Even if I had forgiven her for betraying me to Daniel, I was obviously more affected by it than I would’ve liked to admit to myself.
Fuck. I’d behaved like a savage, hunting her down like an animal and pinning her in the dirt.
My spine straightened, and I hardened my resolve. I’d promised consequences if she tried to run again, and I’d followed through. Marisol needed a firm hand to help her adjust to her new life with me.
I didn’t regret punishing her. I didn’t regret branding her flesh with my punitive hand. I didn’t regret making her whimper into my mouth and scream out in pleasure when I forced an orgasm from her bound body.
A sense of calm settled over me. Marisol was right where she belonged, and she’d learn to love being my prey.
“I’m possessive because I know that other men will try to claim you if you’re alone and vulnerable. I won’t let you leave because my walls keep you safe.”
I brushed my fingers through her hair, and my callouses scraped over a small twig that was tangled in the black, silky locks. The lingering evidence of her subjugation centered me even more, and I spoke in an even, reassuring cadence. My lost little lamb would listen to reason if I didn’t spook her.
“You don’t have to be my prisoner, if you accept that the barriers are in place to keep others out. I can tell you’ve been through a lot, and you’ve been on this reckless journey all alone for a long time. You’ve survived by pushing forward, no matter the cost.”
She would tell me more about what she’d been through later, but now wasn’t the time to delve into her trauma. I needed her full attention on me.
“I’ll understand if it takes you a while to settle in here and to accept that you no longer need to fight for survival every second of every day.” My hand hooked beneath her jaw, anchoring her in my steady gaze. “My possessiveness and refusal to allow you to leave aren’t something you should fear. There’s nothing for you to be afraid of anymore. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe.”
Before she could protest, I continued on in a harder tone. “And no, I’m not giving you a choice until your mind clears from whatever trauma you’ve been through. I’ll protect you from anything that might threaten you, and that includes yourself. I won’t apologize for it. The matter is no longer open for discussion. Do you understand?”
I kept her fixed in my unyielding stare until she swallowed hard and nodded. The nonverbal response satisfied me. I didn’t want to hear another word about her desire for freedom or her fear of my possessiveness.
Marisol would not fear me. I wouldn’t let her.
Chapter 14
Marisol
My hand hovered over the doorknob, but I hesitated to leave Raúl’s bedroom. He’d given me some space to shower and put on a fresh dress—one that he hadn’t ripped apart with his bare hands.
An echo of the fabric tearing teased through my mind, and my nipples pebbled, as though he’d exposed my breasts to his demanding, rough hands once again.
My teeth sank into my lower lip. After his vicious attack in the woods, I should’ve been terrified to face Raúl. He’d spanked me, bound me, stripped me naked, and come on my helpless body.
While I screamed in ecstasy and shamelessly thrust my pussy into his possessive grip.
My cheeks burned, mirroring the lingering burn on the backs of my thighs and my ass. His huge palm had spanked me hard enough to brand my flesh, but my core throbbed in time with my heartbeat.
What we’d done in the dirt—reduced to base, animal lust—had been wrong. Normal, respectable women didn’t orgasm when a man utterly dominated and subjugated them. But when he’d manhandled me into position and punished me, he’d tapped into my darkest desires; the very thing I’d feared most.
I closed my eyes and struggled to draw a deep breath into my tight chest. If Raúl weren’t so good and gentle with me, I could’ve kept my walls up.
But it was hard to remember that he was a bad, dangerous man when his massive hands cradled my face with shocking tenderness. When his luminous eyes glowed as though he was looking upon something beautiful and precious, I forgot to be wary of him. I forgot to be wary of myself, of my deviant nature.
I’d fallen hard for Gehovany, and he’d turned out to be a monster; a criminal, just like Raúl.
But Gehovany had never looked at me with something close to awe. He’d never forced so much harsh pleasure upon me that my mind shattered and my body floated on bliss.
Just as I’d feared, I couldn’t trust myself around Raúl.
There’s nothing for you to be afraid of anymore. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe.