Unchosen Ruler by Maggie Cole

11

Liam

The car pullsinto the garage. I pull Hailee out of the back seat then throw her over my shoulder.

"Liam!" She squirms, but without the use of her hands, she can't do much.

Regardless, I smack her ass harder than I have in the past. But she also has pants and a coat over it. "Stop fighting me," I growl. Then I nod at my driver to leave. He backs out, and I hit the button for the garage door to close.

"Liam! You're freaking me out! Let me go!" she cries out.

I squeeze her thighs tighter and step into the house. The rage I've been feeling all day over our text conversation and the fear from not getting verification she isn't going to let her family come between us is at a high. Now that she's in front of me, there's no going back. My little lamb is going to learn who the boss of this relationship is when it comes to her safety. "I'm freaking you out? Imagine if it were some lunatic thug who had you thrown over his shoulder. Then what would you do? Hmmm? Tell me, Hales."

"You're the only lunatic right now."

"Keyword being now," I grumble then go into the bedroom. After I dropped Finn and Killian off, I came here. The mattress was delivered earlier in the day, along with the sheets and food. I spent forty-five minutes setting things up. I had a feeling Hailee wasn't going to back down. After I secured ropes through the ceiling beams and bed legs, I went and waited for hours outside her school, stewing over her disobedience regarding her safety.

I flip on the fireplace. It's the only light in the room. There's a blizzard outside, which only irritates me further. I sit on the bed and straddle her over me. "You could have frozen to death, little lamb."

Her ragged breathing and pouty lips make my cock hurt. The flush in her cheeks deepens. She's the most beautiful woman in the world, but I'm learning she's stubborn as hell. Well, I can be just as hard-nosed. She asks, "Liam, what are you doing?"

I give her a chaste kiss. She doesn't back away and comes toward me for more, but I hold off. I stroke her cheek. "You know the initial feeling you had when I handcuffed you and covered your eyes?"

She slowly admits, "Yes."

"What if that was someone else?"

"Liam, I've used the bus for years. I—"

"You weren't mine, though, were you?"

She bites her lip and sighs. I kiss her chin where it meets her neck, and she shudders.

"Tell me, little lamb, how would you fight back right now if I wasn't me?"

She stays silent.

"It's dark. Cold. Too dangerous for you to take chances. I have enemies, but even if I didn't, you should know better than to take that type of risk. And I won't have this conversation again." I slide my finger over her lips. "You're going to agree I'm the boss when it comes to your safety."

She tilts her head, and her jaw clenches. Oh, my little lamb is so headstrong. I love it and hate it at the same time. Now, I'm going to have to break her.

I unzip her jacket and remove her hat and gloves. I unwrap her scarf and toss everything on the floor. "I'm going to take off one of your handcuffs so I can remove your jacket. If you fight me, I'll slice your coat and the rest of your clothes in half, understand?"

"Liam. Don't!"

"It's your choice. I'm warning you." I take my pocket knife out and open it. I put the flat steel blade on her cheek.

She gasps and freezes.

"What if this wasn't me holding this knife? Do you understand what could happen to you?" I ask her, my heart beating a thousand miles a minute. I hate thinking about any of this, but I've lived with the evilest of men for fifteen years. Until I prove my point, I'll keep going. "Are you ready to be a good girl so I can remove your clothes?"

She doesn't answer. I can almost see the wheels in her head spinning. Her pride won't allow her to give me what I need to hear.

"I need an answer, Hales. Do you choose the good girl whose clothes stay intact or the naughty one, so I have to slice every piece of fabric off you? It's your choice."

She continues not to answer me.

I move her hair to the side and press the flat part of the blade on the back of her neck. I lean into her ear. "Three. Two."

"Liam! This is ridiculous. You made your point. Release me," she orders.

I drag my finger over her hairline. "I don't think I have, little lamb. This will be over when I say it's over. Now, last chance. Good girl or naughty girl?"

She still won't answer. I hold my chuckle inside at her inability to cave. She definitely has Irish in her.

I take the knife and, in one slice, split the front of her sweater.

"Liam!"

"It's your choice. I think it'd be a shame to ruin this beautiful coat you have."

"Liam, please," she whispers.

I fist her hair and tug her head. I put my face so close to hers, our lips touch. "Please what, little lamb? Please don't cut your coat because you're going to be a good girl and not fight me? Or please keep slicing until there's nothing left that's wearable?" I dart my tongue along her lips, and she whimpers. "Last chance to save it. Three. Two. One."

"Wait! I'll be good. Please don't destroy it!"

I kiss her and shove my tongue in her mouth when she gasps. I keep her head firmly planted, and she succumbs, kissing me back and rocking her hips on my erection. I groan and retreat. "I'm putting you on your feet. When I remove your handcuff, if you attempt anything, we're going to have issues. Don't test me, Hales."

