Chapter 31: Ruined

She watched him slowly get up from his large swivel chair and walk towards her, his

striking eyes giving her a perusal from head to toe, making her heart beat wildly. She

wanted to hide from him. With each step he took towards her, her legs trembled more and

more. The anxiety building up in her mind was evident in her eyes.

His face was expressionless, and so were his eyes. Dark and cold, just like every other time.

Blinking in her fear, she matched his gaze as he stood in front of her.

"Agree?" his grave voice asked.

"Yes. I agree to your condition," she uttered. "I agree to—to spend a night with you." The

sentence alone made her look down in shame.

He perched her chin between his hands, but she pulled her face away from his grip.

"Don't touch me!" she gritted, but his hand moved, and this time, he dug his fingers into her

cheeks, pulling her face towards him.

"Now, I can do more than just touch you, can't I?" he asked, raising his brows.

"Yes, you can," she replied, her eyes penetrating his. "You can. But only for one night," she

held his hand, "not before that, not after that," and pushed his hand away from her face.

He slid his arm against the small of her back before pulling her closer to him. Frowning, she

tried to pry him off, but he didn't budge, rather increased the intensity of his hold on her.

"If you can be bought for a night, then I can also buy you for your whole life," moving closer,

he placed his lips near her ear. "Trust me. I can do this," he muttered.

"Stay away from me!" she protested and tried to push him away when he had her against

the door, and a clicking sound resonated in the atmosphere, implying he had locked the

door.

She panicked.

"Shhh," he shushed her, putting his finger on her lips, "if I stay away, then how will we do

what we agreed on?"

He had his head next to her ear and his arms encaging her between the door and his sturdy

chest.

"I told you already, our deal is just for a night. You can't get intimate with me before that or

after that. Just one night," she challenged. Her voice came out sharp and violent.

"Is that so?" he pulled his head back.

"Yes. It is so."

"Fine. Then let that night be tonight," he stated with a tone of finality.

"What?" The sudden shock hit her.

Was he serious?

She wasn't ready for it. She hadn't mentally prepared herself.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. Her voice suddenly lost its strength.

"Yes," he asserted, pulling back from her.

"I will not agree to—to that."

"I know how to make you agree, Sheharzaad. Do you wanna know?"

His voice sounded ominous to her, making fear strike within her. "I'm not ready yet. No, not

tonight. Not tonight," she kept shaking her head left and right as if unable to believe it.

"You are not in command. I make decisions, and you follow."

"Not now. No. Not now," she pleaded. She was trembling. She would never be mentally

ready for this, but this was way too fast. Very fast. She never expected him to reach this

decision.

"Don't tremble," he muttered.

"Let me go for tonight," she pleaded, now trying to hide herself against the door. Her hands

were shivering badly. She had begun to turn cold and lightheaded already.

"You should have thought about this before challenging me. I have made up my mind. I'll

have you in my bed, tonight. Right now."

"Right now?" she asked, barely able to breathe.

"Yeah."

"No! Please no!" she shrieked suddenly. "Please no! Not tonight. I—I—I'm not ready."

He moved a bit closer to her, invading her personal space. Lowering his voice, he muttered,

"Didn't I tell you before? Think before you speak," he said in a low voice, and she recalled

the last time he had told her the same thing.

Think before you speak, Ms. Sheharzaad

I trust you with it

I want a one-night stand with you

"Now, let me correct it for you a bit. Think, think hard, think twice when you speak around

me and specifically with me. Raise your voice at me next time, challenge me in any way, then

look at what I will do to you," he declared, making the tears fill her eyes.

"Now," he took a few steps back from her, "remove your clothes."

Her heart jumped to her throat. This was the first time she was hearing such a sentence

from a man directed towards her. And the thing was, anything he commanded was now

bound to happen. She had gauged by now that if he had asked her to take off her clothes,

then she would be doing so, sooner or later, with or without any resistance.

"Please," she tried to press her luck.

"Don't make it hard for yourself," his grave voice said.

"Not tonight," she pleaded again. She couldn't digest anything happening around her. It was

all so surreal, so foreign to her.

"Shut up." Now, he was quickly walking closer toward her, making her shriek.

"Let me go! I'm not ready yet! Let me go!"

He placed his calloused hand at the back of her slender neck, but she held his arm.

"No. Please. Not tonight," she whispered as her helpless eyes stared into his. Her eyes

pleaded with him to let her go.

"You should have thought before denying me the right to touch you. Let me drive that out of

your mind. For sure, we have a whole night for that," he ignored her protests, holding her

locks before smashing his lips against hers.

She began to feel lightheaded. It was the first time someone was so close to her, invading

her personal space. And on top of that, her lips were against his. He was moving slowly, but

she wasn't moving at all. Her body was struck, as lifeless as a doll. He pressed her more into

him, demanding her to match his movements, but she remained still. His teeth suddenly

pierced through her plump lips, drawing blood. She hissed.