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My mouth goes dry at the thought. The idea of him going to such lengths to attract my attention… I don’t know how I feel about it.
Not that it matters. It’s probably a good thing he followed me, that we’re alone in this dimly lit hallway. This is the best place to end things, once and for all.
When he takes a step closer, I lift a hand to ward him off. “Stay away from me.”
He tilts his head. “Is this about Willow? Because I told you, that wasn’t on purpose.” He gives me a grim smile. “If you hadn’t been so damned distracting, I might have remembered to cancel with her.”
“It’s got nothing to do with her. You’re no good for me, Owen. I don’t like who I am when I’m with you. I didn’t come here for… that. I came here to—”
“So why did you put on the collar?” He ignores my warning and comes closer anyway, until he’s in reach to toy with a lock of my hair that’s fallen over my shoulder. “Why did you put on the dress? Why are youhere,Evie?”
I raise my chin, glaring at him with as much defiance as I can muster. “You don’t own me, Owen. I can go where I please in this town without asking your permission.” I pluck at the low neckline of the dress, drawing Owen’s gaze for a millisecond before he looks back up at me. “And unless I’m sorely mistaken, this dress was a gift. I could have thrown it away, but I decided to wear it, because I look fuckinggoodin it.”
His eyes hood as he swipes the tip of his tongue over his lips. “Can’t argue with that,” he says, a touch hoarsely. He brushes his knuckles down the ridge of my throat. “But the collar? You know that wasn’t a gift. That… that was an invitation, Evie.”
I step away from the door, bringing our bodies into close contact as I tip my head back to stare up at him. “I’ll admit you had me fooled. For a moment there, I saw a considerate, generous man who was done playing with me like a toy.”
There’s the tiniest flinch on his face at my words, but I push on before I lose my nerve.
“But peopledon’tchange, Owen. You, especially.” I slowly reach down and grab the edge of the collar, drawing it out of his hands. Then I hold it up to one side like a dead rat. “You’ll never stop thinking of me as your plaything. You made that crystal clear when you put this in the box with the dress. I never had achoice.It was never one or the other. Being with you has consequences. And I won’t accept that.”
I push the collar into his chest, turning to walk away, but he catches hold of my wrist and digs his fingers into my flesh so cruelly that I gasp.
“You’re a fucking hypocrite, Evie.” The threatening rumble of his voice sends a spike of panic through me. I turn to look at him, and wish I hadn’t. There’s a darkness in his eyes I’ve never seen before, and it’s clawing its way toward me. Darkness bleeds into his eyes. “You just said people don’t change. Which means you’re exactly the same girl you were a year ago.”
My lungs slam shut. What little air was trapped inside starts burning. “What the hell are you talking about?” It’s barely a whisper.
“From the night I found you under that bed, Evie, I felt an intense connection with you.” He uses the grip on my wrist to draw me closer, and then pushes into me, forcing my back against the door. “I thought nothing of it at first. That I was thinking with my dick. It made sense.” He strokes a knuckle down my jaw, then over my lips, following when I move away. “You’re so goddamned beautiful. But that wasn’t it. See… Idoknow you, Evie. I’ve seen you before.”
All through his speech, my heart’s been beating faster and faster.
“Not in person, of course. You were hundreds of miles away.”
Tears fill my eyes in a rush. “No,” I whisper furiously. I shake my head, two wet tracks dripping down my cheeks. “No!”
“So, I’ll ask again.” He takes the collar from my clenched hand where I still have it pressed to his chest, and he slowly brings it up to circle my neck. “Why did you put on the collar tonight?”
I choke out a sob, mortification rolling through me in a hot wave. I grab his wrists to stop him, but there’s no power left in my hands. There are too many tears spilling over my lashes. They should be sizzling over my cheeks, but instead they leave cool trails in their wake.
“I’ll tell you why.” Owen clasps the collar around my neck and then grabs a fistful of my hair, tipping back my head. “It’s because youlikethis, Evie.” He drops his head, his mouth an inch from mine. “Youlikebeing forced to obey.”
“No!” I grab the collar, tugging. Owen laughs and bats away my hands. Then he reaches down and yanks up the front of my dress. When I struggle, he tightens his fist in my hair until I yelp with pain.
“That’s strange,” he murmurs into my ear as he shoves his hand between my legs and starts roughly massaging my pussy. “Because on the video, you were as wet for him as you were for me.”
