Chapter 17
POV: Kiera?
When Cain was away over the last few days, I had lots of time to think—about the sex—about us—about what he said—about how he’s been behaving—about the strange quirks he has—his growling, his possessiveness, his need for control—when he called me his.
I had thought that maybe it was just dirty talk and something that turned him on. But after days went by and he was still behaving the same way, I realized that he actually meant what he said. He actually thought I belonged to him. He actually wanted me to belong to him.
And that terrified the shit out of me.
Things had progressed fast—one moment he was cold and distant and the next he was inside me—claiming that I belonged to him and behaving like I did.
First, the location thing started. He insisted that it was for my safety, so he could see where I was. So, apprehensively I shared my location with him, thinking that he probably would rarely even look at it. But every time he texted me, it seemed he did.
Then it was the way he texted me, checking up on me, telling me he missed me, acting like it was torture to be a part from each other.
Then it was the way he pinned me against the door—with such hunger in his eyes and the way he kissed my neck as if he was preparing for something—and it almost seemed like he was going to bite me.
No, that can’t be, you’re imagining things, Kiera.
But a part of me felt comforted by his control—by his possession—by the type of behavior that would normally feel confusing and concerning.
A part of me enjoyed it.
And that part confused me even more.
This should be a red flag.
A man who behaves like he possesses you—like you belong to him. A man who wants to cum inside you without any protection, and let me tell you—thank god I’m on birth control, even though I missed taking my pill on time the other day, I’ve been taking it for years so I should be fine unless this guy has super sperm.
But it wasn’t. It wasn’t a red flag, if anything it was a green flag.
Though, his behavior still unsettled me.
I leaned back in my chair and glanced down at the pile of work I had left for the day.
Enough thinking about Cain, you’ll be at dinner with him in a few hours, finish up your work.
The day went by quickly because I barely had a moment to breathe, and by the time it was 2:00 pm, I threw my heavy purse around my shoulders and started for the door.
I was almost in the clear, almost at the revolving doors, when Josh stopped me, our HR manager stopped me in place. “Hey Kiera!”
“Oh, hey Josh,” I replied, smiling faintly and turning around to speak to him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cain, exiting the elevator and walking right towards us. Then in the nick of time, a group of men in expensive suits stopped him to converse.
Thank god, I thought, I wouldn’t even know how Cain would handle me speaking to another man…alone.
“How are you doing?” he asked, smiling at me, looking me over with interest.
“Fine,” I replied, not offering much back, hoping he’d say goodbye and let me leave.
“That’s great! You know I was wondering if you had a sister?” he asked.
I frowned in confusion. “A sister?”
“You know,” he glanced down lower, studying my cleavage line.
Ick, major ick.
“I know we can’t go out, per company policy,” he almost whispered. “But I figured maybe you have a sister that has your resemblance.”
I wanted to slap him. I mean—who even says that?
I scoffed, clearing my throat and trying to remain professional. “No, unfortunately I’m an only child. Sorry.”
Luckily, Cain was still at a distance engaged in conversation, so he couldn’t hear what Josh said—otherwise I knew he would want to kill him.
But as I glanced over at Cain, his jaw was tense and his hands were balled up into tight wound fists.
He couldn’t hear us—could he?
Josh kept rambling on and I only caught bits and pieces of what he was saying. “Well then, maybe we can go out sometime? It would have to be a secret though.”
I blinked a few times, hoping I was imagining it. But I wasn’t.
A manager at HR just asked me out, even when he knew it was against company policy. “Sorry, Josh. I can’t. Company rules.” Then I hurried through the revolving doors.
If Cain somehow heard that then he’d be absolutely fuming.
And just when I thought I was in the clear, a figure towered over me.
I turned around and met his golden eyes.
“Your eyes…” I said in shock.
Cain quickly turned his gaze down to his feet and then back up to mine, then his eyes were blue again.
What the actual fuck?
I shook my head in confusion, feeling dizzy. “But—”
“Get in the car, Kiera,” he grabbed my wrist and tugged me towards the car.
I felt like I was going to pass out as I slid into the black leather seat and he slid right next to me.
His fists were still clenched into tight wound balls, and he wouldn’t look at me, he just kept staring straight ahead, as if he wasn’t phased.
“Cain—” I began, “Where are we going?”
“Back to your apartment,” he said, without turning to look at me.
“Cain,” I replied, reaching for his hand and placing my hand on his.
He budged silently and turned to look at me, his gaze full of fury. “That wasn’t smart, Kiera.” His jaw ticked as he said the words.
I shook my head in shock. “I didn’t do anything, Cain. He was the one who stopped to talk to me.”
His eyes remained narrowed upon me. “And you stood there and indulged his conversation, even when you knew he was interested in you.”
I quickly began to move my hand away from his but he caught it in his grasp and tightened his hold. “There must be some miscommunication between the two of us for you to even entertain him.”
“Let go,” I said, trying to tug out of his hold.
But he wouldn’t release me. “You belong to me, I thought I made that clear.”
“Nothing happened, Cain!”
“He asked you out, Kiera.”
My hand went weak. “You couldn’t have heard that,” I said, shaking my head in confusion.
“But I did.”
“But you were so far away—”
He cut me off. “I was only a few feet away.”
“No you weren’t, I saw you!” I argued.
He continued, “Kiera, calm down,” he said, softening his tone. “It does not matter how I heard it, it matters that I did. And let me make something extremely clear, you are not to be alone with men. Ever.”
I scoffed, trying to slide myself away from him but he only grabbed my waist and yanked me further against him. “I’m not some doll you can keep locked away!”
Suddenly the car came to a stop and Cain pulled me out and placed me on my feet. But I didn’t walk, at least not without his help because he scooped me into my arms and carried me up three flights of stairs.
“Set me down!” I tried to wriggle from his grasp but it was no use.
“Keys,” he demanded.
“Fat chance!” I scoffed, pounding against his chest again.
“Keys! Now!” he snarled out.
And I felt the need to obey.
I handed him my keys. He unlocked the door with one swift moment, tossing the delivery box onto the countertop then pining me by my neck against the wall.
His breath was hot against my face. “I tried to be nice, Kiera. I tried to be understanding. But it seems I have to make your stubborn mind understand the hard way.”
I gulped but I felt myself wetting for him—from his dominance, from my need to obey him—from the invisible tether that bonded us.