“Nothing,” I lie, but Viks isn’t one to take my lies. His hand slams against the door, slapping it shut when I pull it slightly open.
“Throw it away, Hales,” he says suddenly. “Throw it all away.”
“What?” I can’t understand what he’s talking about. “Throw what away?”
“Everything,” he replies. “Respectability. The weight of other people’s expectations. You don’t need them.Wedon’t need them. All we need are just you and I.” He leans over me, pressing his forehead against mine. “Say it.”
I know what he wants. The words stick in my throat. His hand comes up, wide and firm and unrelenting. It closes around my throat, holding me in place as he backs me against the door and pins me there. His eyes open and focused on me. “Say. It,” he commands. “Tell me who you belong to.”
My heart hammers inside my chest. Sweat sticks to the back of my neck. I don’t want to because I’m afraid. I’m afraid that telling him that I belong to him will be more truth than I’m willing to commit to. I’m afraid that there will be no going back once the words are out of my mouth.
“This is about the art showcase,” I murmur, avoiding his gaze.
“No, the fuck it’s not.” His growl does something to my insides. It makes my thighs tighten and my breasts tingle.
As if he can sense what I’m thinking, Viks chuckles—the sound low and deep and almost threatening. “Even if you don’t say it, you know,” he tells me, “that doesn’t mean it’s not true.” His body moves against me, over me, caging me in until there’s no other place I can look but him. “You’re mine, Haley. All fucking mine. You were mine the day you walked into Club Outsider looking like jailbait fresh out of high school. You just didn’t know it then, but I did.”
His eyes bore into me. “Maybe I don’t deserve you, but I don’t care. I want you and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you. I’ll please you. I’ll love you. I’ll fuck you to within an inch of your life, Hales. I’m gonna fill you so full of my cum that it sloshes around in your belly. I’m gonna give you a baby and then I’m gonna give you another. I’m going to make you so fucking content in my arms that you won’t even realize you’re trapped and there’s no way out."
“Viks…”
“What happens from this point on, there’s always just going to be you and me. They’re going to fucking love you out there. Not the same way I do, because if they do, I’ll fucking kill them. Now, fucking say it.” I close my eyes and he shakes me, forcing them back open and on nothing else but him. “Do it.”
“I belong to you.” I relinquish the words, letting the truth slip past my lips and enter the air, never to be denied again. “I trust you.” A trust I’m not sure I’ve granted anyone else in the world.
He smiles, a genuine Viks smile. All smugness. The happiness radiates from his eyes where they squint just the tiniest bit. “That’s right, Haley girl. So, trust me again when I say we’re gonna go down there and you’re going to smile and show off your art and everyone’s going to fucking adore it.”
I suck in a breath. “Yeah,” I agree. “You’re right.” They’re going to love it because why wouldn’t they?
Viks’ smile widens. “Then you’re going to greet your friends with my cum inside of you, aren’t you?”
A blush steals up my face, the heat of it spreading through my cheeks. I glare at him. “Asshole," I mutter.
He chuckles and brings me forward, kissing my forehead. “And if you’re good, I’ll make good on my promise sooner rather than later,” he says. “This is it, Hales. You and me.”
I blow out a breath and repeat his words. A promise. An oath. Everything I need. All the games are over. “You and me.”
