by Melody Anne
“Our journey is long over, Blake,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“That’s where you’re so very wrong, Jewell. I’m not done with you yet,” he said, leaning down farther and letting his breath wash over her burning skin.
“No…,” she said, her body quaking.
“Oh yes, Jewell, we are only just now beginning.”
Chapter Five
Jewell closed her eyes and tried to think, tried to get her head around what was happening. “You don’t want me,” she told him, not sure if she was trying to convince herself or trying to convince Blake. “You know you don’t.”
“Yes, I want you, Jewell. Just as much as you want me. I discovered some facts after you were gone,” he began when he paused.
She couldn’t help but correct him. “You mean after you screwed me on your truck and then dumped me off like the trashy whore I am, at the back door of Relinquish Control.”
He laughed, actually laughed at her words, making her want desperately to reach out and slap the smug look right off his face. How dare he laugh at her? He was in serious danger right then, and from the continued mirth see saw dancing in his eyes, it was apparent that he knew that — and wasn’t in the least worried.
“Calm down, Jewell. We’re not getting anywhere with your little burst of temper. Though, I must say, it turns me on to see such fire light up in your eyes,” he said with a wink. He paused, then went on. “But we can certainly put your heightened emotions to better uses than venting.”
Oh, how she wished she could be as cold and unaffected as this ice sculpture of a man. He wouldn’t know true human emotion if it were right in front of him — which it was, since she was aching inside and out.
“Why are you this way, Blake? How can you be so cavalier, so unfeeling? Do you not care at all that you make me lose any sense of control?” She was vulnerable, angry, and struggling with other emotions she didn’t even know how to name.
“I see nothing wrong with the way I act,” he said levelly, refusing to back away. As a matter of fact, he drew nearer, and there wasn’t much nearer to go. “I like who I am, and no one can make you feel any emotion, Jewell. We choose how we feel; we choose what we think, what we want, what we desire. You can choose to enjoy this, or you can choose to run from it, but either way, you are mine, and I know you want me. I know you want all of this. To try to escape when we’ve come so far together would be foolish.”
The way his breath whispered over her flesh, across her cheek, her lips, her neck, made her shudder. She had no doubt there was fire burning in her eyes, flames hot enough to match the embers burning in his. To even try to deny it would be a wasted effort — they’d both know she was lying.
Jewell instead did something she knew she’d later regret — or maybe not — but she acted with emotion, with rage, with desire. Without her giving it a conscious thought, her fingers clenched and she watched, almost as an outsider looking in, as her fist rose involuntarily and slammed into the side of his face.
And yet his expression remained neutral, and though he flinched, it was almost imperceptible. He simply stared at her with eyes that were still cold, still all-knowing and hyperaware. That was outside of enough. And then she was pulling back and slamming her fist into his jaw again.
When she still didn’t get a reaction from him, she lost all semblance of sanity, and lifted both hands, her claws coming out as she reached for him and tugged on his hair. She was beyond reason and control now, lost in a blaze of fury. The past few months came to a head and she lost complete control.
Who in the hell did he think he was? It wasn’t fair that that he could mess so easily with her emotions and what she was feeling, and that he even got to choose her destiny. He had no right to make her feel anything. She’d thought she could spend the next month as a hollow shell, devoid of any feeling, whether good or bad, but how could she possibly be like that with Blake? She knew this was a battle she couldn’t win.
But for some reason she couldn’t stop herself, couldn’t retreat, which meant she could only keep fighting.
“I hate you!” she screamed when he still showed her no emotion.
Then, so quickly that she had zero chance of stopping him, he thrust out one hand and grabbed both of hers, then jerked her arms above her head while the fingers of his other hand snaked behind her head and tangled in her hair.
Before she even thought of struggling, she was being pulled up from the chair and shoved backward until she was flat against the wall, his body a mass of impenetrable steel boxing her in. Her arms were stretched high above her head, her heart thudding, her breath gone yet again.
Blake displayed just a hint of emotion as he pushed against her, and she couldn’t mistake how hard their struggle had made him. Somehow, that turned her rage into a burning passion — a passion she despised herself for feeling.
Before she was able to recover herself, to firmly lock away anything other than hatred for the man now entrapping her, his eyes narrowed and he went on the attack. He quickly bent his head down and captured her mouth in a kiss of pure — and impure — possession.
And the three months they’d been apart evaporated in an instant and she was right back with him, right where they’d been their last night together, where anger and frustration had morphed into heat and passion.
His kiss was masterful, and it didn’t take him long to part her closed lips and access the warm recesses of her needy mouth. There was hunger, danger, and so much more in the very way he held her body, in the way he completely devoured her, leaving no room for thoughts of anything or anyone other than him.
One feeling merged into the next as he plundered her mouth, intimately reacquainting himself with the feel and touch of her, making her knees grow weak, her heart beat erratically, and her core heat to the point of boiling. This was pure sex at its most basic level.
