Uncovering You 2: Submission by Scarlett Edwards Page B

Stonehart probes. “I’m sure you do. Take a gander.”
    I shake my head harder, making my hair swing in my eyes. I back away until my shoulder blades touch the marble beam. It might just be my imagination, but the red circle seems to be pulsing, constricting, and expanding ever-so-slightly under my watch.
    My fingers clutch the collar. I pull at it in desperation, but to no effect.
    Stonehart clicks his tongue. The purple light disappears, and with it the laser circle. All the overhead lights come back on.
    “Lilly,” he says. “Come here.”
    My eyes widen in terror as I look at him. He’s outside my boundary!
    “No,” I breathe.”
    “ Lilly! ” His voice snaps. “I told you once before how I hate repeating myself.” He tilts his eyes ever so slightly. “Or have you forgotten?”
    Damn it! I thought these power games would end when I signed the contract! “No,” I muster. “But I can’t. You’re too far.”
    A vicious smile curls his handsome lips. “Are you refusing to obey?”
    I shake my head. The collar feels like it’s a live noose. “I can’t—you’re too far away!”
    “Am I?” Stonehart seems amused. He holds both hands up as his eyes trail a path from his feet to mine. “It doesn’t seem like I’m very far, does it? There’s no physical barrier blocking your way.”
    Bile rises in my throat on hearing those god damn words spoken aloud. No physical barrier .
    He takes one calculated step toward me. “There,” he says. “I do not often compromise. But for you, I will. You say I’m too far. So I bridge the gap.” His cruel eyes shine. “Now it’s your turn.”
    I can hardly believe what I’m doing when I take my first step toward him. My body shakes with apprehension. A cold sweat slicks my back. Stonehart is standing outside the perimeter. Reaching him would mean willingly subjecting myself to a second, horrible, electric shock.
    But if I ever want to get back at him for everything that he has—and will—do to me, I have to submit to his games.
    My senses are heightened in anticipation of the first tell-tale sign that I’ve gone too far as I walk forward. I stop on the edge of the boundary.
    I am still fifteen feet away from Stonehart.
    “To me, Lilly,” he says softly, mockingly. “I want you by my side.”
    I grit my teeth and force myself to meet his evil stare. “I cannot.”
    “No?” His eyes glimmer. “Tell me why.”
    “ YOU KNOW WHY, YOU BASTARD !” I scream.
    My hands fly to my mouth when I realize what I’ve done. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I—”
    I am cut off by a sudden, booming laugh.
    “So, you have some spark left in you, after all,” he laughs. “Excellent. I knew your façade of weakness was just that. You, my dear, are not broken yet. Are you?”
    Five quick strides and he’s on me. His hand juts out and grips my jaw, squeezing hard. My lips pucker together. He jerks my head up so my eyes meet his.
    “But you will be,” he promises, his voice soft and full of danger. “You will be tamed and trained to my liking.”
    He spins off and lets me go. The momentum drops me to my knees. I cry out when they strike the unforgiving floor.
    Stonehart is back in his previous position, both hands clasped behind his back. His face is impassive, giving no hint of what has just occurred.
    What kind of man can control his emotions so well?
    “Now, Lilly,” he commands. “To my side.”
    I stand up on unsteady legs. I glare at Stonehart with all the hate I can summon. He watches me, eyes shining, the corner of his mouth curled up in the barest hint of a smile.
    I take one shaky step forward and flinch, waiting for the first warning shock.
    I crack an eye open when it doesn’t come. Stonehart tilts his head in acknowledgment. “Closer.”
    I close my eyes and try not to think about the black piece of plastic that’s tight around my neck. Then, in a bout of either stupidity, lunacy, or desperation, I burst forward in a rush, feet slapping along the