Spark

by J Marie

  conquer, and with you, I get to do that every day, over and over, and it never gets

  old. Your strength is intoxicating the air I breathe, and it seems I have become

  addicted to it. And the only way I know how to get my fix is to get you to push me.

  Which is very easy, by the way.”

  I released the breath I had been holding as I contemplated his explanation. “So

  in other words, you enjoy being my schoolyard bully.”

  “Is that how you see me? As a bully?”

  “All you do is take, and I’m supposed to expect nothing in return. I spend most

  of my days just lying in wait, waiting for the next decision to be made about my life,

  and it’s killing me inside.”

  Darren scowled down at me.

  “You’re not consistent enough with your behavior to warrant more freedom,

  Jaden. One minute, you’re good, and the next, you’re either pouting or lashing out,

  and it will do you no favors.”

  “I am a restless spirit, Darren. Captivity does not suit me,” I bit out.

  “This attitude doesn’t suit you,” he growled. “And I am tired of the same

  argument. If you want to wallow in your own misery, that is your choice, but you

  will not subject me to it.”

  Darren then got off me to his side of the bed, and I immediately rolled over away

  from him.

  “No, maybe I’ll just drown you in it instead,” I mumbled under my breath.

  He swatted my ass so hard my whole backside ached.

  “Ah!” I shouted and curled into myself, pain now radiating around my ass.

  “Not another word,” he threatened. “Now, go to sleep.”

  And I tried; I tried so fucking hard to throw myself into the abyss, but sleep

  would not come to me for another three hours. I barely moved, focusing on keeping

  my breathing deep and slow as if I were asleep so that Darren would just leave me

  the fuck alone.

  When I did wake up the next morning, it was because something was licking my

  face. I squinted my heavy eyelids open to see Camaro sitting on the bed, her little

  pink tongue hanging out of her mouth as she waited for me to wake.

  “You're not supposed to be on the bed,” I grumbled to her in my scratchy sleepy

  voice. Darren didn’t allow Camaro on any of the furniture, and she was even lucky

  he let her in his room. She was useless as a guard dog while still being a puppy, but

  he wanted her to get used to being everywhere I was. Camaro gave me her little

  puppy squeal and patted the bed with her little paws. “No. Go back to bed,” I told

  her and then rolled back over onto the other side of my pillow only for my face to

  meet a piece of paper.

  I squinted again and snatched it out from under my cheek. Another note from

  Darren.

  Paint me something nice today.

  - Darren

  “Maybe later,” I mumble and closed my eyes as I burrowed deeper into the pillow.

  But Camaro was persistent as she jumped and pawed at my back, and all I could do

  was groan. I looked over at the clock and realized it was 8:15 in the morning. I had

  to get up, but I had no desire to even move. Contemplating if it was worth the

  punishment of sleeping in, I decided against it and rolled out of bed to head to my

  room.

  The second I left Darren’s room, Clive and Owen were already on my heels,

  waiting for me outside his bedroom door. I ignored them and headed straight to my

  bathroom to wake myself up while Camaro chewed on my bathroom floor mat. I

  showered and dressed and had breakfast alone downstairs. I boxed and trained for

  two hours undisturbed and worked with Camaro’s trainer for the following hour.

  She was getting better and better at following basic commands.

  When she was full-grown, she would start her guard dog training, and I was

  honestly a little excited about that. Maybe I could get Camaro to instinctively rip

  out Darren’s throat, hoping that might absolve me of the blame for his death. But I

  doubted it.

  After lunch, Clive and Owen not so subtly ushered me into my studio art room to

  paint as Darren had requested. But I had nothing “nice” to paint him, and I didn’t

  feel like getting my hands dirty for once. Instead, I just stared out the window for a

  long while, twirling the paintbrush between my fingers, watching the ocean and

  wishing it was warm enough to go swimming … or that I was allowed to at least be

  outside to hear it. And then I was suddenly struck with inspiration.

  Dragging my easel and chair to the other side of the room, I faced the window

  and painted the beautiful scene in front of me. Mimicking the form of the waves

  and color of the water and sky, the picture became my mirror. And then I ruined it

  by painting long black jail bars over the entire canvas, sending a clear-cut message

  to Darren. I left it there to dry and returned to my room for a long and well-

  deserved nap before dinner.

  But when I woke up a few hours later, I felt a presence hovering and immediately

  jolted in my bed. Darren was sitting on my bed watching me, a stoic expression on

  his face. I quickly glanced down at my watch to make sure I hadn’t overslept, but it

  was a half hour until dinner still. What was he doing here?

  When he made no move to answer my internal question, I just glared at him and

  pulled the sheet up over my head to ignore him and go back to sleep, but he

  promptly ripped it away from me.

  “Get your ass out of bed,” he ordered, clearly irritated. I groaned into my pillow.

  “So I can do what instead?” I griped as I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my

  eyes.

