Because He Breaks Me(8)

I was saying the words, but my voice sounded far away, and my knees felt weak. I fought against the power he had over me as hard as I could, but he was pulling me under, my resolve snapping like a twig under the weight of his magnetism.

And then, suddenly, he released me and walked back to the kitchen, picked up his water bottle and took another pull.

“Why are you here, Adriana?” he asked quietly. “Why did you call me?”

“Because Jason –”

“You could have called the police. They would have come right away.”

“I wanted to warn you.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need your warnings,” he said, shaking his head. “Jason is the least of my problems.”

“Are you going to call the police?” I asked, twisting my hands together in front of me.

“No.”

“No?”

“If you want to call the police, Adriana, be my guest. But Jason’s not a threat to me. He’s just a poser, one of those guys who think they’re hot shit. He’s upset, but he’ll get over it. If you feel differently, then by all means, you should file a report.”

My eyes filled with tears at Callum’s callous dismissal. I’d hurt him. I’d rejected him so deeply that he’d considered it an attack on who he was as a person, a validation that he was just as fucked up as he thought he was. I wasn’t sure we could ever recover from that.

I knew if I left this apartment, he wouldn’t contact me again. And I couldn’t contact him again, not after this. But the thing was, I felt safe here, in this apartment with him, even though he was the person with the ability to hurt me the most.

“I’ll get you a security detail,” he said. “Starting tomorrow.”

“I don’t want a security detail.” I want you.

“You won’t even know they’re there. And you won’t need to have any interaction with me.”

“I want to have interaction with you,” I said. I took a step toward him and put my hand on his arm. “I don’t want a guard, Callum.”

I felt his muscle clench under my touch, and then he turned to look at me. “What do you want, Adriana?”

“I want you,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I want you to own me.”

As I said the words, I realized how true they were. I wanted to be with him, I wanted him to fuck me, to spank me, to punish me for what I’d done by not signing the contract in the first place. I wanted him to own me.

I reached into my bag, my hands still shaking.

I took out the contract, pulled the pages out the envelope and set them on the counter before signing with a flourish.

“There,” I said, setting the pen down. I squared my shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. “I’m yours.”

Callum stood there, not saying anything for a long moment, his gaze setting me on fire, his soul invading my body and burning my veins from the inside out.

Then he raised his chin.

“You’ll have to be punished.”

I nodded.

“Badly.”

I dropped my eyes from his. “I understand, sir.”

His breathing was deepening as he eyed me hungrily.

“Lock the front door, Adriana,” he said. “And then go to the bedroom.”