It’s a shame he’s already dead, because I would happily kill him for this sin alone.
“Stop staring at me.”
I ask the thing I should have thought about before shoving my cock into her. “Are you on birth control?”
She shoots me a surprised look. “Of course. I have an IUD.”
Of course. As if it’s a given. “How did you manage that?”
“Our family doctor likes bribes and hates my father. It only took one of my mother’s heirloom pieces to convince him to give me one.” She runs her fingers through her hair almost absently. “I don’t have control of so many things—of anything—but I ensured I’d at least have control of whether or not I have children.”
Jasmine always was more savvy than her father gave her credit for. She’s managed to work around him at least a dozen times since I joined the organization, and those are just the ones I noticed.
“I’m tested regularly,” I finally say. “You have nothing to worry about from me on that front.”
“That’s good. I have to worry about you on every other front.” She turns and stares out the window. She doesn’t look away as we drive into town and the city creeps up around us.
It strikes me that she’s never seen any of this before. Sarraf kept expansive and immaculate grounds surrounded by a truly impressive wall and security system. He may have traveled extensively, but his daughter had been confined to the property. For her safety, of course.
To keep her under his thumb, more like.
I have no high horse to stand on when it comes to that. I want Jasmine confined, too. My collar on her neck, its chain never far from my hand. I want her on her knees in subservience. I want to fucking ruin her.
If there’s a good guy in this scenario, it’s not my part to play.
I let the silence drag out as we pass through the streets. This time of night Carver City is far from empty, but the traffic that plagues the streets during rush hour is long gone. It barely takes us an hour before my driver pulls into The Underworld parking garage that is our destination. He parks and waits, as he’s trained to do. I own the building. The security here is above reproach, but I prefer it to be understated. Cameras and tech instead of burly guards reminding a person that they constantly had to watch their words, their actions, their tells.
Better for my purposes that they forget themselves.
I climb out of the car and take a step back, waiting for her to follow me.
I should know better by now.
Jasmine crosses her arms over her chest and glares. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was I supposed to heel?”
“A good pet would.”
Her dark eyes flash in anger, and fuck if I don’t enjoy it. She’s beautiful in a fierce way that demands the attention of any room she enters—long wavy black hair, light brown skin, and a mouth made to wrap around my cock. Those lips form words that have my blood heating in response. “Fuck. You.”
“I. Did.” I bend down and snag her ankle, towing her across the seat. She tries to kick me in the face, her first show of spirit since I put my shirt on her. It soothes something in me that I refuse to examine too closely. She’s no good to me damaged. No matter what narrative she uses to attempt to write what happened, we both know the truth.
I pull her out of the car, spin her around, and bend her over the trunk. “Jasmine,” I say mildly. “Tell me your safe word.”
The slightest of hesitations, as if she wants to refuse me this. Finally, she spits it out. “Rajah.”
I lean over her, letting the weight of my body pin her in place. “You wanted me to save you from the deal your father made. I did. This is my price.” I could take her here, like this, and she’ll curse me to hell and back, but she’ll thrust back on my cock and scream my name as she comes.
It’s not the time for that. I’m dancing on the edge of reason with her already, and any more tonight is a mistake. It takes several precious moments to reclaim control of myself. “We can stay here all night and fight if you want, but there’s a meal, a bath, and a bed upstairs. The only person your resistance hurts is yourself.”
“You’re crazy if you think I’ll sleep in your bed.”
I chuckle, knowing it will make her see red. “A place in my bed isn’t punishment, Jasmine. It’s a reward. A reward you haven’t earned. Not by half.”
Her indignant huff makes me smile, though I smooth out my expression before I take a step back and allow her to turn around. She shoves her hair out of her eyes just so she can shoot me a glare. “You’re a dick.”