Page 70 of On a Fault Line

“Collins?”

“Yes, Princess?”

“Do you have, um, feminine products for me? Or should I just go grab something from my place?”

Moving to his linen closet, he pulls down a bin that appears to have everything I need—and even a few things I’ve never tried before like six types of menstrual cups and hypoallergenic wipes. “If there is anything missing, I will get it promptly delivered. Just name it. I also have a heating pad for you in the middle drawer of the nightstand.”

I dig through the pile of supplies, trying to think of anything I may need. “This is great. Thank you.”

Collins gives me some privacy, and I tend to my personal needs and get dressed in a lounge set while he meanders into the bedroom.

When I join him, he’s standing at his window, looking out over the city.

So many contractual days have passed, and it feels like it was a day ago when we signed the papers. It’s hard not to draw a comparison between this experience and my time at Soulful Mind when I thought of it as wasted time.

This experience doesn’t seem wasted.

This seems relevant. Essential.

Opening his arms, he gestures to me to walk into them.

I hum and close my eyes, enjoying the euphoric feeling of contentment, while leaning my weight against the man who I never thought would want me.

He smells my hair, burying his nose in my layers. “You smell divine.”

“Do you have a strawberry-scent fetish?” I tease, wiggling my body against his to find the perfect place.

“Only when your body is the host.”

Turning serious, I lean back to try to find his eyes in the shadowy darkness. “Thank you for taking care of me, Collins.”

Sweeping back some damp hair from my neck, I feel his lips at my ear.

Kissing.

Nibbling.

Collins is making all the pleasure sensations pulsate through me on a current that I never want broken.

“I take great care of my possessions, Princess. And you are the greatest one of all.”

I should see this as a raging red flag.

This should be my reason to run.

I should demand for him not to consider me as an object—his property.

But with Collins, his need for control goes beyond the normal range.

And I am okay with it. I actually really like it.

Because if treating me like a princess on the streets and a slut under the sheets is how he takes that control…

So be it.

If collaring me and demanding me to crawl to him is how he gets his thrills…

So be it.

---