His fingers tightened in her hair as he moved his body rhythmically against hers, his arousal pressing as intimately against her womanhood as their clothes would allow. She was ready, so ready, for him to take her wherever he chose to.
“I want you, Jewell, I want you more than any other woman I’ve ever desired. You make me burn,” he said when he pulled back for air. He trailed his lips down her throat after his words made her insides dissolve even further.
Jewell tried to remember why this was wrong. She tried to regain her composure, but she couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe, let alone try to resist this pull he had on her. Even knowing she would hate him and herself even more than she already did, she couldn’t stop herself from responding.
The only way this would end was if he allowed it to.
But Blake obviously wasn’t finished yet. He freed her hands only to let his fingers glide down her body, stroking the sensitive skin of her sides, hips and ass. Her head fell back and a sigh escaped her lips while his mouth caressed the skin of her neck.
It took a moment for her to realize he had finally stilled. He rested his hands on her hips, and his mouth no longer made its seductive way along her skin. She slowly tilted her head forward and once again found her eyes captured by his ardent gaze.
It must have been an eternity that the two of them stood there, neither saying a word, their breathing now returning to something like normal — though Jewell’s body would never be normal again. She didn’t know what to do or say, and still couldn’t think with his hard body pressed against hers.
But the silence was getting to her, and when she thought she couldn’t take it another second longer, she finally opened her lips, ran her tongue slowly along their swollen edges, and then took a deep breath before she spoke.
“That didn’t prove anything” was what came out, but not nearly as strongly as she’d intended.
Blake threw her a hint of a smile and leaned a little closer. When he finally replied, his mouth was back to within inches of hers.
“I think it proved exactly what it was supposed to, Jewell.”
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“And what is that, Blake? That you have power over me, that no matter what I do or say, you’ll still get exactly what you want? Well, if that’s what you’re trying to prove, congratulations, you did it. Yes, you can force me to do what you want. You’re bigger, stronger, and far more manipulative than I am. And anyway, this is what you paid for, right?” She hoped she’d infused her voice with as much disdain as she possibly could.
“You’ve developed some bite in the time we’ve been apart,” he said, his voice smooth and sounding almost…impressed.
She wasn’t sure she liked that. She was trying to sound fierce, intimidating, frightening. She wasn’t supposed to be turning him on more than he already was.
“Yes, I have. In the months since you so carelessly discarded me, I’ve developed a bit of a spine. You’ll find that I’m not the same submissive little girl you abused to your heart’s desire. So, you see, you’ve wasted your money, Blake Knight, because I won’t be what you want.”
“Oh, Jewell, I know exactly what I want,” he said, running his hand through her hair again. “And it most certainly is you. Besides, wasn’t I promised anything I want for the next thirty days?”
A shudder ran through her. She needed the money this month would bring in, and they both knew it. But she hadn’t counted on how much she loathed the idea of being some man’s toy, any man’s toy. But Blake’s especially, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her emotions out of it.
“You did buy me, so, yes, I guess you get to do whatever you want. But I won’t enjoy it; nor will I try to make it better for you. Be warned.”
“That’s where we’ll agree to disagree,” he whispered. “I know for a fact that not only will you enjoy it, but you’ll beg me for more. And more. And more.” With those last six words, he brushed his lips against hers. “And I’ll definitely give it to you.”
What he said made liquid heat course through her veins. Yes, he’d given her pleasure, pleasure beyond anything she could ever imagine existed. But he’d also given her so much pain. And the pain was what she was afraid of. She’d suffered enough emotional trauma to last her a lifetime.
He could so easily destroy her — she had no doubt of that. But he owned her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Why fight it? Why even try?
“You know I’ll hate you forever, Mr. Knight.” Knight! No shining armor here.
Only a tiny spark igniting in his eyes showed her that her words registered. When his lips parted, she waited for the backlash. She didn’t get it.
“I don’t require any emotion from you except for passion,” he said almost dismissively.
The words stung more than she’d ever admit.
“Then we’re on the same page,” she told him, “because you won’t get anything other than my body.” How desperately she wished that he would give her just a bit of breathing room.
“Ah, Jewell, the fire in you is what made me come back, what made me have to see this through to the end.”
“How long will it be until the end? Will I really be free of you after thirty days?”
She waited as he stared her down in silence, showing nothing in his ice-cold eyes. She wouldn’t break the silence, though. This was up to him.
“No, Jewell. We won’t be done until I’m finished with you.”
Chapter Six
The excruciating emotions coursing through Jewell’s fragile frame continued their chaotic dance in her veins as Blake finally stepped back. Then, almost on a dime, Blake broke into a smile. “Follow me, Jewell. I’m going to the kitchen.”
Without waiting to see if she would obey or not, he pivoted on his heel and walked from the room, leaving her to sag against the wall as she prayed her knees wouldn’t give out on her. Less than thirty minutes in Blake’s presence and she was already a worse mess than she had been before she’d discovered that she’d been sold to him and not to some sadistic stranger. Perhaps part of it was because Blake was clearly sadistic in some ways.
