Spark

by J Marie

  that Darren is a reasonable man when you and I both know that’s a fucking lie. See?

  This is why these little bullshit therapy sessions won’t work on me, Sid. Because all

  you’re going to try to do is attempt to rationalize my situation from the wrong

  perspective. The only thing you’re focused on is getting me to accept my status as

  Darren’s slave for the rest of my life and somehow be happy with that.”

  “Jaden, you can be happy. We can make this work,” Sid said softly.

  In a fit of rage, I grabbed the edge of the coffee table and ripped it out of my way,

  spilling tea and shattering the contents of the table to the floor. Terror filled Sid’s

  eyes now that there was nothing blocking him from me.

  “Just like it worked for Darren’s mother?” I snarled.

  I could feel Clive and Owen rounding either side of the couch, most likely to put

  me under. I wasn’t having any of that. While they were at each end of the long

  couch, I turned, hopped over the back and tore the doors of the office open to bolt

  down the hallway. I needed to get the fuck away from all of them. But as I ran, the

  doors to Darren’s office abruptly opened, and Darren rushed out to block my

  escape, anger and concern washed over his face. Too pissed off to deal or slow

  down, I danced around him quickly, ducking under his arm as he reached for me.

  “I knew it!” I shouted at him as I turned back to run for the door that led

  outside. I knew he’d been watching!

  “Jaden!” I heard him angrily call after me, but I was already at the door.

  “For once, Darren, just leave me the fuck alone!” I shouted back, basically

  running for my fucking life now. If he came after me, it was game over. But as I ran,

  I didn’t hear his footsteps coming after me, so he must have let me go. He was

  actually letting me break his own rules for once. Maybe he knew that I needed a

  moment alone just as much as I did.

  Pushing my legs harder, I raced into the trees, angry tears threatening to take

  over as I jumped over the dead branches scattered over the trail. Once I felt I was

  deep enough, I slowed my run down to a brisk walk, my head constantly turning

  back to make sure I wasn’t being followed. After a while, I felt my heartbeat finally

  calm down knowing I was far away from the house and deep enough for the trees to

  shelter me, I hoped. Eventually, my walk slowed, and I started to focus on all the

  trees around me, the birds flying around and singing, and the warm rays of the sun

  shining through the green leaves. It wasn’t as warm as usual, but it was still a nice

  day out.

  A few minutes later, I came across a clearing of soft grass, and I decided to take

  the opportunity to sit down and clear my head for a while. Kneeling down on the

  grass, I found a comfortable position, bowed my head, and took a deep breath,

  releasing through my nose until I felt relaxed and focused.

  I’d broken so many rules back there, and I knew I was in for it when I returned.

  I’d have to apologize; maybe Darren would lessen my punishment if I admitted I

  was in the wrong. I knew he’d been listening the entire time; I knew he couldn’t

  resist. I probably shouldn’t have brought something up as personal as his mother,

  but if she couldn’t survive this life, I wondered how long I could.

  How long would it take before Darren’s enemies made a move against him?

  Targeting me in an attack to get to him? It obviously wasn’t unheard of. That war

  was over ten years ago. People change. They grow up to have big egos thinking they

  can rule the world and everyone in it, and Darren was no exception. Eventually,

  some little monster was going to take the throne of his father and stir up a whole

  bunch of shit when they tried to stake their claim in the underground. Darren

  wouldn’t stay young forever, and the task of staying at the top of the food chain

  would eventually weaken him. This was such a stupid live fast, die young life. Did

  anyone ever live long enough to grow old in this business?

  I needed to get more info on Darren’s family life, especially his childhood—what

  his mother and father were like. I wondered if maybe his mother had left a journal

  behind somewhere, anything to give me an idea of the past. Maybe that was my key

  to unlocking my future.

  Through my meditation, I kept hearing something shifting in the bushes. I

  winked an eye open toward the sound to find a bush about ten feet away from me

  jerking oddly every few seconds. That was when I caught the soft orange color

  rummaging in the bush. I narrowed my focus on color until a small fox carrying a

  dead rabbit in its mouth finally emerged. Fascinated, I’d never seen a fox in the

  wild before. It was orange outside its body, but mostly gray bushy fur everywhere

  else. It looked at me for a few seconds before it finally took off at the corner of the

  clearing and disappeared into the trees.

  I hadn’t been stupid enough today, so I got up, intending to follow it, but lost it

  just as quickly as I saw it. Wandering the woods for a while, I studied the layout of

  the woods, trying to leave the memory of the estate behind. Eventually, I caught

  the sound of yapping and yelping off in the distance. Following the sound, I finally

  came across the source and immediately ducked behind a tree. Gently turning, I

  quietly peered around the tree to find a den of gray foxes eating the remains of the

  dead rabbit I had seen earlier. There were four of them, three kits and what was

  probably the mother. Two of the kits were fighting over the bones of the rabbit

  while the third chewed on a small hunk of meat that hung from its teeth. The

  mother laid on her side, her eyes scanning the area around them in high alert.

