“She’s annoying as hell,” she answered, and it almost made me laugh. I agreed
one hundred percent. “But she is someone to talk to so …”
So Jaden was lonely, after all. I knew I hadn’t been around much, but I was far
too busy to keep flying back to the island to spend time with her, no matter how
much I wanted to. Not to mention time away from me meant she could focus on
herself, but that didn’t seem to be going so well. I hoped Holly would change that.
“I trust I don’t need to remind you to watch what you say to her,” I warned.
Jaden scowled at me but softened it quickly when I caught her eye.
“Of course, although I’ve never seen someone tiptoe so well around someone’s
past before in my life. Tell me, what lies did you give Holly about me to ensure her
discretion?”
My mouth formed a tight line while my jaw instantly clenched. She was pushing
me again, and I was only too happy to shove back.
“Holly is under the impression that you were in a car accident and that you lost
your mother and younger brothers in it. It was obviously a traumatic experience for
you and should never, under any circumstances, ever be discussed.” She nodded in
acknowledgment. “I don’t think I need to remind you of what will happen to Holly
should those conversations reach their limit.”
Jaden gulped back her water, swallowing like she had a lump in her throat before
she answered. “No reminder necessary,” she replied grimly without looking at me.
“Good girl,” I said and went back to my dinner. Jaden silently worked on her
own. To my surprise, she actually finished her entire plate, and when she was done,
she relaxed into her chair, clearly lost in thought. I had a feeling I was going to hear
all about it.
“I have a question for you,” she said carefully.
“Hmm?” I responded, slightly intrigued.
“Why did you approve a stir-fry for my lunch today?”
I couldn’t help but let the corners of my mouth curve. I had wondered how Jaden
would react to Holly’s diet plan for her, especially today’s menu. And I was right in
believing she’d be pissed. I didn’t even know why I allowed myself to torture her
with traumatic memories, but maybe I just wanted to know where her mind was at
and what she would and wouldn’t tolerate.
I wiped the corners of my mouth before answering. “Got a disdain for stir-fry
now?”
Jaden’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said we were done playing games,” she
said sharply.
“We are,” I affirmed without looking at her. “I just wanted to see where your
mindset is.”
“You mean you wanted to know if I was still haunted by the warehouse? You
could have just asked. And the answer is yes.”
I groaned. “You would have never owned up to it, so don’t even try to suggest
otherwise. If I want the truth without an argument or struggle, I will find other
ways of extraction.”
“I just don’t understand why you care if it still affects me or not. I thought you
were beyond sympathizing with me.”
“I am, but I still have to make an effort in understanding why you react to
certain things the way you do. It’s part of your psychology. For example, why you
couldn’t care less if the men I assign to protect and watch over you are dead
because of you, yet the life of someone with no benefit to you is somehow more
important. You place value on the lives of others even though you have no business
making that determination.”
“Oh, and you do? If you can place value on the lives of others, then why can’t I?”
I chuckled. “I’ve already made that determination more times than I can count.
The difference is I eliminate people who have lost their value to me. You try to
eliminate people with value and protect those who lack it.”
She scowled, but I just found it cute. “Your idea of value and my idea of value are
two very different ideas.”
“That’s why mine is the only one we’ll be relying on,” I said.
“Shocker,” she replied and leaned back against her chair, looking out the
window. I expected that to be the end of the conversation, but I should have known
better.
That, I flat out laughed at.
“It’d probably be the best thing to ever happen to me,” I said honestly while
taking a sip of my wine. Jaden’s eyes went wide, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Though I doubt it will ever happen. You are quite simply the biggest pain-in-the-
ass liability I have ever risked, but for some fucking unexplainable reason, you are
worth it to me.”
She was silent before she replied again. “I’ll grow old someday,” she said
blankly as if I had no idea of the sort.
“As will I.”
“And you’re going to tell me my value will remain the same when I’m old? I’d
bet my left hand that your future youthful mistress will have more value to you
than I will by then.”
I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous idea. I doubted I’d even live long enough to see
Jaden grow old. Most men in my position didn’t simply just die of old age. Our
deaths were met by the bullets that bore our names and called us home. Another
reason I made sure to keep my body in perfect fighting condition at all times. Even
in my sixties, I planned to deliver as much hell and chaos to my enemies as I did
now. Nothing would slow me down until I was dead and in the ground.
Jaden would be no different. She would follow my philosophy, and in return, her
body would reward her and, eventually, me as well. She was kidding herself if she
thought I was so trivial that I would just fuck anything with a pretty face after her.
