Her silence, which I took for acquiescence in the lecture hall, has a different edge now.
“Olivia.” Uncertainty creeps into my voice. “What’s going on?”
She refuses to meet my eyes. And just like that, the warmth I was basking in vanishes. A cold wind creeps in behind my ribs.
I can’t have her walking away from me like this. Not when yesterday has already carved a hollow space in my chest. I can’t risk her trying to spend another night away from me.
“Talk to me,” I say, guiding her gently but insistently off to the side. She doesn’t resist, but she still won’t meet my eyes.
The air feels thinner with every second she won’t look at me.
I feel myself losing control of the situation. So, I grasp at any lever I can find. I reach for a smile, easy and charming, slipping back into that careful mask I wear so well. Then I reach out, curling two fingers under her chin and tilting her face up to mine. Her skin is warm, but her gaze is cool.
I smooth my voice into velvet, concealing my growing anxiety. “If this is about the lecture, I’d say it was a good session.” I say teasingly, giving her my best smile.She just needs soothing, I tell myself. She’s still reeling, that’s all. But she doesn’t return it. Her posture is straight, her mouth set.
That’s when it begins—the discomfort as my insides begin to fray. I watch her eyes, searching for something I can grasp, but all I find is restraint. That unsettles me more than any outburst would.
“You were trying to discipline me, weren’t you?” Her tone is measured.
I blink. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Her eyes narrow, her stare sharper than before. “Yes, you do.”Of course I do, but I need to see if she’ll name it.
I tilt my head, a small smirk curving my mouth. “Let’s not ruin a perfectly good moment by overanalyzing it, hmm?” I lean in, keeping my voice low, coaxing. “I think you liked it too much to call itdiscipline.”
Not even a twitch of her lips.
“You used sex to put me in my place,” she says flatly. “For talking to Adam. For talking to Landon.”
I clench my jaw, but I don’t let it show. “I don’t like sharing your attention, Olivia,” I say simply, like it’s self-evident. “You know that.”
She crosses her arms. “That’s not the issue.”
“Then what is?” I ask, trying not to sound defensive. Trying to stay ahead of her.
She sighs. “I’m learning to accept your possessiveness, Nathaniel. But I won’t be punished for breaking rules I didn’t even know existed.”
I feel the first real crack in my composure then.Punish.The word sits heavily between us.
I force a shrug. “Baby, if I wanted to punish you…” I let my voice dip. “I wouldn’t have let you come.”
But even as I say it, my heart is pounding so loudly I’m sure she can hear it. It’s finally dawning on me that Olivia is truly angry, for the first time since she gave herself to me. And I don’t know what the fuck to do with that.
What does this mean? What is she thinking? Will she decide that I’ve gone too far this time? Will she…leave?
The thought slices through me like a dull blade.
Instinctively, I reach for her wrist, for something to anchor me to her, but she doesn’t react.
My mind starts spinning. I want to fix this. I want to pull her close and make her forget. I want her soft and pliant again. I want her to tell me she loves me.
But she stands there, unmoving, eyes refusing to meet mine.
“You enjoyed it,” I remind her, my voice low, careful. Because it’s the truth. I felt the way she came undone in my hands. I saw the flush spread across her skin. I heard her begging to come. No one else can do that to her. No one else ever will.
Her chin lifts, and for a brief moment, I almost expect her to yield.
She doesn’t.