She kept her distance, though, but not because she was afraid that he’d hurt her physically. Maybe it was because she knew what would happen if she ended up in his arms again — she wouldn’t be able to deny to herself how very much she was attracted to this despicable man, and that mortified her. She should be heading for the hills and screaming all the way. But she was still here.
When she finally stepped into the kitchen, he was making a pot of coffee, which seemed to irritate her more than anything else he’d done in the last half hour. Why? She had no idea. Maybe it was because he felt he could do whatever he chose whenever he chose to do it. And he did have that right, at least with her.
Power. Blake Knight had that in spades. Some people were born with it, and some were destined to wield it.
Though the apartment was light, airy even, to have Blake standing in her new roomy kitchen made the place seem to shrink, seem to instantly grow dark. This was his domain and she was his paid mistress, and she felt it in every bone — no, in every cell — of her body.
When the coffee was ready, Blake poured them each a cup and, without a word, led Jewell back to the sitting area where they’d been before. He made himself comfortable, and she bet he was enjoying watching how uncomfortable she was. She’d felt like a puppet as she obediently followed him from room to room and waited to see what was coming next.
With her legs trembling badly, she decided it best if she just sat down on the nearest couch and focused on her coffee. No matter how long he dragged this out, she’d find out his next move fairly soon. And why worry about anything? In this game, he was fated to be the only winner.
“You seem very ungrateful, Jewell.”
“Do you honestly think I’m about to thank you for buying me?” To her complete shock, she realized that she’d been screeching at him. What sort of a human being was she becoming? Did she even deserve to get her little brother back if she had so little control over herself?
“I expected a little bit of appreciation. Anyone could have paid for you, and they wouldn’t be nearly as…knowledgeable of your desires.”
“You amaze me, Blake…”
He quickly interrupted. “Thank you, Jewell.”
“That wasn’t meant as a compliment,” she told him.
“But I’ll take it as one,” he replied. “I know what you like and I know you aren’t unhappy to be here.”
“Then you don’t know anything.” She tried to keep emotion out of her voice, but it was beyond her powers.
“Would you like for me to take you back to the agency? I’m sure there are other men there who would love to have you for a month…or longer.”
She couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling. His cold eyes held hers captive, but they didn’t reveal a single thought contained in his head. Should she say yes and take her chances on someone else? She chose to say nothing.
“I didn’t think so, Jewell. You may be fighting this, but you aren’t disappointed that I’m the one who won you.”
“That’s exactly what this is, Blake. I’m a prize in a game I never wanted to play,” she said, struggling to suppress her tears of frustration.
“You’re the one who chose to be employed at Relinquish Control.”
Her shoulders sagged. “I had no choice,” she whispered.
“There’s always a choice, Jewell,” he countered.
“Of course there is. You’re right, as always. So why don’t we quit dancing around this and you just tell me what you expect from me?”
His face didn’t change as he looked at her for several long moments. She’d thought billionaires were always on the go, but he didn’t seem to have any problem at all drawing this out.
“What do you think I want, Jewell?”
“To prove your power. You couldn’t control me, so you’re back for another chance to put the win in your column.” She hoped to see something in his eyes this time. But she didn’t.
“If that were what I wanted, I could have it right this instan
t. This is just the beginning, but the ending isn’t in doubt here, because you want me as much as I want you. If I felt in the mood to play power games, I’d do it in the boardroom. The ending there is less predicable, though even there I always win.”
She gasped. “Damn, you’re arrogant.”
“It’s not arrogance when it’s true.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. There was no arguing with the man. “Just get this over with, Blake. I’ve had a long day — a long life, for that matter — and the sooner this song and dance ends, the sooner I can get some rest.”
And she was telling it like it was — all of a sudden, she felt exhaustion threaten to pull her under. She had run the gamut of emotions over the last few months, and especially today, and now she found herself barely able to stay awake, much less agile enough to spar verbally with this man.
When Blake stood and moved over to sit by her, she didn’t try to resist him. At least he was finally going to really speak to her, finally going to map out what was to come.
“It doesn’t matter, you know,” she said, her defenses down.
“What doesn’t matter?” he asked while reaching for her hand, which she allowed him to take.
When he rested their joined fingers on his leg, she felt a spark, but she repressed it as far as she could. Though the feeling remained, she didn’t allow herself to think about it.
“Anything. What I feel, what I want. None of it matters,” she told him.
“I don’t agree with that, Jewell. What you want is very important.”
When he pulled her onto his lap and drew her head against his chest, she knew she should resist him, but she couldn’t. This man was causing her so much pain, but he also seemed to be shouldering some of that pain by as simple an act as wrapping her in his arms. It made no sense, but what in her world made sense any more? Since the death of her mother, her life had been on a roller coaster without brakes, and all she could do was pray that at some point the ride would manage to stop, and she would end up safely back on solid ground.