  Darren’s hand shot out to grip my hair and yanked me forward.

  “So you can stop pissing me off,” he growled.

  I didn’t know what made me do it, but from this position, leaning forward with

  my feet now digging into the mattress, I felt compelled to do something I hadn’t

  done in a long time.

  I launched myself at him.

  The force of my lunge was enough to get him on his back, though I didn’t sense

  much physical resistance from him. I hovered over him, my hair falling down one

  side as I regarded him with a dangerous smile.

  “Am I awake enough for you now?” I asked and then bent down to kiss him. I

  was rough and punishing with my kisses, wanting to give him the edge he always

  gave me. Sparks of lust ruptured around us almost instantly as Darren’s hands

  burned down my body, his tongue invading my mouth while my hands dug into his

  chest. He met me with his own aggression, possessing every inch of me, and

  igniting that familiar, delicious heat in my core.

  “I like you when you’re feisty,” he said between kisses, his fingertips pressing

  into my hips. “Pathetic does not suit you.”

  I pressed my teeth lightly down on his lip in warning. “And I like you when

  you’re quiet,” I replied boldly.

  He chuckled and rolled us onto my back.

  It didn’t take long before he was fucking me deep and hard into the mattress,

  my legs over his shoulders and crossing at the ankles. If I closed them a little

  tighter, I could choke him out from that position, but that was just fantasy talking

  dirty to me again.

  “Oh, fuck,” I moaned as he changed his position to allow him to go deeper. He


  gripped my hair and held me tightly as he pounded into me, my body taking every

  inch of him.

  And then I was coming as if my life depended on it.

  When Darren finished with me, he pulled out and looked closely at me. He

  tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and sighed.

  “I want to take you somewhere tonight. It might change your perspective on

  things.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “You’ll find out when we get there. We’ll leave in a half hour,” he said and got

  up.

  I laid on my side and watched him, wondering if he would disclose more

  information.

  “Don’t shower,” he said, righting his belt. “I want you smelling like me.”

  I furrowed my brows but didn’t argue.

  “Wear something impressive. No panties. And no fucking flats.”

  This time, I raised my brows. “Planning on showing me off?”

  Darren leaned down over me and kissed my lips. “That’s not difficult to do,” he

  drawled with a smirk. “Now, go get ready. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  With that, he left me, and I hopped off the bed and headed for the bathroom,

  while Camaro followed at my heels. If Darren didn’t want me to shower, then fine, I

  wouldn’t shower, but I wasn’t walking around with his cum dripping down my legs.

  Once I’d finished cleaning up, I touched up my hair and makeup and then

  ventured into my walk-in to find something impressive. I selected a skin-tight

  cream white satin dress with black accents that stopped at my knees. After deciding

  on a pair of strappy black and white pumps, I made my way over to the door where

  Clive and Owen were waiting outside to escort me downstairs.

  “Be a good girl, Camaro,” I said to her before shutting the door. She didn’t need

  to be locked in her crate anymore. The staff would watch her and take her outside if

  she needed.

  When we got to the foyer, Darren still wasn’t there, so I sat down in the chair

  and waited. I crossed my legs and bounced my foot in the air impatiently. Once

  again, I didn’t know where we were going, and it made me anxious and nervous. I

  hated that feeling. I waited for a little over five minutes before Darren finally

  emerged, his eyes capturing my still sitting position.

  I stood up and did a quick spin.

  “Impressed?” I asked, raising my brow. I know I cleaned up well.

  “Always,” he said, his eyes intense with lust. “But I just have one finishing

  touch.”

  He pulled out a small black velvet box from inside his jacket pocket and opened

  it for me. My eyes lit up with more sparkle than I could imagine. Inside the box was

  a silver-chained necklace with a single pear cut diamond pendant. The damn thing

  had to be at least eight carats.

  “Wow,” I said with a gasp, instead of the “holy shit” my mind wanted me to say.

  “Turn around and lift your hair,” he ordered.

  I turned on my heels and did as he asked, lifting my hair to allow him to place

  the pendant around my neck. It felt heavy and cold as it rested right in the middle

  of my chest.

  “Thank you,” I said as I turned around.

  “You’re welcome. Now, let’s go.”

  Taking my hand, he led me out to the circle drive and opened the door to his

  Ferrari for me to climb inside. I watched from the rearview window as Clive and

  Owen got into the idling black BMW behind us. Since it looked like they were the

  only ones tagging along for the ride, I assumed we were going to another place

  Darren trusted. It made me feel a little better.

  As Darren pulled away from the estate, the anxiety began to pick up again. I still

  had no idea where we were going or what was in store, and it just felt too necessary

  to know. Finally, I found my voice.

  “Anything particularly special I should know about tonight?” I asked.

  He released a sigh through his nose as he concentrated on the road, clearly

  conflicted about answering me.

