“What else did you talk about?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, not wanting to admit we talked about us and the filthy change in our dynamic.
“She looked excited, and you were embarrassed. Tell me what you talked about.” His tone lowers, his voice deepening until it’s more than a request, it’s a demand.
“We talked about last night,” I tell him.
“And…”
“And today.”
“And…”
“And how much I enjoyed whatever it is, or was.”
“Hmm.” The sound vibrates through me, making my clit buzz excitedly. “I realized something last night,” he tells me.
“What?”
“I realized that I can’t control your actions anymore.”
“No, you can’t,” I agree, not wanting to have this conversation but knowing that we need to.
“You’ve learned too much to ever be just my little bird anymore. A part of me hates that, because I want to direct your world, but you’re too clever, too sly, and too resourceful. I can’t stop you from leaving me,” he admits, his voice cracking a little.
“Sebastian, I’m not—” I start, but he covers my lips with his finger.
“I know you’re not, because things are going to change between us. I’m never going to give you a reason to want to leave. I’m opening the door to your cage, Starling, but I’m going to imprison your body instead.”
Stunned silent, I stop walking and turn to look at him.
“I need control. I need to be in control, and if I can’t own your world, then I’m going to own your body. You’re mine. You always have been, but things are different. I hate it, but I can’t change it, so I figure that how you belong to me needs to change too.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I admit.
“Yes, you do. You enjoyed last night.”
It’s not a question, but I answer anyway. “Yes.”
“You enjoyed this morning and the rest of the day. The den. The pool.”
“Yes.”
“Good, because I fucking loved it. Jesus, I loved it so much I’ve been rock-hard and fighting the urge to bend you over and fuck you all night.”
“So, you want to have more sex?” I ask, confused about what it is he’s saying.
“No. I’m going to use you as and when I want. I won’t ask. I won’t always make you come. I’m going to own your body in every sense of the word, and you’re going to let me. You won’t say no. You won’t get a choice. You’ll be mine, the same way you always have been.”
Molten lava explodes in my stomach, burning between my thighs as need and desire consume me.
“You’ll be my wife, my love, my little bird. But you’ll be my whore too, and you’ll love it, because you need it just as much as I do.”
Stunned and processing not only his declaration but also the way I’d reacted to it, I let Sebastian lead me down the beach to our house, strip me naked, and curl up behind me in bed.
For the first time in months, Sebastian falls asleep while I lie with my eyes open, wondering exactly what he means. There’s no denying the fact that I enjoyed the way he treated…no, handled me today. For years I’ve become accustomed to his control, but since I so openly stepped out from beneath his domination, I’ve struggled to understand my new role in our marriage. Last night and today changed that.
Having him dominate me and force me to obey him sexually recentered me. For the first time in too long to remember, I don’t feel off balance, and if this is what it will feel like all the time, then I’m happy to let him use sex to control me, it’s not like I’m not getting anything out of it.
