He finally removes his hand from the back of my neck, only to slide it around to my face. Using his thumb, he caresses my bottom lip, his palm cupping my cheek. His eyes have dropped to half-mast in a look of lust, and I inwardly cringe. “Trust me, Princess, you will be happy with me, with us. Our relationship will blossom beautifully with time,” he whispers then closes the distance between us, kissing me.
I hear myself yelling through my haze of anger, “Stop!” My brain-to-speech capacitor snaps without thinking. I glare hatefully at Nick. “Stop! Just stop calling me princess. I am not your princess!” I can’t help it, he’s pushed the ‘princess’ button one too many times. That name is reserved for one person in my life, and it’s not Nick.
Before I can hail more words down on him, he grabs me painfully by the cheeks with one hand in a storm of fury. He’s so fast I don’t even realize I’m being held in a vice grip until my brain catches up with the pain. He’s making my head spin in fear with this Jekyll and Hyde move. His caramel eyes have morphed into an ominous dark brown, blazing in anger as they narrow on mine. “You should never bite off more than you can chew, Julianna, because I am a lot to swallow.” Then his lips twist in a cruel smirk mere inches from my face as he breathes out his next statement with certainty, “Let’s get one thing straight here and now, Princess. If we only get one thing straight in this room tonight, let this message sink in loud and clear, shall we? I own you now. You are mine. I control what’s mine. I even micromanage how many hairs you grow on that perfect little body of yours. It’s simple: I speak, and you obey my every command. I. Own. You.”
While my jaw is still in his excruciating grip, I glance my eyes over at Travis, whose eyes fall on mine expressionlessly. Even he seems to be totally unaffected by this arrangement. Who was I kidding? Just what did I suppose yesterday’s touches and caring concern meant anyway, other than him giving me a false sense of security? I was a fool to presume he’s anything less than another monster masquerading around in a human form.
Nick lets go of me, standing to his full height beside me. Reaching into his front pocket, I watch as his fingers search for something. “Ah...yes, I almost forgot.” He pulls a small object from his pocket and holds it up against the light as if he’s inspecting it. I see it glittering against the overhead light and my brows furrow, trying to figure out what he has. Then it hits me—my engagement ring! My heart begins pounding anew.
“I wonder if the one who gave you this will come to your rescue.” Pure cynicism drips from his mouth. “Will he prove himself to be a true knight in shining armor? Or will he run, like a cowardly lion with his tail between his legs?” He shrugs his shoulders, confident that no one would be such a fool to challenge him. “Looks rather cheap wouldn’t you say, Travis? Almost looks as if it came out of one of those coin machines. You know, the ones grocery stores had when we were kids? What were they called?” Pausing for effect, he then continues, “Ah, yes, gumball machines. That’s it.” He shifts his gaze back to mine and smirks with a devious, knowing look. “You see, since you’re mine now, you won’t be needing this anymore. I am the Prince Charming you’ve been destined for, Julianna.”
I move my shaking left hand out from under the comforter to see for myself. My precious ring is, in fact, gone from my finger, and I try to suck in a gasp, losing my breath. It feels like I’ve been sucker-punched in the gut by a prize fighter. The hollow feeling in my stomach suddenly leaves me needing to fill that empty space with anger.
Nick’s beauty tries to hide a God-awful, vile, and viciously-evil spirit. I will never let a man like him have the opportunity to own or control me. I would rather die first than give him the satisfaction of reigning over my unwilling soul. I feel a raging animosity building pressure in my gut over his sheer audacity. That ring is everything to me. Never before did I understand what it felt like to shake with rage. My eyes go wild with an animalistic craze. The hot anger erupts from my volcanic mouth, spewing hot and furious words into the atmosphere.
“Give it back to me! You motherfucking asshole! You psychopathic, arrogant, egomaniacal prick! Does it make you feel like a real man to prey on helpless, innocent females? It must! I see you have to steal one and hold her captive, because no other female in the entire human race could stand to be within five feet of you!” I point a shaky finger at his body, as if I have a gun in my hand and am firing into him, willing him to die. I am so enraged I can almost feel the steam spewing out of my ears. “You! You are a spineless and dick-less shit-hole, Nick! You. Will. Never. Own. Me!”