Page 93 of A Deal in Darkness
This is not how I planned for this moment to go.
Adriana screams and cries, clawing at my fucking priceless collar adorning her neck as she does everything she can think of to remove it. Her skin reddens as her scratches mark it and her face turns the same color as tears stream down it.
My hand reaches for her, and she slaps it away.
I reach again and she dares to scream at me, unleashing all her vitriol in a single sound as her anger consumes the sound she makes. My girl snatches a breath of air before pouring more of her rage into a second scream and the perfect dream my magicconjured for her threatens to fall apart as dark clouds gather on the horizon.
My magic counters it, keeping her dream alive for her as mine shatters into too many to repair.
She’s trying to reject my gift and my dominance. She’s refusing to submit. After everything I’ve done for her, my girl still fights me and it’s beyond my comprehension. I’ve been patient with her this week. I’ve shown her a level of compassion I didn’t know I had. I’ve even been empathetic.
It’s been a revelation.
And now she’s acting like I’ve deceived her and forced her into doing something repulsive. Adriana’s crying harder than I’ve ever seen her cry and her tears are fucking pretty, but they’re not what I want. I want her joy, her excitement. I want her to revel in this moment and appreciate the gift I’ve given her.
Instead, she’s acting like a fucking brat.
And I want to take her over my knee and tan her hide until she sees sense. Or I'm no longer livid. Or whatever this disgusting ache that claws its way through my chest is.
The girl yanks the collar back and it crushes her windpipe, causing her to choke. She coughs, splutters and yanks it again, still rebelling against the collar.
My collar.
A collar the Queen of Hell asked me to gift her and I refused to give away.
Lilith would look spectacular in it, but Adriana looks divine. She’s so damn stunning I can’t take my eyes off her and she’s never been more beautiful. Or more ugly.
She thrashes on the floor, and she’s starting to hyperventilate. Her little heart is beating so frantically that I hear the beats merge as her blood races faster than she can handle. Adriana’s not absorbing enough oxygen and when her limbs start to flail, I know she’s going to hurt herself.
And I cannot allow it.
Even now, amidst the hurt and anguish at Adriana’s fucking betrayal, I want to protect her. She’s clawed her tiny human nails into me and she’s underneath my skin, in a way I haven’t experienced in the eons I’ve lived through.
My fingers move and I lift her body off the ground and the girl keeps thrashing against the air. Her back arches as she reaches for the ground, cursing as she screams to be released. She should be screaming because my cock’s pounding her pretty little cunt, but instead she’s rebelling against me and my collar.
Adriana is more determined than I believed, and I’ll make use of her endurance at another time. Damn good use of it and I’ll ensure it pleases me.
I plant her feet on the ground, and she stiffens. Those innocent blue irises of hers brim with enough fury to make Valkyries envious and then she closes them. My girl takes a breath and I feed off her anger, containing it for her own fucking good.
“Take. It. Off.”
Adriana’s eyes snap open and they’re cold. A cold that’s so damn hot it’ll burn through Hell to get what it wants. My girl is stunning and I’ve never been prouder, not in all my years of existence. She’s mine and she’s a force to be reckoned with, and she will not slip into this or any night. She’s decided to resist and at least she’s committed to it. I admire her for it, even if this is utterly futile and deeply hurtful.
“No.”
“I want it off.”
“Not happening, baby.” My teeth grind and it takes every ounce of control I have not to show her my demonic form. “You accepted this, sweet girl. I didn’t have to give you a choice, but I did, and you chose this. I won’t let you go back on this now.”
Adriana takes a step toward me and I’m surprised. Both by her sheer damn nerve and the fact she’s been able to do it. My magic should have held her still and she’s managed to slip its hold. With fuck all effort. It’s astounding and it makes me want her more.
“You never said it was permanent.”
That’s the fucking problem.
Wearing my collar hasn’t upset Adriana in and of itself. She’s willing to accept it. Temporarily. When she has some control over when it comes off. It’s the permanency of it that she dislikes. The finality. The complete surrender and acceptance of her place beneath me. Her eternal submission.
“I want it off.”
