I stare holes in Ava's date, as if I could kill him with will alone.Why the fuck is she hanging around with this loser?Does she really think that a wimp in a tailored jacket can satisfy her needs?She doesn’t need this cookie-cutter Stepford husband.She doesn’t need his white-picket fence promises.She needsme.She needs whatIcan give her, a darkness that matches the one that’s buried so deep inside of her, that she isn’t even aware of it.
He pushes his barstool back and stands up before bending at the waist to whisper something to her.His mouth is inches away when he reaches for her, brushing a lock of her hair away from her face.Her answering smile makes my blood boil.The sagging booth beneath me whispers an airy protest as I vault off of it, readying myself to rip him away from her.
Before I have a chance, he turns on his heels and walks into an alcove below a chipped wooden sign that readsRestroomsindingy, yellow lettering.Two options immediately present themselves to me.I can follow him into the men’s room and end his miserable existence, or stay and take what’s mine.My eyes dart toward the bathroom and quickly back to Ava.A flirtatious smile lingers on her face, pulling the edges of her plump lips upward.Her pale, mossy eyes stare longingly at the entrance to the alcove.
My legs move without direction from my brain.The electrical impulses in my muscles yank me toward her until my chest is inches from her back.The sweet scent of her hair fills my nostrils, tempting me to press myself closer to her.She gasps as I wrap my arm around her torso and press my chin against her ear.She jerks her head to the side, but I force her still with my own.Her pulse quickens, pumping wildly in her throat.
“Did you really think this was a good idea, little bird?”I whisper against the shell of her ear.“Did you think I wouldn’t follow you here?That I wouldn’t come to claim what’s mine?”
Her body tenses, her shoulders pulling inward, toward her chest.The muscles in her arms seize, trembling in my hold.A shocked inhale pushes her back against me before her breathing halts.Her neck bobs against a hard swallow and her cheeks begin to pinken.
“Breathe,” I command softly, brushing my hand over the small of her back.
A soft whimper escapes her lips as she forces the air from her lungs.The sound catches the attention of the bartender, who looks up with narrowed eyes.His gaze travels from her face, to mine, then to my arm that remains encased around her.His head tilts, causing a ringlet of dishwater blonde hair to fall into his face.He rakes his hand through his curls, pushing it back as our eyes connect.His spine straightens, his chest puffing outward as his eyes glint with steely resolve.
His hardened stare locks with Ava’s wide eyes.“Is this guy bothering you?”
I lift my head away from hers, standing upright.My arm tightens around her, gently squeezing against her stomach.Her lips pull tightly upward, the forced smile wrinkling the corner of her eyes.
“What?”She blinks and shakes her head.“Oh, uh, no, we’re fine.”She waves her hand in front of her in a confirming gesture.
I lean my head toward her until my lips brush the back of her neck.“That’s my good girl.”
Her upper teeth dig into her bottom lip, stifling a soft cry.She leans back, ever so slightly, pushing the delicate skin of her neck toward my mouth.I chuckle as a rosy blush spreads from her chest up to her hairline.
Some part of her, somewhere deep inside, knows that she’s mine.It knows that we are inevitable.She only needs to give in to me.Tonight, she’ll get a taste of what submission feels like.Tonight, I’ll introduce her to a freedom she’ll only find within a gilded cage.
