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He stared at me with narrowed eyes, uncooperative.
“Pay up.” I beckoned him with my fingers.
“Two.”
“Two?” I asked incredulously. “I said five.”
“That was worth two and we both know it.” He drank his coffee with his elbows resting on the table. His stern expression told me this was non-negotiable.
I guess I should have settled the payment before we fucked—like a whore. “The night before was worth one. So how was last night worth two?”
“It was Vanilla. If anything, it should only be worth one.”
Maybe restraints were used but it was still long and aggressive. I felt like that night was worth a lot more than he gave me credit before. He didn’t realize that those buttons represented a lot more than mere payment. It represented the layers protecting my heart from his coldness.
“Two.”
“Five.”
He shook his head slightly. “Button.”
I couldn’t believe I was about to cave. But I recognized a dead-end when I saw one. “Fine.”
He pulled two buttons out of pocket and passed them to me across the table.
They were shiny and metallic. One had an image of a bow while the other was plain silver. I’d collected hundreds of buttons since I’d been captured by him but I had nothing to shower for it. They would be added to my hidden collection. “I have to go to work.”
Crow didn’t argue but he wasn’t happy about it. “I’ll see you when you’re off.”
“I’m not coming here, Crow.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, warning me not to defy him.
“I have plans. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I had to keep space between us. If I spent too much time with him it would just make everything harder. I had to pace myself—take it slow.
“What plans?”
“I’m getting drinks with my coworkers.”
“Do you normally do that?”
“About once a month.”
His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “I’ll join you.”
“No,” I snapped. “You aren’t a coworker.”
“I own you.”
Those words hit me like a palm against my face. I rose to my feet and gripped the edge of the table. “You don’t own me, Crow. I’m not your slave anymore so I can do whatever the hell I want.” I stormed off, leaving the buttons on the table behind me. After a great night I was already pissed off at him. One minute he pushed me away because I confessed how I truly felt, and then the next minute he possessed me like he couldn’t live without me. It made no sense and I was fed up with it. He couldn’t have it both ways.
I put on the clothes I was wearing the night before and stormed out of the apartment.
Just when I got to the front door he stopped me. “Button.” He pressed his hand to the door so I couldn’t open it. His heavy mass blocked the way so I was trapped.
“I’m going to be late.” I still had plenty of time but I was desperate to get away from this psychopath.
His arm circled my waist and he guided me against the door. My back was pressed to the wood and I was cornered like an animal. The predator had caught the prey and there was nothing I could do except wait for the end. He dug one hand into my hair and forced my chin up so I looked directly into his face. “Be mine again.” His thumb moved across my cheek until it rested in the corner of my mouth. “Let me own you. Let me possess you. Let me have you.” His lips hovered near mine, tempting me with a kiss.
“No.” Every moment I was in his presence tore me down. A part of me wanted to go back to what we were. My life was much simpler. I belonged somewhere. I had a home. I had a man that was brutally scarred just like myself, and those cuts bound us together like family. Staying in that estate in the middle of Tuscany was the best therapy I could ever get. Even if I’d never been sold into slavery I wasn’t happy in America. I hadn’t been happy with Jacob or anything else in my life. Crow gave me something I’d been searching for for my entire life. But then he took it away. “You had me and you didn’t want me, Crow. You can’t just change your mind about that.”
“I never not wanted you.” He pressed his body further into mine. “You know that.”
“Two months of silence says otherwise.” When I was alone for the past two months it was easy to lie to myself and pretend I wasn’t hurt. But as the words left my lips the betrayal felt like a fresh wound he just gave me. He broke my heart worse than I anticipated. He shattered me into indefinite pieces—and this time he couldn’t put them back together. “I’m only doing this to settle the score. I’m only doing this so you’ll disappear. So don’t pretend we’re back in Italy and everything is what it used to be. We can never go back to that. So don’t you dare call me a slave ever again. Don’t you dare say you own me. Because you don’t deserve to own me.”
