Spark

by J Marie

  When all was said and done, I thought all the presents were opened, but Darren

  still had one hiding in the branches of the tree. This present was tiny, just fitting in

  the palm of my hand. I pulled the wrapping away to find a small ring box, and I felt

  my stomach immediately rip apart.

  Oh, God, no…

  Like defusing a bomb, I pulled the lid to the box back and breathed a slight sigh

  of relief when I saw it was only my old Tiffany’s infinity ring that Darren had given

  me months ago. I’d been wearing it when I’d escaped but woke up without it on the

  island. I hadn’t even wondered what happened to it, too happy it was off my finger.

  And now, it was back.

  I stared at the ring until Darren finally got up to sit next to me, pulled the ring

  out of the box, and placed it on my left hand. He then kissed me on the temple.

  “Back where it belongs,” he said, but there was no mistaking the warning in his

  tone. “Just like you.”

  I gulped back the sickness in my stomach. The joy was so real…

  “I didn’t get you anything,” I said, hoping to change the subject.

  “Oh, but you did,” Darren said, that shark grin reappearing again. “And I’m

  going to love it.”

  Fantastic.

  “I’m sure you will,” I said carefully.

  “Now,” he said, slapping my knee playfully and getting up. “There’s just one

  gift left.”

  “Still?” I asked him as he walked out of the room and down one of the halls. I

  couldn’t believe he still had more bullshit to give me. As if I didn’t have enough.

  A few moments later, he came back holding a large box that looked like a

  wrapped present in his arms and sat down on the couch, placing the box in front of

  me. I moved closer to examine the box when it suddenly moved on its own. I

  immediately pulled myself back.

  “Why is it moving?” I asked, looking at Darren who seemed perfectly pleased

  with himself.

  “Just open it,” he urged.

  Just then, I heard a muffled little yelp come from the box. Was that a bark?

  Gripping the lid of the box, I cautiously pulled it up and leaned forward to look

  inside. My heart instantly swelled, and my eyes grew wide with unabashed

  excitement and then immediate confusion.

  “You got me a puppy?”

  35

  GUARDDOG

  I had to admit Jaden’s tone of voice was not what I initially expected. I’d expected

  immediate swoon and giddiness, but I should have learned never to expect the

  expected with her. She was definitely excited, but she was so reserved now; she

  never fully gave in to all her emotions unless it was anger and directed at me. It was

  difficult for her to give into happiness and excitement, and I understood this, but …

  come on! This was a fucking puppy! Girls were supposed to love puppies.

  “You said you were lonely,” I answered. “I hope this is a satisfying

  compromise.”

  She looked back down at the puppy as it barked in the box, wanting out. It was a

  purebred twelve-week-old female Rottweiler that I’d personally selected from the

  breeder in Anchorage yesterday afternoon. It was the first pup that came up to me

  while all of the siblings continued to play within a safe distance of the mother. But

  this one was brave as it barked at me, and it immediately reminded me of Jaden.

  Easy pick.

  Jaden timidly reached into the box to lift the puppy and held her in her arms.

  And there was the swoon I was looking for. I felt triumphant as Jaden finally

  revealed the smile she had been concealing, and it made me want to kiss her until I

  couldn’t feel my lips anymore.

  “So this is my dog now?” Jaden asked, her eyes almost hopeful. “Like a pet?”

  I nodded. “She is your responsibility to take care of, but yes. She is your dog.”

  “It’s a girl?” she asked. Now, she was even more excited. I nodded. Jaden needed

  more estrogen in her life, and the female dog would be easier to train anyway.

  “How old?”

  “Twelve weeks. Do you like her?”

  Her mouth wanted to say no. She didn’t want to like or appreciate my gifts and

  generosity, but denying how pleased she was with the dog would be a lie, and she

  knew that was against my rules.

  “Yeah … I do,” she finally admitted, her eyes never leaving the pup. Swoon.

  “Good. Now, what do you say?” I didn’t care if she didn’t want my gifts or

  attention. She’d be grateful for them because I didn’t have to be this way with her.

  This was a privilege; one that she needed to respect.

  “Thank you,” she eventually said, turning her head to look me in the eyes like

  she was supposed to.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I watched Jaden for a moment as she petted the dog in her arms. This. Was.

  Adorable.

  “What are you going to name her?” I asked.

  She squinted for a moment as she looked at the dog. “I don’t know,” she

  replied. “I’ll have to think of something.”

  “You should know she won’t be just a pet. That dog will also be your guard dog.

  When we go home, she will undergo specific training not only to protect you but

  also to kill your would-be attackers. She’ll learn discipline, basic and advanced

  commands, and she will learn to anticipate danger in all forms.”

  Jaden turned her eyes back to me, her brows furrowed as she took in my words.

  “Jeez, will she still know how to play, at least?”