I’d had enough women in my life to the point where I couldn’t even see their faces
anymore. They were meaningless, dull in comparison. She didn’t know it, but she
had officially ruined me for anyone else, and the idea of having anyone else but her
had my blood boiling. There was no one but her. Always and forever. But still, her
comment disappointed me. I furrowed my brows as I answered her question.
“Have I really led you to believe the only thing I value in you is your beautiful
face?” I said sincerely.
Now that threw her for a whirl. She furrowed her brows in confusion, almost
looking dumbfounded. After chewing on her tongue for a moment, she finally met
my gaze.
“Don’t pretend that men like you don’t exactly appreciate age in their wives,”
she said cautiously.
“And what do you know of men like me?”
Her eyes narrowed again in challenge. “I’m not stupid, Darren. Don’t think I’m
so quick to presume my value will not diminish in time. You may one day grow
bored with me and seek amusement elsewhere.”
I fucking laughed. “The same way a child gets bored building their blocks only to
knock them down so they can build them back up again?”
Jaden didn’t miss my subtle hint, the realization of it written all over her face.
And then she scowled.
“So you admit that I am just a toy to you?” she said incredulously. I rolled my
eyes again, tiring of the subject matter.
“You are not just a toy to me, Jaden. You already know your future with me, so I
don’t know why you’re making this argument.”
“Because I am having difficulty trying to understand why I am so valuable to
you, yet you treat me like total shit!”
I slammed my palm onto the table, grabbing her attention in full force and
finding joy in watching her body jolt in response.
“That’s enough, Jaden,” I roared at her, her body physically retreating in her
chair. “You know the rules. Break them, and I will punish you. I will not be blamed
when you reap the consequences of your actions.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it! You can’t deny the fact that you love to punish
me like the sick and twisted asshole that you are!” she nearly shouted at me.
Bolting up from my chair, my hand gripped Jaden’s throat and hauled her up
from her seat, her small hands gripping my wrist while her nails dug into my skin. I
loved that feeling.
“And you can’t deny the fact that you love it when I punish you, princess. I bet
that pussy of mine is on fire right now just thinking about all the ways I could fuck
this sudden defiance out of you.”
And fuck if I didn’t want to right there in front of Jaden’s bodyguards. I couldn’t
deny the fact that most days I loved it when she pushed me, when she challenged
me, when I got to punish her. I thrived on it. But she was fucking lying to herself if
she didn’t love it when I took charge of her. When I forced her to submit to me,
she’d gotten off on it, just like I taught her to.
Jaden’s mouth formed a tight line, her jaw clenched while she stood on her toes
from the height I was holding her. She hadn’t said a word in response, probably
because she knew I’d prove her wrong if I decided to reach into her panties and find
them soaking wet. But I wasn’t planning to leave this argument empty-handed.
“Now, you can apologize for your smart mouth with a damn good kiss or you can
spend the rest of the evening with Holly. What’s it going to be?”
She crinkled her nose and pursed her lips with a cute little scowl. I knew Holly
would be the seller.
“Well, aren’t you the negotiator from hell,” she growled and then tilted her
head up for me. On a smirk, I met her the rest of the way, pressing my lips into
hers, delving into the softness of her mouth and tasting the sweetness of her
tongue. Fuck, I loved the taste of her. Missed it like a goddamn drug addict. My
blood was on fire with heated anticipation. It’d been so long since my mouth had
claimed hers; the feeling of her lips competing for turf, her tongue losing ground as
I took what was mine.
God, finally.
I wanted to keep this fire going, but Jaden wasn’t pissed off enough. I wanted
that anger of hers; I wanted to feel that burn I craved so much. And I knew just how
to fucking get it.
11
PUSH
Darren’s hands crept up to my face, his thumbs tracing along my cheeks as he
stared down at me. Cold blue fell into me while heat traveled along my face. I
could feel that stare of his—so sharp, so penetrating—all the way down to my
bones. It made my stomach tighten and my heart flutter.
Darren's lips curved into a smirk before he bent down and kissed my forehead.
He then released my face and took hold of the knot of his tie, his eyes never leaving
mine. After loosening the tie, he enveloped the dark gray fabric around his hand
and gently spun me away from him. A small gasp of panic escaped my lips as he
then wrapped the tie around my eyes and tied it behind my head, essentially
blindfolding me.
“Darren, what are you doing?” I griped, my hands rising automatically as if to
defend myself against some unknown threat, but Darren just quickly enclosed
them in each of his fists.
“Shhh,” he whispered into my ear, bringing our fists closer to my chest. “Come
with me.”
