GAVIN
She gives me the silent treatment the rest of the way home. To my home. Our home. She'll be lucky if I ever let her leave again. It's crystal clear to me now that allowing her to continue on with her life as normal was a mistake. There are predators all around who want a taste of her sweet peachy little cunt. But it's mine. She's mine.
I wanted to kill that kid when I saw him flirting with Althea so blatantly. I had not a fucking clue what was going on. Had she been lying to me this entire time? I know she was really a virgin before I had her. Her blood was the proof. But she could have secretly had a boyfriend this entire time. Been planning to let me pop her cherry, take half of the money, then go on as if nothing had ever happened.
I was infuriated and hurt by the thought of betrayal. Whether this guy was really her boyfriend or not, he was going to get an ass beating just so I could release all the rage I felt inside. It couldn't be contained any longer, not when I was watching him touch my girl, feeling like an outsider looking in.
The only thing that saved him was Althea telling him I was her boyfriend. It was confirmation that all the worst things I had imagined were just that. Imagined. Whatever was going on between them, she didn't want it. At least, she was doing a damn good job of acting like she didn't. Maybe she just said that to spare him, but there's little reason for me to think she's lying. She just started this job, and I did see him walking around with her inside the restaurant, standing by her side while she took orders, or her standing next to him while he did it. He is definitely the one who has been training her.
I try to keep my voice calm as I park in front of my house and we get out of the car, despite knowing that anything I have to say is going to make another argument bloom. Althea is nothing if not every bit as stubborn as I am. “You will not be going back to The Glass Street Kitchen.”
Her little mouth falls open, and she gapes at me before her head juts back with attitude. “Excuse me?”
I take long strides to the front door, practically leaving her behind. “I allowed you to return to work. We saw how that turned out.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” She follows me into the house. Even her footfalls sound angry.
“I can't let you be anywhere that another man will touch you.” I turn, towering over her. I try to caress her cheek to quell some of her heat, but she brushes my hand away.
“What are you going to do, Gavin? Lock me away from the rest of the world?” She glares up at me.
“If I have to. Are you hungry? I have meal prep in the refrigerator, or we could order a pizza. I assume you like pizza.” I hope that offering her food will deflect her from arguing with me further.
Her lips twist in disgust over the situation, but she stays quiet long enough to decide she wants a pizza and allows me to call it in. I think the fight is over, but as soon as I hang up the phone, she's at me again.
“Have you always been this possessive?” she asks as she throws herself into the chair across from me in the living room despite my urging her to come sit on my lap.
“It's not about being possessive. I know how guys like that think.” I look across at her, not liking the distance between us. “Come here.”
“No.” She folds her arms over her chest and sinks into the seat as if anchoring herself there.
“Oh my God, you are the world's biggest brat.” I roll my eyes in exasperation, standing to cross the distance between us.
“Stay away from me.” She lifts a foot as if she means to kick me.
“Really?” I furrow my brow at her.
“You're being unreasonable.”
I sigh before grabbing hold of her foot. She struggles, but it's of little use when I'm holding her leg extended at its full length. I pull off the dingy sneaker she has on and drag my fingertips over her sole, causing her to squeal and practically fall off the chair. When her guard is down, I pounce, descending on her with all my tickling fury. In spite of her anger at me, she giggles and wiggles in my grasp, and my heart softens at the sight of seeing her smile, even if it's forced.
“Let me go,” she demands, and I listen when I feel she's had enough, kneeling next to her on the floor. “What's wrong with you?” She snorts at me, but I can tell that some of her anger has dissipated.
“Althea, I know you think I'm just trying to control you, but I also want you to be happy. Make no mistake about that,” I tell her sincerely.
She looks defeated, her eyes sweeping the room before coming back to me. “I don't want this to be my prison, Gavin.”
“I don't want it to be your prison either.”
“Then you have to learn to trust me,” she insists, her eyes burning into mine. “The world is full of men. You don't have to trust them. Just me. Just that I only want you.”
Hearing her say that causes a tightness in my chest. It's hard for me to believe that she could possibly want me when I feel like all I've caused her is misery. I don't want to let her go—it's not within my capacity to do so—but I can't help wondering if I should. Surely, she would be happier with someone else. Someone who didn't demand so much of her.
“I don't like the way he looked at you,” I mumble, knowing how pathetic it sounds.
She leans forward and caresses my cheek. The tenderness isn't deserved, but I bask in it anyway. “You were jealous,” she says as if just figuring it out.
“You are mine, Althea.” I place my hand on top of hers, leaning into her touch before turning to kiss her fingers.
“I want to know everything about you, Gavin. Did something happen to you that...” she hesitates. “Have you not had good relationships with women in the past?”
I pull myself off the floor, and she allows me to lead her by the hand back to the sofa, gently lowering herself onto my lap. This feels more natural. More intimate. She's opening herself to me. A gift. Her interest seems genuine, and so I feel compelled to give her what she wants, though my confession is somewhat embarrassing. “I...haven't really been in any relationships in the past. Nothing serious. Nothing like this.”
“Oh.” She seems surprised.
“I've always been too busy with work. Money and winning have driven me throughout my entire life. Love has never been important. It hasn't even been on my radar.
“I achieved most of my dreams at a relatively young age. I have a good career as a defense attorney, more money than I know what to do with. I've traveled the world, owned exotic cars, bought this place.” My eyes circle our surroundings. “It's only one of several properties I own. But they're all empty inside,” my voice trails off as I bear the weight of my own loneliness. “There are few things left to want in life...but this.” I pat her hand.
“This?” She looks at me in confusion.
“I didn't want a conventional relationship. I didn't want a conventional woman. Everything about my life has been extraordinary. And you are extraordinary, too.” I pet over her fingers, and she blushes, pushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.
“There's nothing extraordinary about me.” Sadness creeps into her tone. “I'm...”
“Amazing.” I finish the sentence before she's able to replace the word with a less deserving adjective. It's quite clear that she doesn't see herself as I do. “There were...dozens of girls on that website that I looked through before I found you.”
“Really?” She glances up at me shyly.
“Really.”
“And what made you pick me?”
I smile softly, thinking back to the first time I saw her picture. “I picked you because you seemed real. There was a rare vulnerability about you that I found...desirable.” My cock swells to life as images of her pictures made flesh flash through my mind. All the things we did together on our bed last night. The uptick of her breathing when she was in the throes of pleasure. The way her tight little cunt squeezed around me when I entered her. She's heaven on Earth for me; I just have to make her see it. Make her see that I could never allow another man to take her from me.
“Am I all that you hoped I would be?” she asks meekly. “I mean, I know you said it yesterday. But now, I feel like all I do is cause you stress and problems. I wasn't a very smart purchase.”
I cup her chin, forcing her to look at me. “You were the best purchase I've ever made.”
She melts in my grasp, and as she leans forward to kiss my lips, I realize that we're the same. Both filled with insecurities, but both wanting the same thing. Just to be loved.