Page 105 of Cruel Dominion

“I didn’t think I’d ever see this one again.”

“I kept the negative.”

I couldn’t hide my elation at the admission. This was my favorite shot. The best picture I’d ever taken up until that point. And I loved it so much that I wanted him to have it. I mourned the loss of it as soon as I was finished mourning Carter himself.

“Really?”

He nodded. “I keep it in the safe. It’s yours if you want it back.”

I did, I realized, but I wouldn’t take it. It felt wrong somehow to even ask. It was a gift. It belonged to him.

Carter stroked my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“No. Just… it doesn’t make sense. Why keep it? Why have it developed and blown up and put it somewhere you can see it every day after…”

After you shattered my heart.

I still didn’t get it. How could Carter have let me go if he still cared about me? If he was this obsessive, and apparently had a crazy PI who could find anyone, how come he never found me? How much of what he said was even real?

Carter’s brow furrowed. He took my face in his hands, gazing down at me.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he demanded. “I need to know.”

I swallowed. “I just…did you really love me then, Carter? Or was I just some trophy, to prove that you could have anything that the rich assholes in this town did?”

“I loved you,” he said fiercely, never breaking eye contact. “I never stopped.”

I didn’t see any hint of a lie in his eyes and there it was, dangling there for me. The worm wriggling on the end of a hook that would spear me if I wasn’t careful.

I wanted so badly to believe him.

“I haven’t let a woman in here since I moved in. I haven’t had a girlfriend. Never dated. Never even wanted to. I was waiting for you, Anna. And then you come back and you could barely stand to be in the same room as me. I know I fucked up but I can’t fucking fake this.”

His arm tightened around me, the swell of his cock even harder. My mouth was too dry to speak. My lips parted but the snappy comeback didn’t come.

I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him. His body surged into life, hooking a hand under my backside and sweeping me up into his body. He placed me on the couch, covering my body with his. His lips were hungry. He claimed my mouth, my tongue, my breath.

“Wait,” he said, pulling away. “There’s one more thing you need to see.”

The last room on his tour of rooms masquerading as hammers meant to break down my walls was downstairs, tucked away behind the kitchen.

I wouldn’t have even noticed the door if Carter hadn’t brought me to it. He flicked on one of two light switches, bathing the room in a red glow, and I gasped.

It was a darkroom, fully stocked with sinks, enlargers, neatly labeled chemicals. Everything I would need to develop film. I knew, without him telling me, that the room had been built for me alone.

“How long has this been here?” I asked.

“Since I moved in. I had the architect put it into the designs.”

“How did you know I’d ever come back to use it? What if I’d given up photography, found something else to do?”

Carter shook his head. “I knew you’d never give it up. You loved photography too much. And if you never came back…” He took a long breath. “Actually, I never really counted that as an option.”

My heart pounded in my chest.

“I’m not going to change, Anna. I’m possessive, controlling, fucked up. But I’m also devoted to making you happy.” His eyes searched mine. “You just need to decide if that’s enough for you.”

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