Page 75 of Spark

Darren’s shaded eyes never left mine as he slowly rose from his seat, his hands planted on the table as he towered over me; the intensity of his eyes reminded me I was about to experience a world of pain. His sheer size alone overwhelmed me, and I could feel my body wanting to cower while I tried to ignore the liquid heat beginning to collect between my legs. I hated how he had somehow conditioned my fear to turn me on, but I stood my ground, my clenched fists at my side as I glared back at him.

“You act like you have a choice in the matter.” His voice was smooth, low, and laced with enough venom I could almost taste it.

“I always have a choice,” I spat. “Consequences or not.”

“Just like your body has a choice?” he sneered.

I snarled back at him, suddenly lost for my rebuttal. My body was different. It didn’t know the difference between rape and consensual sex, but my heart certainly did. And I would never surrender that to him.

“You may have a degree in psychology, princess, but you’ve never seen firsthand how easy it is to warp the mind. And how much fun it can be. I’ve already conditioned your body to respond the way I want it to, and I have to tell you… it didn’t take very long. I bet your fucking soaked right now.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up!” I snapped. “You have no idea—”

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more intense, Darren casually cracked his neck in the middle of my little rant. Abruptly lifting the table, he ripped it out of his way, sending the heavy oak crashing to its side and shattering all of its contents to the floor. Panic electrified me as I flinched at his strength, and I couldn’t help but find myself immediately backing away as he stormed toward me. My hands came up defensively, but Darren easily bypassed them, grabbed my throat, and shoved me into the wall, cornering me completely. Another gush of heat escaped.

I tried not to whimper, but the sight of seeing him flip that heavy table like it was nothing was enough to remind me that even though my body was strong, I was still very fragile in comparison to him and what he could do. He’d broken my body once before. He could do it again.

“Just who the FUCK do you think you’re talking to, Jaden?” he growled down at me, his fingers squeezing just enough to remind me how vice-like they could be.

Fear consumed me. The adrenaline-fueled panic rushed through me in the wake of Darren’s violent aggression, causing my body to shake and nearly crumple to the floor. I’d never been one to run from a fight, but right now, I wanted nothing more than to dissolve into a little ball on the floor and hide from him until the blazing intensity of his eyes finally left me.

But that wasn’t me. I wasn’t a coward, no matter how much I wanted to be. Some days, it was better to lie down and be a good girl but not every day. No. Not every day.

Not today.

“Answer me!” he roared.

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Apparently, no one,” I said bitterly.

“You’re goddamn right,” he snarled. “Keep pushing me with that smart mouth of yours, and I’ll have your jaw wired shut again.”

I could feel my stomach drop in response to his threat, felt all the blood from my face drain out at the thought of having my jaw wired shut a second time. I could not handle that again. It was bad enough the first time.

“Do you understand me?”

Realizing I’d been clenching my jaw, I released it, noticing the tension leave my face to give him the answer he wanted.

“Yes, Darren.”

“Who do you belong to, Jaden?” he asked me, his voice calm, his breathing even, but I couldn’t ignore the warning in his voice if I didn’t answer.

“You,” I breathed.

“Who does this body belong to?” he asked, trailing the tip of his finger down the side of my face.

I was shaking; I was so fucking scared.

“You.”

Darren moved closer, taking my earlobe between his teeth and biting down just enough to make me gasp. “And I’m going to show you exactly why this body is mine,” he drawled, and then released me, taking several steps back.

“Run,” he said, turning away to take off his suit jacket.

“What?”

Darren removed his tie and began to roll up his sleeves. “Run. As fast as you can, wherever you can. But chose your route wisely because wherever I catch you is where you’re getting fucked.”

I felt all the blood leave my face as my breath caught in my throat. He wanted to chase me, to hunt me down.

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