Monster In The Shadows: A stand-alone dark romance, page 13
The last time, I deserved what I got. But I’m being reasonable this time. He’s the one who isn’t. I didn’t do anything wrong. Now he’s demanding I work out with him, and I’m putting my foot down. If he wants to be a stubborn ass, two can play that game.
Fifteen minutes later, my door is thrown open again.
“You just love to push my buttons, don’t you?” he asks, his jaw ticking.
Why is that kind of hot?
“I’m not purposefully trying to push your buttons. I just want to be treated like an adult. I’m not one of the sluts that you fuck who bend over and say, ‘Yes, please.’”
My words make his jaw tick again. I don’t even know if he’s a man-whore. I just assume he is because of his ridiculously good looks.
He stalks over to me and sits on my bed. “Bend over my knees.”
I shake my head. “Fuck you.”
“You will learn to listen. You are getting three spankings. If you refuse, the number goes up.”
I glare at him and grind my teeth. He definitely sounds like he means business, but am I going to let him do this to me? For one, it’s embarrassing. Two, that means I’m actually agreeing to this lifestyle with him. I mean, I know I technically already agreed to it. I just didn’t think about everything.
“Now, Paige,” he says.
I shake my head again.
“Four.”
My eyes go wide. He’s not backing down.
Will I be able to handle more than four? I know this isn’t going to be playful. He’s upset.
You’re acting like a child now. Take the punishment, then have a conversation, I tell myself.
I want to whine and resist, but I know what I have to do.
I bend over his knees and grind my teeth again. I’m not one who submits like this. It goes against everything I am.
“Keep your hands above your head. You’ll get hurt if you try to cover yourself. I will count. When I’m done, this is all over. Don’t curse or you’ll get another spanking added. Do you understand?”
I nod, but he doesn’t like that response.
“Your words, Paige.”
“I understand,” I whisper.
“One,” he says, smacking my ass hard.
I want to swear, but now that I know what it feels like, I definitely don’t want any more swats added.
“Two.” He smacks the other cheek.
He goes back and forth, and when he gets to four, I want to cry.
As soon as he’s done, he starts to massage my ass, the sting leaving quickly. After a few minutes of rubbing, he pulls me into his arms, cuddling me.
Why is he acting sweet now?
“You did great, Paige. I’m proud of you.”
Those words make me feel warm, and I don’t understand why.
“I want you to listen. You know this. I should have been clearer with the rules of the house, and for that, I’m sorry, but this attitude has to stop. I was lenient before, but I won’t be anymore. You agreed to be mine, so please act like it.”
He holds me tight, rubbing my back. My mind is already off my sore ass.
“I get that this is all new to you. This isn’t what you asked for, but it’s what you agreed to. Everything I ask of you is for a reason. That reason may not seem clear at the time, but I will never ask for you to do something that would hurt you.”
I’m more confused than anything. Why does he act like this controlling asshole one minute and then this caring man the next?
“Now, come on. I know your ass is sore, but we still have to work out.”
I nod, knowing there is no way out of this. I don’t want another round of spankings.
“Let me get changed. I promise I’ll come this time.”
Donovan stands and walks out of the room, leaving me for a moment to breathe.
I feel like I could get whiplash from all of Donovan’s mood changes. Does he really care? I don’t even know anymore.
I run a hand through my hair, my body still shaking with frustration.
Paige almost went into the basement, and I don’t think she would react well to seeing Marcus in the shape he’s in.
Everything is going according to plan. We’ve blamed his disappearance on Grayson Hawkson, and no one has come looking for him. He isn’t talking much yet, but I don’t think it will take too much longer to break him.
Now, if I could just get Paige to fucking listen. I don’t want to break her spirit—she needs that—but I can’t stand her attitude.
The door to my gym opens, and Paige shuffles in, staring at the ground.
“How does your bottom feel?” I ask.
She blushes. “Not horrible. I think the massage you gave me after helped a lot.”
I nod. “Sometimes, you’ll need lotion after, but that’s usually when I spank your bare ass.”
She bites her lip, and I want to kiss her hard.
“So, today, we’re going to do an upper body workout,” I tell her.
She sighs.
“I don’t want to complain, but I hate working out,” she pouts, making me chuckle.
“I know, but this is what you have to do. Remember, I want you strong. I don’t ever want you to think that I want to break you. The last thing I want is for you to lie down and roll over. I like your spark. I just need to know that I can trust you to listen. It could be a matter of life or death.”
Her eyes go wide, and she nods.
“I guess I never thought of it that way,” she whispers.
I step toward her, and I hear her gasp softly.
Placing my hands on her hips, I pull her closer to me. “I know I have a strange way of showing it, but I do care for you, Paige. I’m not acting.”
I can’t stop myself; I smash my lips to hers. Her little gasp allows my tongue entrance, and I deepen the kiss. Fuck, this is intense. The most intense kiss we’ve ever shared. I love the feel of her lips on mine. I caress her sides with my fingers, and she leans into me.
