Spark

by J Marie

  swallowing the last bite I could muster before my stomach burst. I shook my head.

  “I can’t take another bite. I’m so full,” I pleaded. Only a few bites were left on

  my plate, but I had already pushed myself past my limit. This chef overestimated

  how much I could eat.

  “Please?” Darren pressed, but it was nice in his own way. His voice held concern,

  but there was a bit of humor in his plead.

  “Only because you actually said please,” I said carefully and opened my mouth

  to close it around the fork.

  “Good girl,” he praised, kissing me at the temple. “Now, it’s bath time.”

  “Bath time?” I replied, looking at him confused.

  “Yes,” he said and then stood, easily lifting me into his arms and carrying me to

  the bathroom.

  I groaned again. “Ugh, you know, I can walk, too,” I complained.

  Darren ignored my comment and set me down on the bathroom counter. “You’ll

  walk when I allow it,” he replied and then turned his back to turn the faucet of the

  Jacuzzi tub on. The bathroom was another testament to the house. It kept up the

  same log cabin walls, except for the brown stone tile that bordered the walls around

  the tub. The only window in the bathroom was a skylight in the ceiling, giving a

  lovely view of the night sky.

  Opening one of the many cabinets, Darren grabbed some bath oil and poured it

  into the tub before returning it to the cabinet. When the bath was halfway full, I

  took the initiative of removing my robe and hopping off the counter while Darren

  removed his pants. I headed over to the bathtub, knowing I’d end up in it anyway.

  Might as well be on my terms. But the moment I took a single step forward, Darren

  stopped me, taking my body in his arms and blocking me.

  “What did I just say?” he nearly growled. I felt my eyebrows shoot up.

  “Seriously?”

  Darren responded by picking me up, again, and cradled me against his chest as

  he strode over to the tub. “Seriously,” he replied and stepped into the tub. Gently

  easing us into the tub, Darren placed me between his legs and pulled my shoulders

  back to rest my head against his chest. I released a heavy breath and relaxed into

  his body. When the tub was filled, he turned it off and relaxed again. His hands

  trailed against my wet skin, his fingers tracing lines along my arms, creating little

  goose bumps in their wake. The water was warm and scented with lavender, the

  scent filling my nose and calming me immediately. I almost wanted to fall asleep

  right there, but then I felt him nudge me forward.

  “Dunk your hair under the water,” he said. I did as he asked, inching myself

  forward so I could lay back and dunk my head in the warm water. After it was wet,

  Darren shampooed and conditioned my hair, his strong fingers massaging my scalp

  and nearly making me purr out loud. When he was done, and my hair was rinsed, he

  laid me back against him, resting on his chest once more. I hated to admit it, but it

  felt nice. He was so solid behind me, but somehow, just as comfortable. I found

  myself pressing my cheek into one of his pecs as he stroked my arm, his bare

  knuckles leaving soft lines against my skin. I closed my eyes just for a moment and

  realized if I gave in to the exhaustion taking over, I’d fall asleep in the damn tub.

  “What time is it?” I asked, my voice low and sleepy.

  “Just after midnight,” Darren said.

  “Mmm … Merry Christmas,” I mumbled. Darren kissed me on the top of the

  head and then got out, pulling me up with him.

  “Come on. It’s time for bed. I’ve kept you up too late to begin with.”

  “Agreed,” I said with a yawn.

  Darren pulled me out of the tub, dried my hair and body with fluffy white towels,

  and then naturally, carried my ass to bed. This time, I didn’t protest. Tucking me

  against his side and under the sheets, Darren reached over to turn off the lights,

  the only lights now coming from the dying fire in the fireplace and the Christmas

  tree. Darren’s warmth behind me, mixed with the softness of the sheets and the

  scent of lavender knocked me out in a matter of seconds. Tomorrow, I’d see how

  well Darren could celebrate Christmas. It would be an interesting day.

  34

  CHRISTMASMORNING

  I woke up with a burst, my blood rushing through my veins and my breathing

  becoming uneven. And then I suddenly became very aware of the pleasure

  occurring between my legs. The soft wet strokes of Darren’s tongue lapping at my

  clit waking me up was one hell of an alarm clock. I went to pull my arms down, my

  hands intent on finding something to grasp, but I realized I couldn’t move them

  from above my head.

  I was about to panic until Darren sucked my clit into his mouth, and I couldn’t

  help but moan, arching my back and tugging even harder against my restraints. In a

  matter of seconds, my orgasm took over, shattering my resolve and awakening my

  body to the fullest.

  When it was over, and my body calmed from the high, I felt Darren trail kisses

  up my abdomen and between my breasts before he exposed that dazzling shark grin

  of his. “Merry Christmas,” he said, that smile awakening the morning butterflies

  in my stomach.

  “Merry Christmas,” I replied with a heavy breath.

  Just then, a knock on the door came, and I felt myself tug against my restraints

  again.

