The sudden softness gave me whiplash. He acted as though he hadn’t cuffed me to the bed for hours and then fucked me raw after making me promise to never leave.
“I’m not hungry,” I said quickly, pressing my lips together so he couldn’t shove the fork between them.
He didn’t look convinced. The fork remained pointed at me, a small bite of chicken on the end.
I couldn’t eat. My thighs were sore. My pussy ached. My throat felt shredded from all the crying and screaming.
“Let me go.”
“No.” My stepbrother shook his head and sighed. “I can’t do that, not when you tried to leave without telling me. I thought we trusted each other. What was that? Why would you sneak out in secret?”
Tears stung my eyes, and I tried swallowing the lump in my throat. “I wasn’tleavingleaving. I told you I wanted to see my mom. You kept saying no, and I didn’t want to fight anymore, so I figured I’d be gone for a day or two and then come back.”
“You should’ve told me,” he said, his broken heart on his sleeve. “How can I trust you?”
“How can I trustyou?” I clapped back, pulling at my wrists for emphasis. “People don’t tie their partners up when they try to leave the house.”
His expression didn’t change. He put the food down—thank goodness, because my appetite was nonexistent—and leaned in until our noses touched.
It was odd, the way he looked at me, like he still hadn’t figured out how to handle me, how to hold me gently while loving me hard.
“I’m sorry, Av,” he said after a while. “I lost it when I thought you were leaving me. I can’t lose you. I won’t. I’d rather keep you chained to the bed for eternity than go a day without you in it.”
My breath hitched at his heavy confession, my heart trying to decide whether it was beating fast out of fear or something else, something deeper, darker.
Rowen’s obsession, his need tohaveme, control me, scratched a need I didn’t know existed. He’d changed my entire being, slowly breaking me down until my pieces fit his perfectly with his. Then, he’d absorbed me, until there was no me and no him.
Only us.
“I just want to see my mom, see if she’s changed, if she can accept us,” I told him, hoping he’d understand it wasn’t me wanting to get away from him.
Several beats of silence followed, and we just sat there, staring at each other, both stubborn, refusing to give in.
Sighing, Rowen backed away from me and rubbed his hand over his face before looking out the large glass doors to our bedroom balcony. Then, he turned to look at me. “What if I give you something else?”
“I don’t wan—”
“I’ll get your mom here,” he cut in. “I’ll fly her out so she can stay for a night or two.”
My chest swelled with happiness, seeing how willing he was to keep me happy, to give me what I needed and wanted.
I nodded at him, a lump forming in my throat. “Thank you.”
He looked relieved and leaned in to kiss me. “I’ll call her in the morning.” The next kiss was hard and punishing, a lesson, then softened until his kisses turned into feather-like grazes. “I know I’m not doing this the way I should, but I’m trying. For you.” His voice was rougher, like he was holding back. “I love you so fucking much.”
There they were again, those words.
No hesitation, just his truth.
I didn’t trust myself to speak, though, not when I was torn between distancing myself and crawling back into his arms.
He watched me, waiting, seeming patient, but I knew him better than that. We both knew his control was tight around me, and he could snap at any moment, demand whatever he wanted, even if I was unwilling.
Still, my heart skipped a beat, wanting to force those words from my lips, but my brain hadn’t caught up yet. I’d missed every opportunity to say them back, to let him know I felt the same way, but could I really say it now?
Cuffed to his bed, wrists sore. High on being edged, thighs slick with our mess.
My brain was pointing out the red flags, telling me Rowen was losing it, that he was dangerous.