She takes a deep breath. "Okay. Please don't cut my coat."

"Be a good girl and I won't." I peck her on the lips, put the knife on the bed, and place her on her feet. I slide my hand in my pocket for the key and unlock one cuff. I slide her jacket and ripped top off her arm then grab the rope and secure it around her wrists.

"Liam, what are you doing?" she frets.

"Shhh," I murmur against her lips and continue to restrain her. I slide my hand down her naked skin, and she shivers. "Ready for the other one?"

She swallows hard. "Liam, where are we?"

"My house. No one's here. No one's coming. Even my driver left. It's you and me, little lamb, and until I get what I want from you, neither of us are leaving."

"What do you want?"

I tilt her head up. "You know what I want."

"No. I don't," she claims.

I peck her lips. "Don't lie to me, Hales." I release the other handcuff, slide the material off her arm, then tie her up. Her arms stretch toward both walls. I step back and stare at her then run my finger over her see-through black bra, stroking her hardening nipples.

"Liam," she whispers, her chest rising and falling faster.

"I know this gets you off, little lamb. But if it were anyone else, it wouldn't. You'd be flipping out right now, wouldn't you?"

She doesn't say anything, but I get a nod this time.

I circle my arms around her and hold her face to my chest. I say in her hair, "Enemies are all around us. I won't allow you to be careless, Hales. Your actions have consequences, and in this relationship, you don't get to argue with me about your safety. It's not your right to question my motives. My words aren't ever suggestions, and you will give me full control over this. The time where you made choices is now over."

She freezes. It doesn't surprise me. Hailee's independent, and it's one of the things I find attractive about her. But she's handing the reins over to me on this issue.

"You don't like what I said, little lamb?" I taunt her.

"I'm not going to be like one of those women who let you walk all over them, Liam," she fires at me.

And there's the pushback I expected.I dip to her face. "Keeping you safe is not walking all over you."

"I know how to protect myself."

"No, you don't. Your bottle of mace isn't going to do shit if someone wants to come after you," I hurl back. I release her pants, kneel in front of her, and sniff hard. I kiss her wet panties.

She squirms, and a harsh breath flies out of her mouth.

I finish removing her pants so she's only in her bra and underwear.

I stroke her slit. "You're wet, little lamb."

Goose bumps break out on her skin. Her cheeks flush, and I grab her hips, then bite through her panties. "Liam! Oh God!" she screams as I edge her closer to an orgasm. But then I stop and study her face. "Naughty girls don't get to come. And you were very naughty today, weren't you?"

"No. I wasn't. I have a right—"

The sound of my hand hitting her bare ass, courtesy of her thong, echoes in the room. She yelps, and I bark, "You don't have any rights in regards to your safety. That's my job. Get it through your head, Hales."

She breathes hard and furrows her eyebrows.

I reach for the other rope and tie her ankle.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she nervously asks.

I don't answer, secure her other ankle, then increase the tension until she can't stretch her body any farther.

"Liam," she breathes.

I step back and study my beautiful, naughty little lamb. I unzip my pants and stroke my cock a few times then smear my pre-cum on my thumb and stick it in her mouth.

She sucks on it without me even ordering her to, which only intensifies the buzzing in my veins. "Mmm," she quietly moans.

I pull my thumb out and rub it on her lips. I press my body against hers, slide the blindfold onto her forehead, and give her a moment for her eyes to adjust. "Do you know what I thought when I stood outside the prison, waiting for Finn to come out today?"

She blinks twice. Her long lashes expose her blue eyes. Her voice comes out raspy. "No."

My chest tightens, and the burn I felt earlier in the day crawls up my esophagus. "All these years, I lived in the epitome of Hell. It was a cesspool of the vilest men on earth. I was shackled, stripped of my freedom, and forced to do things I didn't want to do. There was no choice. I had to submit. And that's our problem. You don't know how to give up control, little lamb, do you?"

Her lips tremble, and her eyes glisten. She doesn't answer me. The longer she stares at me, the more her orbs fill with tears.

I cup her cheeks. "If anyone understands where you are right now, it's me. I even respect it. But know this. Fighting me, not agreeing to give me control, is only going to make this harder for you. Until you submit, you'll stay here, spread out, at my mercy, unable to make any choices. And I will break you until you're begging me for dear life, little lamb."

Fear crosses her face, and I know we're now on our way. "You said you would never hurt me."

I palm her ass and push her body into mine. I tug her hair harder than normal. She gasps, and I kiss her until she's hungrily kissing me and whimpering. I pull away and stroke her hair. "I'll never physically harm you, Hales. I'm doing this so no one else ever will, either. But when I break you, it's going to hurt, and you're going to beg me for everything that comes after it."