Page 22 of Dirty Dean

I move to the passenger side and slide in. “Seatbelt.” He grounds out and I slam my door. Chris places his hand on my thigh and squeezes.

“If you obey, it will be easier for you.”

Taking a moment to gather my emotions, I don’t respond right away. Once I’m able to breathe, I take his pointer finger and bend it backward.

“I may be sweet and innocent, but I’m not a doormat.”

How I got the courage to do this, I’ll never know.

Chris curses and grabs my neck, pinning me to the seat. “I’m trying very hard not to hurt you, buttercup, but if you continue to defy me, I won’t be able to control the animal inside.”

His hand crushes my airway, and I release his finger. “Good choice, buttercup.” He lets me go, and I put the seat belt on. “That’s my good girl.”

I don’t want my body to react to him calling me a good girl, but it does. He knows it, too, because he smirks and pulls away from the restaurant.

“I know you’re upset that I’m not letting you have your way, but you’ll notice, I’m not unfair. You’ll find that you can be happy if you just follow my lead.”

I stare at him as he blows through a yellow light. He’s clenching his fist around the steering wheel and breathing harshly. “I'm trying to make sure you’re safe. The things that could have happened at the party could have been devastating for you.”

He’s not wrong. If Tia hadn’t been there, I would have been in major trouble. “I know.” I whisper. “Tia… She took care of it, though.”

He chuckles sinisterly. “You call taking the drink for you and nearly stripping taking care of it?”

“Hey!” I shout without thinking. “She did what she had to do. The guys weren’t going to let it go. She downed the drink, put me in the corner, and told me not to move. That she would handle it. I didn’t want her to take the drink. But she knew we weren’t getting out of there until someone did.”

I nearly slap him when he laughs again. “Tia is my best friend, and I don’t care what you think.”Another lie.Man, I’m definitely going for broke today with the lies.

My throat hurts from yelling, and I know I’ll regret it tomorrow. Every time I yell, my throat is sore the next day and I sound like a frog.

Chris looks at me for a moment and then shakes his head. “I think you are a naive little girl and need to be taught a lesson.”

“Yeah, well, whatever.” Wow, what a response, Jazz. I turn on the radio and look out the window feeling, defeated and childish.

I’m scared of him, but I’m more scared of my feelings and how he seems to make them flitter from wanting his approval to fear he’s going to beat me.

Chapter Thirteen

Angerboilsinsideofme as I drive us to my estate. Jasmine has no idea what I’m about to show her. Or the world I’m going to introduce her into. I have no qualms about me being the bad guy, and I know my intentions aren’t saintly. By the end of tonight, I’ll have her under my control and the plan to destroy David will start.

“Chin up, buttercup. We are here. I’m pretty sure being in a five thousand square foot home won’t be too much trouble.”

She takes in the sprawling trees, and I smirk. If she had any thoughts of running, she won’t get far. There’s fifteen acres of wooded land before you end up in the Groveton Forest. She can run and hide, but I’ll find her.

“You live here?” I try for a moment to see it through her eyes but fail.

“It's just a house.”

She gives me a chuckle and my heart twitches. Fuck. “No, this is a miniature castle. Do you have maids and staff to do your bidding?”

Shaking my head, I almost feel bad for how sweet she is. I’m going to wreck her and the evilness inside of me swirls to life. “No. Now, get out of the car.”

“You’re so grumpy,” she whispers to herself, and I pretend not to hear it. I’m going to have to teach her how to be quiet.

As we walk into the house, it’s cool, silent, and sterile. I know that the only pop of color in my life is my bratty buttercup. Dropping her bag of clothing, I turn to lock the door.

“Since I’ve locked this door, you’ll need to understand you can’t get out. If you try, my alarm system will go off. It’s voice activated and will only shut off at my command.

Stalking toward her, I watch as Jasmine fidgets and stares wide-eyed at me.

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