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A man like Adrik needs to be watched at all times.
“Why would you close this place up? It’s a great gym.”
“I’m not just closing it up. I’m having it destroyed.”
I spin around. “What? Like… demolished?”
“That is what ‘destroyed’ means, yes.”
“But this equipment looks brand new. This stuff has hardly been used. Why would you buy new equipment and then never use it?”
He glances around the room, and for the first time, I notice his haunted expression. “I never used this room. It was my brother’s.”
“Yasha?”
Adrik nods. “He used to come here. And now, he doesn’t.”
“Why not?”
He sighs and glances away from me, toward the cluster of shadows at the back of the space. I follow his gaze but see nothing there.
“Go back to your room,” he says finally.
“Is that where I’m expected to stay?” I ask. “If you care about appearances so much, it seems like you should worry about what people will think about your wife being confined to her room.”
He shakes his head. “They’ll all just assume I fucked you stupid until you couldn’t walk.”
A blush flames across my cheeks. I hate myself for looking away, but I can’t maintain eye contact with him. If he looks at me hard enough, he’ll be able to see my dirty dreams written all over my face.
Come to think of it, maybe he already has.
"Oh, come now," he purrs viciously. "Don't tell me you're already thinking of begging, Emery. I assumed you'd hold out longer than this."
I stiffen. How the hell can he read me so easily?
I narrow my eyes. "In your dreams."
In my dreams, more like it. But what Adrik doesn't know won't kill me.
He just shrugs. "No matter. We're busy tonight, anyway."
"Busy with what?" I ask. "Is this about Isabella's dog?"
"Bold of you to bring that up now that we're alone." He stalks towards me. "You think Isabella will keep you safe, don't you? A little shield you can hold up in front of you and get away with whatever you want?"
"You’re the one who agreed to buy her anything she wanted.”
"I’ll ask you again: am I supposed to make her suffer? She knows that I am a miracle in her life. You’re the one choosing to make this a torture, Emery. It could all be so much easier.”
“But only if I obey every order you give and keep my mouth shut, right?” I shake my head. "That ship has sailed. I’m not that kind of girl.”
He takes another step towards me and I realize again just how close he is. Way, way too close.
"Have it your way. I’ll take what I want from you by force.”
"But you said you wouldn't… you said I'd have to ask—"
He smiles. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Emery. Not everything is about sex. But,” he adds, “if you'd like me to spread you out on one of these mats, just say the word."
I take a shaky step back and hit something. I yelp in surprise before I realize it's just the punching bag.
Adrik smirks and matches my step, maintaining that slim sliver of distance.
"Or maybe I'll fuck you right in front of the mirrors," he ponders. "That way you can see everything I'm doing to you. Everything you begged me to do to you.”
"Fuck you."
“Say ‘please’ and I might.”
My unmet need from last night pulses between my legs like a second heartbeat. I squeeze my thighs together. "Just leave me alone. I'll be your fake wife, like we agreed, and you just… just stay on your side of the house."
Adrik closes the last of the distance between us in one long step. He grabs the punching bag and pulls it forward, pinning me between him and it. His length is hard on my thigh. Unignorable.
"My side of the house?" He barks out a laugh. "Every side is mine. This entire house is mine. You are mine. You're in my world, Emery. The sooner you understand that, the smoother things will go. I make the rules here."
"I'm still a free human," I protest weakly. "I have a choice."
He nods. "You do. Like tonight, my father is joining us for dinner to meet you. I expect you to choose to be on your best behavior."
"Like a fucking dog? Yeah, right."
He tilts his head to the side and surveys me. “You have the choice: to obey me… or suffer."
For all my bravado, my heart pounds against my chest, rattling my rib cage. Adrik's lips part on an exhale. And for one delusional second, I think he is going to lean down and kiss me.
Worse yet…
I think I want him to.
Then he lets go of the punching bag.
The loss of pressure on my back sends me stumbling backwards, struggling to stay on my feet. When I look back up, Adrik is walking away from me.
Before he walks through the door, he looks over his shoulder and says, "The choice is yours. Pick wisely."
