Page 42 of Obsession

Aris looks at me with mock innocence, a smile growing.

“Why are you here?” I ask angrily. I can’t believe him—he’s ignored me for two days and showed up in the middle of the night to toss me around.

“You won’t eat.”

“I am eating. And you could have just asked me to eat some more. You didn’t have to—”

He leans down until his chest rests against my own. I can feel his cold despite the layers of fabric between us. “I didn’t have to… what?”

I glance away, cheeks flushing. I won’t lie—proximity to him is starting to affect me. I want him close. Closer. Pinning me for longer. But maybe on the bed…?

“Why did you leave me here?” I say tightly.

“‘Leave you.’ Hm…” He leans down even further, propping himself on his forearms as his hard edges press into me. “Well, maybe I was a little…” His lips brush my ears, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from arching into him. “Angry.”

“Angry,” I murmur breathlessly, mindlessly, caught up in the feel of him against me.

There is a taut, tense moment where I feel completely out of control—and not in the normal way where decisions are being made for me. No, I feel like I can’t control myself. I don’t know what I’m going to do next.

“Eat.”

A hand splashed through a water’s reflection, the moment is ruined.

I glare, and he just raises an unimpressed brow, waiting for me to give in. He can go all night, all month, all year. He’ll keep me pinned beneath him forever.

Finally, I scoff and shift to bear my neck to him. He proved his point. I am fragile, and he is stronger than me. He can make me do what he wants. I might as well go along with it.

He pulls back, wordlessly accepting my defeat, and gets to his feet. Aris extends a chivalrous hand to help me up, which I pointedly ignore. He laughs as I walk past him to the table, staring at the platter of assembled food.

It’s like a Thanksgiving feast with boiled potatoes, blackened corn, turkey legs, and a pitcher of water. There’s a pre-prepared plate, but there is a serving platter on the side, in case I’m still hungry—which I will not be.

I’m not a necessarily heavy sleeper and am somewhat surprised that he managed to set this all up without waking me. Then again, he probably just brought it with a snap of his fingers. No assembly required. No effort on his part.

I take a dejected seat and pick up my fork, moving things around on the plate. “So?” I say. Now what? I can’t tell if he’s punishing me or if he’s just being himself right now.

He sits across from me, clearly pleased with himself. “Drink your water, too.”

A glass has been poured for me already, and I take a quick sip. I go to set the drink down, only to startle when he appears next to me.

“All of it,” he orders and tips the bottom of the glass so I have no choice but to swallow.

I gulp the water down, shooting him another glare when he sets it back on the table and refills it. He keeps his place beside me on the couch and does not return to his original seat.

“Is this really the best use of your time?” I remark.

“I have nothing but time.”

Not true. Though, he doesn’t know that.

He might have discovered who I’m working with, but he said that he didn’t want to kill me. So long as I live, the plan lives with me. Holding tightly to the memory of his blank face, I tell myself that it could even work.

I move more food around the plate, then skewer a group of vegetables and plop them in my mouth. “You’ve been gone the past few days,” I say after swallowing.

“I told you. I was angry.”

“And you aren’t now?”

“Your actions were not entirely unexpected,” he admits after a moment, “and I’m confident that I can handle any plot Jaegen has devised.”

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