I felt fear rise throughout my body, my blood rushing and my heart racing as
Darren began to lead me through the house. I didn’t like this. Not one fucking bit. I
didn’t like to have to rely on his guidance to maneuver me through the house to
God knew where. I fucking hated that he had once again forcefully increased my
vulnerability.
My fists tightened in his hold as he pressed me forward. My feet remained on
the tiled floor while I tried to focus on where he was leading me. Eventually, we
stopped, and Darren released my hands to pull the blindfold away. I blinked several
times to adjust to the light before my eyes to finally settled on my painting. I took
an immediate step away from it only to have my retreat blocked by the wall of a
man behind me.
“Tell me about this,” Darren ordered, his hand gesturing to my painting.
I folded my arms in a huff. “No thanks,” I said and turned to walk away, but his
hands wrapped around my arms and hauled me back to him.
“I wasn’t asking, Jaden,” he growled.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You should know by now that I am done caring about what you want.”
On a scowl, I quickly turned in his arms and shoved him away from me. I mostly
ended up pushing myself away, but he did take a small step back.
“Then maybe I should just be done caring about myself altogether!” I shouted at
him.
“Jaden,” he warned, those dark eyes threatening and domineering as he took a
step toward me. I couldn’t help but take one step back, my heart rate now spiking.
“Don’t!” I yelled, pointing my finger at him because that was the smart thing to
do. “Don’t push me on this, Darren. You might be ready for that can of worms, but
I’m not,” I argued, now pointing at the painting behind me.
“I disagree, which is exactly why I’m going to push you, princess,” he said
dangerously, taking another step. He was approaching me as if I was some kind of
wounded animal, ready to pounce at any second. And I was ready to flee.
“You know I’ll just push back,” I replied, eyeing him carefully.
“You’ll fight me for as long as you can, but you know how that ends.”
“Shut up,” I spat, my fists clenching at my sides. I could feel my knuckles going
white.
“You painted some dark shit, Jaden. Own up to it,” he said, his voice deadly calm
as he continued to slowly advance. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I felt
the adrenaline begin to course through my veins. Things were about to get very bad.
“Of course, it’s dark, you asshole! I’m surrounded by nothing but darkness!”
“I’m very aware of what surrounds you, Jaden. Maybe it’s time you stop fighting
it and start embracing it.”
“Oh, fucking A. You wanna pull this shit again?” I groaned.
“Watch your mouth,” he growled, and I felt myself shudder. “Open your eyes,
Jaden. That shit you painted, I see that shit in my head twenty-four-seven. You’re
becoming more and more like me every day … and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve
ever seen.”
“Shut the fuck up!” I screamed, my hands going to my ears to block out his
stupid words. S
uddenly, I felt his hand tangle with my hair and yank. A sharp pain
shot through my scalp as my head was forced back to look up at Darren, his other
hand wrapped around my throat. Again.
“Cuss at me one more time, Jaden, and you’ll find my sympathy for your injuries
cease to exist,” he roared down at me. I felt myself flinch as I shrank a little, my
eyes closing to protect them from his piercing glare. “Eyes, princess, now,” he
demanded.
Forcing them open, I looked up as far away as I could, hoping to avoid his glare,
but it was impossible with his height. Dark ocean blue consumed me all over again,
sending wave after wave of ice down my body. My hands pressed up against his
hard chest as I felt my fear get the best of me. Untamable tears formed at the
corners of my eyes, and I fought with everything I had not to let them fall in front
of him.
“I’m nothing like you,” I nearly whispered, somehow finding my voice.
The smirk on his face made my gut twist in agony. Darren then released my
throat and bumped my nose with the tip of his finger. “Not yet … but you’re so
close. My little wolf has finally caught the scent of blood.”
I struggled against him, but it was so useless with his fingers still wrapped in my
hair. “Careful what you wish for, Darren,” I breathed, watching as his brows
furrowed.
“Who do you belong to, Jaden?” he asked sharply, those eyes piercing and harsh.
“You,” I spat in disgust.
“Goddamn right,” he replied and kissed me.
The moment his lips met mine, my body ignited as if someone lit a match over
an oil spill. Hot blood rushed through my veins, heating every inch of my skin as he
kissed me as though he were starved. And I suppose he was. And somehow, I found
myself kissing him right back. But this kiss was not some kind of happy reunion
between our lips; it was a full-on war. Because he wasn’t the only one starving.
With his one hand still wrapped in my hair and the other lined up against my
back to clutch me to him, I found my hands clinging to the lapels of his jacket in an
attempt to get closer. Liquid heat pooled between my legs as my body slowly began
to reacquaint itself with the man who claimed to own it. It remembered him well.
I could almost feel Darren’s thundering heart beat under my hands as he kissed