It takes all of my willpower to pull away and not fuck her against the wall.
“Why did you stop?” she asks, her chest rising and falling quickly with her breaths and her cheeks flushed.
“Because we have to work out. Maybe we can have more fun times later.”
She sticks her bottom lip out, and I can’t help but laugh.
“I’ll take it easy on you today, but every day, we are going to be making it a bit harder.”
“Can I relax in the hot tub after work tonight?” she asks.
I nod. “If you listen well, you most definitely can relax tonight.”
She jumps up and down a little, making me chuckle.
“Okay, let’s get to work,” I tell her.
I instruct her to straddle a bench attached to a big machine, placing her knees beneath a padded bar.
“We are going to do a lateral pull-down,” I explain.
Setting the weight at ten pounds—which should be a good weight for her—I stand behind her and take her hands in mine, placing them on the bar above her head.
“You are going to pull down. When you do that, breathe out, and breathe in when you go to release.”
Taking my hands off of hers, I touch between her shoulder blades, and she gasps. This is becoming way more sensual than I thought it would be.
“You want to feel it in here. Pull your shoulder blades together when you pull down. I’ve set the weight light. If you feel like it’s too light, we will adjust it. You are going to do three rounds of fifteen. By the fifteenth rep, you should be fatigued, but not completely burned out.”
She nods. “Okay. I think I’ve got it.”
She pulls down the bar, breathing like I told her, and I smile.
“How did that feel?” I ask, thinking we should probably up the weight. It looked a little too effortless.
“It was really easy. I think I can handle a bit more.”
I adjust the weight to fifteen, and she does another rep perfectly. I don’t know why I love the fact that she’s listening so well.
“That felt better,” she announces.
“Good. Keep going. It’s not about speed, it’s about form. Just keep breathing out when you pull down and breathing in when you raise it back up, and focus on your shoulder blades.”
The rest of the set goes great, and I give her a bottle of water.
“Take about thirty seconds to catch your breath and take a drink, and then start the next set. Don’t ever take more than a minute between sets.”
She chugs a good amount of water and starts her second set. For a woman who doesn’t work out, she is catching on nicely.
“You did amazing today,” I tell Paige as she finishes her last exercise.
“I. Think. I. Would. Rather. Die,” she pants between breaths.
I laugh. “It’s just new. You’ll be a pro before you know it.”
I glance at my clock and see that Paige needs to be at the library in a little over an hour.
“Why don’t you go take a shower and get ready for work? I’ll make you a snack to eat before you leave.”
She smirks at me and raises a brow. “Really? You’ll make me a snack?”
“Fine. I’ll have my chef make you a snack. I have a confession to make.” I pause for dramatic effect. “I can’t cook to save my life.”
This earns me a full laugh from Paige. “Why did you offer to help me the other night?”
I shrug. “Seemed like the right thing to do. I mean, I can cut up food and shit, but actually cooking? Yeah, it’s not good.”
“You never cease to surprise me, Donovan. Well, I’ll eat whatever. I’m starving.” She starts to head out before pausing at the door. “Can we eat in tonight after work? I’m already tired, and I know I will just want to come home and veg after the library shift.”
“I would like that a lot. It will be good to spend some time alone together too.” I wink at her, and she blushes and quickly scurries off.
I don’t know why, but I love to make her blush. The way her skin turns that perfect color of pink. Probably similar to the color her ass turned when I spanked it earlier.
I was hard as a rock when I smacked her ass. It was so hot that she let me take full control of her like that.
I can see it in her eyes that as much as she loves fighting me, she also loves to please me. I wonder if she’s going to be the same way in the bedroom. Hopefully, I won’t have to wait too much longer to find out.
I wince a little as I sit beside Leanne, and she gives me a funny look.
“My whole body hurts,” I complain.
“Why?”
“Donovan is making me work out. He says he wants me to be strong, but I think he just likes to torture people.”
Leanne laughs, and an old lady glares at her from over her book.
“Don’t you know you’re supposed to be quiet in libraries?” I whisper to her, and she sticks her tongue out.
“Yeah, I still don’t know how I got this job,” she giggles. “My inside voice is non-existent. Even in school when I tried to whisper, the teachers could always hear me. And the whole class. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to try to tell your friend you like a boy, and that boy turns around and shivers?”
I laugh, this time earning me a glare from the old lady.
“Why did he shiver?” I ask.
“Because apparently I was scary in third grade.” She stifles a laugh. “I mean, I was really tall for my age, and my resting bitch face was on point.”
I giggle, trying to keep it quiet. “I wish I would have known scary Leanne. Was she much different than the crazy Leanne I know now?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. I just learned to smile more, and I stopped growing before I was a freak.”
I smile at her, glad I’m getting this time with my friend. I’m so happy that I met her when we both started working at the library at sixteen.
