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“That is very generous of you,” I said, shifting on his lap. He responded with a stiff nod. “And if I chose to stay, what would it mean?”
He blinked, the flash of hope in his eyes quickly hidden. “Then we continue as we have these past three months, just you and me.”
“No other women?”
“I don’t cheat,” Anton said. “Besides, I don’t want anyone else.”
I silenced the happy warmth spreading through me at his words.
“But what about your Braxian friends? What will happen the next time they visit?”
Anton’s face hardened. “Nothing.”
The question angered him but I could feel his anger wasn’t with me. There couldn’t be any misunderstanding as far as that went.
“What do you mean nothing?”
“They will not touch you,” Anton said. “No other man will ever touch you again. And I will never again ask you to do something you don’t want.”
“Braxian protocols—”
“Fuck Braxian protocols,” he interrupted. I repressed a smile. “We’re not on Braxia. This is our home. They followourrules.”
Home… our home. I wanted to kiss him, sing, dance, and shout my joy aloud. The way he looked at me, it was clear he was regaining hope that I would stay. There was no question I wanted to. But we still had a big issue to sort out – the deal-breaker.
“I like you a lot, Anton,” I said. “I mean, I’m falling in love with you.”
My voice caught in my throat as a raw emotion crossed his face. His hands tightened around my waist. It suddenly dawned on me that no one ever spoke these words to him. At least, I had Marcus who loved me, though he wasn’t in love with me.
“For months now, I’ve hoped you would want to keep me because I too want to keep you. But you’ve hurt me, Anton. You’ve hurt me badly. That’s not ok. I don’t want to live in fear of the man I care about.”
His face crumpled in shame. He lowered his gaze.
“Yes, Grace, I have,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do or say to apologize enough for it. It will never happen again.”
“How can I be sure?” I asked, voicing the fear that had plagued me since the last time he punished me.
“I haven’t harmed you in over three months, and I won’t.” Anton cradled my face in his hands again. “Remember what I told you back then? I want many things, Grace, but not your pain. I can’t give you any other proof than the past three months.”
“But nothing happened in the past three months to give you grounds to punish me,” I argued. “That night at the opera, when that Sarenian attacked me, I was more terrified imagining what you would do to me than him trying to rape me. What would have happened had you arrived minutes later, after he’d had his way with me?”
He flinched at my words, visibly hurt.
“Every time we go out, I dread something will trigger your anger. I can’t live like that.”
The pain in his eyes as his hope faded clawed at my heart.
“What are you saying?” Anton whispered.
“That I refuse to be hurt, physically or mentally by my partner, beaten, brutalized, or caged because I did something to offend him. Under the contract, I had no choice but to accept whatever you did. Without it, I can choose. I want to be with you, Anton. You’ve made me happy these past few months. But if you ever hurt me again, whatever the reason, as much as it would break my heart, I will walk away.”
“On my honor, my life, I swear to you, I will never hurt you again. I’ll sign a contract if you wish.”
I finally allowed my happy smile to shine through. “Then I guess you’re stuck with me, Mr. Myers.”
The same raw emotion crossed his face. “So, you choose me, Grace? You want to stay with me?” His voice faltered on the last words.
“Yes, Anton. I choose you.”