  “You’re likely going to be upset at first, but you’ll quickly get over it if you want

  the night to continue.”

  I regarded him closely. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Do you remember my friend, Matt? I introduced you to him at—”

  “At your brother’s baby shower. Yes, I remember,” I said quickly.

  Darren clenched his jaw at my interruption, and I quickly looked down at my lap

  in apology.

  “We’re going to his house for dinner.”

  “Okay. What could possibly cause me to be upset there?”

  A ghost of a smile fell over his lips, and it had me all types of concerned.

  “Matt recently acquired a slave from one of my auctions. His rules for her are

  much stricter than mine are for you, and since you’re so fond of complaining about

  your life, I thought it would be educational for you to experience hers.”

  Son of a bitch.

  I couldn’t stop myself from scowling. What a fucking prick. He would try to pull

  something like this. I knew I had to admit that my life compared to some others

  was probably better. Darren did keep me in a nice house, kept me well fed and cared

  for, expensive clothes, shoes, and jewelry, the ability to wander outside, a dog; I

  certainly was a pampered slave. But that still didn’t make any of it okay. Even if he

  did take care of me, at the end of the day, I was still a fucking prisoner.

  But then something in Darren’s words caught my attention.

  “Wait a minute. What do you mean by ‘experience hers’?”

  “You’re going to abide by Matt rules tonight.”

  I felt my eyes bulge out of my head. “What? What if they conflict with yours?”

  “They won’t. He and I have already discussed it.”

  “What kind of rules?”

  “You’ll see. Just do exactly as she does. Don’t say a word. Don’t complain. And

  do not fucking push me. Make one wrong move, and you’ll spend a week in that

  cage, got it?”

  I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw hurt.

  “Yes, Darren,” I said solemnly, folded my arms and shrank into the passenger

  seat, not even bothering to focus on anything as I stared out the window. This was

  going to fucking suck.

  When we eventually pulled up to a black gate, it opened almost immediately,

  allowing Darren and Clive and Owen to pull into an even bigger circle drive than the

  one at the estate. Looking out the window at the house, I had to force myself to stop

  from gaping. It was a big white colonial with giant white pillars at the door and big

  open windows.

  Once we had parked, Darren got out of the car and came around to open the door

  to my side, taking my hand and helping me out while Clive and Owen rounded the

  car.

  “There is one more thing you need to be aware of,” Darren said, a glimmer of

  warning shining in his eyes. “You need to stay within twenty feet of me if you want

  to remain within your designated perimeter. Understand?”

  Fuck, I’d almost forgotten about that fucking shock collar around my throat. He

  hadn’t threatened to use it against me since Alaska. I did not want to experience

  the pain of that in front of company.

  “I understand,” I said, trying hard not to sound nervous. I was suddenly terrified

  I was going
to fuck this up.

  “Good. Just be on your best behavior, do as you’re told, and relax, okay? You

  have nothing to fear tonight so long as you can do that.”

  “Okay.” I breathed, nodding my head.

  Darren then dipped down and kissed me, wrapping his arms around my waist

  and holding me tightly. His kiss made me forget about the impending evening, and

  I was grateful for the small distraction that ended too soon.

  Releasing me, he took my hand and stepped out of my line of sight so I could

  take in the beauty of the house that stood before me, Clive and Owen following at

  our backs. It was just as big and magnificent as Darren’s was, besides the colonial

  architecture.

  I held Darren’s hand tightly, sure enough that I would cut off circulation, but he

  just gripped my hand back, giving me a reassuring tug. He rang the doorbell as we

  waited on the front porch before a young man in a light blue dress shirt and khakis

  answered the door.

  “Mr. Davis”—he smiled warmly—“good to see you again.” His dark hair

  accented his dark eyes, and he looked to be of an American Asian descent. No

  accent, though. He glanced at me briefly, but then took another look for a second

  too long. I felt Darren tense beside me, but as quickly as it came, it was gone.

  “Charles.” Darren nodded darkly.

  “Please come in,” Charles said as he stepped aside, holding the door open for us.

  “Mr. Rainer is in the dining room.”

  “Thank you.” Darren dismissed him and led us through the house. The house

  was decorated beautifully with lots of art, and I found it difficult to keep my eyes off

  the walls as my heels clicked away on the marble floor beneath us. There was a wide

  staircase off to the right in the foyer, and we bypassed that to head deeper into the

  back of the house, turning to the right and into the dining room. Clive and Owen

  took up post just outside the entranceway.

  Redwoods, creams, and burgundies exquisitely decorated the dining room. There

  was a grand chandelier hanging above the long redwood table, a cabinet of fine

  China and crystal against the wall, and a large bay window, giving access to the

  woodsy scenery of the backyard.

  Sitting at the table was the same man I had met at Daniel and Katheryn’s baby

  shower. Matthew Rainer. I made sure to pay close attention to him. With them