I adjust my glasses, and she stares at me. I usually do this when I’m nervous, and I so desperately want to tell Leanne about what’s going on. But I can’t without telling the whole truth. And I’m not ready for that.
“Are you okay?” she asks, concern evident in her tone.
“I’m fine. I’m just still freaked out about last night.”
That’s not a total lie. I barely slept last night. The only thing keeping me from screaming was the calming power of Donovan’s even breaths.
“I bet. I didn’t let Sway leave last night because I was freaked out.”
“You didn’t want him to leave because you were freaked out, or because you like his magical dick?” I tease.
She giggles and pushes me. “I’m going to go with both. So, is the reason Donovan has been driving you everywhere because of last night and all that stuff?”
I nod. “He’s been trying to protect me. We don’t know why someone’s out to get me, but they are.”
“Why haven’t you gone to the cops?”
“We have. They aren’t doing anything because there’s no evidence. I mean, besides the note, but I feel like they wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile. “My cousin had a stalker for years, and they never did anything about it until she was murdered.”
I gasp and cover my mouth. I never knew that.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell her, grabbing her hand.
She shrugs. “We were never close, but it still hurt. Like, you think you should be able to trust the police, but I guess you can’t really trust anyone.”
I nod. I’ve learned this to be so true in the last couple of months. Looks can be deceiving.
“Want to come over to Donovan’s on Sunday for a movie night? He has the nicest home theater room,” I ask, changing the subject to something happier.
She smiles and nods. “We should invite Sway!”
“Excuse me,” the old lady says, standing and walking over to us. “I thought this was a library, not gossip night.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” I say, trying not to laugh.
“Well, I think I’ll be choosing a different library from now on,” she states before walking out with her nose up.
“Bitchy old lady,” Leanne whispers.
I lose it in a fit of laughter.
“Think we’re going to get fired?” I ask when I finally compose myself.
Leanne shakes her head. “No one has applied since we started. Even when I was teaching for those couple of years, they couldn’t fill my spot. People think libraries are old and stuffy. This isn’t most people’s job choice. Besides, no one does a better story hour than me. And it’s not like you really need the job, miss soon-to-be-nurse.”
I smile. I can’t wait to do my dream job full time.
“You do the best impressions. I mean, you made that one kid squirt milk through his nose last week.”
Her eyes go wide, and her smile is huge. “That was the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Back to the topic of Sway. We could totally make it a double date.”
“I thought you weren’t dating. Just getting busy.”
“We’re not dating, but it would still be fun to all hang out together.”
“Yeah, it would. I’ll talk to Donovan tonight. Shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Leanne stands from her stool and pulls me into her arms. “I’m so glad you have him. Last night was scary, but the way he held you as you cried… He’s a keeper.”
I nod, but don’t smile.
Is he, though? He’s a fantastic actor. He has everyone fooled. But they don’t know him like I do. And I barely know him. But how do you even get to know a man who puts up so many walls and switches attitudes more often than I change underwear?
“How was work?” Donovan asks as we pull away from the library.
“Not bad.” I shrug.
Ever since Leanne brought up Donovan being a keeper, I can’t stop thinking about everything. My body wants him, and I think my heart even wants him. But my head? It keeps shooting out warning signals.
He’s caring one moment and cold and closed off the next. I don’t know when I’ll set him off next. I understand that he likes obedience, and I’m trying, but how can you follow the rules when you don’t know what they are? It’s like he expects me to read his mind.
It makes me happy to please him and know I’ve done a good job. I actually like following the rules. I don’t, however, like being forced to be someone I’m not. I have an attitude, and I can’t watch my tongue to save my life. I want him to be happy, but if the price is me sacrificing who I am, I won’t do it.
The ride to Donovan’s house is quiet. I’m thankful that he isn’t forcing me to talk.
“I’m going to shower before dinner, if that’s all right with you?” I ask Donovan before heading up the stairs.
He nods, and I rush off, needing space.
I have to get my head on straight, because tonight, we are talking. I need to know exactly what he wants of me. Especially now that I’m living in his house. If this is going to work, we both have to be on the same page.
“You look nice,” Donovan says, taking in my dress.
I’m wearing a strapless dress with a plain black top and an animal print high-low skirt. It’s definitely dressier than I would have chosen, but the dress was sitting on my bed when I got out of the shower, and I knew Donovan wanted me to wear it.
“Thank you. It’s really pretty,” I answer, sitting at the table that already has all the food set out.
“You’re beautiful,” he says, making me blush.
I take a bite of the salmon and moan. “This is amazing. Thank you so much.”
“It was nothing. Chef whipped it up for us.”
I forgot for a second that he pretty much has someone to do everything for him.
“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Donovan states after a few minutes of silence.
“Just lost in my thoughts.”
“What are you thinking about?” he asks, setting his fork down and staring intently at me.
My body heats from his stare, and I immediately feel nervous. I had every intention of talking to Donovan tonight, but I don’t even know what to say now. I try to take a deep breath, but it comes in a bit ragged.