  The kits were adorable; though they weren’t very small, they were still fuzzy,

  gray poofy balls with claws and teeth. They were fascinating to watch, finding I

  could lean against the tree for hours without moving just to focus on something

  other than what was waiting for me back at the estate. But it was getting cold, and

  the sun was itching for a setting. My stomach rumbled in protest of not being fed,

  and I decided it was probably time to head back and face the music.

  Trudging back to the house, I prepared my apology, ready to accept whatever

  came my way without complaint with the assurance it wouldn’t happen again, but I

  could never guarantee that. Fucking hell, this was going to suck.

  23

  WAITING

  I was getting sick and tired of the constant ticking of my dark chrome Rolex,

  reminding me that Jaden still wasn’t back yet. It’d been nearly three hours, and I

  was ready to start pulling my fucking hair out. I made the decision to let her go, to

  let her run from the session so she could have a moment to collect herself and

  come back in one piece. Apparently, that took three fucking hours.

  I’d had my dinner at the kitchen island while I stood and watched out the

  window, waiting for Jaden to emerge. I was furious, anxious, and worried. For all I

  knew, she could be lost with a broken leg somewhere and was in dire need of help,

  but that was a stupid assumption. Jaden was not a helpless little girl, yet for some

  reason, I kept treating her like one.

  I’d modi
fied her cuffs to measure her heart rate, body temperature, exercising

  habits, and even her sleep patterns. After a while, her pulse had slowed to a deep

  calm, jumped again, and then relaxed again. I wanted to know what the fuck she

  was doing out there, but I fought with myself to give her some privacy. Clive and

  Owen wanted to argue and go after her, but angering myself even more, I denied

  them. Sid told me this might happen, that she would run like this, even though she

  knew not to. In a way, I’d expected it, too, though I was shocked to hear her bring

  up my mother.

  She’d compared herself to her more than once, but I didn’t want her thinking

  she’d share the same fate as her. It would never happen. I would burn the world

  first.

  What pissed me off more was the fact that she thought she’d been testing me

  before. I’d known what she was doing the entire fucking time. It’d be a cold day in

  hell if ever she were a step ahead of me. I knew her too well, knew how the wheels

  in her cute little head turned. She’d become too compliant to the point of

  annoyance, and I knew she was doing it to make a point. I missed the fire, the

  tension, the way she hated me with so much passion I could practically feel it claw

  at my skin when I fucked her. Now, she was dull, unemotional, and irritatingly

  robotic. And I knew it was my fault.

  I liked control too much, needed it too much. Control was safe, reliable, and

  brought with it every advantage possible. If I wasn’t in control, then someone else

  was, and I’d be damned before I let that happen. In my world, you couldn’t afford to

  look weak because the moment the sharks smelled blood in the water, there would

  be nothing left but a throne to claim, and I’d already claimed so many as it was.

  Jaden had yet to understand why I couldn’t yield. Eventually, she would. When

  the darkness of my world revealed itself to her, she would. She would also learn

  that playing games with me was never a smart idea, especially if she was trying to

  undermine me.

  At long last, I caught sight of the magnificent red shine of Jaden’s hair as she

  walked out of the woods and toward the house, seeming calm and collected.

  Unharmed. I couldn’t help but release a small breath of relief, but it was short lived

  as the anger returned to replace it.

  “Sir!” Clive yelled from the living room as he came to my side.

  “I see her,” I said, my narrowed gaze never leaving her small form as she

  trudged toward the house.

  Following her every move, I stormed my way toward the door right as she walked

  in. She stopped abruptly when I cornered her, and actually flinched like I was going

  to hit her. She had good reason to. I wanted to smack some sense into her, but it

  angered me for some reason that her first instinct was to flinch, rather than raise

  her hands in defense as she normally would … because she was going to let me hit

  her.

  Fear washed over her beautiful face as her amber eyes landed on me. I knew I

  was probably unconsciously glaring at her, but I was pissed and wanted an

  explanation.

  “Well?” I said, lifting an eyebrow and crossing my arms over my chest.

  Jaden folded her lips and gulped back her trepidation before she finally spoke,

  her eyes raised with determination and responsibility.

  “I’m sorry for running. I didn’t mean to take off like that. I just sort of …

  panicked. I just needed a moment to collect myself before I did something …

  worse,” she said confidently.

  “You were out there for three hours, princess. You missed your dinner, and you

  worried the shit out of me,” I said sternly. I sounded like an angry parent,

  chastising their child.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I would have been back sooner, but I don’t exactly have a way

  of telling time out there.”

  “What did you even do out there?”

