“I spent months watching you. Taking care of you from a distance. Waiting for you to realise how much you needed me. And you ran? After I finally made you mine? After I fucking ruined you?”
Her lips tremble, and I feel a surge of satisfaction mixed with fury. She’s terrified—good. She should be. I press my lips to her ear, biting down just enough to make her gasp.
“You don’t get to leave me,” I growl. “You don’t get to act like I didn’t change everything for you. I gave you everything, and you thought you could just slip away?”
She squirms, trying to push me back, and I laugh, dark and low.
“You keep fighting,” I taunt. “But we both know you’ll end up right where I want you.”
I glance around, my eyes landing on a side alley just beyond the parade route. Perfect. I yank her off the lamppost, guidingher through the edge of the crowd. She keeps dragging her feet, trying to slow me down, but I just pull harder, making her stumble.
She trips over a broken cobblestone, and I catch her before she falls, pulling her upright, my hands on her waist.
“Careful,” I sneer. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself before I’ve had my fill.”
Her eyes flash with something sharp—anger, defiance. Good. I like it when she tries to fight. It makes breaking her that much sweeter.
As we move down the alley, the noise from the parade muffles, and she glances back, like she’s calculating how far she could get if she tried to run again. I can practically see her thoughts whirling in her mind, assessing her odds, considering if I’m preoccupied enough for her to escape.
“Don’t even think about it,” I snap, grabbing the back of her neck, squeezing just enough to make her wince. “If you run again, I’ll drag you back to that stage and fuck you in front of everyone. Make them see how good you are at being mine.”
Her cheeks flush, and I see the shame battling with something darker—something needier. She tries to twist free, but I pin her against the brick wall, my hand still on her throat.
“You’re mine,” I hiss, leaning in so my mouth brushes over hers. “And I’m done letting you pretend you’re not. I’m done with your little games.”
She looks at me like she wants to scream, like she wants to fight, but I see the way her body melts against the wall, the way her breath hitches when I press my knee between her legs.
“You’re going to learn,” I whisper, my teeth scraping her jaw. “That running from me only makes me want you more. Makes me want to make you scream loud enough to drown out this entire fucking city.”
Her head turns, looking down the alley, and I know she’s still looking for a way out. I grab her chin, forcing her to focus on me, my lips brushing hers with a brutal tenderness.
“Stop looking for escape,” I murmur. “There is none. You belong to me. I’ll drag you through every filthy alley in this city just to prove it.”
She swallows hard, and I lean in, biting down on her lower lip until she gasps.
“Say it,” I demand, my voice rough. “Say you’re mine.”
She glares at me, eyes burning with defiance, and I almost laugh at how stubborn she is, even when she’s shaking.
“Fuck you,” she whispers.
I grab her hips, pulling her against me, and my mouth finds her neck, sucking hard enough to leave a bruise.
“You already did,” I taunt. “And you’ll do it again. Because you can’t get enough, no matter how much you pretend to hate it.”
She’s still trying to pull away, but I don’t let her, pinning her harder, my hand sliding under her shirt, fingers brushing the curve of her waist.
“If you run again,” I whisper against her ear, “I’ll make sure everyone sees just how much you love it when I break you.”
She goes still, and I feel the shiver run through her, and I know I’ve hit the mark. I press a kiss to her temple, deceptively soft, while my grip on her never loosens.
“No more running, Little Spider,” I murmur. “Or I’ll make sure you can’t walk for a week.”
Her lips tremble, and I see the way her body betrays her—leaning into my touch despite the fight in her eyes. I smirk, dragging my thumb over her pulse, feeling it race under my touch.
“Good girl,” I purr, pressing my forehead to hers. “Now, are you going to behave? Or do I have to teach you all over again?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
