Page 35 of Obsession (Dark Revenge)
“You’ve been carrying that around?” I asked, disbelief in my voice.
“Of course. I can’t have you snooping around and stumbling upon it, can I? You already swiped it from me once.”
“I remember,” I said, a smile forming on my lips as I recalled how I had taken advantage of his drunk state.
“Don’t get any funny ideas. That’s never happening again.”
“No? You came quite hard,” I taunted, and his eyes narrowed. I was pushing my luck, but I gracefully moved to the couch on my knees, placing my hands on the back of it and leaning forward. My shirt remained partially open, offering him an unmissable view of my cleavage. Despite his disdain for me, Jared was still just a man, and his gaze briefly dipped downward before returning to me. “You even enjoyed it when I whipped your cock. Maybe you’re not as dominant as you’d like to believe. Perhaps you and Astrid will have a fulfilling marriage. She appears to relish bringing men to their knees.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, attempting to provoke the beast lurking beneath his carefully constructed veneer of control. I could sense I was getting to him, his body trembling slightly as I mentioned Astrid. I knew I was being exceptionally cruel, buthe had used my own pain against me. Now, it was my turn to leverage his vulnerabilities.
Yet, instead of completely losing his composure, Jared placed his hands on either side of mine, leaning closer until there was barely any space between our bodies.
“Are you jealous, Alison?” he whispered, and I stared at him in astonishment.
“What?”
“I asked if you were jealous.”
“Of course not!” I exclaimed. “I can’t wait for you to become another woman’s problem. I’m eager for someone else to engage in your games and keep you far away from me so I can return to my life and actually live it without your constant torment.”
“You say you want me gone, but I don’t quite believe you. You couldn’t stay away from me when we were younger, you couldn’t resist my allure. The only reason we stopped playing your games was because I left. Could it be that you were always fascinated by me? And now, another woman gets to have me for the rest of her life. We will share a bed, spend our days together, and build a family. She will have all of me until death do us part, while you return home to a man who cannot stop ogling other women simply because you fail to fulfill his desires. So secretly, why shouldn’t you be jealous? Deep down, you know I can do things to you that no one else can. You know that even when you say you hate me, it’s a coded plea for ‘more’ and ‘please, Master’. Admit it, little slut, you crave me, and you have for a long time.”
My voice caught in my throat, and with each word he spoke, my heart raced faster. What did he mean by suggesting that I had always been fascinated by him? I had inflicted pain on him, treated him like less than a dog, and regarded him as a human pet. I was not, and I would never be, fascinated by Jared. I couldn’t and wouldn’t crave him. He was just provokingme, grasping at straws. He didn’t know anything about my true feelings. He couldn’t!
“Y-You’ve simply conditioned me,” I stammered, attempting to maintain control over my voice. “I’ll always despise you and see you as an easy target. I don’t need whatever it is you think you can provide, because we both know you only make me climax to embarrass me. If I were to genuinely enjoy it, you’d stop, subjecting me to your rough fucking, leaving me wet and trembling, begging for more. But we both know that when I say ‘I hate you’, it’s not a secret code for ‘please, Master, fuck me harder’. It means I genuinely HATE you.”
I had expected my words to annoy him, but instead, he smiled as if I had uttered precisely what he wanted to hear. Jared was incredibly perplexing. Why wasn’t he reacting the way I wanted him to? Why did it feel like I had just passed some sort of test? I had thought he wanted me to admit that I desired him, believing it would be another victory for him. So why did my response appear to please him?
“You’re smiling,” I pointed out.
“Of course.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. You make no sense,” I snarled. “And it will truly be a blessing when Astrid gets to deal with your constant mood swings instead of me.”
“She won’t be dealing with anything because she won’t be taking the lead in this marriage. She will learn who the man is in this relationship.”
“You know, when you speak like that, do you realize who you sound like?” I asked.
“Who?”
“Every damn man in my life. I thought you despised the football players from my school and the people from my world, but when you talk about your future wife, you sound exactly like them,” I told him.
Jared’s smile faded, and it was evident that he hadn’t realized how closely he had resembled the very people he had hunted down and made pay for their crimes against him. If he believed he was somehow superior to them now, he was mistaken, and I would make sure to remind him.
“Do you think just because my husband doesn’t physically abuse me, his affairs aren’t a constant reminder of ‘my place’? Do you think parading those women in front of me doesn’t imply that he can get satisfaction elsewhere?” I pointed out. “You want a successful marriage? You want me to actually teach you what it means to be married? The first lesson is to treat your wife as an equal, not as someone beneath you.”
“She’s a fucking bitch who wants to lock my cock away,” he snarled, leaning even closer to me. “Why should I show her any respect when she will never show me any? Alison, she’s a dominatrix.”
“Well, I’m willing to bet that the men from her world are just as insufferable as those from mine. It’s no surprise she enjoys some control in the bedroom, given that she’s likely subjected to constant reminders of her place by her family. I’m not saying she’s a wonderful woman, especially not after witnessing what she did to you. Trust me, I don’t like her. But you asked me to teach you what it means to be married. You wanted to engage in a game of pretend, but you forgot that we played a couple who liked each other, a couple with a functioning family. We were the teenagers who had fallen in love years ago, and that love hadn’t waned over the time we spent together. That’s why roleplaying won’t teach you anything, because every part has already been played out. You had it all planned, but you don’t actually like Astrid, and I don’t think she likes you more than what you can offer in the bedroom. I bet she finds it frustrating that yet another man is entering her life, dictating what she can do and where she can go. So, if you don’t want to submit to your wife,show her that she can voice her opinions without needing your permission. Demonstrate that there’s a team player in you, and maybe your marriage will work in your favor.”
To emphasize my point and avoid being drawn into the alluring presence of a half-naked Jared in front of me, I crossed my arms, creating a barrier between us. Jared had fallen silent, simply watching me with an inscrutable expression as he absorbed everything I was saying. After an uncomfortable silence that lingered for too long, I decided to break it.
“Now, am I allowed a head start, or are we starting from here? And can we leave the bedroom, or are we confined to this space?”
Chapter 16
-Jared-
