Part 2
He watched me redress from the couch, legs crossed comfortably, once again an image of polished sophistication. It brought a brand new flush to my cheeks to imagine the godlike figure lounging behind me had, only moments before, been having his way with my body, and I hurried to dignify myself in the heat of the thought.
Once I had completed the seemingly endless task of smoothing myself out I stood dutifully before him. He slipped the strap of my purse over my shoulder, cupping my newly exposed neck with gentle, teasing fingers.
I swallowed and averted my gaze, an action that earned a soft sigh from him.
"You're not thinking of doing anything silly again, now are you?" His voice was low, the tone dangerous.
I scoffed, adrenaline rushing through the parts of my body that weren't already on high alert. "Depends on what you'd consider silly, Gabriel."
The power dynamic had returned from his utter control to its usual 60-40 split, a place in which I was free to address him without consequence and I took the opportunity to emphasize my distaste for the situation, fixing him with an angry look of my own. "You know I won't continue to do this, and I don't have any obligation to you."
"You don't," he commented thoughtfully, leaning back, "it seems to me that you don't need obligation to whet your appetite." The same fingers touched the inside of my thigh, burning my skin even through the stockings, and pressed delicately against my clit for the mere few seconds that were necessary to coax a nearly inaudible whimper from me before he slid them along my pussy and quickly away.
I ground my teeth, cursing the raw physical reaction he was so easily able to elicit, and stepped out of his reach.
“I won’t do this again. This manipulative, mind trick bullshit is over.” He seemed shocked at that, a slight widening of those perfect, dark eyes, but before I could continue he was standing. At his full height he towered over me, stepping forward to close the gap I’d put between us. “You can find someone else to play this game, I’m out.”
His breath fanned across my face, minty and enticing. He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, examining me. But after what felt like an eternity of silence in which my head swum with the intensity of his closeness I finally pulled away, backing toward the door.
“You’d best be ready next Friday at 6pm, Violet.” He tilted his head to watch me leave, hands deep in the pockets of his well fitted pants. “Or else.”
The entire drive home was tense, absent of the carefree happiness I’d felt coming back and filled, instead, with a deep feeling of unsettlement. When I was within the city boundaries I called Levi back, keeping my voice steady as we arranged where to meet.
“Are you alright?” He inquired as we said our temporary goodbyes.
“Fine, it’s nothing worth talking about. I’ll see you in ten.”
At exactly 6PM a knock on the door drew me from the ball I’d been curled up on the couch in. He was dressed flawlessly, once again, in a dark suit, and he raised an eyebrow from behind his stylish glasses to examine my contrary attire.
“I can’t say I was expecting any more from you, you’re as stubborn as any mule.” The lighthearted, teasing of his tone threw me off guard, having expected anger. He easily stepped past me into my own apartment, a hand finding my waist and pulling me close for a quick, deep kiss. “It’s just as well, I brought something for you to wear.”
My mouth agape, I closed the door and took the box he was holding out for me, lifting the lid to reveal a thin, silk number, before frowning up at him.
“I told you, I’m not doing this anymore. I’m not your little slut.” He sighed a loud, long-withstanding sigh and shook his head.
“Nothing about that dress is supposed to convey a less than respectable perception of you, my dear, and we are not doing anything less than respectable. Unless, of course, you’d like to put that on the menu.” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes. “Please, for once just listen to me and put it on.”
The request made my stomach clench, so accustomed to his ordinarily demanding nature, and it was, in combination with the hopeful look on his face, what crumbled the resolve I’d been building within myself. With a small noise of frustration I gestured him to the couch, where he settled in, and left to change in the relative privacy of my room.
The gown hugged every curve of my figure in a way that made me almost uncomfortable. But the feeling of exposure didn’t extend with the plunging neckline and instead the dress covered the places I most felt vulnerable.
I let my hair fall naturally, applied some makeup, slipped into a pair of simple high heels and left with my purse. He’d been sucked into the lecture I’d been watching and didn’t hear me at first. He turned and stared brazenly at me before standing and moving over to run his hands down my sides, an uncontrollable smile spreading over his face.
“You look stunning.” His voice was soft and for a moment I found myself grinning too, already melting into his eyes, alight with excitement.
“Thank you, but you still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
“Nowhere cold.” He winked.
Nowhere cold turned out to be the lounge of his apartment. A large, mostly empty space overlooking the city lights, that had been transformed into a candlelit dining room in the middle of which stood a table, adorned with cutlery and roses.
He flipped the lights off and guided me to my seat, which he pulled out for me, then held up a finger and left in the direction of the kitchen, coming back two minutes later with a tray of food.
While I awed at the spectacle that was unfolding before me he poured us each glasses of a red wine I was sure costed my rent, and dished out an assortment of delicious looking foods, before shedding his jacket, sitting across from me and raising his glass to mine.
