Page 15 of Prized Possession

I reach up and swipe her tear away, brushing my thumb along her cheek in a far to tender way.

“This is different because I’m trying to teach you. I’m trying to show you that you do have all the power, even if you don’t realise it,” I explain, not entirely sure how else to show her.

She lets out a harsh humourless laugh. “If that were the case, I’d be in bliss after an amazing orgasm right now. Instead, I’m frustrated, feeling dirty, and so fucking humiliated.”

“And you don’t think this hurts me?” I snap, as I grab hold of her hand and pull it down between our bodies. I press her small palm against the front of my trousers, forcing her to feel how fucking painfully hard I am right now.

Her eyes widen almost comically, but instead of pulling her hand away like I expect, she shocks me by gripping my length, squeezing in the most fucking ball-tingling way. A low groan rips from my throat and I pull her hand away, watching as her lips tip up into a smirk.

“See…I told you, a good slut has all the power.”

“But I’m not a good slut, otherwise you’d have let me come?” It sounds like a statement, but the way she phrases it at the end is definitely a question.

“Correct.”

“If I promise to be a good slut for you, will you make me come?” she asks, looking up at me with those fucking hypnotic eyes.

No! No, Marcus, remember all the reasons from before. You stopped for a reason.

“We both know you can never bemyslut. You belong to someone else, remember?” I point out, hating the way her eyes darken with anger at the reminder.

“Another fucking choice that was taken away from me, forced on me,” she grinds out, and I get the feeling she’s talking about so much more than just her arranged marriage.

“What other choices have been taken from you?” I ask, hoping I’ve caught her in a moment of weakness and that she’ll answer.

Instead, she pushes at my chest, and this time I let her move me back a step.She takes in a couple of deep breaths, like she’s bordering on panicking, and tears are glistening in her eyes again.

“I’ve never made a single choice my entire fucking life,” she snaps.

“And you’d do things differently, if you were the one in control of making the decisions?” I ask.

She nods, but there’s a sadness to her. “There’s no point even thinking about it.”

“What if I say I can help you?”

Her eyes narrow in suspicion, and even I’m not entirely sure where the hell I’m going with this.

“Help me, how?”

“I’m not sure yet, but if I could give you some time, so you can make different choices in your life, what would you say?”

She lets out another humourless laugh. “I’d say you’re talking out of your arse. We both know my life is set on a path that can’t be altered.”

“I might not be able to alter it, but what if I could delay it? Buy you a little time? A short period where you’re allowed to do whatever you want, be who you want. It’ll only be a taste of freedom, but it’s better than nothing,” I explain.

Though I’ve got no fucking idea how I’ll make it happen, if she agrees to it, I’ll move Heaven and fucking Hell to give her what she wants.

“I’d ask what you want in return?”

Her suspicious gaze locks on mine, and the corner of my lip lifts further, widening my smirk. She knows me too well—of course, there’s something I want from her. Well, actually, there’s a lot I want from her, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“If I do this for you, I want your help getting Jacob back on the straight and narrow. He’s falling off the rails harder than you are, but I need him to get his shit together. If not, your father is going to hand over the reins to that dickhead you’re marrying, and I can’t allow that to happen,” I explain, killing two birds with one stone.

“Jake doesn’t want to rule. Getting him to get his head on straight won’t be easy,” she replies timidly.

“But if we work at it together, we stand a good chance.”

She nods like she agrees, but she doesn’t say anything. The silence sits between us, and I can almost see the gears turning in that pretty little head of hers.

---