Page 58 of Oblivion

She wanted me to exert my physical will over her, but I already own her body, so I don’t need to prove that. That’s not to say that in different circumstances I won’t enjoy reminding her that she’s mine, because I will, but right then wasn’t the time or place.

From the start, I’ve known that I’d need to bind her to me an inch at a time until she’s so entwined, her escape is impossible, and although I’ve made a good start, I’m nowhere near done yet.

Her expression is almost petulant as I lead her into the bookstore, then release her hand and wait for her to go and pick her books. When she doesn’t move, I press a kiss to her cheek, then turn to browse the fiction section, leaving her to her own devices while I watch her from the corner of my eye.

It takes a while for her to finally head into the shelves, and I follow at a distance, watching her mutter under her breath. She’s probably calling me every name under the sun for not giving her the hard fuck she’s so desperately craving, but I’ll take all of the anger she throws at me.

Once she’s finished, she meanders toward the cash register, and I move to her side, taking the pile of books from her arms while we wait.

“I can buy my own books,” she snaps.

“Okay,” I agree, fighting a smile.

When it’s our turn, I place the books on the counter then watch as Sammy hands over her new student ID card. The cashier scans each book, then pushes them back toward Sammy. “Thank you. Have a good day.”

“I need to pay,” Sammy says.

“Oh, they’re all paid for. Your student ID is linked to an account.”

“No, that’s not…That can’t be.” Turning her furious glare to me, she snarls. “Seriously?”

Ignoring her ire, I scoop the books up, take her hand, and lead us away.

“I can pay for my own books,” she snaps again the moment we’re outside.

“You did pay. It went on your account.”

“And who pays for my account?” she questions.

“We do,” I say cheerfully, placing her books down on the rear seat of the golf cart.

“Who is we?”

“It comes out of our joint account.”

“We don’t have a joint account.”

“Actually, we do. I wanted to have it set up so it was ready the moment we got married.”

“We’re not getting married. I was engaged to someone else yesterday,” she shrieks.

“Do I need to demonstrate who you belong to, again? Because I’m not really a fan of public nudity, but I’m willing to give it a go if it’s what you need to be able to accept the truth.”

“If you try to take off my clothes out here, I will break your dick off and make you eat it,” she threatens through gritted teeth.

A bubble of laughter bursts from my throat, and her eyes narrow.

“You think this is funny?” she shouts.

“A little,” I admit, lifting my hand into the air and pinching my thumb and forefinger together.

“Fuck you, Evan.”

She sulks silently all the way back to the house, all through lunch, then all the way to her bedroom, where she climbs into her bed and rolls away from me, giving me her back as she closes her eyes and tries to pretend I’m not even in the room.

Amused by her attempts to ignore me, I climb onto the bed behind her, playing with my phone until she eventually falls asleep. She’s a heavy sleeper, so she doesn’t stir when I slip off the bed the moment her breathing slows and her body fully relaxes. Heading to my own room, I open my safe and retrieve a matching anklet and charm to the one I put on her the first night I broke into her parents’ house.

Lifting the bottom of the comforter, I slip the strand of gold around her leg, slide the charm into place, and then solder the two ends together. The moment I’m done, I exhale a relieved sigh. I don’t enjoy upsetting her, but the harder she pushes me, the harder I’ll be forced to push back, and the tighter I’ll pull the strands that are already tying her to me.

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