Page 94 of Downfall

Somewhere her little dog should be sleeping. I don’t want to startle it into barking and then give myself away and yet as I look around I can’t see it. Yesterday it’d been waiting, as if it too knew I would come and yet tonight it’s surprisingly absent.

That thought makes me pause. Just for a millisecond.

And then I feel it; the cold, unmistakeable feel of a gun pressed against the back of my neck.

“Hello Rose.”

Her only reply is to ram the thing harder into my neck which if anything makes me smirk. She forces me to take a step, then another, but as I take my third, I spin, wrapping my hand around hers and forcing the muzzle under my chin.

As our eyes meet, hers widen in both surprise and fear. She tries to prize the weapon from my hand but I tighten my grip refusing to let go.

“The thing about wielding one of these is you have to be prepared to pull the trigger.” I say.

She shuts her eyes. Her face contorting. “I’d happily pull it on you.”

I tut, shaking my head at the blatant lie. “No Rose, you just proved that was not the case.”

“So what?” She hisses. “So I’m not a murderer like you are?”

I let out a low breath, tossing the gun onto the couch and she follows it with her eyes as if she’d leap after it. Only I won’t let her. She’s in my grasp now, at my mercy and she isn’t going anywhere.

“You really think you could kill someone?” I murmur.

She juts her chin up. Her eyes flashing with that same delectable level of fury I saw before. Christ, she’s exquisite in this moment. The urge to press my lips to hers is practically overwhelming.

“Get the fuck out of my house.” She snarls.

“I rather thought you were enjoying my visits.”

She pushes me but I don’t give her enough space for it to have any effect.

“What the fuck do you even want huh? Showing up here like you’re invited. Like you’re wanted.”

“I’m setting new terms.” I murmur.

“Excuse me?”

“I told you last night. I made it abundantly clear. You belong to me.”

She pushes me again. “Fuck off.”

I pull her tighter, my hands digging into the softness of her skin. “This is how it’s going to work, you belong to me. Not that Henry guy, not the Governor….”

She lets out a hollow laugh. “Oh is that it? You couldn’t bear to see me with someone else?” She sneers. “God you’re pathetic.”

I twist my hand into her hair, yanking it roughly as my jealousy spikes more in response to her behaviour. “You’re with no one else Rose. Not that fucker your father is trying to marry you to now Paris is dead and certainly not fucking Darius.”

“I’ll be with whoever I want.” She hisses. “You get no say on what I do.”

The way she’s responding makes me wonder if she really is sleeping with Darius. If thiswassomething I missed. Well that would be easy to rectify. Easy to stop. “It’s over. Whatever thing you have with Darius. It stops.”

She seethes more, her body physically shaking as if she can barely contain the fury in her.

“Fine.” I murmur, releasing my grip, brushing her cheek in what would normally be a loving gesture. Only this isn’t about love, it’s about possession. My possession of her. And she’s about to realise how far it goes. How far my power stretches too. “Then I’ll make a call to the Governor. I’ll make it clear that you’re off limits.”

She scoffs. “Like he’ll concern himself with your wants.”

“Oh but he will Rose.” I say tracing the outline of her face with my fingers, feeling how soft, how malleable she really is in this moment. “You see Darius is my pet. He does what I tell him. Exactly what I tell him.”

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