Page 36 of Spark
I shrugged again, looking down at my barely touched plate. “Not much to say today.”
“Bullshit,” he countered. “Something’s on your mind. What is it?”
I exhaled a deep breath. “For once, Darren, I don’t want to fight, so can we just leave it alone?”
“And allow you to sit there and sulk? I don’t think so. Out with it,” he ordered.
I huffed and crossed my arms across my chest. “Fine. Is it really Thanksgiving tomorrow?”
Darren raised his eyebrows in surprise as if it were the stupidest thing to be concerned about.
“That’s what has you so upset? A stupid holiday?”
It was a miracle I didn’t roll my eyes. “Hey, you asked, remember?”
“Yes, I did. Now, why are you asking? And who told you that it was?”
I gulped, not wanting to give Holly away. “There is a calendar on my iPod, you know. And I’m asking because I was wondering if there was anything planned for tomorrow or if you’d be gone all day again.”
Darren clenched his jaw at my question. I wondered if he even remembered that tomorrow was Thanksgiving. Did he even celebrate holidays?
“No, Jaden. Nothing was planned. I have to leave the island tonight for a couple of days. Holidays are not given much thought in my world.”
“Okay,” I said quietly with a nod, trying to hide my sniffling. Why was I so upset over this? There was no one to celebrate with anyway.
“But if it’s so important to you, maybe I can have the staff set up something.”
I shook my head. “It’s not. Holidays are for families, and I don’t have that anymore, so just… forget it.”
I winced as Darren abruptly stood from the table and hauled me up from my chair.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” I said quickly, fear now racing through my veins. I was fully recovered now, which meant Darren could hurt me again if he wanted to. And he was not one to be shy about it. But all he did was crush me to his chest in a tight bear-like hug while he sighed heavily. I tried not to tremble, afraid he might squeeze too hard if I moved. Instead, I rested my hands limply on his hips and waited. He was breathing heavy but didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and I wished he had remained silent.
“Jaden, you will never see your family again and to think otherwise will only bring you pain. Let them go, or I will do it for you.”
I shuddered because I recognized the brutal truth of his words, the lingering threat that reminded me that my family should be as dead to me as I was to them. And the truth fucking hurt. I felt the world close in on me, felt the weight of the tears that promised to fall if I didn’t shape the fuck up. Darren knew where they all were, and he would kill them for my compliance.
“I know,” I said blankly. “But I doubt you’d give up your brothers just as easily.”
I was bold enough to stare up at him after that statement.
Darren wrapped his hands around my face, pulling me toward him and keeping me in place. That intense stare of his pierced through me, sending wave after wave of ice up my spine.
“You are not me,” he said with a disapproving tone. “Stop trying to compare in hopes I will sympathize. I won’t. You are never to bring them up again without my prompt. Do so, and I will gladly have one eliminated every day until you understand that the only family you have now is me.”
My breath caught in my throat as the tears pooled in my eyes. “You say the sweetest things,” I replied, my voice raspy and broken.
“Don’t I always,” he answered and lowered his face to mine.
Suddenly, I forgot about my need to breathe. His lips melted onto my mine, soft yet domineering as ever. But as the kiss took form, it was just the push my tears needed to go right over the edge. They fell down my face, trickling through Darren’s fingers and wetting my skin. I felt my blood rush as Darren’s lips forced my mouth open wider, allowing his tongue to enter and conquer. By the time he was finished, I was hot all over and angry as hell.
That night, Darren fucked me mercilessly for hours, reminding me that I was his by biting into the tattoos of his name on my wrists so I would feel them later. But I made sure to bite back. I left teeth marks on his shoulder, scratch marks down his back, and even a few tiny bruises on his forearms from my grip. I hate fucked him so hard; even I’d be feeling it for days.
When I woke up again, it was still dark, but the light of a small lamp allowed me to find Darren packing a bag at his dresser. His broad, jacket-covered back faced me, but I still managed to see that he wasn’t just packing the bag with clothes, he was packing guns—lots of guns. I laid there on my stomach under the soft sheets, my arms stretched out under the pillow while I watched Darren through half hooded, tired lids. His movements were quick, sharp, and determined. He knew exactly what he was doing, knowing exactly what he needed. I wondered what came of this and where he was going.
“Go back to sleep, princess,” he said to me without turning around as he continued to load several mags of ammunition into the side pockets of his bag. Once I focused on them, I realized they weren’t just for pistols; there was automatic ammunition going into those pockets. What the fuck was he up to?
“How did you know I was awake?” I asked through a yawn. I could have rolled over and easily fallen back asleep, but I wanted to know what was going on.