Chapter 9 You'll Beg me

The air between them had always been charged, but tonight, it was suffocating. The tension had thickened, grown heavier, and each second felt like it was dragging them toward an edge they both knew existed, but hadn't been brave enough to cross.

Cady couldn't breathe. Not because of the air, but because of him.

Ford.

She couldn't unspool him out of her head, even though every part of her screamed to forget him. To ignore the way his eyes darkened when he looked at her, the way the world seemed to bend when he was near. But she couldn't. And when she glanced at him now, standing just a few feet away, every cell in her body reacted like it was a magnet being pulled toward him.

His gaze locked onto hers, like a predator sensing prey and in that moment, there was no room for anything else. His dark eyes bored into her, and she felt something tighten low in her belly, something she had no right to feel.

He knew it, too. She saw it in the slight curve of his lips, the way his jaw flexed, how his body stayed perfectly still, waiting.

She should've looked away. She should've stepped back. But she didn't.

Ford moved first, as always. One step forward, then another, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. The space that had once felt like safety evaporated in the wake of his presence, and now it felt like a trap, a beautiful, terrible, irresistible trap.

His fingers brushed her arm, sending a shockwave of heat through her. He didn't grab her. Didn't pull her in. But the touch was enough to send her pulse racing, to make her body respond with a violent ache she couldn't ignore.

"Are you sure? There's no going back now, once you sign this, you're mine." His voice was a low rasp, rougher than usual, as though he was fighting his own restraint.

Cady swallowed, trying to steady herself, but it was impossible. ".I am." She signs the document, binding her to him.

His lips twitched in a half-smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Let the games begin little rabbit?" he intones,

The rawness in his tone made her chest tighten, something primal stirring inside her. There was something dangerous about the way he spoke to her, something that both terrified and thrilled her in equal measure.

She opened her mouth to respond, but the words died on her tongue when his hand moved to her waist, fingers hot against her skin through the thin fabric of her shirt. He pulled her in just a fraction of an inch, close enough that the heat between them was undeniable.

Cady's breath hitched, and she didn't know what to do with the wild, urgent pulse of desire that was suddenly clawing its way through her. Her body betrayed her. She couldn't control it. Couldn't stop it.

His thumb brushed over her ribcage, light and teasing, but it made her entire body react, as if he was unlocking something deep inside her.

"I really hope you're ready to get baptized in my world, break you, mould you back together, piece by piece don't fight it" Ford said, his voice thick with quiet, dangerous amusement. His eyes on her body that's suddenly gone rigid.

Cady closed her eyes, her pulse roaring in her ears, as if everything in the world had narrowed to just him. His hand at her waist, the faint pressure of his body near hers, the promise in his words that she would break.

She wanted to break God, she wanted to.

But it was a slow burn, the kind that made you feel like you were drowning before you even realized you couldn't breathe. His other hand reached up, cupping her chin and tilting her face to his. His touch was firm, unyielding, like a brand that seared into her skin and made her body tremble.

"You think you know me," Ford murmured, his lips brushing against her ear, "but you don't. Not yet."

Cady opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. The world around her went still, as if time itself had frozen. There was no room for air, no space for her to think, only him.

She couldn't deny it anymore. The heat, the raw need, the ache between them, it was too powerful, too consuming to ignore.

And then his mouth was on hers. It wasn't soft. It wasn't gentle. Ford took her mouth like he was starving, like he had been starving for something raw, untamed, and real. His kiss was all fire, all demand, all heat. His hands roamed to her back, pulling her flush against him, and she could feel the hard, unrelenting press of his cock, the power in the way he moved.

Cady gasped, her breath caught in her throat, but he swallowed it, his tongue sweeping expertly into her mouth, claiming her. There was nothing tender about it. Nothing delicate. Just a raw, visceral need that left her dizzy, her thoughts scattered.

Her hands were shaking as they fisted his shirt, but she couldn't stop herself. She was a captive to this-to him.

He growled low in his chest, like a warning, and his hand moved to her waist again, tugging her closer, making her feel the full weight of him against her. She was drowning in him. Every inch of her body was on fire. Every nerve ending felt like it was about to snap.

"You want this," he said, his lips brushing her ear, voice dark and gravelly. "You want me."

She didn't deny it. Not when he made her feel alive in a way she hadn't been in years. She didn't have to say it. He already knew.

And for that moment, for just that fleeting breath of time, everything else faded away. There was no past. No future. Just the two of them. The rush of desire. The push and pull of control. There's no contract, only the desire to break and the need to be broken.

His hands moved, slipping beneath her shirt, and she gasped, the sensation of his warm skin against hers sending another wave of heat crashing through her.

But then, just as quickly as he had started, Ford pulled back. Just enough to look at her, really look at her with that intensity that always felt like he was seeing into her soul.

"Don't ever forget," he rasped, voice low and dangerous, "who holds the power here. I will make you beg to be fucked, to be owned not because you're getting paid, but because you wan it, crave it little Cady"

And just like that, the heat was gone. Leaving her confused and cussing him.

Cady couldn't breathe.

It wasn't the air that was thick in her lungs, it was him. His scent, his darkness, everything that he stands for.

Ford had pulled back, but the heat from his touch lingered on her skin, beneath her clothes, in the air around them. Every part of her body felt alive too alive, buzzing with the electricity of what had just happened. Her mind screamed at her to step back, to remember where she was, who he was, but her body betrayed her, pulling her closer to him even as her head screamed in protest.

He hadn't kissed her with tenderness. It wasn't about romance or affection. It was all raw, unapologetic need. He took what he wanted, and left her body begging for more.

And God help her, she wanted it. She couldn't deny it. Her heart was racing, blood pounding in her ears as she tried to steady herself, but the heat swirling around them was like a storm she couldn't control.