“I thought about it and you are right. And I wanted you to know, unequivocally, that I wasn’t lying earlier.” His eyes caught mine, black and vulnerable, and my stomach dropped. “This isn’t just a game to me, it never has been. But you need to understand that it will never be as simple as you’d like it to.”
I sighed and took a long sip of the wine, closing my eyes. “I feel like I’ve heard that too much now, Gabe. I’m not really even sure what it means at this point. I’m not sure what you weren’t lying about either-”
“That I love you.” My eyes shot open. “That wasn’t just part of some act.”
I felt an anger welling up in me. “How can you ignore me for weeks, and expect me to believe that? I’m not an idiot.”
“Like I said, it is complicated.”
“As complicated as you want to keep fucking me?”
“As complicated as that relationship is the closest I can be to you and have you as my own.”
I growled in frustration. “You always say that, and it’s bullshit. Look, I appreciate you putting this much work into convincing me of that, but I’m not going to be fooled into this again.” I began to rise and he stood too, palms outstretched.
“No don’t go, please, I made all this myself. If nothing else please just have dinner with me.”
My chest was tight with tears on the rise, my breathing heavy and I glowered into the warm brown eyes that so often haunted my dreams. For a few moments I thought about running, to the door, to the lift, out the lobby, never looking back. But then I was slowly sitting again, staring down at the napkin between my hands, blinking quickly.
Dinner passed in relative silence after that, occasionally broken by him starting up light conversation with questions about my work, private life, opinion on current events. All of which I’d deflect with short answers and compliments about the dishes he’d made before I busied my mouth with them.
He drove me home afterward, planted a soft kiss on my forehead in the car and watched me leave before he sped off.
I sent him one text, then switched my phone off and left it in a drawer.
Goodbye Gabriel x.
The next day came and went without incident. I tidied the entirety of my apartment and set deck chairs out on the balcony in preparation for a small party Levi had decided to throw, all the while avoiding the thoughts of Gabriel’s eyes the night before.
It was nearing 7PM when I stepped out of the shower to the startling realization that he was leaning against my door frame, arms folded across his chest, calmly watching me.
Without leaving room for pause he picked me up and strode over to my bed, dropping me down onto the linen. He reached up to undo his tie.
Unlike the night before he showed little sign of congenial warmness, his face a mask of confusing anger. In a swift motion he bent my elbows behind my back and held my wrists together effortlessly despite my wriggled attempts to free myself. Pulling me toward him so that I was flush to his chest he roped the material around them tightly and raised me up to straddle his legs.
Sitting he wiped some wet hair from my face. “It’s good to see you babygirl, you left me very worried.” I dared not reply to what seemed like a trap, looking away and he nodded his approval. “And it’s always wonderful when you’re in this state.” His eyes roved over my entirely exposed body, the hand keeping me in place on my hip giving me a warning squeeze.
“Don’t fucking touch me, Gabriel.” I snapped, glaring down at him through strands of my wet hair. He clicked his tongue, lifted me up and brought his hand down hard on my raised ass. It ached more than anything before had brought and I cried out.
He grabbed a handful of my hair, careful not to hurt me but firm in bringing my ear to his mouth. “You call me daddy here, understand?” With the renewed threat of pain hanging over my head and a mingling of pleasure coursing through my hot ass down to my cunt I nodded as much as I could, which is to say almost not at all.
“Yes daddy.” The affirmation was all he needed to know that our agreement stood despite the boundaries I pushed at. If I truly wanted him to stop, was ready to void our contract, I knew the magic words to do so and I knew how heavy the cost of saying them would be.
“Good girl.” He lowered me again, fingers brushing over my hole from behind.
He’d always said this was the perfect position for me. Shoulders taunt to hold my bound arms comfortably, hips angled back in subservience; offering my entrance and lips to his will. Here I was exposed to him, and I should trust him to take care.
I raised my chin defiantly, unwilling to let on how pleasant his touch was.
“You seem to excel at pissing me off, darling.” His fingers dragged my arousal back over my ass, digging into my stinging cheek. “I thought our dinner last night was quite pleasant and yet I receive this.”
He had pulled his phone out and was holding the message up for me to see. When I refused he grabbed my jaw forcefully and turned my face toward the screen.
“You must have been confused, I told you how I feel but that changes nothing. I’m sure you can imagine how fucking frustrated I am right now.”
“So...what’re you going to do?”
His eyes darkened. “Oh Violet, I’m going to teach you the lesson you clearly did not learn last time.”
Almost before I had time to process it I was once again bent over his legs, hearing the clink of his belt buckle as he removed it, only this time he gave me no warning. The leather dug into my thighs and bare ass, four quick strikes and he was picking me up again.
