“Oh.”
“I’m used to it.”
“Oh.” This one comes with a grin. “But, you know, I feel like I talk too much around you because you talk too little. Someone has to fill the silence.”
“Why does it have to be filled?”
“Isn’t it human nature to socialize and form connections?”
“Not all humans are the same.”
“That’s true. I didn’t realize your type existed before.”
“My type?”
“Looks like a prince and has the tastes of the devil. Totally caught me off guard and blindsided the hell out of me.”
My lips tilt in a smirk. “The tastes of the devil, huh?”
“Duh, have you seen your face when you inflict pain—wait a minute, are you smiling?” She pulls out her phone and snaps what seems like a thousand pictures, long after I return to my blank face.
Still, she grins, looking pleased with her accomplishment as she scrolls through her phone.
I shift in my place to ease the sudden thickening beneath my belt. “You said you hate the pain. Is that still the case?”
“Totally. Who wants to be in pain?” She’s still focused on her phone.
My jaw clenches and I tighten my hold on the container. I thought she’d come around if I took it easy on her at the beginning, but maybe I’m wasting my time with someone who’ll only want vanilla.
But I couldn’t have mistaken her tastes.
Annika has an inner submissive that peeks out now and again, especially when she’s not paying attention.
“Part of my devil’s taste is that I can only feel pleasure if I inflict pain.”
“Don’t I know it.” She shakes her head in mock reaction. “I’m still sore from yesterday’s stupid punishment.”
“Look at me.”
“One sec.”
I reach out, grab her phone, and fling it from her hold. “When I say to look at me, you look at me.”
She swallows thickly and a red hue creeps up her cheeks. I want to lick that blush, gnaw at it, grind it between my teeth.
I lift her chin with my index and middle fingers so that I’m the center of her attention. “If you think this is a temporary game or experimenting, then you have no fucking clue what you’re dealing with, little purple. I’ll eat your life up for breakfast and leave no leftovers for anyone to pick at. When I order you to do something, you don’t question it, you don’t give me attitude, and you certainly don’t be a brat about it. Is that clear?”
Her lips tremble before she purses them together.
“Where’s your answer?”
“I’m still thinking about it.”
“There’s nothing to think about in a ‘yes, I understand’ reply.”
“Nope, I’m not going to agree with everything you say. That’s not how relationships work. There’s give and take and all that stuff. You can google it.”
“Annika.”
She beams even as the tremble remains. “What, Creighton?”
“You’re pushing it.”
“And you’re being oppressive. I’m cool with your dominance in sex, and even with the pain, because it brings pleasure, too, but you’re simply not going to dictate my life or make me live it according to your rules. That’s like Papa and Jeremy 2.0 and I’m not a fan.”
I release her jaw and push back. “That’s one.”
“You can’t possibly be serious?”
“Two.”
“Oh, come on. I can’t express my opinion?”
“Not when you’re defying me, no. Three.”
“Stop counting, damn you.”
“Not if you don’t stop talking. Four.”
“You—”
“Five.”
She opens her lips to say something but promptly seals them shut and glares at me with her arms crossed over her chest.
Seems that I found the perfect method to make her keep her mouth shut.
I finish my meal in silence while she stabs her salad over and over yet barely eats anything. I suppress a smile.
Only Annika would try to make noise, even if solely through her actions.
She opens her mouth a few times, then upon remembering that she’ll add to her punishments, she seals it shut and groans softly.
I watch her struggle for a few minutes, loving the sight a bit too much, before I finally speak, “You have something to say?”
“I hate you right now.”
My jaw clenches. “Six. Next time, think before you speak.”