouldn’t hurt me. I didn’t expect love or even to be equal to my future husband, but I didn’t expect to become a rug beneath his feet either.
“Let’s see how well you listen.” He claps his hands together and walks over to the bed. “I want you to get up and take a shower.”
My mind is racing. There has to be a way out of this, but I have nothing to barter, nothing but my body which he already owns.
“Please,” I whisper softly, willing him to see me as a human and not an object. “There has to be something else you want. Someone else you want?”
Cocking his head to the side, he stares at me wearily before his entire face goes blank. A moment later, a mischievous grin appears on his lips, and I know I’ve made no headway.
“I have everything I could ever want. Money, power, status, and now I have you too. I don’t want anyone else. There is nothing more in this world that I could want or need.” Darkness clings to each word, and I feel my escape slowly slipping away. Spiraling out of control, I need to gain some type of ground. I can’t let him win. I can’t.
Scurrying off the bed, I make it all of three feet before he’s on me. Like a cat, he pounces, his fingers finding, and wrapping around my throat as he shoves me back against the mattress. I land in a heap, the air ripping from my lungs on impact.
All over again, I’m trapped between him and the mattress, this time though, his hand is wrapped around my throat, his grip firm but not bruising, his eyes dark and stormy. He’s calculating and fierce.
He holds all the power, and I’m nothing more than a pawn in his sick, twisted game. He has no reason to want me. A man of his stature could have any woman he wants.
