Page 36 of Stand: Part One

Hurting me came so easily to him, it was of no consequence. He would always do as he pleased, and I would have no choice but to fall in line.

“You do,” I spat out bitterly.

“And who owns this body?”

“You do,” I repeated, my tone now blank with indifference.

“And who decides what happens to it?”

“You.”

“That’s right,” he snarled. “I do. You are not in charge of your recovery, little girl. I am. I decide when you stand. I decide when you walk. And I decide when you can leave this bed.”

I felt my chest heaving under his as I tried to calm my breathing, but my heart was beating too fast for me to catch up. Darren’s eyes locked onto mine, his gaze so cold it drew shivers up my spine, making my jaw clench.

“You know, I would love nothing more than to keep you permanently chained to this bed and fuck you at all hours of the day. Your inability to walk makes no difference to me as long as I can still spread your legs whenever I want.”

I grimaced, a gasped sob escaping my lips at the cruelty of his words. A reminder that everything I had was a privilege he granted, including my ability to put one foot in front of the other. My most basic human functions were his to command.

Hatred clawed its way up my spine as I clenched my trapped fists in his hand, wishing I had the strength of a thousand men so I could just shove him off me and show him what it meant to feel this helpless. The tears I had been holding back by a thread finally slipped free and slid down the sides of my temple.

I would not allow him to turn me into his robotic sex slave a second time.

Darren’s harsh features softened slightly as he watched my stupid tears fall, his grip on my jaw relaxing enough for his thumb to reach up and gently wipe one away.

“But I’m not going to do that,” he murmured, causing my eyes to shift and plead with his. “I may be cruel, Jaden, but I’m not that cruel.” Yes, you are. “I’m also smart enough to know how counterproductive that is to my own self-interests.” His thumb continued to gently stroke the side of my cheek, coaxing a false sense of comfort in his sudden tenderness. “Regardless, you need to accept the recovery plan I’ve chosen for you, even if it’s at a slower pace than you’d like. Do you understand?”

I groaned in despair, shaking my head. “No, I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you’re deliberately keeping me like this. Why you’re sabotaging me!”

Darren inhaled a slow, quiet breath, his eyes drifting over me like a predator would while they played with their food. A single corner of his mouth lifted, the glint of something heinous taking over his features. And then he sighed and whispered softly.

“Because you’re just so damn cute when you’re helpless.”

I felt all the oxygen leave my body at his admission. The scowl I knew was forming on my face only made the smile on his widen. And then he dipped his head to slam his lips against mine in an all-consuming kiss, claiming my mouth in a show of force I couldn’t combat.

Wrapping his hand around my jaw, he forced my lips to part, allowing his tongue access to mine. He kissed me with a single-minded purpose, his message clear and unquestionable. That he held all the power. That I had no recourse other than to accept his will like it was my divine duty to obey his every word.

Nothing burned hotter in my blood than my hatred for this man. But my hatred for myself was a close second every time he touched me.

When he released me, I was panting and breathless, my entire body tight with heated tension. His hand remained wrapped around my jaw, his thumb grazing along my cheek as his gaze finally softened.

“Now, are you going to be a good girl and do what you’re told, or do I need to keep you here another week?”

I sighed in defeat, my body no longer fighting his hold on my wrists, and resigned myself to what I knew I couldn’t control.

“I’ll be good,” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper.

“That’s my girl,” he drawled and lowered his head to reward me with another kiss to show his approval of my submission.

This one started small, but it grew into another display of dominance that I quickly gave in to just to appease him. Opening my mouth wider, I allowed his tongue to spar with mine, to take exactly what he wanted.

His free hand began to travel from my face, down my chest and under my shirt and bra until he was cupping my bare breast. Rolling my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, I whimpered into his mouth as I instinctively tried to pull my wrists from his grip.

Aside from that one blow job, he’d barely touched me since the accident, a price I was willing to pay to put some distance between his hands and my body. But now that my bones were healed, all bets were off, and I wondered how much longer he would go without.

Releasing my breast, he roamed his hand over my abdomen, moving farther south until his fingers breached the lining of my thong. I gasped into his mouth as his finger slipped even lower and brushed passed my clit to stop where the wetness I was trying to ignore had gathered.

Fuck.