  “Of course, but your safety takes precedent. If she senses a threat, she will react

  accordingly and get you to safety.”

  “Don’t I have enough babysitters?” she complained. I almost laughed because it

  was almost true.

  “No such thing,” I responded. Jaden could have an entire army with her, and I

  still wouldn’t feel like she was safe enough. But once the dog was full grown and

  trained, there would be one less shadow in the room.

  Jaden’s face remained the same until something seemed to click in her eyes.

  “She’s for all the places Clive and Owen can’t go,” she stated, like she already

  knew the answer.

  “Correct,” I answered with a nod.

  The dog started to struggle in her arms, and Jaden released her, setting her down

  on the couch, but she wanted to play and jumped down to the floor, taking off down

  the hall.

  “You’d better go get her,” I ordered, nodding toward the direction the pup ran

  off to.

  “Dammit.” Jaden cussed under her breath and went off to find the dog.

  I decided to let Jaden have some fun with her new companion and headed to my

  office to finish some work. The staff would take her gifts and put them in our room

  where all the dog toys and things were being set up.

  I passed Romero and Alex in the hall, giving them the nod to pursue their watch

  over Jaden and headed for my office. It didn’t matter that it was Christmas;

  something always needed to be done, and sometimes, I was grateful for it. Some

  days, I wanted to immerse myself in my work because I honestly loved it, but Jaden

  would never understand it. If it wasn’t work or Jaden preoccupying me, it was

  training or the occasional tune-up of my bikes or cars.

  Sid was the o
ne who convinced me to get Jaden the dog in the first place, more

  specifically a puppy. The dog would not only provide her the companionship she

  needed without compromising her safety, but it would also serve as another source

  of protection for her, which was really the only reason I agreed. She could focus on

  something else that would more than likely bring her joy rather than plot her

  revenge against me. She’d have another purpose besides making my dick happy,

  but she always managed to do more than that, especially when she wasn’t even

  trying.

  I appreciated the times when she did try, when she’d put effort into listening to

  me and making me happy, but it was only because she didn’t want to piss me off

  instead. Whatever worked. Eventually, she’d learn that keeping me happy would

  essentially keep her happy. The more she obeyed, the more I would reward her,

  though I had to admit there were those special days when I wanted a fight. I did

  want her happy, though. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered with the trouble of

  all this shit for the holidays.

  The smile on her face when she finally gave into that puppy was worth it all.

  God, it was gorgeous when it was genuine. Even the look she got in her eyes as she

  roamed over the view of the mountains was the exact look I’d hoped to see. It was

  the look of captivation, the look of joy, even if it was only for a moment.

  The dog would help; it had to. What girl didn’t melt from a fucking puppy?

  I found myself wanting to create some excitement in her life, something for her

  to take enjoyment in besides beating the shit out of my punching bags, but I knew

  she was averse to this. Revenge was her purpose. I needed to give her a new one.

  She was surprisingly responding well enough to all the gifts and the luxury I was

  surrounding her with for the holidays. She accepted everything that was given to

  her, regardless of how begrudgingly she did so. She wanted to appear grateful, but

  she wasn’t very good at it. She would be eventually.

  Opening the door to my office, my phone rang in my hand, Dan calling on the

  other end.

  “Dan,” I answered as I walked over to my desk.

  “Merry Christmas, brother,” he said, his voice only barely hiding the excitement

  he held. “I’ve got news for you.”

  “Do tell.”

  “We learned the sex of the baby,” he announced.

  “And?”

  “It’s a girl,” he said proudly.

  “Congratulations,” I replied, but it was really nothing to congratulate him

  about.

  The only use a girl had in our family was as a bartering tool. Marrying them off

  was usually reserved for extending or strengthening alliances by combining the

  families. Marrying outside our realms was ill advised, as bringing in someone from

  the outside world didn’t mix well with ours. It was too risky. Those women weren’t

  built for the corruption or the brutality that we lived in like our own women were.

  They were just as dark and manipulative as the rest of us, which made them ideal

  companions. But there were some people, like myself, who loved to break the rules.

  The problem with the woman of our world was that they were materialistic and

  selfish thanks to the lavish life they’d grown up in. Most of them were stuck-up,

  idiotic and needy, but always gorgeous, and most men in my world enjoyed that,

  especially when it came to the bedroom. Not me. The more time I spent with Jaden,

  the less I wanted those women. I wanted her intelligence, her strength, and her

  ferocity. Even if she was six inches shorter than most of the women in my world,

  she still had the best body I’d ever seen.

  “We’re planning a baby shower in early January. Make sure you’re there.”

  “Of course.”

  “Maybe by then you can bring your little ruby around,” he said with a chuckle.

  “We’ll see.” Jaden would likely hate it, and I’d probably find it hilarious. But I

  had to make sure her behavior was in check first.

