Page 6 of All's Fair In Love & War

“Humph.” She crossed her arms over her breasts. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry. I wore what you told me to. You didn’t say I had to cover up,” she shot back with a haughty air in her tone.

“That’s what you got from that?” I turned to face her, stepping in close. “I give you a necklace, and you show up for dinner damn near naked. Cut the bullshit, Felicity. You didn’t do that because you were following instructions. You wanted to provoke me.”

“Is it working?” Her mouth twitched as if she were trying to prevent a smirk.

Stepping forward, I backed her toward the console table until she had nowhere to go. One hand slid up the chain to the clasp of the choker, fingers brushing her throat.

“Get this through your head right now. I don’t need your body. If I wanted that, I could’ve taken it the night I brought you here.”

She scoffed. “And what do you think dragging me around on a leash proves?”

“Everything. It’s time you find out who sets the rules here.”

Her pupils flared, and I saw confusion, heat, and defiance all tangled together in her expression.

“I’m not scared of you,” she whispered defiantly.

“You should be,” I said, close enough for her to feel the weight behind every word. “Not because I’ll hurt you, but because I don’t play fair, and I don’t lose.”

She tried to push past me, but I pulled the leash tight, forcing her to pause her steps.

“Let go,” she snapped.

“Say please.”

She bared her teeth. “Fuck you.”

I watched her with steady eyes as she stood there defiant, beautiful, and so goddamn unaware of what she’d just cost herself. The flicker of candlelight danced across her skin, highlighting the curve of her jaw and the tremble in her lip, which she didn’t think I noticed.

I yanked the chain hard, and she stumbled as she tried to find footing, but I didn’t give her time. I turned without a word and dragged her behind me, the soft click of the collar echoing in the silence. The spread on the table? Forgotten. My appetite? Gone. She ruined dinner.

“Khalil—”

“Don’t speak.” I cut her off without raising my voice.

I didn’t need to. The sharpness in my tone did the work. She went quiet, but I could feel her pulse through the tension in the chain, quick and unsure. Her silence was loud as I led her to the exit on the opposite side of the living room and turned down the hallway.

I stopped at the last door, opened it, and walked inside. She hesitated, but another tug made her follow.

The room was enveloped in muted light, the chilling air brushing against our skin as shadows danced along the walls. In the center stood a solitary padded bench, its surface smooth and inviting, while directly opposite loomed a full-length mirror, reflecting the scene with stark clarity. There were no distractions to divert attention. It was just her, me, and the undeniable truth that lingered in the stillness.

“Where are we?” she asked, her voice quivering as she glanced around the dimly lit room.

“I said, don’t speak.”

When the door clicked shut behind us, she didn't move, yet her body reacted. I reached behind her, wound the chain around my fist, and pulled her to me as the metal bit into my palm, grounding me.

"All I tried to do was feed you, but I see you don’t like to eat," I said as I ran my fingers through her hair, my pulse hammering against my throat, betraying the steady control I forced into my words. "I tried to be nice, to be civil, but you’re taking my kindness for a weakness, and I don't reward tantrums."

Felicity’s shoulders curled inward like a bird folding its wings, trying to conceal what I could clearly see. Her breath hitched slightly as my thumb gently brushed the chain at her throat. Despite my intentions, my touch remained soft as my finger traced slowly along her jaw, and when she didn't retreat, I realized she sensed the shift in power.

Leaning in, I dropped my voice to a whisper, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. "Be still, and look at yourself in that mirror. You need to witness everything that happens when you make me lose my appetite."

Her lips parted, and for a moment, I thought she’d throw another barb at me, but the words stayed stuck in her throat and died there. She looked at herself in the mirror, arms crossed over the scraps of fabric that barely qualified as a bikini, her chest quickly rising and falling with each breath. Every part of her body seemed to resist, but her eyes were honest in a way her mouth never could be. She was cautious, hungry, and beneath it all, desperate for something she’d never admit out loud.

For a moment, I just watched her. Let her see herself, and see me watching her. The silence grew tense and strange. It was a power struggle, sure, but there was also a kinship in it. We were two wild animals sniffing each other out, and for the first time, I sensed that Felicity didn’t honestly know what winning looked like.

I walked a slow circle around her, letting the chain play out and drag warmth into my palm. Her eyes tracked me in the reflection, wary but glued to the action like she was waiting for me to strike.

---