Page 29 of Spark

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I shouldn’t have been so rough.”

She smiled and nearly chuckled. “Stop trying to make me laugh,” she replied, her hooded eyes peering up at me. I smiled back as I covered Jaden’s body with the bed sheet.

Sid arrived about thirty seconds later, placing his kit on the bed while Ginsby remained concerned as ever at his side.

“Where’s the pain?” he asked as he rounded the bed to look Jaden over.

I pulled the side of the sheet to expose just the side of Jaden’s rib cage so Sid could get a better look.

“No signs of visible bruising, but it’s difficult to tell with the tattoo,” he said as he looked her over. But the moment his hands touched her skin and caused Jaden to wince, I had to stop myself from breaking his hands off. He was here to help her, and as long as he remained professional, I could curb my possessive urges. Still, he’d better hurry the fuck up. “You’re a little tender, Jaden. How bad does it hurt?” he asked her.

“Nine,” she answered through gritted teeth.

“What were you doing?” he asked, his eyes now turning up to me.

“Fucking,” I replied bluntly. Sid turned his eyes back to Jaden, shaking his head in disapproval. He’d actually only approved her for sex yesterday but gentle activity. I had been as gentle as I possibly could for a man who hadn’t fucked his woman in over a month. Jaden was lucky I hadn’t broken her in half.

Pulling out his stethoscope, Sid checked Jaden’s breathing and listened to her heart. Once he determined there were no complications and just swelling, he gave Jaden an injection of her painkillers and packed up.

“Will she be staying with you tonight, then?” Sid asked.

“Yes,” I replied immediately.

He nodded. “The medication will knock her out soon. Be mindful of her breathing patterns.”

“No shit,” I said, escorting him to the door. I’d had broken ribs several times before. This was nothing new to me.

Once Sid and Ginsby were gone, I grabbed my laptop, placed it on the nightstand, and sat in bed next to Jaden. Her eyes were even droopier as she remained curled into herself, clutching the bed sheet to her body. She was breathing normally, though not as deep as I liked. Once I was comfortable, I gently moved Jaden’s body so that her head rested in my lap. She didn’t protest; instead, she almost nuzzled into my thigh, relaxing her body. It must have been the meds.

I reviewed Jaden’s weekly itinerary with my right hand, while my left couldn’t stop playing with her hair. She seemed to like that, almost as much as I did, and it always seemed to calm the both of us down. I loved the softness of it while my little hellcat simply just loved for me to pet her. It wasn’t long before Jaden was asleep in my bed, something that had been missing from my life for over a month.

Now that she was here, like this, freshly fucked and where she belonged, it was time to start integrating her back into my life the way she was supposed to be. Holly would help Jaden with her physical as well as mental limitations, and once she was ready, I’d kick things up a notch. I’d make sure Jaden was even better than her usual self was before her escape.

12

Cupcake

* * *

Mine.

So fucking mine.

The voice echoed in the background, blackness coating my sight. My body felt heavy, slow, useless. Someone was on top of me, weighing me down, immobilizing me completely. I couldn’t even speak.

And then suddenly, there was pleasure. My muscles locking as ecstasy coursed through my veins. But just as I was coming down from the high, I was brought back up by immense pain. My skin was on fire, and my bones felt like they were being crushed.

But then Darren’s face suddenly came into view, his hand on my throat as he gripped me tightly. Colors of red dripped behind him like paint… or maybe it was blood. I didn’t know. The colors swirled around him, marking him like spray paint.

“If I have to fuck you into submission every day to remind you of your place, then I will gladly do so. You’re mine, Jaden. Forever.”

I could no longer breathe.

My eyes jolted open while a gasp left my lips as I woke from my dream. Stupid fucking nightmares. I had woken alone, in a bed I was unfamiliar with, in a room unrecognizable to me. My eyelids were heavy, my body sore, and my mouth dry as cotton. I looked down at the tangled satin dark green sheets around me and found the empty side of the bed only slightly warm. I rested my head against the pillow; Darren’s scent filled my nose and caused my heart to flutter with fear and disdain. This must have been his bedroom.

I scanned the room for his presence, but all I found were a few dark wooden dressers, two nightstands, a seating area, a fireplace with a flat screen overhead, and a bookshelf. Pulling the sheet up to my chest to cover my naked body, I listened for sounds until my ears finally caught movement in the bathroom. I briefly thought about sneaking out but then thought better of it. If I wasn’t where Darren expected me to be, there would be hell to pay, and it was too early for that shit storm.

So I waited like a good little pet, practiced my breathing and jaw exercises, and stretched my back and sides. I still felt a pain in my side, but nothing some painkillers couldn’t fix. I had hoped I might have been able to forget what led to the pain in my side, but the satisfaction still humming through my nerves refused any such thing. It’d been a long time since I had been with Darren like that, and I had forgotten how good it was when I finally gave in—regardless of how much I hated him. I just wished I had a choice in the matter.