  “Is she enjoying Anchorage?”

  “More than she’s letting on. I just gave her the dog a few minutes ago.”

  “She like it?”

  “She doesn’t want to, but she does.”

  “She’ll adjust eventually. It took Katherine a while to adjust to me, but she

  eventually came around.”

  Eventually but not as easily. Katherine was much more meek and agreeable than

  Jaden was thanks to what we did to her family so many years ago. Jaden would

  accept her life sooner or later, once she was done beating herself up for it.

  “Katherine is not Jaden,” I replied, my tone stronger than I intended for it to be.

  “I know, but they’re still human. And humans eventually break.”

  “I’m aware, but … I don’t know if I want to break this one.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I only want her to accept her life with me. I want her loyalty just as much as I

  want her sass. It’s honestly too adorable to destroy. Too much fun.”

  “Ha! Now, who’d have thought that? You’ve been breaking slaves since you were

  sixteen, and now, you can’t seem to bypass this one. What gives?”

  Dan had a point. Breaking the slave girls at the warehouse was one of my first

  jobs when my father had finally brought me in under his wing. I’d started by

  bringing the girls to their knees before graduating to the men who owed my father

  money. That was when I first learned of the metallic taste of control and how

  powerful it was, how addictive it was. I loved the fear in their eyes as they cowered

  before me, the shiver in their bodies from terror, and the thin sheet of sweat that

  blanketed them when they realized how helpless they were. I couldn’t deny the

  god-like feeling that came over me when I finally put them out of their misery.

  Weakness disgusted me. It was useless and only guaranteed one thing—no

  survivors.

  Jaden was none of that, which was why I couldn’t help but respect her for it.

  After everything I’d already put her through, she was still fighting. Maybe not

  always physically, but her determination to thrive in spite of me was relentless and

  admirable. And I didn’t think I wanted to crush it to dust as much as I thought I

  would. I wanted her to obey me always and without question, but I loved the fight in

  her far too much to let it die. It made her strong, and in my world, I needed her to

  be strong.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Dan. Some days, I want sugar, and some days, I

  want spice. I don’t know how else to explain it. Jaden challenges me. And you know

  how much I love a challenge.”

  “Yes, I do, but I also know what happens once you conquer it.”

  “This is a different type of conquest. I’m not worried.”

  “I hope so, for Jaden’s sake.”

  36

  LIGHTHEART

  I finally caught up to that damn dog when she cornered herself in one of the spare

  bedrooms. She barked and growled, getting low on her front paws as she tried to

  fight me. The irony was not lost on me, and I wondered if Darren was going to poke

  fun at it later. I wouldn’t put it past him. I picked up the puppy, and she fought for

  only a moment until I held her tight enough for her to relax. As soon as I turned

>   around, I found Romero and Alex standing in the doorway, watching me.

  “I assume Darren has retreated somewhere,” I said as I walked toward them and

  into the hallway.

  “Yes, ma’am. He will see you at dinner.”

  So I was still to be left alone even on Christmas. Well, good; I’d had enough of

  Darren this morning anyway, but I had no idea what to do with the puppy. Did she

  need to go outside at some point or something? I’d never actually had a dog before

  or any pet for that matter. Never had the time or the patience.

  “So what am I supposed to do with her?” I asked.

  Romero glanced at it for only a second before returning his eyes to me. He

  clearly wasn’t affected by her puppy cuteness.

  “I don’t know. It’s your dog. All the supplies for her care are up in your room.”

  “Okay. I guess I’ll go check that out then.”

  When we got back to the room, Romero was right about there being a shit ton of

  stuff for my new puppy. There was a crate, a bed, toys, food, leashes, an adorable

  puffy puppy coat, cleaning supplies, and a potty bin complete with puppy pads. No

  collar, though, which I thought was weird.

  Setting the puppy down, she instantly raced off to the other end of the room

  while I began to set up her crate, bed, and potty bin. She barked, growled, and

  played with the bear rug while I organized everything until she ran up and began

  tugging on my sweater dress. Grabbing one of her toys, a long, sturdy tug-of-war

  rope, I placed it near her mouth, and her little teeth clamped on it almost

  immediately. She tugged and tugged on it, jerking her head and her body until I

  eventually let go to let her have it. She chewed on it while I watched for a moment.

  She was so fucking cute. I hated it.

  Every now and then, she’d forget the toy and run around some more, racing

  from one end of the room to the other, barking at me and basically anything she

  could lay her eyes on until I finally got up to play with her. She pawed at me,

  gnawed on my hands without leaving a mark, and when she grew tired, curled in

  my lap and fell asleep. Instant melt. Damn Darren and his stupid manipulation. Out

  of all of them, I liked this one the most, and I fucking hated it.

  Leaning against the wall, my hands caressed the puppy’s fur, relishing in her