Page 48 of Prince of Control
I don’t want to have to take you to the dungeon.
This is how I’m going to need you every goddamn night–naked and beneath me.
I want to see the dungeon. Want to know what goes on down there. I want to experience everything that every other woman has felt at Baron’s hands.
A sense of possessiveness grips me like fingers closing around my heart. Benjamin Baranov is my husband. He won’t be giving his attention to any other woman.
I suppose this is exactly how he feels about me. Meeting Denis yesterday without telling him was asking for trouble. I told myself I was proving I wouldn’t be caged like a bird. That I may have married him, but I’m not his possession. But I definitely knew I was poking a bear. And when I got the results I expected, I felt guilty over involving Denis in my ill-thought-out games and lashed out again at Baron.
Now I know for certain that he follows a code. He won’t hurt me, not even when I act out. The spanking last night stung, but the flavor of the scene was sexual dominance, not torture. Not fear.
Phoenix’s story about Baron proves he operates by a code as well.
It comes as a huge relief and a bit of a turn-on to know that my husband is dangerous–lethal, even–but not to me.
My phone rings, and I check the screen and sigh. It’s Brash again. I guess I should take it or he’ll keep calling.
I accept the call. “Brash, you keep calling,” I say in Russian.
“Of course, I keep calling!” his voice explodes through the phone, filled with concern. “It sounds like you’re in trouble, Lara. Tell me what’s going on. I can help.”
My pulse picks up speed. It’s possible he could help. He is extravagantly rich. I know his father is part of the Russian oligarchy. That means he commands wealth and power. They might be able to keep me and my family safe from Ravil Baranov.
But do I want his help?
And why would he offer to help? What would he ask of me in return?
Somehow, after hearing Phoenix’s story about Baron, I don’t see Brash as the valiant rescuer of the weak. Brash strikes me as the kind of guy who’s only out for himself. His interest in me always felt disingenuous, which is why I didn't take our dates that seriously. It’s why I didn’t even remember to cancel the date when I left.
He said and did all the right things and was a total gentleman, but it felt performatory. Almost like he’s gay and was courting me to be his beard. The true spark wasn’t there.
“I’m not in trouble,” I hear myself say. I guess I’ve made my decision. I won’t be asking Brash Rostov for a rescue. I’m going to figure this shit out on my own.
“It sounds like you are. You said you suddenly had to get married? What happened?”
I close my eyes and draw in a measured breath through my nostrils.
What do I say? Do I tell him the truth, or do I put him off?
I settle for a muted version of the truth. “I’ve been engaged to marry a stranger since I was young. It was a family arrangement. Our parents decided it was time to pull the trigger on the contract.”
Surprisingly, Brash doesn’t even take a beat to absorb that. “Like an arranged marriage? That’s crazy. This is the 21st-century. You don’t have to go through with it, Lara.”
Again, I’m surprised he cares so much.
“It’s too late. I went through with it. I’m a married woman now.”
“You don’t have to stay married. No court enforces till death do you part.”
The idea of divorcing Baron and getting on a plane back to Paris has massive appeal. I was living my best life there. I had one year left to get my degree. I had just gotten an internship that would’ve provided me with the experience I needed to get a job as an interpreter after graduation.
Except…I’d be giving up Baron. The guy I thought was a bully, but I’m coming to suspect might actually be the guy who protects others from bullies. But how does that fit with the ruthless bratva family that demanded our immediate marriage? Maybe his dad is a bully, and he’s resolved to protect me from him.
If I divorced Baron and let Brash help me, I’d be safer. Whether my family would be safe or not is unclear. And I’d be giving up the kind of sex I had last night.
The thought of having sex with Brash instead registers as a balloon deflating deep in my soul.
Pass. After Baron…
