Spark

by J Marie

  in his own twisted mind, but this time, for once, he actually had a valid point. Any

  wild animal was dangerous; I knew this, but all those foxes were was just another

  taste of freedom I didn’t want to give back. I wanted interaction. I wanted the

  distraction, anything that could take my mind away from the hell I was living in. I

  was looking for ways to make my life tolerable … until I figured a way out of here.

  However the fuck long that would take.

  After washing up for dinner, I changed into something nicer and pursed my lips

  when I tried to decide what stupid heels to wear. I didn’t typically wear them. They

  were uncomfortable and impractical. The only thing I liked about them was the fact

  that they gave me a few extra inches in height but big deal. I was still short as fuck.

  I decided on a nice compromise and selected a pair of lacey pink wedges to go with

  my light pink frilly strapless sundress. The floor-length mirror confirmed how

  ridiculous I looked. I wanted my black Converse, skinny jeans, and my black leather

  jacket. I missed looking like me. Not this fake frilly bullshit.

  When it was time, Clive and Owen escorted me down to the dining room, where

  Darren was already waiting, typing away on his smartphone. The moment I entered

  the room, his eyes immediately went to my feet to make sure I’d obeyed him. His

  brows furrowed with what was probably anger. I quickly sat down before he could

  linger on them for too long.

  He finally sighed. “Jaden, what are you wearing?”

  “It’s called a compromise,” I replied positively.

  “A compromise?”

  “Yes; they’re heels, but they’re much more comfortable than stilettos.”

  Darren’s eyes narrowed at me. “Why don’t you ever wear any of the heels I’ve

  provided you?”

  I took a sip of my water before answering him. “Several reasons. One—because

  they’re impractical and uncomfortable. Two—I prefer to be as stable around you as

  possible, and three—it’s much safer for you.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “How’s that?”

  I couldn’t help but smirk. “Because I might be too tempted to stab you in the

  throat with the heel. Best to keep me away from temptations like that,” I said

  plainly.

  Darren regarded me for a moment before he tilted his head to the side and

  laughed. I loved how he found my violent side funny.

  “You take the meaning of ‘killer heels’ literal, don’t you?” He chuckled.

  I shrugged. “The right ones can be dangerous. I once kicked a frat boy in the

  stomach for getting too touchy with me while wearing heels. He had to go to the

  hospital that night for stitches.”

  Darren positively grinned. “Impressive, but I think you know by now that killing

  me will only serve to make things much worse for you.”

  I waved him off. I’d heard this speech before. “Yes, yes, Mexico and all that. I

  know.”

  The idea should terrify me, but I didn’t plan to kill Darren until I’d eliminated all

  my other smaller threats first; until no one was left to avenge his death. Then I

  would strike.

  “You need to stop thinking like that,” Darren said dismissively as our dinner

  was served.

  I shot him a glance. I hadn’t thought that out loud, had I? “Thinking like what?”

  “Like you’re going to find a way out of this. That this isn’t permanent. Like you

  will successfully kill me one day.” His voice was dark, his eyes hooded by his brow,

  giving him a sinister look that made me shudder.

  I returned his gaze with the same challenging fierceness. “Everybody dies,

  Darren. I’m just curious as to how long you think you’re going to survive me in all

  this.”

  Darren suddenly seemed to relax, a tight smile forming in the corner of his lips.

  “You know; I can’t help but notice that you can’t seem to keep your game straight.

  One minute, you’re pulling for my trust, claiming to make peace with your life, and

  the next, you’re back to threatening me with your miscalculated ideas of revenge.

  You’re not very consistent with your plans, Jaden. You might want to work on

  that.”

  I felt my fists curl until my knuckles turned white. Son of a bitch.

  “Well, you could just let me go, and then we wouldn’t have to worry about the

  threats anymore,” I said through gritted teeth.

  Darren chuckled. “Your threats are cute and oddly creative. I think I’d miss

  them.”

  My nails began to dig into my palms, biting into my flesh and reminding me not

  to give in to his push.

  Don’t give him the satisfaction.

  “Well, you’ll have to get used to missing them at some point,” I retorted.

  Darren laughed again as he took a bite of his dinner. “Careful, princess. Your

  fuse is showing. Don’t make me light it.”

  There it was—my bait. And I fucking took it like a prized swordfish.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “I would,” he said simply.

  Bingo.

  “And there’s the admission I was waiting for. How badly do you want to light

  that fuse, Darren? How bored are you with my constant robotic submission?”

  “How bored are you?” he countered slyly.

  I scoffed at his rebuttal question but quickly recovered. “This isn’t about me. It’s

  always been about you and what you want.”

  “And I always get what I want, don’t I?”

  “Until the day it finally backfires on you.”

  Darren shook his head at me. “The longer you continue to tell yourself that, the

  harder it will continue to be for you,” he warned. “Pretending to be submissive

  isn’t helping you either.”

  I rested my elbows on the table and leaned toward him, practically combat

  ready. “I’m just a little curious, Darren. In what universe do you think I’ll feel

  anything but absolute pure hatred for you? That I won’t fantasize about your death

  every minute of every day?”

  Bait and hook.

