Chapter 19 Dangerous Games #2
Shaking it off, I took a tentative step forward and felt my collar vibrate with heat, the only warning sign alerting me that I was approaching a boundary. But why would Darren ban me from going into the woods? I’d never been banned before. And why wouldn’t he tell me beforehand?
Instantly pissed off and wanting an immediate answer, I stormed back up the property and made my way toward Darren’s office. I knew he was having his weekly meeting with Clive and Owen, so I wasn’t worried about bypassing the guards at his door and marching right through.
“Mrs. Davis, wait!” they shouted after me.
Three sets of angry eyes landed on me at my sudden interruption, but while Clive’s and Owen’s remained unfazed, Darren’s flashed with concern.
“Sorry, sir, she just burst through,” explained one of the guards as he followed me in to stop me. Darren lifted his hand dismissively, and the guard immediately retreated, closing the door behind him.
“What’s wrong?” Darren asked me, his eyes scanning my body up and down.
“Did you reduce my boundary line of the property?” I asked, my tone accusatory.
Clive tsked at my question. “Ouch,” he muttered quietly.
Darren paused for a moment, his gaze locked on my neck like he was making an additional assessment.
“Yes,” he finally answered.
I frowned, though I really shouldn’t have been surprised. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you going through the woods right now.”
“Since when?”
He furrowed his brows, the warning glare in his eyes an unfriendly reminder of my place here.
“Since you regained the mobility skills of a toddler. The last thing I need is you wandering too far and finding stupid ways to hurt yourself. Like tripping over shit or climbing fucking trees, for example.”
I leveled him with my own glare, deliberately mocking the absolute nonsense that just came out of his mouth.
“I didn’t know toddlers could do handstands,” I deadpanned, reminding him of my recent accomplishment the day before.
Darren continued to stare at me, unimpressed with my revelation.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
His gaze sharpened, daring me to challenge him further. “I am not.”
I sighed, rubbing my temples to ease the tension in my jaw. “Darren, we’ve been through this already. We agreed that you can’t keep babying me like this.”
He tilted his head. “That’s odd because I recall an entirely different conversation where we agreed that you would accept my recovery plan without complaint.”
“That was before I was recovered,” I emphasized.
“You’re recovered when I say you’re recovered. And no amount of whining will change that.”
I had to stop my jaw from hitting the floor. I was this close to hurling something at his head.
“I literally just completed the stairway challenge. That was the agreed upon criteria to graduate from physical therapy, remember?”
“Finishing your physical therapy program does not automatically mean you’re fully recovered, princess.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to avoid acting out my frustration, because I was this close to doing something stupid.
“That still doesn’t justify the surprise shock I just received a moment ago. You could have just asked me to stay out of the woods or at the very least warn me.”
Darren scoffed, his lips tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Like you said once before, you’re not very good at doing what you’re told. I know when you need to learn things the hard way to remember my rules.”
“So you’re worried I might trip over a fucking stick but have no qualms about the harms of electrocuting me?”
“Watch your mouth, little girl,” he snapped, the anger building behind his gaze instantly inflamed. “Your collar is currently on the lowest setting. A minor zap won’t kill you.”
I groaned loudly in annoyance. “Darren, I can’t take this anymore!” I nearly shouted into the air. “I’ve been trapped in this house for months, and I need a change of scenery before I lose my damn mind!”
Darren shook his head, the warning emanating from his body telling me I was close to getting my ass beat if I didn’t shut up.
“Enough, Jaden,” he barked. “Be grateful for the margins you are permitted. Like I said, you’re recovered when I say you are, so I suggest you stop mouthing off before I shrink the boundary even more.”
I glared back at him, my gaze holding his in a battle of wills I didn’t have a chance of winning. And because he knew this, he quickly dismissed me and turned his attention back to Clive and Owen.
I’d been cooped up inside the house for months, forbidden from training, barely allowed outside, and left to the dullest moments of my life, rotting in bed all day. I was going stir-crazy and needed to get the fuck out before I went on a domestic murder spree.
“That’s not what you said last time,” I snapped.
Darren’s eyes shifted back to mine, the promise of a swift demise hitting me like a ton of bricks if I didn’t stop. But I already had two servings of dumb bitch juice today so…here we are.
