Page 10 of Saving Meri

But the worst part—the part she wasn’t ready to face—she knew he wasn’t wrong. She hadn’t made it out of that hell. Not really. Not yet. She was still there, still trapped, still owned by the ghosts of men who had dragged her into hell.

Meri’s hand twitched toward the plate, but she yanked it back at the last second, anger warring with need.

Bear’s voice was too damn steady. "Take a bite."

She clenched her jaw. "You gonna force-feed me if I don’t?"

Something dark and unreadable passed through his expression. "No. But if I have to put you over my knee to get the message through that I make the rules now, I will."

Heat rushed through her, sharp and overwhelming, leaving her breathless. She hated that. Hated the way her body reacted to his dominance when it should have made her want to run. But she wasn’t afraid of him.

She had been afraid of those who had abducted and held her captive—even though she tried to hide that from them. They had never spanked her. She knew from talking to other subs that spankings could be stress relieving, grounding and even a form of loving discipline in the right circumstances. The men who had used her had never used spankings, their forms of punishment were far more painful, creative, humiliating and cruel.

"You wouldn’t," she challenged, because she wasn’t that girl anymore. The one who craved the kind of control that came from submission, who willingly gave herself over to a man strong enough to hold her together.

Bear’s mouth pulled into something dangerous. “Don’t test me, little one.”

Meri snatched the fork and stabbed a piece of steak, shoving it into her mouth without breaking eye contact. She chewed. Swallowed.

Bear gave her a single nod, satisfied. “Good girl.”

A shiver ran through her, completely involuntarily, and she hated herself for it. Bear knew, though. She could see it in his gaze, in the way her reaction didn’t surprise him. It should have infuriated her. Instead, it made something deep inside her begin to unravel.

The fork shook in her grip, her throat too tight. She shoved another bite into her mouth, determined to get this over with, to prove that he didn’t own her, but the second the food hit her stomach, the memories came.

She gagged. Dropped the fork. Shoved the plate away like it had burned her. Her chest heaved, her mind closing in around her, pulling her back to that place, to the months of control, of force, of all the things she shoved into the darkest corners of her mind.

"Look at me." Bear’s sharp, commanding tone yanked her back, the authority in his voice slicing through the panic like a blade.

Meri’s eyes snapped to his. Steady. Controlled. Unyielding.

"You're here," he said. "Not there. Here."

Her body shook as she dragged in a breath, then another, the panic slipping away, slowly, carefully.

Bear didn’t move. Didn’t crowd her, didn’t push. He just waited until finally she could breathe again. Silence stretched between them, thick with something unspoken, something too heavy to name.

Meri wet her lips, throat hoarse. “I hate you.”

Bear’s expression didn’t change. “That’s fine.”

She glared. “I mean it.”

"I know."

His calm infuriated her.

Meri shoved back against the pillows, turning away, eyes locked on the door. “You want me to sleep next?” she asked bitterly. “Want to tuck me in, Daddy?”

Bear’s dark chuckle sent heat curling low in her stomach, the sound too damn sure of itself.

"You can fight it all you want," he murmured, "but we both know exactly what you need."

She gritted her teeth. "And what’s that?"

Bear stood, his presence taking up the whole damn room, the sheer command in his body stealing the breath from her lungs.

"Structure," he said simply, "discipline and control from someone who cares about you and with whom you feel safe can prove beneficial. The key is for that someone to be strong enough and to care enough about you to give it to you without any degradation or cruelty."

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