  “Don’t move,” he said with a smirk, bopping my nose before getting up from

  the bed and heading into the bathroom. I heard the water run for a few seconds

  before he came out with a pair of sweatpants on and answered the door.

  Drawing my legs up to cover myself just in case, I continued to tug at my

  restraints, hoping they might give just a little, but they never did. It felt like my

  cuffs were attached to something stringy—rope maybe?

  Darren came over to my side of the bed, bringing with him the scent of bacon

  and cinnamon. He had a silver tray in his hands and set it down on the end table

  next to us.

  “Open your legs, Jaden,” he said, but the tone of his voice, though gentle, left no

  room for argument. Noticing he’d picked up a napkin, I’d hoped he planned to

  clean up the mess he’d recently made of me. Biting my lip, I complied, slowing

  spread my knees and allowing him to clean up his saliva as well as my cum. I

  gasped from the rough texture of the napkin but felt much better knowing the

  stickiness was gone, and I was clean. I was still a bit sore from the night before, but

  I’d forgot it all thanks to the masterful talents of Darren’s tongue.

  Once I was clean, Darren disposed of the napkin and turned his attention back to

  the tray.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Well, I just had my breakfast,” he said with a smirk. “It’s time you had yours.”

  “Breakfast in bed, huh?”

  “That’s right.”

  Lifting the lid, my mouth instantly watered at the sight of scrambled eggs,

  bacon, hash browns, French toast, and a small bowl of raspberries. There was also a

  cup of green tea and a glass of orange juice. Darren speared a few scrambled eggs

  with the fork and brought it over to my mouth.

  “Open,” he said.
>
  “Oh, come on! You don’t have to force feed me. I’ll eat, I promise,” I whined.

  “Open. Your. Mouth,” he reiterated, that glare quickly becoming

  uncompromising.

  I sighed and finally opened my mouth to accept the eggs. I chewed quickly so I

  could speak again.

  “Do I have to be restrained to eat my breakfast?”

  “I don’t know, do you?” Darren asked as he brought the fork speared with a

  small cutout of French toast to my lips. I took it between my lips without

  hesitation.

  “I don’t think so,” I answered, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

  “If you can get through half of it, I’ll let you up.”

  I sighed in defeat. It was the best I was going to get. So I opened my mouth to

  accept the next several delicious bites without complaint. It didn’t take long before

  I could feel myself getting full, but I wanted the fuck out of these bonds like now.

  “Okay, I’m satisfied for now,” Darren declared and pulled his phone out of his

  pocket to unlock my cuffs.

  Sliding my arms down, I sat up, rolling my shoulders and stretching my arms

  forward until my spine cracked. Darren popped a raspberry in his mouth and then

  stood.

  “I’m going to take a shower. When I get back, I expect everything to be gone,”

  he ordered and then kissed me on top of the head before walking over toward the

  bathroom.

  “Everything?” I reiterated loud enough so he could hear me. I still had a lot of

  work to do.

  “Everything,” he answered and then shut the bathroom door behind him.

  “Fuck,” I whispered under my breath.

  I finished off the bowl of raspberries easily enough, chomped down the last strip

  of bacon, polished off the small portion of remaining scrambled eggs, but I was

  seriously hitting the wall trying to finish the last bit of hash browns and two small

  cut pieces of French toast. The stress of my captivity had been making my stomach

  shrink since the beginning, and my time on the island with a broken jaw didn’t

  help much. Darren was obviously trying to rectify that.

  When he finally emerged from the shower fifteen minutes later, I still had the

  French toast left. He walked over with a towel wrapped around his waist, water

  droplets still fresh as they dripped down his chest. He smelled impeccable. He’d

  shaved and combed his hair to the side so that it swept a little over his brow.

  Goddamn.

  He took one look at my plates and shook his head, turning and heading for the

  walk-in closet. “Keep going,” he ordered.

  I groaned, took a big breath, and shoved one of the pieces of French toast in my

  mouth, chewing slowly and hoping I didn’t chuck everything back up. When Darren

  came back out of the closet a few moments later, he was dressed in a thick black

  turtleneck sweater and dark jeans with black leather dress shoes. I hated how easy

  it was for him to look as sexy as he did all the time.

  Darren came back around to where I was perched on the bed, my chin resting on

  my knee as I finished chewing, and regarded my tray again. He picked up the fork,

  speared the toast, and placed it in front of my lips. I groaned again.

  “Come on,” Darren prompted.

  I parted my lips and took the final piece in my mouth, chewing as slowly as

  possible to keep everything down.

  “Good girl,” he said and set the fork down. “Go freshen up and meet me

  downstairs in fifteen minutes.” He headed for the door before ultimately turning

  around for one last order. “Oh, and I want that orange juice gone, too,” he said and

  then walked out the door.

  I looked over at the orange juice and almost considered just pouring it down the

  drain in the bathroom, but like my bedroom, I was sure cameras were installed in

  here, too. I officially assumed now that no matter what I was doing or where I was,

  someone was always watching me.

