Page 99 of Stand: Part One

But even the most calculated plans could be foiled with the most basic of interferences, like a random car accident that wasn’t even on our goddamn track.

From now on, Jaden would need to understand that even if she had “earned” herself a privilege that I’d agreed to honor, that privilege would be postponed indefinitely if it jeopardized her safety. And no amount of whining from her was going to change that.

She would need to figure out new ways to entertain herself before I lost my shit and just beat her into compliance. I’d take a miserable Jaden over a dead Jaden any day. Misery could be mitigated. Death could not.

But the sooner I got her pregnant, the sooner she could start occupying herself with other things—things that would only make me too happy to see her fussing over. Decorating a nursery, picking out clothes and toys, choosing a name…

The reality was closer than she even realized, and I hoped that once she accepted it, she’d prioritize the safety of our child with the same vigor as I did hers. Maybe then she’d finally stop complaining to leave the house and just stay where she knew she was safest. But that was just wishful thinking.

Stirring in my arms, Jaden grumbled in the adorable way she did when she was tired and turned around to face me. Her eyes squinted open slightly, those beautiful hazels bouncing all over my face. And then she wrinkled her nose.

“You smell like gunpowder and death.”

I chuckled, tightening my arm around her shoulders and pushing her hair back from her face. “The smell of a productive night.”

She grunted in response, knowing better than to ask for details. Running my hands through the softness of her hair, I released a satisfied sigh, knowing Jaden was back where she belonged, where she was safe and contained.

“You owe me a new car.”

Jaden snorted softly, her sleepy eyes peeking up at me. “Sure, baby, what color do you want?”

My lips curled as I tugged playfully on her hair. “I was thinking that black might be more difficult to track at night.”

“Mmm, good idea,” she murmured softly, nuzzling herself into my chest. “We can go pick one out in the morning.”

I hummed my disapproval, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead. “That’s not how buying a Ferrari works, but it’s cute you think I’d let you go anywhere after what happened tonight.”

She closed her eyes and grimaced, groaning dramatically. “I was afraid you were going to say that.” She then tried to turn away in my arms, but I tightened my hold to keep her in place.

“You can pout all you want, but tonight only reinforced my reasoning for keeping you home. I won’t allow that to happen again,” I said sternly.

Her eyes narrowed into little slits, an argument cocked and ready at the tip of her tongue. Maybe if I’d honored our agreement earlier, we wouldn’t have been spotted. If I had just given in when I should have, none of what had transpired earlier would have happened. But instead, Jaden surprised me by taking a completely different approach.

She sighed with contempt, her eyes lowering to my chest. “And here I thought we made such a good team back there.”

I couldn’t help but smirk, finding her disappointment a little endearing. “You did very well,” I praised, running my knuckles gently along her cheekbone. “But that doesn’t mean I want it repeated. You’re back on lockdown until I say otherwise.”

Her entire body deflated in my arms, the look on her face igniting a tiny spark of guilt that I forced myself to snuff out immediately. Guilt was not an emotion I was looking to become familiar with again. It had been beaten out of my head and heart decades ago, and I was not about to let it return to wreak havoc on my life now.

But the fact that Jaden was actually making it return was concerning.

I could easily handle her temper tantrums and raging outbursts when she thought to go against me, oftentimes finding them to be incredibly amusing.

Sometimes she’d do it just to appease me when she thought I needed it, the little saint. But seeing that sorrowful look of disappointment on her face when she technically hadn’t done anything wrong was oddly painful to swallow.

I almost wished she’d just lash out so I could fuck her into exhaustion and that would be the end of it. But this reaction lingered in a way I didn’t care for, and I needed to correct it. Right now.

“Don’t give me that look. You know better than that.”

She sighed, refusing to look at me. “I guess I’ll just continue to lounge around the house then.”

My lips tugged into a sneer, remembering the shock and awe on her face when I’d said that. Sometimes Jaden took the bait way too easily.

“There’s my good girl. Now, there’s just one other thing,” I said, pulling the sheet away from her naked body.

Lifting my arm, I smacked my palm hard against her ass, the sound slicing through the silence of the room. Her face immediately tightened into a pained grimace, her body instinctively curling into mine as she sucked in a loud gasp while burrowing her face into my shoulder.

I grinned as she groaned against my skin, grabbing the sheet to pull it back up to her shoulders. Leaning down, I kissed her forehead before tucking her into my side even more than she already was.