Chapter 36

Elena's POV

Blood pounded in my ears, drowning out all other sounds. My body trembled uncontrollably as Dominic half-carried, half-led me from the house. The sensation of Elder Ambrose's ice-cold hands on my skin lingered like a layer of filth I couldn't scrub away.

Elaine shrieked somewhere behind us, her voice rising to a hysterical pitch as she tried to explain to the vampire why her promised "delivery" was being taken away. I didn't look back. Couldn't bear to see her face, to acknowledge that my own stepmother had willingly sold me to a monster.

"My car's outside," Dominic said

I nodded mechanically, still clutching the remnants of my torn clothing around me. The nighttime air hit my exposed skin, raising goosebumps along my arms and back. I was vaguely aware of neighbors peering through windows, curious about the commotion.

Dominic opened the passenger door and gently settled me inside. I flinched when his fingers brushed against my bare shoulder, a reaction that didn't escape his notice. His jaw tightened, but he said nothing, simply shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it around me.

The jacket smelled like him, clean cedar, and something wilder that I couldn't name but had come to associate uniquely with Dominic. Once, that scent had made me feel protected. Now, I wasn't sure what I felt.

The car roared to life, tires squealing as Dominic pulled away from the curb with enough force to push me back against the leather seat. His knuckles were white around the steering wheel, his profile hard and unforgiving in the faint glow from the dashboard.

"Did he hurt you?" The words seemed forced through gritted teeth, each syllable tight with barely controlled rage.

I stared straight ahead through the windshield, watching the familiar streets of my neighborhood blur into streaks of light. "I'm fine."

"That's not what I asked.Did. He. Hurt. You?"

My fingers tightened on the lapels of his jacket.

Dominic's hand shot out, gripping my chin and forcing me to look at him. "Answer me, Elena. What did he do to you?"

I jerked away from his touch. "Keep your eyes on the road."

He cursed under his breath but returned his attention to driving, his profile rigid with tension. "I need to know exactly what happened."

"Why?" I turned to look at him fully now, "So you can be sure your *property* wasn't damaged? So you can calculate exactly how much value I've lost?"

"That's not—"

"Isn't it?" I cut him off. "That's all I am to you, right? Something you paid for. Something you own."

Dominic abruptly pulled the car to the side of the road, tires crunching on gravel as we came to a stop in what appeared to be an empty scenic overlook.

He turned to face me, "Is that what you think?"

"It's what you've made abundantly clear." I clutched his jacket tighter. "You've never seen me as a person, just a possession. Something to control. Something to own."

"Elena—"

"No." I held up a hand to stop him. "I don't want your fake concern. I don't want your protection that only extends as far as your claim on me goes. I'm done with all of it."

His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with enough force to make me gasp. "You think my concern is fake?" His voice had that dangerous edge again, the one that made my skin prickle with awareness. "You think I tore apart that vampire just to protect my *investment*?"

"Let go of me," I said quietly, trying to pull my arm free.

Instead of releasing me, he pulled me closer, his face inches from mine. "You have no idea what you do to me, do you? No concept of how close I am to losing control right now."

"I don't care," I spat, though my racing heart betrayed me. "I'm not yours to control. Not anymore."

Something shifted in his expression. Before I could react, his mouth crashed against mine in a kiss that was more possession than passion. His grip on my wrist tightened as his other hand tangled in my hair, holding me in place.

I should have been repulsed. After what I'd just experienced with Elder Ambrose, any man's touch should have revolted me. Yet my body responded to Dominic's kiss with a betraying immediacy that horrified me. Heat flooded through me, chasing away the cold dread that had settled in my bones.

I pushed against his chest with my free hand, torn between the instinctive desire to return his kiss and the rational knowledge that I should reject him. When he finally released me, we were both breathing hard.

"Don't," I whispered, "Not like this."

"Elena..."

The gentleness in his voice was my undoing. The tears I'd been holding back broke free, rolling down my cheeks in a flood I couldn't control. A sob tore from my throat, and then another, until I was shaking with the force of my emotions.

I didn't resist when Dominic pulled me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me in a protective embrace. I buried my face in his shoulder, letting the tears come, releasing all the fear and violation and helplessness in great, heaving sobs.

"He t-touched me," I managed between gasps. "His hands, his mouth... he said my f-fear made my blood sweeter."

Dominic's entire body went rigid, but his arms remained gentle around me, one hand stroking my hair in slow, soothing motions. "I should have killed him," he said quietly, his voice a deep rumble I could feel through his chest.

"If you hadn't come when you did..." I couldn't finish the thought, the possibility too horrifying to voice.

"But I did come. And I will always come for you, Elena."

I pulled back slightly, looking up at him through tear-blurred eyes. "Why? Because of our contract? Because I'm yours to protect until the six months are up?"

His expression darkened. "Is that what you think this is about? A business arrangement?"

"Isn't it?" I wiped at my tears with the back of my hand. "You've made it very clear what our relationship is."

"Have I?" His thumbs brushed away the wetness on my cheeks, the touch gentler than I would have thought possible from him. "Then perhaps I haven't been clear enough."

He shifted in his seat, turning to face me more fully. "No one touches what's mine, Elena. No one hurts what's mine. Not without facing consequences beyond their imagining."

"I'm not a thing to be owned," I said, but the protest sounded weak even to my own ears.

"No," he agreed, his fingers trailing along my jaw with surprising tenderness. "You're not a thing. You're mine. There's a difference."

"What's the difference?" I asked.