Because at this moment when he’s all threatening and scary, I don’t see the danger.
I should see the danger.
Instead, I’m searching behind that danger, thirsting to dig my claws in him and rip open the poker face to peek behind it.
I’m almost sure I’ll find a monster, but I still want to see it anyway.
I still want to see what he’s made of. Why he’s made this way.
His hand reaches for my face. I swallow as he traces a sensual finger down my cheek. It’s meant to be soft, but all I see is the darkness lurking beneath the surface.
I crave it. I want him to unleash it.
If he’s sick and I want his sickness, what does it make me?
“Seems that night in the rain did you no good.” His voice is too calm as he pinches my cheek. “I told you, sweetheart. You’re already mine, so stop acting otherwise.”
“I’m not yours.”
“Being mine is a fact, not an option. I don’t give a fuck if you embrace it or fight it in front of me.” He nuzzles his nose over my cheek. “But I’m done giving you freedom. You don’t get to act like you don’t belong to me.”
“Or what?”
He shakes his head. “You don’t want to know that.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Be mine and you become the queen on my board.” He pauses and flicks his tongue to lick my lower lip. “Fight and you’ll remain a pawn.”
Something bubbles to my throat and I can’t swallow past it. He’s fuming.
No. He’s enraged.
To another person, this version of Aiden would appear normal, soft even, but Aiden is the type who hides his anger beneath layers of calmness.
To say I’m not scared would be a lie, but I got past the blinding fear stage. Now, I’m able to see past the fear to his obsession with me. The way he seems so physically intent to possess me. I see the spark.
The want.
My want.
The way I react to him is beginning to scare me more than how he reacts to me.
As if all my senses aren’t filled with him already, Aiden squeezes my jaw so I’m glued to the grey storms in his eyes. They’re turbulent, beautiful, and downright terrifying.
Now, I know why storms are named after people.
“Which one will you be?” He drawls. “Queen or pawn?”
“None.”
“None, huh?”
“I’m not a chess piece on your board, Aiden. I’m human with human needs.”
His lips tug with a smirk. “Human needs. Hmm. We can work on that.”
I hit his shoulder. “That’s not what I mean.”