  “The same one where I spare your family,” he nearly growled. “The same one

  where I grant the ones you love mercy from a horrific and bloody future. One that

  you’d have to watch.”

  I felt myself blanch at the truth in his words. He was sparing them for me, and I

  was pushing him.

  “I do not care whether you love or hate me, Jaden. The only thing I care about is

  loyalty. I can ensure that through either money or fear, but since your loyalty is the

  only thing about you I can’t purchase, I will acquire it through fear. Money and fear

  both work the same way. I can spend more, or I can terrorize more. I told you things

  could always get worse. I have barely shared with you a glimpse of how dark my

  world is. Keep testing me, and you will find out very quickly what happens when

  someone crosses me.”

  I stiffened, unable to move at his words while the feeling of defeat washed over

  me. I felt my eyes wander from his to the blankness in front of me. Goddamn him.

  “You should consider the fact that if you continue to fight me and continue to

  hate me as much as you do, it will only eat you up inside. But if you let go, if you

  accept your life, if you learn to blur that thin line between love and hate,
you might

  come to find yourself better off in a situation you cannot change. Stockholm

  syndrome doesn’t have to be all bad, Jaden. It’s just another form of survival; one I

  think you can appreciate, given the circumstances.”

  Unable to contain the rage that shocked me like a lightning storm, I shot out of

  my chair and chucked my untouched plate across the room where it crashed into

  the wall, shattering ceramic and food all over the wall and floor. I glared down at

  Darren, a feral snarl on my face as I prepared to beat the fucking shit out of him.

  “I will never love you,” I roared.

  It was supposed to be the other way around. He was supposed to fall in love with

  me. It would be easier to manipulate him that way, get him to lower his guard and

  sympathize with me like I needed him to. If he thought I was going to succumb to

  some psychological bullshit to combat my traumatic life, then he was a bigger fool

  than I thought. I was beyond insulted that he thought me so weak minded.

  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.

  “And when I catch you, I’m going to remind you just exactly why that body is

  mine,” he said with a nod.

  I felt myself take another step away from him.

  “Now, run!” he barked, and I immediately took off like my life depended on it.

  27

  EVERYSINGLEINCH

  I rounded the corner of the first floor, quickly kicking off my useless wedges to run

  in my bare feet. I figured I’d have better luck if I stayed on the first floor, rather

  than wasting time running up the stairs and limiting my options of escape.

  My heart pounded in my chest, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I zipped

  through the house, and I wondered how much of a head start Darren was going to

  give me. I didn’t have to ponder long because not more than a few seconds later, I

  heard the quick paces of his feet thundering through the house behind me.

  Shit!

  Thank fuck the house was like a maze. With so many halls and rooms, it was

  easy to keep the chase going, but I didn’t know how much longer I had before he

  found me. He wasn’t behind me, but I could still hear the running somewhere

  throughout the house.

  Rounding another corner, I stopped for a moment to hide and catch my breath.

  That was when I noticed his footsteps had stopped as well. Fuck, he was listening

  for me. I didn’t know if I wanted him to find me since I knew exactly what would

  happen. It would be hard and rough, and I’d likely still feel it in the morning.

  Maybe if I could draw the chase out long enough and hide somewhere, he’d give up?r />
  Don’t be a fucking idiot, Jaden. Just figure out where you want him to fuck you.

  Good point. My room was probably best since I could just curl up on my bed

  afterward and go to sleep. I’d probably need it.

  Settled on my plan, I tiptoed out of the room I’d been hiding in and poked my

  head out into the hallway. The coast was clear. On quick feet, I made my way

  through the hallway, heading back toward the stairs, my heart practically beating

  out of my chest. But as I came around the next corner to the stairs, I came face to

  face with my hunter. My heart nearly stopped.

  Gasping in shock, I made a quick beeline back the way I came, but Darren was

  already on my heels, wearing a dark, sinister look on his face. He was looking for

  his conquest, and he was about to have it.

  Sprinting into the closest room, I slammed the door shut and locked it right

  before Darren had a chance to catch me. Fighting for breath, I backed away from

  the door, clutching my midsection as I waited for the inevitable. One solid kick was

  all it took for Darren to bulldoze the door down and storm his way through what

  was left of the doorframe toward me.

  Sheer panic enveloped me as I turned to run from him again, but he was quick

  this time. Grabbing my arm, he yanked me toward him, his other arm reaching

  around my middle and lifting me to his chest. Flight was over. Time to fight.

  Withstanding the terror vibrating in my limbs, I turned my whole body into the

  elbow I attempted to throw in his face, but his hand came up to block it and wrap

  around my arm to trap it behind my back. With my position now restricted, my

  other arm didn’t have much reach, but it didn’t matter much anyway because, in a

  matter of seconds, my face was shoved into the mattress.

  I tried to turn, tried to scramble from the bed, tried to get just a single bit of my

  bearings back, but Darren wasn’t giving me an inch to fight. My breathing erratic

  and shallow, I came to terms with the fact I’d been caught and began to mentally

  prepare myself for what was coming next. It didn’t matter much, though. I was

  wetter than Niagara Falls down there.

  My clothes were ripped from my body; Darren’s fist in my hair, he jerked my

  head up while the other hand went for his zipper, and he quickly entered me from