Page 4 of Absolution

I belong to him.

She didn’t question the logic of the absurdity as it flitted through her mind, though whatever remained of the woman Alexander had dumped in the forest wanted to balk at it. She was smart and capable, and though she might not have done much in her life to utilize assets unrelated to her beauty and appearance, her aptitude wasn’t lost on her. Why she should revel in her deference and submission to any man, let alone a man like Tucker, still wasn’t clear, but she no longer fought to resist the feelings that rose at his touch. She accepted them. Yearned for them…

“Yes, sir.” She steadied herself against his arm. “I mean, we’re meeting my mum tomorrow, and I have no idea what to tell her…” The thought of seeing Susie again filled Ella with joy, but she anticipated her mother’s understandable concerns and wanted to be able to reassure Susie about what happened next.

Except she didn’t know herself.

“What would you like to happen, little girl?” He eased himself back against his pillow, encouraging her to follow him.

“Me?”

This version of Tucker was so different from the man she’d come to know and loathe at the cabin. Tucker had found her will inconsequential, and she’d learned to rebel atevery possible opportunity, but this version was far softer and appreciative of her input.

“Yes, you,” he laughed, the reaction sounding tired. “Unless you’d prefer I gag you, tie you up, and inform you ofmyplans?” He arched a brow at her, the deed no doubt intended to be sardonic.

All Ella could think, though, was how insanely sexy the action was—how enticinghewas. Even as he described an outcome she feared, she still secretly longed for his totalitarian authority exactly because she knew how damn alluring that experience could be.

Not alluring.

Her breath caught as she acknowledged the paradox. When he’d captured her at the cabin and held her as his hostage, she’d spent her every waking moment contemplating ways to flee his erotic prison. Yet since he’d eased off the accelerator, her thoughts often returned to that time, wanting more. Naturally, Tucker had continued to humble and chastise her since they’d arrived in the city, but it was as though a twisted part of her missed his iron rule, as if it acknowledged she’d come to life beneath it and hankered to bloom again.

No.She wrestled with the contradiction.I might be his, but I also need to do what’s right for me.

“I…” Her gaze darted from his face to the bedding. “I don’t know how I feel anymore.” That was a lie; she just couldn’t find the right words to articulate her feelings. “I want us to be together, but we can’t stay in this tower forever.”

Can we?

She held back the final two words but wondered if they gleamed in her eyes.

“We need a plan.” His answer was almost masked by his sigh. “I know that, little girl, but to be honest, I’ve been enjoying just having you to myself.” His fingers returned to her neck, stiffening. “We have a good thing going here.”

She smiled in spite of herself, not able to protest his point. The memories of long steamy showers where she’d been ordered to ensure his dick was well cleaned and the afternoons she’d spent on all fours as his footrest were forever branded into her psyche. However ridiculous it would sound to the casual observer, she didn’t regret a moment of those times. She’d found freedom in her submission.

“I know.” Leaning forward as far as his fingers allowed, she skimmed a kiss on his chin. “I’m not denying that, sir. I just want to know—”

“You want to know what comes next.” His tone was edgier as he finished the sentence for her.

Her heart rate elevated at the subtle change of tack. She knew Tucker too well not to notice those differences in him and worry what they might mean.

“Right.” She breathed in his tantalizing scent, the sandalwood scent tugging at her senses. “I just want to know what’s happening with my life.”

“I understand.” His expression was passive, but like the still waters of the deep ocean, she wondered if the surface hid monsters lurking below.

“And?” she prompted, conscious of her racing heart. “Do you have a plan?”

“I have an idea.” His gaze burned into hers. “An idea of a life where we could be together, and you could still spend time with the people you love.” The picture his words painted sounded idyllic. “But there are loose ends I need to tether before that becomes safe and viable for us, little girl.”

“Loose ends?” She suspected it was Alexander he referred to, her belly churning with anxiety at the likelihood that she was right.

“Hmmm.” He pressed his lips together. “People like your father and some mutual acquaintances need to be dealt with first.”

“Dealt with?”

Ella didn’t adore Alexander, and she sure as hell had a fight to pick with him about the way he’d handed her over to Tucker as a surety, but equally, she’d seen the way Tucker haddealt withthe gun-wielding guy who’d discovered them in the forest. Was that the kind of ‘plan’ he had in mind?

“Are you going to hurt them, sir?” Her brow creased as she contemplated her father’s demise. She supposed, based on the way Alexander had treated her, she shouldn’t care about his fate, yet she couldn’t honestly say she wanted to see him hurt.

“I’ll neutralize them.” He held her gaze. “So we can be happy, little girl.”

---