“Last time, I decided when I was ready.”
He slowly shook his head at me, a lethal fire burning behind those dark irises of his. “Careful, my mouthy little wife. Last time, you weren’t recovering from a bullet wound.”
I practically snarled back at him. “No, just the broken bones my doting husband so thoughtfully gave me.”
An evil sneer crept along said husband’s lips, chilling my blood instantly.
“Exactly,” he growled, the warning tone hard to miss.
Sensibility finally smacked me in the face at the subtle threat, my last reminder that Darren was not a man affected by guilt or remorse. What he was affected by was the enjoyment of bringing my worst nightmares to life, and I was dangerously close to reliving one. Again.
Fuck.
Taking victory in my silence, Darren grinned.
“Clive, will you please escort Mrs. Davis back upstairs to her little den before her doting husband breaks those same fucking bones again?”
Darren’s eyes pinned mine as Clive stood from his chair, and all I could do was stare back with as much defiance as I could muster, which turned out to be very little.
“Come on, Camaro,” I sighed, motioning for her to follow me.
“Camaro stays,” Darren ordered, his attention now focused on whatever the fuck was on his desk. I stopped in my tracks and practically snarled at him.
“What?”
“You fucking heard me, you little brat. Now go. I’ll deal with you later.”
If there was an order created for Camaro to go piss on his rug and chew up his chairs, I would have given it to her. Instead, I begrudgingly told my best girl to go lay in her bed in the corner of Darren’s office while Clive ushered me out the door.
“Is it possible for you to go just one day without pissing him off?” Clive scolded as we headed for the stairs.
“Not really. It’s kind of my thing,” I replied with a shrug.
Clive rolled his eyes as he impatiently escorted me back up the stairs, practically carrying me up each one.
“I can walk these now, in case you forgot,” I argued, pulling away from him, but he just gripped me tighter.
“Just shut up, Jaden. I don’t have the patience for your pride right now.”
I scoffed at his dismissal. “You had plenty of patience for it when you ate all those water balloons earlier.”
“That’s different. I was ordered to.”
I shook my head as we turned the corner toward my little J-den. Clive just clearly didn’t understand or appreciate how much Darren enjoyed being challenged by me.
As dumb as it sounded, it was actually a win-win for both of us. I lashed out whenever I felt inclined, and Darren got the pleasure of punishing me for it.
As much as he loved my submission, it was the act of fucking me into submission that he truly lived for. And then suddenly his mood would improve to a much more favorable temperature.
Hence, the dumb bitch juice.
Once I was inside, Clive abruptly slammed the door behind me, his footsteps thundering down the hall as he headed back downstairs.
I shook my head at his exit strategy. He was so fucking dramatic sometimes.
Blowing out a breath of irritation, I sank down into my couch and got comfortable. It only took about three minutes of staring out the window before I found my eyes struggling to remain open. The exhaustion of today’s final therapy session was suddenly catching up with me.
Lying my head back against the throw pillow, I propped my legs up on the cushions and closed my eyes. I had lay there like that for about fifteen minutes, close to falling asleep when the cuffs of my wrists were suddenly drawn to the cuffs at my ankles.
My eyes snapped open.
“What the fuck!” I screeched as I found my knees bending so my ankles could comfortably reach my wrists.
When my right wrist connected with my right ankle and my left wrist with my left ankle, I sat up with my knees tucked to my chest, my legs having no other place to stretch out unless I leaned all the way forward.
Oh, come on, not this shit.
Heavy footsteps vibrated through the floors, loudly informing me that nap time was now over.
The door to the room was abruptly shoved open, an angry Darren barreling through and slamming the door closed behind him.
When his hard gaze locked with mine, I felt my gut shrivel, but I remained steadfast.
“The fuck is this?” I asked, gesturing to the cuffs with my chin.
He scowled, anger blaring from his eyes. “What the fuck did you just say?” The threat in his tone was all too promising.
I furrowed my brows. “I said, what the fuck is this?” I repeated, adding some spice to my tone.
He tilted his head. “I thought that’s what you said.”
Darren then rounded the couch and snaked an arm around my middle to haul me up onto my knees, shoving my face into the couch cushion. After yanking my skort down, my ears caught the lethal sound of his belt being ripped from the loops of his pants.
Ah, fuck.