Page 149 of Promises in the Dark

Then I clenched them into fists, fighting the urge to reach out, to grab her, to kiss her like I fucking needed to.

“Then why don’t you?” she demanded, her voice rising, pushing me like she always did. “If that’s what you want, why don’t you?”

I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth. “Because Ican’tafford to. Because I’m supposed to be in control, and you make me lose it.”

For a moment, the room was suffocatingly silent, the only sound the faint creaking of the old wooden floor beneath our feet. Then, to my surprise, Red took a step back, her eyes searching mine, like she was trying to find something to latch onto, something to argue against. But she didn’t. For once, she didn’t argue. She just stood there, no fight left in her.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, her hands dropping to her sides.

I blinked, not sure if I heard her right. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her voice steadier this time. “For making things harder. For… for distracting you.”

I didn’t know what to say. Red never apologized. She was stubborn, fiery, always ready for a fight.

“From now on, I’m under your command,” she added softly, her words surprising me. “No arguments, no more pushing back. I’ll follow your lead.”

I stared at her, my brain barely keeping up with the words coming out of her mouth. And maybe it was the exhaustion, or the tension that had been building between us for days, but hearing those words—hearing her submit like that—stirred something inside me. Something dark. Something dangerous.

Something I’d been trying to keep buried.

She turned to leave, but before she could step through the door, I grabbed her arm, pulling her back toward me. I stubbed out the cigarette, my hand tightening around her wrist just enough to feel her pulse jump under my fingers.

She looked up at me, her eyes wide with surprise, and for a moment, we just stood there, the tension between us crackling like static electricity.

“I can’t do this,” I hissed, my hands shaking at my sides. “But I also can’t fucking stop.”

Before I knew it, I had her chin in my hand, forcing her to look up at me. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away.

“Stop me now,” I muttered, my thumb brushing against her jawline. “For both our sakes.”

Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything. And that was all it took. My restraint snapped. I leaned down and kissed her, hard and fast, like I was trying to erase everything that had just been said. She kissed me back just as fiercely, her hands clawing at my shirt, dragging me closer, like she had something to prove too.

My hands roamed over her curves as I deepened the kiss, my tongue slipping past her parted lips to tangle with hers. She moaned softly into my mouth, her fingers tangling in my short dark hair.

I shoved her backward until her ass hit the desk. I pushed her back onto it, kissing her again, my hands trailing down her sides. She arched into my touch, her breath coming faster, her body telling me she wanted this just as bad.

I broke away from the heated kiss to trail my lips along her jawline, nipping lightly. Her head fell back, exposing the slender column of her throat.

As I trailed kisses down her neck, my hands slipped beneath her top, finding her breasts. My thumbs brushed over her nipples through the thin fabric of her bra, causing them to harden instantly.

My hands slid further up under her top until they were cupping those perfect breasts of hers. I gently pinched her nipples, feeling them stiffen even more beneath my fingertips.

Looking up at her flushed face, I saw pure desire etched into every feature. The way she looked at me, like she wanted nothing more than what I was offering in that moment, turned me on more than anything else could.

“Fuck,”I hissed under my breath, feeling the hard length of my cock pressing against my pants.

This wasn’t professional. This wasn’t right. But goddamn, I couldn’t seem to care.

“Rogue, we should st—”

She tried to pull back, a slight protest on her lips, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

I cupped her face in my hands, my fingers digging in just a little too hard, but I didn’t care. I needed her to know this wasn’t just some fleeting whim.

“Don’t talk back,” I said, my fingers threading through her hair. “You’remine.”

She looked up at me, her eyes darkening with lust. “What if I don’t want to be yours?”

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