Spark ( Book 3: Stronger Series )

23. Waiting

I was getting sick and tired of the constant ticking of my dark chrome Rolex, reminding me that Jaden still wasn't back yet. It'd been nearly three hours, and I was ready to start pulling my fucking hair out. I made the decision to let her go, to let her run from the session so she could have a moment to collect herself and come back in one piece. Apparently, that took three fucking hours.

I'd had my dinner at the kitchen island while I stood and watched out the window, waiting for Jaden to emerge. I was furious, anxious, and worried. For all I knew, she could be lost with a broken leg somewhere and was in dire need of help, but that was a stupid assumption. Jaden was not a helpless little girl, yet for some reason, I kept treating her like one.

I'd modified her cuffs to measure her heart rate, body temperature, exercising habits, and even her sleep patterns. After a while, her pulse had slowed to a deep calm, jumped again, and then relaxed again. I wanted to know what the fuck she was doing out there, but I fought with myself to give her some privacy. Clive and Owen wanted to argue and go after her, but angering myself even more, I denied them. Sid told me this might happen, that she would run like this, even though she knew not to. In a way, I'd expected it, too, though I was shocked to hear her bring up my mother.

She'd compared herself to her more than once, but I didn't want her thinking she'd share the same fate as her. It would never happen. I would burn the world first.

What pissed me off more was the fact that she thought she'd been testing me before. I'd known what she was doing the entire fucking time. It'd be a cold day in hell if ever she were a step ahead of me. I knew her too well, knew how the wheels in her cute little head turned. She'd become too compliant to the point of annoyance, and I knew she was doing it to make a point. I missed the fire, the tension, the way she hated me with so much passion I could practically feel it claw at my skin when I fucked her. Now, she was dull, unemotional, and irritatingly robotic. And I knew it was my fault.

I liked control too much, needed it too much. Control was safe, reliable, and brought with it every advantage possible. If I wasn't in control, then someone else was, and I'd be damned before I let that happen. In my world, you couldn't afford to look weak because the moment the sharks smelled blood in the water, there would be nothing left but a throne to claim, and I'd already claimed so many as it was.

Jaden had yet to understand why I couldn't yield. Eventually, she would. When the darkness of my world revealed itself to her, she would. She would also learn that playing games with me was never a smart idea, especially if she was trying to undermine me.

At long last, I caught sight of the magnificent red shine of Jaden's hair as she walked out of the woods and toward the house, seeming calm and collected. Unharmed. I couldn't help but release a small breath of relief, but it was short lived as the anger returned to replace it.

"Sir!" Clive yelled from the living room as he came to my side.

"I see her," I said, my narrowed gaze never leaving her small form as she trudged toward the house.

Following her every move, I stormed my way toward the door right as she walked in. She stopped abruptly when I cornered her, and actually flinched like I was going to hit her. She had good reason to. I wanted to smack some sense into her, but it angered me for some reason that her first instinct was to flinch, rather than raise her hands in defense as she normally would... because she was going to let me hit her.

Fear washed over her beautiful face as her amber eyes landed on me. I knew I was probably unconsciously glaring at her, but I was pissed and wanted an explanation.

"Well?" I said, lifting an eyebrow and crossing my arms over my chest.

Jaden folded her lips and gulped back her trepidation before she finally spoke, her eyes raised with determination and responsibility.