Chapter 14
POV: Dane?
I’ve watched her for the last 20 minutes.
Her pulse was a bit high but steady. The shock would knock any normal human out for a while.
Stubborn girl, I whispered to myself as I ran my fingers through her hair. I knew that she’d freak out when she saw me here.
I admired her for another few peaceful minutes, her pale cheek resting against the pillow, as her messy blonde hair laid strewn around it, her breathing was soft and she looked innocent, as if fire didn’t spew out of her mouth like lava.
I chuckled, because I knew better. I knew the mouth she had on her and I knew the way her eyes raged when she was angry.
Eventually, she stirred awake and I stared down at her, waiting for her to open her eyes and for shock to overtake them after she saw me sitting on her bed with her.
She yawned, stretching her legs and blinking her eyes open a few times, until our gazes met. She quickly blinked her eyes closed then open, realizing that she wasn’t imagining this and that I was actually here.
She pressed herself into a seat, scooting away from me then pressing her back against the backboard of the bed and wrapping her arms around her knees protectively.
“I didn’t touch you,” I assured her.
She scoffed. “Then how did I get here?”
“Fair point,” I laughed, watching her glare at me.
“You are a psychopath.”
“I thought you knew that already,” I smirked.
“I did but it only solidified my belief after I got shocked by an electrical fence.”
“That was your own doing, Belle.”
She stuttered, trying to deny it. “No, it most certainly was not, Dane!”
I shrugged. “I told you not to run.”
“Well I didn’t ask to be fucking kidnapped, did I?” she scoffed, bunching her palms into the blanket, literally strangling the poor blanket in her grasp.
“Yes, but this was something you could’ve prevented, if you learned to listen. But your stubborn little mind won’t let you.”
“And I’m glad it didn’t! I almost got away—”
“Almost,” I reminded her with a smile.
“Sicko,” she muttered, shaking her head, glaring at me still. “You are literally out of your damn mind!”
“I think you like that about me.”
“You wish!”
“Belle, stop lying to yourself,” I leaned closer, so close that I ran a thumb over her toe. “You need a man who’s in control. You need to be controlled. You want to be controlled. Denying it does nothing. It doesn’t convince your mind otherwise.”
“Get away from me!” she seethed, moving her foot from my touch.
I shrugged. “As you wish, princess. But I’m not leaving until you drink this entire cup of water and finish this chocolate bar.”
She gave me a look. A look that screamed, I want to stab you but you don’t allow me to have metal utensils.
“It’s for your own health,” I reminded her.
“Eating a chocolate bar is for my own health?” she cocked an eyebrow but greedily eyed the chocolate bar sitting on my lap.
“Sugar is good after a shock.”
She kept staring at the chocolate bar on my lap with interested eyes.
“I can’t tell if you’re salivating at the sight of my bulge or the chocolate bar,” I teased.
She shot me another glare. How cute.
I handed her over the chocolate bar, our fingers grazing momentarily as I did, and she practically inhaled it, as if it was the only substance she had all day.
“Periods,” she murmured, wiping her face.
“You missed a spot,” I replied, pointing to the right side of her cheek.
“No, I didn’t,” she argued. “Where?”
I inched forward, close enough that I could touch her face, and it looked like she was going to let me.
I risked it—and wiped away the bit of chocolate off of her face.
For a moment, we both stared at each other, waiting for the inevitable.
Then I leaned in, and cupped her chin, tilting it so that our lips met at the perfect angle. I let my tongue slip into her mouth, claiming her again, tasting the chocolate in her mouth, and feeling her barriers break down one by one.
The kiss felt like a surrender. Passionate. Tender. Loving.
The kiss was fleeting, as expected. And as soon her lips left mine—her hands replaced them.
She hit me, smacking at my chest and punching me in the arm. “You’re fucking sick, Dane!”
“You keep telling me that, baby.”
“You are!” she yelled, hauling herself under the covers and out of my view. “Just leave me alone!”
“Oh, you want me to leave you alone?” I chuckled darkly.
She didn’t respond.
“Do you, Belle?” I asked again.
“Yes!” she finally screamed from underneath the blanket. “I do. Now fuck off!”
“Fine,” I shrugged, getting to my feet, not offering her a second glance. “Be careful what you wish for, Belle.” I shut the door behind me and walked off.
Now for her next test.
I’ll give her exactly what she asked for. Space. Distance. No contact.
And she’d end up begging for my attention.