The Billionaire's Bitch

Pt. 2 Thirty-Two

I was so friggin' mad I didn't even know where to start.

In the end, my rampant jealousy won out.

"Well, I do hope you enjoy your little date next weekend!" I said, quite saucily indeed.

Adrian merely chuckled at my ire, glancing over at me as he turned a corner onto Main. He had chosen to drive us tonight so he could show off his stupid two seater whatever-it-was.

"You're really jealous of Pamela?" He asked me, seeming mostly unrepentant.

I scowled at him, hands fisted in my lap. "No, but you might've warned me about the whole thing before dressing me up like a whore and dragging me out!"

His eyebrows shot up and he looked at me askance. "Eve!"

"I feel utterly humiliated, Adrian, and not in the good way! And you were the one to call off the bidding-!"

"I didn't think anyone would try to outbid you, darling, I swear! I meant it to be a joke for us to share. I promise I wouldn't try to humiliate you publicly on purpose."

He reached over and took my hand. He looked at me with surprising sincerity, which was alarming because we were racing along at top speeds.

"Honey, I'm sorry I upset you. If you really want me to, I'll figure out how to get out of the stupid date with Pam. Whatever it takes. I'll have Joaquin kill her if necessary."

This got me to smile, if just a little.

One thing stopped me in my tracks, though. "'Pam'?" I repeated suspiciously.

Adrian rolled his eyes back to the road. "Eve." He sighed.

"Have you slept with her?" I demanded. My skin crawled at the very idea.

"What? No. Ew."

This made my lips twitch. Relief flowed through me. "Oh. Okay. Good. I just thought-the way she talked to you, so familiar like..."

"She just wishes." He slid me a dry smirk. "Don't worry, she won't ever get what she wants.

"Honestly, hun, I wanted to go to the stupid party as an excuse to introduce you to Aurora. I knew if the two of you just got to meet that you'd hit it off."

Here I bristled up again. "Oh yeah, the other thing you forced upon me tonight. Honestly, babe, I'm more upset about that little underhanded play of yours than the Pam thing."

"What? Really? Why?" Adrian was frowning now, he seemed genuinely miffed.

But I was so worked up at this point that I couldn't even form coherent words to speak to him with until we were back home.

"Eve..." Adrian tried, when I headed off to my bedroom.

"I just wanna change out of this dress." I said, holding up my hand. I looked at him rather sharply then. "Is that okay, sir?"

Adrian's face hardened. "Watch your tone. Remember and abide by the rules of the contract we agreed upon, that you signed."

Here my nostrils positively flared with indignation. I notched my chin up, facing him squarely with my hands on my hips.

Full challenge.

Which was bold of me, I realized, challenging my Dom Boss. I went ahead with it anyway. I guess I was feeling bold.

"Or what?"

Adrian's dark blue eyes flickered with something, but it was too fast for me to see.

Before I could even think to bolt, he was across the room to me.

He grasped me firmly by the jaw and backed me up against the door.

"Or I will punish you, little girl." He snarled in my face. "You are mine. Do you really still not understand? Why won't you just submit?!"

I stared up into his eyes, shocked. I don't think I'd ever seen his Crazy quite like this before. "A-Adrian-!" I faltered. "You're hur-hurting me."

He wasn't really hurting me. He was holding me pinned to the door by my shoulder with one hand, his other still holding my jaw; so that he controlled my face.

But his touch was perfectly gentle, in all honesty. Adrian knew his own strength and how to wield it.

I just wanted to invoke his sympathy.

His hold on me instantly loosened, if just slightly. We both knew he wasn't bruising me.

"Say it, Eve. You've already committed to this, now you have to live it. You knew who I was when you said you wanted to be with me.

"Do you still want to be with me?" His voice softened and so did my heart.

My lips parted. I could barely breathe. "Y-yes!" I stuttered, but I was being wholly sincere.

"Still want to be mine?" He was fairly growling the words. His fingers pinched into my tender flesh and I bit my lip.

"Y-yes!" I gasped out, tears pricking my eyes.

Now he really was hurting me, hurting my feelings. I didn't like feeling like he was threatening to leave me if I didn't play his stupid game.

"Then submit!" He insisted softly. He lifted my chin another notch, forcing my eyes to meet his.

We were just about nose-to-nose now.

"Say the words, angel. Just be mine already." He closed his eyes as he whispered the words.

And it was because of this, not because of his grand demands, that I could finally submit. Because I could hear the need in his voice; this was as close to begging as Adrian Kingsley was going to get.

I closed my eyes, lifting my face the rest of the way to his to whisper against his lips. "Okay, yes. Yes, I submit."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Happy Summer Solstice, all! And happy #SummerReading!

HRH