Page 147 of Spark

“Darren, what’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”

He shook his head at me, those eyes so dark and dangerous, and it only made me quiver inside, heat flourishing all over my body. He took another step toward me, and I couldn’t stop myself from retreating slightly, my knees bending and my feet light for quick movement. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and my blood rushed so fast it was making me dizzy.

“I probably should have mentioned something about that pendant of yours,” he said low and steady, taking several slow steps toward me. “One specific little detail…”

He was even closer now, his body heat clouding around me as he towered over me, a menacing glare smeared all over his gorgeous face. He was fucking terrifying me because I knew he was going to say the one thing that was going to destroy everything.

“It records.”

50

Hate

* * *

Cornered, trapped, and terrified. I had Jaden exactly where I wanted her, and she was fucking shaking with fear. On the outside, I was fucking furious but still in control, and on the inside, my rage was eating me alive. I’d heard every word she’d shared with Kayla, and it was everything I needed to hear, needed to confirm that her head was still wrapped around the wrong objective. After everything I’d just done for her, after all the time I’d spent pampering and pleasuring her, my warrior princess was still planning to betray me, and I just simply couldn’t have that. Even if she had no idea where to start or how to accomplish a single thing against me, the simple fact that the idea was even there in the first place was enough to put me into action.

It didn’t matter how well I did or didn’t treat her, didn’t matter how lavish or hellish I could make her life, the amount of times I’d threatened her family, or the number of people I’d already killed to keep her as mine, she was still out for my blood. The only thing stopping her was that she wouldn’t be able to get away with it if she did. She still refused to accept her life and still intended to betray my trust and that was the undoing moment.

I wanted to be able to trust Jaden more than anything. I wanted to feel her reach for me at night, whether she was scared, wet, or just needed to feel me. I wanted to create the dependency that she had created in me, and I was going to make that happen, starting right fucking now.

Jaden was backed against the staircase, her small frame shivering in the dress I was going to rip to shreds. I traced my fingers along the side of her temple down her face, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, relishing in her obvious terror. She knew how much shit she was in, and the question was whether she was going to lie down and take it. She didn’t have a choice in it, of course, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a fight.

“You’re shaking, little girl,” I whispered and then tipped her chin up to face me. “Did you really think I wasn’t going to find out about your little plan to betray me?”

Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes, making them big and glassy and beautiful, the fire of her irises drenched in the wetness of her fear, and it was making me hard as fuck.

And then suddenly, her eyes hardened.

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag,” she said and shoved her palms into my chest.

Catching her wrist before she could make another strike, Jaden countered with her legs, but she didn’t have enough room for a decent kick. And suddenly, it was game on.

Jaden attempted to make every strike she could, but in the end, she just wasn’t fast enough. I blocked everything she gave until it was clear she was becoming tired, her body clearly out of practice with combat. And when she was done with her instinct to fight, she would commence to flight, and I would enjoy the shit out of that chase.

When her attacks began to slow, I grabbed her arm and tossed her across the room. She rolled to the floor like the pro she was and then immediately bolted from the room just like I wanted her to. My dick became painfully hard as I chased her down into the next room and took her to the floor, pinning her beneath me, her back to my front.

“You are such a bad girl,” I said as my teeth grazed her ear. “Your worst nightmare? I hope I live up to that tonight.”

Jaden screamed in rage, struggling underneath me, sobbing and clawing at the floor until I gripped her wrists to hold them in place.

“You knew! You asshole, you fucking knew where she was all this time, and you never told me! I fucking hate you! Get off me!”

I shook my head at her, gritting my teeth. “And you knew I wasn’t going to tell you. It’s none of your business, Jaden. Get over it.”

“Do you have to be such an asshole all the time?! Can’t you see how miserable I am?”

I brought my hand up and yanked her head back by her hair, causing her to gasp. “And how would you compare your misery to Kayla’s? I treat you like a goddamn queen in comparison to how he treats her, like she a fucking pet. Is that how you want to live, Jaden? Is that what you would prefer?”

More tears fell from her eyes and down her glossy cheeks as she took in my words.

“No,” she whispered with a small sniffle.

“I didn’t think so,” I said, releasing her hair. “Your misery is a result of your own inability to let go and accept what is. You’re the one who makes it hard on yourself, Jaden. Let go.”

Jaden rested her forehead against the floor, her hands turning to fists as she silently cried to herself. She quieted eventually, her cries becoming softer, but her body remained just as tense. She stilled beneath me, her heavy breathing slowing while she dug her nails into her own palm.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her temple resting against the floor as tears drained from her eyes.

---