Page 28 of Stand: Part One

She groaned loudly in frustration, both her hands grabbing onto the arm that kept her pinned down.

“What do I have to do to get out of this bed?” she practically yelled. “I can’t take any more of this. I need to move!”

I said nothing as I glared down at her desire to thwart my plans for her recovery. But the sinister thoughts I had earlier returned for another chance to manifest into reality.

“Okay, Jaden, you don’t want me to baby you anymore? Tough shit. You’re mine to do with as I please.” She scoffed at me, the scowl on her face only making her look even more adorable. “But if you really want to get back on your feet, then you’re going to have to get through the baby steps before anything else.”

She huffed out a breath, the frustration growing on her face when she struggled to get her way.

“Anything. As long as it gets me out of this bed, I’ll do anything.” I could hear the desperation in her voice. Maybe the morning could be salvaged after all.

Oh, little girl, you’re going to regret those words.

Smirking, I grabbed her hips and pulled her off the bed to place her ass on the floor. She looked up at me incredulously as I walked away and sat down on the sofa across the room.

“What’s the first thing a baby has to do before it can learn to walk?” I asked her.

Her eyes shot down to the floor, a look of worry passing over her pretty face before realization dawned on her. Her shoulders slowly sank as she sighed with disdain.

“Crawl,” she answered solemnly.

I leaned forward, letting my hands hang between my knees, and then pointed at the empty space in front of me.

“Crawl to me, Jaden,” I ordered. “And maybe then I’ll consider the next step in allowing you to kneel for me.”

I watched her gaze sharpen, the fire blazing in her eyes at my taunting. But that fire quickly turned into smoke as she scanned the distance between me and her.

Jaden had a long way to go, but if she wanted it as badly as she said, she’d do whatever it took.

“Come here, little girl. I want to see that ass moving.”

I could see her gritting her teeth, the tension in her jaw likely causing quite the headache.

Finally gathering her strength, she placed her hands on the floor and leaned forward until her knees supported her.

A tight grimace escaped her features, but she hid it away quickly, stretching out her hand to grip the carpet. Her hips wobbled slightly as she moved, but she seemed to stabilize herself after a few feet.

I didn’t like her eyes deliberately avoiding mine as she slowly crept across the carpet, her focus in all the wrong places.

“Look at me,” I ordered, my voice stern enough to make her visibly shudder. “Keep your eyes on me.”

Jaden lifted her gaze in annoyance, a fresh scowl growing on her face. But in that singular moment, she suddenly paused, halting in place on her hands and knees. I arched a brow at her expectantly.

“I don’t recall telling you to stop.”

And just like that, I felt a sudden shift in the air.

The energy in the room began to drastically change, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Jaden never even said a word.

She just stared back at me with sharp deliberation, her eyes beginning to glow with a familiar animalistic ferocity that warned of an impending danger just over the horizon. It drew me in almost immediately.

Lowering her chin, Jaden narrowed her eyes to create the sexiest little glare, her shoulders rolling as she arched her spine. A sly little grin peeked from the corner of her mouth as she resumed her pace, inching closer and closer to me.

Like a hellcat ready to pounce and devour.

Fuck.

In an instant, I was insanely hard, my mind transported back to a time that made my blood rush with a primal hunger I was dying to unleash. Even with her temporary disability, my wife still managed to make crawling look so damn sexy when she stared at me like that.