Page 21 of Damaged Princess

Anastasia stiffens. I wish we had a bond so I could read her mind. I've got no idea what I said that set her off. I'm generallypretty fucking good at anticipating the needs of my sub, but Ana has always rattled my foundations.

"Move or I'll scream. We'll see what happens when you have every alpha in the place ready to tear you apart."

"I'd like to see them try," I growl, scraping my teeth over her neck. "You underestimate exactly how deadly I am, especially when something tries to stand in the way of me and what's mine."

Anastasia shivers, but she glares up at me with a look that makes my cock throb. I really fucking missed her, even her smart mouth and defiant attitude. I missed the entire package, but more than anything I miss the version of Ana that I got before I went to New York.

"That's the problem," she hisses, slamming her fists against my chest. "We disagree on that. I'm not yours."

"Sorry to break it to you, princess, but you're abso-fucking-lutely mine," I snarl. My forearm knocks her arm back as my hand lands around her throat. "I listened to your mewls of pleasure as I teased your tight little body all night and all day. I fucked your sweet pussy full of my cum while you begged for more." My hand around her throat tightens. She blinks up at me from under her lashes. Her pupils are blown, fully dilated. "The problem is you forgot who I am while I was away. Don't worry. I'm more than happy to remind you."

Ana licks her lips. Her small hand shoves at my chest again. "Fuck off. We had heat sex, it was fine. Don't get clingy now, Viki. It's not a good look on any man."

A bark of laughter I'm not expecting escapes. "I should have been clearer before I left. I had things I needed to take care of."

"Visiting your wife? A girlfriend?" Ana snaps. "Kids? What else was so important that you abandoned me when I needed you most?"

My jaw clenches.

Fucking Wolfe. He might have been right. Castro, too, but Wolfe was the one who was smug about it.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't here when you needed me. I can assure you what I was doing is important." I run my finger over her soft cheek. "Just because you're upset doesn't mean you get to go right back to talking to me like I'm the garbage on your shoe. I should fuck your ass right here with no prep for even suggesting that type of bullshit."

“I’d love to see you try," Ana hisses. She begins to fight against my hold in earnest, and I realize I might have fucked up worse than I imagined.

I know I'm not a great communicator. The guys love to hassle me about grunting and pointing to get my meaning across, but fuck me, I thought she understood I wanted her. That I was coming back for her as soon as possible.

"Just listen to me," I growl. My thumb brushes over her cheek as my fingers dance over her neck.

"Is everything okay?" the dick in skinny jeans asks. He's leaning against the door frame and watching us carefully.

My hands fist at my sides as I hold myself back from pouncing. Chad will die tonight before he ever puts his dick inside Ana. Then again, Ana is so shut down to me now, murdering Brad probably wouldn't help. And yes, I'm aware I've already called him two different hipster names. I literally do not give a fuck what the dude-bro in skinny jean's name is.

"All good," Ana says, shooting him an inviting grin. "Vik was my security during my last heat. He just wanted to make sure I'm all right."

Lovely. I've been down-graded to her previous security. Those begging, gasping moans, and the times she pleaded for my bite are meaningless.

A snarl escapes my chest as Anastasia skips to his side.

"Thanks for checking in, Vik. But, as you can see, I'm just fine," she says, letting the little prick pull her to his chest with a hand on her ass.

They disappear out the door and, not for the first time, I consider the fact that I made a huge fucking mistake.

I stomp down the hallway as the princess has another tantrum. I'm halfway up the stairwell to the third floor when I realize she's sobbing as she fights me. I quickly pull her off my shoulder. Putting her back on her feet in the corner, I lean her against the wall as I run my hand over her cheek.

"Ana, what's wrong?" I ask. It's not a bark; that feels like it would be the wrong course of action to take at the moment.

Her eye makeup is messy, running down her cheeks as her eyes squeeze shut. My heart races. I thought me picking her up and removing her from situations where she's about to get herself into trouble was, I don't know… our thing.

A kind of humorous foreplay. She's the brat, and I have to be the asshole when I'm trying to keep her from making an even bigger mess of things.

What I didn't mean to do was scare her, and she sure looks like I fucked up majorly.

"Let me go," she hisses. Her hands land on my forearms and her nails dig in. "I need to leave. Now! They set me up to fail."

"If you need to leave then I'll take you myself," I say, pulling her into my chest. "Wherever you need to go. I'll take you, but talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

Anastasia struggles for a few seconds before she buries her face in my chest and just… sobs.

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