I have him. For this one moment, I have all the power.
"You're playing a dangerous game," he says, his voice rough.
"Am I?" I tilt my head. "I thought I was just following orders. You said you wanted to see me in red. So here I am."
I take a step closer, close enough that he could reach out and touch me.
"Do you like it, Nathan?" I ask softly, pure honey and poison. "Is this what you imagined?"
His hand shoots out, gripping my wrist. "Enough."
"Why?" I lean in closer. "You wanted control. You wanted to own me. Well, here I am. Your possession. Look at what you bought."
Nathan's breathing is harsh. "Get dressed. Now."
"In what? The conservative black you hate? Or the red you chose for me?"
"Eve—"
"You want me in red, I'll wear red." I turn away, reaching for my clothes. "But don't forget, Nathan—you might have bought the cage, but I'm the one who decides how I move inside it."
I pull the black dress back on, the red lingerie hidden underneath like a secret weapon. A reminder that even in captivity, I still have power over him.
If I'm going to be his prisoner, I'll make damn sure he burns for it.
***
The restaurant is empty when we arrive.
"You bought out the entire restaurant?" I ask, exhaustion in my voice.
"I wanted privacy."
"You wanted control." I let him pull out my chair. "You always want control."
The chef brings out the first course, and I stare at it without appetite.
"Why all of this?" I finally ask. "If you just wanted to own me, you could have done that. Why the romance? Why the gestures?"
Nathan sets down his fork. "Because I want you to understand what your life can be now—"
"Stop." I hold up a hand. "Just stop with the pretty speeches. We both know what this is. You broke me down so completely that your cage looks like salvation. Don't insult my intelligence by pretending it's anything else."
His jaw tightens. "You're determined to see yourself as a victim."
"I am a victim! You stalked me, manipulated me, destroyed my company. What would you call that?"
"A partnership."
I laugh, bitter and broken. "A partnership implies equality, Nathan. There's nothing equal about this."
He reaches for my hand, but I pull away.
"Don't touch me."
"I'm offering you freedom from the fight—"
"I liked fighting!" The words burst out. "I liked building my company. I liked being strong. I liked having control over my own life. And you took all of that from me because you decided you knew better."
