CHAPTER SIX
1461 Words
Hunter's POV
The second she stepped into my office, I felt it.
Every inch of her radiated it, every breath, every glance, every small hesitation. She thought she was standing there by choice, but I could feel her hesitation.
Her eyes flicked to the tablet on my desk, the glow reflecting off her delicate features, pale and fragile, yet brimming with that stubborn fire I remembered all too well.
“Sit,” I said, my voice low, deliberate. The single word carried a weight she couldn’t ignore.
“I’d rather stand,” she whispered, and I couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at my lips.
“Then stand,” I murmured, leaning back just slightly in my chair. “But you can't run from me even if you wanted.”
I saw her shiver at my words. I could feel her resistance, and I knew it would only make the surrender sweeter.
She’s mine. She had always been mine, even before she knew it.
I watched her, studying the way her shoulders stiffened, the tight rhythm of her breathing. I could see the fight in her, the panic just beneath the surface.
It thrilled me, watching her struggle against something I knew she couldn’t outrun. Not now. Not ever.
“Let’s discuss your future,” I said, watching her reaction closely.
“My future doesn’t involve you,” she replied, voice filled with stubbornness. I laughed softly.
“Oh, Chloe,” I muttered, leaning forward, elbows resting on the obsidian desk. “Your future is exactly why I’m here.”
I tapped the tablet. Bright letters flashed across the screen, her name. Her contract. Every word I had written with her in mind. I wanted her to see it. To understand that everything I offered, everything I demanded, was exactly what I wanted.
“Read,” I said, softly. No question. No negotiation.
Her fingers hovered, hesitant, trembling, betraying her confident facade. She moved slowly toward the tablet, like every step was more difficult than the last. I reached out, and our skin brushed just a slight contact but it was enough. Enough to ignite a spark that shot through both of us.
“Careful,” I warned, noting the tremor in her hand.
“I’m careful,” she whispered, and I knew she was lying. She always lied when she was scared. Always.
I watched her flinch under my gaze, her vulnerability displayed like a painting in the dim light of my office. I wanted her to know that she belonged here, with me, whether she liked it or not.
Her hip pressed against the side table as she finally read the contract. I let her take it all in. Salary, corporate nonsense. And then she found the section that mattered. the one I had designed for her.
365 days. Exclusive companionship. Non-termination except by me.
“365 whole days…..”
I might as well give up on this job rather than have myself enter such a contract.”
I heard her mutter as she read through the contract.
I watched the recognition cross her face, the slow, devastating realization of what she had really walked into.
“What is this?” she whispered, her voice shaking, though she tried to sound steady.
“A contract,” I said simply.
“This isn’t legal.”
“It is,” I said, eyes unwavering. “And it’s binding.”
She lifted her chin, defiant. “You can’t force me to do this.”
I leaned forward, slowly. “I’m not forcing you,” I said, my voice low, molten. “I’m offering you something you already took.”
Her eyes widened. “Took?”
I rose from my chair, moving toward her.
“Youve f****d me,” I whispered. Her breath hitched. “You rode me. You took everything you could possibly take.”
She trembled, knees threatening to give out under the weight of my presence. I didn’t need to touch her just being here, just being me, was enough to make her tremble.
“You think I’m letting you walk away now?” I asked, brushing her hair behind her ear, just grazing her skin.
“Hunter… I didn’t know who you were,” she whispered.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes!”
I gripped the back of her neck, softly. “You came to my club. You let yourself break for me. You let me hold you like no one else has.”
“You were a stranger,” she whispered.
“And you trusted that stranger more than you ever trusted your fiancé,” I said, voice low, flowing through her mind and into her body.
Her eyes fluttered closed. The memory of that night, her hands on me, her need raw and intense I let it wash over both of us.
“Don’t talk about Hayden,” she said, my thumb brushing lightly against her throat.
“You think I care about Hayden?” I laughed softly, a sound devoid of humor. “I care about the way you said my name when I pinned you under me. Not out of obedience. Not out of fear. Out of desire.”
She gasped. “I never said your name.”
“No,” I replied. “But you said ‘please’ like it belonged to me. Like it had always belonged to me. You begged me not to stop.”
I could feel my words affecting her, and I saw it reflected in the way she tightened her thighs. She tried to look away, tried to deny it, but I could see right through her. I've watched her enough to know what her every reaction meant.
“Stop,” she whispered.
“Why?” I asked, stepping closer. “Does it scare you to want something real after someone made you feel disposable?”
Her throat tightened, and I leaned in, tilting her chin.
“Hunter… I’m not yours.” she said as she slapped my hand away from her chin.
“You were mine the second you ran from your wedding and into my arm,” I said.
“No,” she whispered.
“Yes,” I said, my voice low. My lips hovered near hers, close enough for her to feel my breath on her lips.
“You want dark?” I whispered. “I can give you dark. You want control taken from you? I can take it. You want to feel alive again?” I traced my fingers down her jaw, to her collarbone. “I can make you remember your fire, Chloe. Not the ashes he left behind.”
Her body betrayed her, leaning into me despite every instinct screaming otherwise. Her legs trembled. Her breath quickened.
“Stop reading my reactions,” she whispered, but I smiled.
“It’s impossible not to,” I murmured. “Your body tells me everything I need to know.”
I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my gaze meet hers.
“Look at the contract,” I said, finally guiding her attention back to the tablet.
“I won’t sign this,” she said, voice trembling.
“You will.”
“I won’t.”
I moved silently behind her, caging her between my arms, pressing lightly against her back, my breath hot against her neck.
“You will,” I whispered, “because you need protection.”
Her voice was small. “From who?”
“From Hayden,” I murmured, teeth grazing her earlobe.
Her stomach twisted. She wanted to argue, to resist, but I could feel the truth in her muscles, the panic coiled tight, ready to snap.
“You can’t protect yourself,” I said softly. “Not from him. Not from what he could do to you when he finds you.”
“You’ve been watched,” I said. “From the night you left my bed. I’ve always been watching. Always keeping you safe, whether you knew it or not.”
Her knees nearly gave out. Her breath hitched.
“That’s insane,” she whispered.
“No,” I said, “It’s necessary.”
I turned her to face me, tilting her chin up, and for a while, I just looked at her.
“You need protection,” I repeated. “But not from me.”
Her voice trembled. “And you expect me to trust you?”
My thumb brushed her lower lip. “No, honey. I expect you to obey.”
“Sign it,” I whispered.
Her pulse hammered. “And if I don’t?”
I kissed the corner of her mouth, my tongue tracing the edge of her lips.
“It's inevitable, you have to sign it sooner or later.”
- Writer
