12. Dom
DOM
It would be so easy to break her. One little bend, and she would snap right between my fingers. And I knew that she knew it.
That pathetic little whimper she let out when I shut the door told me everything I needed to know. That sound was so natural I’d have bet she didn’t even process it passing her lips.
As I stalked toward her, those big doe eyes were already watery, already begging me to take my pound of flesh from her. God, she looked so beautiful when she was afraid — when she remembered exactly who was in charge here.
“Cute little show.” I purred, taking a step closer just to watch her flinch. “Doesn’t seem like you’re feeling so brave now that we’re all alone.”
My foot instinctively moved to take another step, but I pulled back the urge. One more step, and I’d be touching her. One touch, and I might not be able to control myself.
It’s what she deserves for what she’s putting me through — to feel me absolutely lose control.
I wasn’t so sure her guardians on the other side of this flimsy wall would agree with me, though. I wasn’t afraid of what they would do to me — if Callahan even tried to lay a hand on me, she’d see the monster too. But it would be hard to enjoy my prize through their incessant pestering.
They treated the girl like she was some precious treasure, but in this light, I’d swear that she was a demon from my past sent to finally claim me.
Let her try. I won’t bite so easily.
Pulling in a deep breath through my nose, I rolled my shoulders back and fought to rein myself in. At least for the night.
“Here’s how this is going to work, Viper. Your shit stays on that side of the room. You don’t touch my stuff, you don’t look at my stuff, and you don’t fucking bother me. Got it?”
She blinked up at me, still stunned by my proximity as I towered over her.
Does she feel that too? The ache?
It had always been there, truthfully. But ever since I took her, it had grown… undeniable. Troublesome.
And the quiver of her lip was only making it worse.
Pathetic.
Ripping my eyes away from hers, I stormed toward the bed, desperate for something I could sink my fingers into. I grabbed a pillow and tossed it at the far wall. Then another.
Only once I’d created some distance between us did the smallest trickle of air return to the room. And with it, Kiera suddenly found her voice.
“You gonna save any pillows for me?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
I resisted the urge to laugh at her false bravado. It was almost cute, which only pissed me off more. She could never just make things easy, could she?
Even talking to her didn’t feel safe anymore. I grabbed a pillow and chucked it at her feet hard enough to thud against the floor, but she didn’t even flinch.
“What, you can’t be an adult and share a bed? This is ridiculous.”
The barb slipped right under my skin, sinking deep into my pulsing veins. I turned on her with bared teeth. If she kept going, it wouldn’t just be my blood that was drawn.
I knew what it would take to stop her bratty bullshit. And as the images flashed through my mind — throwing her down on that bed, pinning her delicate wrists, ripping away her flimsy clothes, and ravaging her body — I really considered it.
It would feel so fucking good. Better than I cared to admit.
But I wouldn't give in that easily.
Not yet.
So instead, I grabbed a corner of the neatly folded throw blanket and ripped it away from the foot of the bed, tossing it down with my heap of pillows.
I could feel her balking at the back of my head as I shut off the lights and laid on the floor, keeping as much distance between myself and that snare of a bed as possible.
The floor was cold and hard beneath my bones, but I didn’t give a fuck. I laid still until I heard the mattress squeak beneath her, until she finally closed those piercing green eyes.
Only once I heard her quiet breathing did I pull in a breath of my own.
Things had gotten far too complicated. I never should have taken her. I shouldn’t have let her so close. I should have insisted the Oracle relocate her all those months ago. Fuck, I should have burned down the house before she could ever cross its threshold.
But we were too far gone now to undo any of it. All I could do now was choose my next move carefully. And sharing that bed with her wasn’t going to help anything.
It’ll be hard enough to keep my hands off of her from the floor. Though whether it’d be to kill her or to fuck her, I’m not sure…
Up on the bed, Kiera let out a deep huff before rolling over, the mattress squeaking from the force of her movements.
Oh, is it just so hard to settle on that plush mattress? Ungrateful bitch.
But even as I clenched my jaw and pulled my blanket tighter around my shoulders, I knew the thought wasn’t fair. It couldn’t be easy sleeping with a monster lurking in the shadows of your bedframe.
I’m making this harder for her.
It was easier to be honest in the dark, away from prying eyes. And deep down, I knew that as volatile as this place made my emotions, Kiera was going through something just as hard. Maybe harder.
At least my mom is alive, weird as that might be.
But I didn’t know why I couldn’t just leave Kiera alone. Why I needed to take out my own suffering on her
It would be so simple to just keep my head down and complete the mission. To step away once everything was settled and let her live her little fairytale life with the stupid fucks in the next room.
But every time I thought I could manage it, one look at her brought every raw nerve in my body to life. There were too many feelings there — sorrow, yearning, guilt, fondness.
Love, maybe.
I shook my head at the thought, biting my tongue to break out of that stupid thought.
I don’t love her. It’s just got some stupid, childish hang up about the past. It’ll fade once this is over.
There were more important things to worry about anyway. I shouldn’t be wasting my nights pining like some lovesick teenager, I should be planning.
Taking down Zeus, the thing I’d been suffering all of these years for, was in reach for the very first time.
Our strategy wasn’t bulletproof though, and Isaac wouldn’t hesitate to use any weakness against me.
I needed to stay focused. Because if I didn’t, there was no guarantee I would survive this.