The silence in the room was thick, oppressive. Ana sat on the edge of the bed, her hands gripping the sheets tightly, as if the fabric could somehow anchor her to reality. The sting of Hayden's words still lingered on her skin, a constant reminder of how much control he had over her. Over everything.
She couldn't stop thinking about it—how his touch had felt so intense, so raw. How he had made her feel like she was both the prey and the predator in a game she didn't even know she was playing.
Her pulse quickened when the door opened. Hayden stepped inside, his dark eyes immediately locking onto hers. He didn't say a word, just stood there, studying her with a gaze that made her skin flush. His presence consumed the room, the air thick with tension.
Ana didn't speak either. There was nothing left to say. Not after last night, not after everything that had happened.
His gaze softened ever so slightly, and he crossed the room toward her. "I told you last night, didn't I? You belong to me, Ana." His voice was quieter now, almost like a whisper, but there was still an underlying force in it.
She stood up, pushing herself off the bed. She couldn't sit still anymore, couldn't stand being so close to him without wanting to do something reckless. "No," she said, her voice shaking despite her efforts to sound firm. "You don't get to control me, Hayden. Not like this."
His lips curled into a smirk, but his eyes never wavered. "It's not about control. It's about understanding. You think I want to hurt you? To break you?" His hand reached out, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, the touch gentle despite the underlying threat in his tone. "I'm not trying to destroy you, Ana. I'm trying to show you what it means to truly surrender."
Ana flinched at the word *surrender*. She hated it. She hated how easy it would be to give in to him, to let him take over every part of her. But no matter how she tried to deny it, a part of her was already unraveling in his presence.
"You think this is what I want?" she spat, her breath ragged with frustration. "You think I want to be some pawn in your game?"
"I don't play games, Ana." Hayden's voice was steady, unwavering. "I'm not asking for your love, not yet. I'm asking for your trust. And I'll earn it, even if it means breaking down every wall you've built."
Her chest tightened. She had already allowed him too much. His words. His touch. They were like chains, invisible but inescapable.
"I don't need your trust," she shot back, her eyes narrowing. "I don't need anything from you."
Hayden's eyes flashed with something dark, something predatory. "You do need me. You just don't know it yet." His voice was low, each word deliberate. "And if I have to break you to make you see that, then so be it."
The room seemed to shrink around them, the air heavy with the weight of their unspoken desires. She could feel the heat radiating off him, the tension in his muscles as he moved closer. But this time, she didn't back away. She stood her ground, defiant, even as every part of her body screamed at her to let him in.
"You don't own me," she said, her voice trembling slightly but filled with venom.
Hayden didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached for her, pulling her close with a suddenness that took her by surprise. She gasped as his lips crashed onto hers, the force of it taking her breath away. She should have fought it. She should have shoved him away, told him she wasn't some prize to be claimed. But when his lips met hers, everything inside her stopped. All her defiance, all her anger—gone.
His tongue slipped past her lips, demanding, tasting, controlling. He was possessive in a way that shook her to the core, but there was something about it—something about the way he claimed her, as if he was the only one who could ever make her feel this way.
The kiss deepened, his hands sliding down her back, pulling her flush against him. She could feel the hard length of his body pressing against hers, and the sudden rush of heat made her pulse spike. Her chest tightened, and for a fleeting moment, she wondered if she was losing herself to him.
He pulled back just enough to speak, his voice a low growl. "You think you can fight it. But you can't. Not anymore. Not when you crave me just as much as I crave you."
Ana's breath hitched in her throat, and she opened her mouth to argue, to tell him that he was wrong, that she didn't want this. But the words got caught in her throat when his hand slid up her thigh, pushing the fabric of her skirt higher. The touch was slow, deliberate. It sent a wave of heat through her body, pooling between her legs.
Her body betrayed her again. Despite her mind screaming at her to stop, to run, her body leaned into his touch, a soft moan escaping her lips before she could stop it.
"See?" Hayden murmured, his voice low and husky. "You want this. You want me. You just don't want to admit it."
She swallowed, her head spinning with the force of the emotions he was stirring in her. The heat, the desire, the need—all of it swirled inside her, making her head spin.
"No," she breathed, but even she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice. "No, I don't."
His smirk deepened as he leaned down to kiss her neck, his lips brushing the sensitive skin just below her ear. "You can lie to yourself all you want, Ana," he whispered, "but your body knows the truth. And so do I."
Before she could respond, Hayden was pulling her back toward the bed, his lips trailing down her throat, his hands working to strip away the last of her resistance.
Everything inside her screamed to stop, to push him away, but when his lips met hers again, all that was left was fire. A fire that burned hotter every time they touched, every time he claimed her.
And Ana was beginning to realize that maybe, just maybe, she didn't want it to stop.