  Getting up from the bed, I took a sip of the orange juice and headed into the

  bathroom. I used the toilet, gave myself a better cleanup job after Darren’s wake-

  up call this morning, washed my face, brushed my hair and teeth, and put my hair

  up in a high ponytail. With only fifteen minutes, I didn’t have much time to style it.

  Heading over to the walk-in, I put on a bra, a dark purple sweater dress with long

  sleeves, and black fleece-lined leggings. I pulled on the comfy, warm slipper boots

  and then left the room. Romero and Alex were standing just outside my door,

  waiting for me.

  “Merry Christmas,” I said to them as they escorted me down the hall. They just

  gave me a curt nod. I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t you guys have family to be with?” I

  asked them as we descended the stairs.

  “No, ma’am,” Romero replied, and that was the end of the conversation because

  Darren appeared around the corner.

  Darren took my hand and led me into the great room, but I couldn’t help but

  linger on the thought that the guards and probably many of the people Darren

  employed didn’t likely get any time off from their duties, even for the holidays. But

  Clive and Owen weren’t here, so maybe there was a rotation? I wondered if Darren

  would disclose.

  He kept a good grip on my hand as we walked through the room and rounded the

  couch to sit down. That was when I noticed all the presents under the tree, wrapped

  by what looked like absolute professionals. They had hand-tied bows and ribbons,

  perfectly proportioned wrappings, all done in beautiful colors of red, green, gold,

  silver, and blue. Some boxes were bigger than others were, some rectangular, some

  square. I blanched when I realized they were likely all for me and looked up at

  Darren’s smirking face for confirmation.

  “That cannot all be for me,” I said, as I plopped down on the couch.

  “Oh, yes,” he confirmed. “I finally get to spoil you.”

  You could spoil me with freedom…

  “Spoil me? Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely,” he said as he bent down to lift a present from under the tree. He

  sat down on the floor next to the tree, his arm casually draped over his raised knee,

  and handed me the gift. Begrudgingly, I took the present and placed it in my lap,

  pursing my lips as I hesitated to open it. This just felt … off.

  “What’s wrong now?” Darren asked, his eyes dark as he watched me.

  Fuck, I did not want to get into a fight now.

  “It’s nothing,” I said, making sure I made eye contact with him. I tried to give a

  small smile to assure nothing was wrong, but I knew he wouldn’t buy it.

  “Jaden,” he warned. That was my cue to give him the answer he wanted.

  I sniffled, looking down at the small square present in my hands. “I just didn’t

  expect all this. I’m not sure how I feel about it.” More gifts from him I didn’t want

  to accept.

  If there was one thing I could feel, it was anger steaming from Darren’s body.

  After a few moments, he released a heavy breath and relaxed against the end of the

  couch.

  “I actually went to a lot of trouble for all this. To try to make you happy. The

  least you could do is let me enjoy it just a little while I watch you open your

  Christmas presents.”

 
; Classic guilt trip.

  I sighed, knowing I sounded like an ungrateful bitch, but I should have been

  sharing this special morning with Jason, with my actual family. Darren wouldn’t

  understand that; instead, he’d just punish me for it.

  Biting my lip, I tossed my grief out the window and tentatively began to tear

  away at the wrapping paper surrounding the box. I couldn’t have missed the smile

  on Darren’s face if I tried. He absentmindedly took the paper from me and

  crumpled it into a tiny ball and placed it in a trash bag nearby. The name Rolex

  appeared on the small square box in my hands, and my breath hitched when I

  opened it to find a sterling silver watch with a hot pink sparkly face. I almost

  laughed.

  “You know; I’m beginning to think you’re the one with the unhealthy obsession

  with pink,” I said, a smartass smile on my face.

  “What? I like you in pink,” he dejected.

  “Why? Because it’s considered girly?”

  “Yeah, so? It looks nice.”

  “Women are not defined by a single color, you know,” I said as I set the box

  down on the coffee table in front of me.

  “Yeah, yeah, stop arguing,” he said as he reached over and handed me another

  gift.

  I spent the next hour opening presents from him. He’d gotten me lots of

  jewelry, even though I probably wouldn’t wear any of it unless requested. I didn’t

  even know where I would wear half the shit he got me. He’d gotten me clothes I

  could take back to the estate—some new dresses, some fancy, some casual—but

  the best part were the little black, pink, and white spandex shorts for my workouts.

  Finally, something useful. I fucking hated those stupid-ass skorts. He also got me a

  new pair of Nikes, since mine were beginning to wear already, and the weight

  gloves he promised me a few weeks ago.

  Darren surprised me when he said Scott had a gift for me. It was a colorful hacky

  sack, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

  “Ha! Now, this brings back memories,” I said with a genuine smile.

  I used to play hacky sack with some guy friends during my undergraduate days

  while we waited for class to start. They were impressed I could kick the sack at

  weird angles they couldn’t even comprehend. That was where I was able to improve

  my scorpion kick. I planned to spend a lot of time with this little gift.