Surrender feels like victory. Like taking a breath after holding it for years.
I let myself relax in his grip and drown in the darkness of his eyes.
“You’re unhappy when I give you a long leash. You need someone to rule you, to keep you safe and happy. It’ll be so wonderful when you give yourself to me. Just think of it. . .” He lowers his voice. He holds me so we’re face to face, and he whispers to me like a lover. “Every morning, you’ll wake beside me, just like this. You’ll wear my collar and cuffs, and I’ll reward you for being a good girl. And every night, I’ll tie you down and belt you if you earned it. If you deserved it. I’ll give you my marks so you know you belong to me.”
My pussy throbs with potent arousal. If he tightens his fingers much more, I’ll come on the spot.
I can see what he’s describing like a vision, the clearest of my life. I wouldn’t need to think. I wouldn’t be afraid. There wouldn’t be any more striving to make a difference or struggling to eke out a life all alone. There’d only be him.
“Ask, Inara, and I’ll give you everything.” His lips brush my ear, and it almost triggers a cataclysm inside me. “Ask.”
It’d be so easy to give in to him. But I’ve never allowed myself the easy path, and I won’t start now.
This is why I need to find evidence of his crimes. Locking him up is the last chance I have to escape him. To break his hold over me. And with every passing day, the window of opportunity narrows. The light of day disappears, receding before the oncoming night.
A part of me wants to make an exception for him. But I have to fight for justice. I’ve dedicated my life to it, and as long as there’s a chance to uphold the law, I have to do it.
I have to wait until I can be sure moving or breathing won’t make me climax, but finally, I trust myself to whisper, “I want to leave.”
For a moment, I don’t think he’s going to let me. Then he rolls off me and stands aside. “Then go.”
I don’t wait. Even naked, he’s a menacing figure, prowling at the foot of the bed like a beast denied its prey. Everything in me wants to recant my words and go to him.
I grab a jersey dress out of the closet and escape into the bathroom. I don’t even bother to lock the door. Locks don’t stop Rex Roy. If I’ve learned nothing about him, it’s that.
I wet a plush washcloth, and I scrub the last traces of his cum off my breasts, all the while expecting him to burst in and stop me. My legs and belly bear faint pink slashes from the belt. I touch the tender marks but don’t press too hard. If I come now, he’ll know.
I tug the dress over my head. I don’t bother with underwear. This dress doesn’t need a bra, and my sex is too swollen. Panties would be a torment.
My hair is dry but unhappy to have been soaked in pool chemicals. It crackles under the brush. I pull it into a ponytail and pronounce myself ready. If I linger, Rex might come looking.
I push away the disappointment that he let me clean up and dress in peace.
When I exit the bathroom, he’s sprawled on the bed. I’m shaky from adrenaline and the desire to come, but he looks as calm and controlled as a lion lounging beside a fresh kill. A predator temporarily satiated from eating its fill. The white sheets frame his glorious body. His cock juts out from a nest of trimmed black hair, thick and proud. He looks so good I’m tempted to toss off my dress and have him for breakfast.
That’s what he wants.
I focus on putting on socks, boots, and my trusty leather jacket. I move slowly, aware of the all-consuming ache in my sex. If I get any hornier, I’ll break down and beg him for an orgasm.
I stiffen my spine and head to the door without looking back.
“See you later,” he calls.
“See you never. It’s over, Rex.” I can’t let this continue. I have to be strong.
It’d be so easy to let him devour me whole.
The door doesn’t close fast enough to shut out his final words. “Fly away, little bird. Next time you come to me, I’m keeping you.”
* * *
My dear Swallow,
Swallows flythousands of miles to return to their home. I can sense you like you sense me. In a city of millions of people, you might as well be the only one. A beacon in the night.
I grow tired of waiting, even as I know our final connection will be the sweetest surrender.
Soon you will come to me. And I will make you whole.
