AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her button nose scrunches up, and her lips dip into a frown. "I'll walk over there, Uncle..."
"It's Mr. Groveton. I'm not your uncle. Your father is a step-child in the Groveton family, and you are his step-daughter. Address me properly."
As soon as I say it, I know it crushes her. The tiniest sliver of defiance she had slips away and rejection fills her eyes. "Mr. Groveton, I would rather walk then crawl."
She won't meet my eye, and that's a good thing because I'm sure I look like I regret what I said. "I don't recall asking for your opinion. Either get on your knees and do what I said or you can leave, and I’ll strip you of your scholarship."
Her head whips upward, and her mouth is open in a shocked round circle. "You... You wouldn't." Jasmine's knees give out and she slips back into the chair, clutching the arms.
"I would." Crossing my arms over my chest, I await her answer. To see her do as I demand makes me a bastard, but that's not the point of all this.
Jasmine gets on the ground and crawls over to the bookshelf and sits there on her knees. Head down, hands in her lap, goddamn, the perfect submissive pose. I bet she doesn't even have a clue whatsubmissionis.
"Turn your palms over, they should face upward when you are kneeling on the floor."She's not your submissive.My brain tries hard to make me see this shouldn't be happening. I push the thought away.
I want to see skin, and those damn sleeves are covering her arms. "Roll up your sleeves. From now on, you will wear short sleeves when you work in my office."
"Unc...I mean, Mr. Groveton, I'd rather not." She sounds so scared. There's a story there, and I will find out what it is.
Not realizing I moved, I look down at Jasmine and it occurs to me she has me in knots. The need to be close is warring within me. "Palms, upward, now." My voice comes out in a harsh whisper, and she shrinks away from me. Yes, there is definitely a story here.
Her trembling hands move, and I watch her, fascinated by the way she won't flat out tell me no. She's accepting that I'm the one in control, but there's this small part of me that likes it when she questions me. Hell, people don't challenge me, and it irks me. This girl has walked into the lion's den, and she doesn't even know it.
"Good, buttercup. But you haven't finished with what I've instructed. Roll your sleeves up."
Finally, her head pops up and her eyes are assessing me. I have an inkling of a feeling that she wants to tell me no, but also wants to explain herself. Such a clever little girl, but I won't budge.
"Now."
She shakes her head at me.
"It... it's personal, Mr. Groveton." That lower lip of hers trembles, and I want to kiss it. To make her whole body tremble for another reason.
"So, you are refusing to do a task?" I raise an eyebrow at her, wondering why this task is so hard for her.
"I don't want to show you my arms."
Bringing the closest chair toward me, I sit down and take her arms in my hands. "Stay exactly as you were. If you will not do what I want you to do, I'll do it for you."
"No. Please don't." Such a pretty beg from her. The panic in her voice is real, and now I have to know.
"You'll learn to do as I say, when I say, how I say. If you don't, you'll learn I'll get what I want by any means necessary." I snarl at her and shove first her left sleeve up, then her right.
What I see is something I’m not prepared for. "What the fuck?" The words slip out of my lips before I can stop them. Her arms are mangled. What I thought would be perfect skin is marred from elbow to wrist.
"Please, um, please pull the sleeves back down."
Looking at Jasmine, I see the tears and the self-loathing. They aren’t silent tears. She's blubbering and yanking on her arms. My hold is tight and relentless. She won't be getting out of it.
"Not until you tell me why the fuck your arms look like this."
She yanks on her arms so ferociously, she slips out of my grip and falls back against the bookcase hard enough to bring books down on her.
I shove my first instinct to make sure she's alright down. No, she's defying me and needs to be taught a damn lesson. Grabbing her by her upper arm, I bring her over my knees.
"Little girl, you'll learn when I tell you to do something, you do it. You'll learn my word is your law, and you'll accept it." As soon as I bring my hand down, I know it's the wrong move.
Her entire body goes rigid and then limp. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She's in complete panic mode, and I don't understand why.
