Away from me. Her eyes opened.
She chose Lucius. I gripped her hard right at her scalp.
“Vinem—”
Before she could even say my curse of a name, I settled on top her, pushing my knee between her legs as she struggled. Her attempts to buck me only made my cock harder. She was my Acquisition. Mine. She needed to know it. I was foolish to indulge her for as long as I did. Foolish to let her hope, to let her think that she could hold any sway over my heart. Maybe if I could do this, if I could commit this transgression, I’d finally stop seeing her as something more than a possession.
“Don’t.” Her eyes went wide, all traces of sleep gone and fear in its place.
This was what I needed. Her fear. Her loathing. I slapped my hand over her mouth and stared into her eyes. She dug her nails into my back with her free hand while I pinned the other above her head. My cock was against her hot core, only the fabric of my boxer briefs separating us. I could take her. Take everything.
“I should have done this the first day you showed up at my house, Stella.” I crushed my palm into her lips, surely bruising them. “I was weak. You made me weak. From the first moment I saw you, you were a fucking poison.”
But then something sparked in her emerald depths. Not fear. Defiance.
Her eyebrows lowered the tiniest bit, as if daring me onward. She let out a roaring sound against my palm, deep and guttural. The heat between her thighs had me pushing my hips against her. She was wet and wanting even as her eyes were full of vengeance. I wanted her, wanted every last morsel of her rage, her hate.
Even so, I knew if I did this, she would never forgive me. And then I would have truly lost her. Could I bear it? It didn’t matter. I had to do it. Breaking her was the only way to win. And I would win no matter what.
A searing pain exploded through my calf at the same time she bucked hard. She’d dug her heal into the wound. I rolled to my side and reached for my injured leg as she slid out from under me and off the bed. She scrambled away, the skin of her knees squealing against the polished hardwoods. I recovered and lunged after her, jumping on my good leg before sinking to my knees and gripping her by the hair. I landed on her back as she cried out, pinned beneath me.
“Do it. Just fucking do it, you psycho!” Despite her words, she still fought me, pulling against the hold I had on her hair.
She was helpless. I pushed my hips against her, the friction of my hard cock on her soft ass almost unbearable. I pulled her head to the side and licked her ear before capturing it between my teeth and biting down.
She whimpered, her nails scratching at the floor as I kissed down her neck, tasting her skin the same way I’d thought about every second she’d been away. I’d waited for her to come back, to realize she’d made a mistake. She didn’t. She hadn’t. I bit the flesh over her jugular, wanting to punish her for running, for taking what was left of my heart with her when she did.
She surged beneath me, one last effort to escape. Not a chance. I rose and flipped her onto her back, pinning her wrists to the floor and studying her face. Her chest heaved and her pussy was on fire, making my cock leak. The morning light made her eyes sparkle even through the hate I found in them.
“You are pathetic. All of you. Just get it over with.” She fisted her hands, but couldn’t do a thing with them. Her gaze was nothing short of scorching.
As she goaded me on, I knew I couldn’t. And that knowledge sealed my fate. If I couldn’t break her, I would have to pay the price. The Acquisition demanded it.
A sudden flash of light at my temple turned into a gloomy dark and then a pair of hands were on me, lifting me up and throwing me down onto my back. My vision cleared. Stella shrieked and turned over to her side, rolling into a ball. Lucius stood over me, his brow wrinkled in fury.
“Don’t you fucking touch her, Sin!” He went to her and scooped her up in his arms. She clung to him and buried her face in his neck.
I tried to get up, but my injured leg gave way and I landed back on my ass. Lucius backed out of the room, Stella clutching him.
She gave me one last look, her eyes awash in tears and pain. Then she was gone, all hope right along with her.