  “Meditated mostly,” she murmured with a shrug. “Wandered for a while until I

  calmed down. I know I messed up, and …” She sucked in a breath and eased out her

  exhale before meeting me head-on. “I’m prepared to accept whatever punishment

  I deserve for my behavior. I won’t complain, but you should at least know it was

  more out of panic and frustration than it was defiance,” she stated.

  I sighed. I should have known that therapy session with Sid was going to lead to

  trouble. Forcing Jaden to talk about her emotional turmoil was never going to work,

  but neither was allowing her to bottle up everything. She needed an outlet—one

  that didn’t require aggression, but, instead, was something that made her smile.

  But I was too fucking busy to devote that kind of attention to her. I’d have to plan

  something for her, but I had no fucking clue what.

  Pulling her into my chest, I wrapped my arms around her and held her close,

  inhaling her in and allowing my own raging heart to relent. I felt Jaden’s small

  hands slowly reach around and place them at my back, permitting herself to melt

  into me. I could feel her body begin to tremble slightly. She was scared—afraid of

  how I’d punish her for running off like she did. In a way, it was a good start. She

  was coming to fear the consequences of her actions, and that was the way it should

  be. But first, I needed confirmation of something more important.

  “Lift your dress,” I drawled into her ear.

  On a deep breath, Jaden reached back for her skirting and slowly lifted the fabric

  to her hips, giving me access to everything I wanted. Jaden kept her eyes low as I

  gently reached into her panties, and much to my satisfaction, I found her wetter

  than the fucking ocean.

  I groaned with desire. “Oh, good girl,” I whispered unable to hide the lust and

  approval in my voice as I rubbed her wetness slowly back and forth over her clit.

  Jaden released a sharp breath, her teeth biting her lip as she tried to fight against

  the pleasure. Her face began to flush, her breathing uneven as I brought her closer

  and closer to the edge. She trembled at my touch as I spread her wider, teasing her

  even more than I already was. Her knuckles were turning white from holding the

  skirt up, and I had a feeling she was going to bite right through her lip if I didn’t

  stop soon.

  Leaning down, I kissed her mouth, forcing her head to tilt up and swallowing the

  moan she released as I finally penetrated her hot core. Even around my finger, she

  was still so tight. Much to Jaden’s muffled whimper of disappointment, I removed

  my hand and licked my fingers clean of her delicious arousal as I gazed down at her,

  beyond ready to finish what I started.

  “Upstairs,” I ordered, jerking my head in the direction of the stairs. “Now.”

  Jaden dropped her dress and immediately obeyed my order.

  “Dismissed,” I said to her bodyguards and followed her. Jaden wouldn’t need

  them for the rest of the day.

  For the remainder of the night, I did something I thought I would never do. I

  didn’t just fuck Jaden; I did what I might have actually considered making love. For

  once, I was gentle with her body, kissing, caressing, worshiping every inch of her

  until she was so lost in her own pleasure that she couldn’t even remember all the


  horrible things I’d put her through in the last six months. Even I couldn’t

  remember why I’d been so furious with her earlier; I was so lost in her perfect body.

  She didn’t just respond favorably to the attention I was giving her, she’d

  reciprocated, kissing me back, and actually pulled me to her rather than push me

  away.

  I gave her everything she wanted and more, for once, allowing her to forget

  everything—who she was and what she was—and just drowning her in a night of

  passion and lust. I’d even fed her myself; feeding her forkfuls of the dinner she’d

  missed earlier until she pleaded with me that she was full. I, of course, insisted on

  one last bite, which she complied with. And when it was well beyond into the night,

  our bodies both spent and satisfied, Jaden curled up in her favorite little nook

  against my shoulder and side and closed her eyes for the night, releasing a sleepy

  sigh as she finally drifted off to sleep. For once, it wasn’t about asserting my

  dominance to ensure she knew her place. It was just about pleasing her, and that

  made me feel oddly … invigorated.

  It gave me hope that she could become more than just complacent; she had the

  potential to become happy. But I’d have to give her that happiness.

  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t agree with Jaden’s little test over me. I was bored

  with her compliance. I enjoyed her resistance too much to beat it out of her

  completely. All I really wanted from her was to fear and obey me when I needed her

  to, fight me when I wanted her to, and love me with the same fierceness I shared

  for her. Would I admit that to her now? No— wanted her to gain a better

  understanding of what it meant to be obedient, to be mine. No more playing games.

  She was lying if she thought she didn’t miss the fight either. She could deny it

  all she wanted, but her fear of me turned her on … because she knew what I would

  do to her, and today only reaffirmed that. She wanted the push just as much as I

  wanted to give it. I had a feeling she’d soon create it herself just so I had a reason to

  punish her. Whether it was done unconsciously or deliberately, she’d pull

  something that would warrant a fight, like today.

  The therapy session had been a test to see how close she was to acting out, how