Surrender 01 - Surrender

color and light.
    “Come work for me, Ari. We’re good together. You know you want to. What price will it take?”
    Ari’s bubble popped at his words. She wasn’t with a typical man. She was with Rafe — control freak extraordinaire. She could never have a regular relationship with him.
    “It will never happen. You may set me on fire, but once I’ve come back down to earth, I remember you for the monster you are,” she calmly answered. She heard Rafe 's sharp intake of breath.
    “I’m still buried deep inside you, Ari. Am I really such a monster?” he mocked as his hips moved, stirring her heat against her will.
    “You’ve been with a lot of women. You obviously know how to pleasure one. Just because a chicken dances on a hot plate doesn’t mean he wants to be there. I can feel pleasure while still despising you. I can come while wanting to be anywhere but underneath you. Don’t think too highly of yourself just because you know how to touch me in the right places,” she said bravely, praying he wouldn’t call her bluff.
    She was falling for him — falling in ways that terrified her. If she submitted to him, he’d own her, body — heart — and soul. She would never be free again. Her goal now was to anger him enough that he’d walk away before he destroyed her.
    “You will push me too far someday, Ari,” he warned as he pulled from her, leaving her with a feeling of emptiness as he sat her up and moved the straps of her dress back to her shoulders so she could once again move her arms. When he was finished, he looked her deep in the eyes.
    She cringed as the blood rushed down her arms, sending a throbbing sensation through her upper torso. As her body relaxed, the pain from her sunburn and from being bound rose to the surface. Yet she refused to rub those areas in his presence — she had no wish to give him that sort of satisfaction. She’d wait to whimper when she was by herself.
    “I don’t care. If you don’t like what I have to say, then quit pursuing me.”
    “I’m not pursing you, Ari. You happened to show up on my boat, remember? Needless of who came to whom tonight, you’ll be mine — in just the way I owned you only moments ago. It’s only a matter of time. As long as you keep fighting me, you’re only denying both of us pleasure we could be feeling every single night. I’m not the monster you think I am. I just have certain rules. Doesn’t everyone feel the same when they go into a new relationship together? I just happen to be honest about myself, and I expect the same from my business partners,” he said as if he were the most reasonable man ever to live.
    “If you’re so honest, does your family know about your affairs?”
    He glared at her and she knew she was pushing all the wrong buttons with him that night. His hand lifted and she was afraid for a moment that he was going to strike her.
    He glared when she flinched.
    “I’ve told you before that I don’t need to use pain, Ari. You’ll learn that. There are much more pleasurable ways for me to punish you,” he threatened as he stepped back.
    She slowly scooted off the table, finding her legs weak as she stood. She didn’t know what to do next. She was stuck in the middle of a large bed of water on a boat with a man she didn’t know if she wanted to kiss or kill.
    “I’ll escort you to your room. You know where mine is in case you change your mind,” he said stiffly as he turned and started walking toward the door. She had to jog to keep up with him as he led her down the hallway.
    No more words were spoken between them as he directed her to a door and opened it for her. She shut it in his face, then leaned against the solid wood and fought the urge to cry. She was really in the deep end now. She walked to the bed and sank slowly onto it, but with no expectation that sleep would claim her that night.
    She was wrong. The soothing motion of the boat rocking gently on the waves lulled her to sleep in no time — clearing her mind of stressful decisions, and allowing her body time to heal.

    *****

    Anger consumed Rafe as he walked away. His face was stone cold, not a single feeling apparent, but his insides were boiling.
    He wanted her to be with him. He needed her to do it willingly.
    Doubt flooded him for the first time, and the foreign emotion moved him to near panic. He didn’t like any weak emotion to penetrate his thick skin. He was too strong for weakness — he was too good for that.
    Rafe turned