4
The rain followed them all the way out of the city.
Linnéa sat pressed against the car door, staring out at the gray landscape as it slowly changed from buildings to dense forest and then to open water. Isak hadn’t spoken much during the drive. He didn’t need to. His presence filled the car like smoke. Every time she shifted, she felt his eyes on her.
When they reached the small private dock, a sleek black boat was waiting. The driver loaded her bag without a word. Isak helped her aboard with a hand at the small of her back — light, but impossible to ignore. The boat cut through the dark water toward a cluster of islands. The farther they went, the smaller the world became. Eventually there was nothing but rain, cold wind, and the occasional dark shape of land in the distance.
Linnéa wrapped her arms around herself. She could feel Isak watching her from the seat beside her.
“You’re quiet,” he said after a while.
She didn’t look at him. “What do you want me to say?”
“Anything honest.”
She was quiet for a long moment before she answered.
“I’m trying to understand why you’re doing this to me.”
Isak didn’t answer right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was low.
“Because some things, once they get into your head, never leave. You got into mine a long time ago. And I’ve spent years trying to decide whether I wanted to destroy you… or keep you.”
Linnéa turned to look at him then. There was something raw in his expression that she hadn’t seen before.
When the boat finally slowed, a modern villa rose from the rocky shore ahead of them — glass and dark wood, built into the landscape like it had grown there. It looked beautiful and cold. Completely isolated. No other houses in sight. Just water, forest, and endless gray sky.
Isak stepped off the boat first and offered her his hand. She ignored it and climbed out on her own. The wind immediately whipped her hair across her face.
He didn’t comment. He simply walked toward the house, expecting her to follow.
The inside of the villa was even more striking than the penthouse. Open spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the dark water, and a massive fireplace already burning. Everything smelled of woodsmoke and expensive leather. It felt like a cage dressed up as luxury.
Isak set her bag down by the stairs.
“You can explore later,” he said. “Right now, I want you upstairs.”
Linnéa stayed where she was. “Why?”
He turned to look at her. The look in his eyes made something in her stomach tighten.
“Because I’ve waited long enough,” he said quietly. “And because you need to understand what you are now.”
She shook her head. “Isak—”
“Upstairs, Linnéa.”
The command in his voice was absolute.
Her legs felt heavy as she climbed the wide staircase. He followed close behind. At the top, he guided her into a large bedroom with more glass walls and a bed that looked even bigger than the one in the penthouse. A fire was already crackling in the corner.
He closed the door behind them.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Isak stepped in close and took her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“You’ve been fighting since the moment I walked into your apartment,” he said. “You’re still fighting. I can see it in your eyes. But your body already knows the truth, even if your mind refuses to accept it.”
He brushed his thumb over her lower lip.
“I’m going to show you what it means to be mine. And I’m not going to be gentle about it.”
Before she could react, he backed her up against the nearest wall. One hand gripped her jaw while the other slid down her body. He didn’t kiss her. He simply looked at her — really looked at her — like he was memorizing every flicker of emotion on her face.
Then he spun her around so her front was pressed against the cold glass. The rain streaked down on the other side, inches from her face.
Isak pushed her sweater up and over her head in one rough motion. Her bra followed. The cold air hit her skin and made her nipples tighten. He didn’t give her time to think. He yanked her leggings and underwear down in one go, leaving her naked from the waist down.
Linnéa tried to push back against him, but he simply pressed her harder against the glass with his body.
“Stay still,” he murmured against her ear.
She heard the sound of his belt, the zip of his trousers. Then she felt the blunt head of his cock dragging slowly through her folds. She was wet. She hated that she was wet.
Isak made a low sound in his throat.
“Look at you,” he said, voice rough. “Already soaked, and I’ve barely touched you. Do you have any idea how long I’ve thought about this? About taking you like this?”
He pushed inside her in one hard thrust.
Linnéa cried out — pain and unwanted pleasure crashing together. He was thick, stretching her in a way that bordered on too much. He didn’t give her time to adjust. He started moving immediately, deep and relentless, one hand gripping her hip hard enough to bruise while the other came up to wrap around her throat from behind.
But he didn’t squeeze.
Instead, he held her there — firm, possessive — while he fucked her against the glass with steady, punishing thrusts.
“Every time you clench around me,” he growled, “you prove what I already know. You were made for this. For me.”
Linnéa bit her lip hard, trying not to make a sound, but a broken moan still escaped her. Isak heard it. He pressed his forehead against the back of her head and fucked her harder.
“That’s it,” he murmured. “Stop pretending you don’t feel it.”
He reached around and rubbed her clit with two fingers, rough and unrelenting. The combination of his cock driving into her and his fingers working her was too much. She came with a choked cry, her legs shaking so hard she would have collapsed if not for his grip on her.
Isak followed seconds later. He buried himself deep and came with a low, guttural sound, flooding her with heat. He stayed inside her for a long moment, breathing hard against her neck.
When he finally pulled out, she felt his come start to slip down her thigh. She closed her eyes in humiliation.
Isak turned her around and lifted her into his arms before she could fall. He carried her to the bed and laid her down on the dark sheets. Then he climbed in after her and pulled her against his chest, one arm locked around her waist.
Linnéa lay there, trembling, staring at the rain on the windows.
Isak stroked her hair with surprising gentleness.
“You can hate me for this,” he said quietly. “You probably should. But your body already knows who it belongs to. And soon, the rest of you will too.”
She didn’t answer.
She didn’t have the strength to lie.
Outside, the rain kept falling over the dark water.
Inside, Linnéa lay in the arms of the man who had taken her — body and choice — and she wasn’t sure anymore where her resistance ended and something far more dangerous began.