“Let me try something,” I said, approaching her.

She stood back up eyed me warily. “What? Are you going to just kill me now? Get it out of the way? We all know you hate me, Knox. It’s not a secret.”

“I don’t hate you, Princess. Never have and you know that. Just let me try something, please?”

Her eyes formed thin slits for a moment as she continued to breathe erratically and quickly, but she nodded and wiped the tears from beneath her eyes.

“Close your eyes.”

Her lashes fluttered a few times, but then she closed them and kept them closed.

Gently, I pushed her up against the concrete wall, placed my forearm in the center of her chest between her breasts and wrapped my hand around her throat, applying just enough pressure by squeezing with my thumb and fingers. I didn’t push forward, just squeezed.

Her eyes flew open, but her breathing was already growing more even and controlled by the second.

“Am I hurting you?”

She shook her head. Surprise and excitement flashed in those vibrant blue eyes.

“How?” she croaked, which had me loosening my grip on her slightly. “How did you know this was what I needed?”

“How do you feel?” I asked, ignoring her question.

Her eyes shifted to the side, then back to my face, burning into my eyes with an intensity I felt right down to my toes. But then that intense heat made its way back up my legs and settled in my balls. “Safe,” she whispered.

“You always need to be in control of your emotions. It was how you were raised—how you were trained. To keep them hidden behind a veil of indifference—much like super soldiers are trained to do. But all you really crave is the ability to just let go and hand that control over to someone else—to someone you trust. You want to submit, don’t you, Zosha? You want to just feel. You need to feel those emotions that are all bottled up, and knowing you’re safe like this—with me, and submitting, is how you do it.”

A tear slid down her cheek and she swallowed hard against my palm. “I knew you didn’t hate me enough to kill me.”

I grin slid across my face and heat pooled and swirled in my lower belly. “Don’t usually give a nickname like princess to someone I intend to kill.”

Now it was her turn to smile. “Thank you.” Her pulse against my pinky finger that sat against her neck was at complete rest.

“Thank me when we’re done,” I said with a growl as I pulled her over to the bed, my hand still around her throat. I sat down and released her throat for a moment. “Take off your pants, Princess. I want you bare from the waist down.”

A cute little shiver stole through her, but she complied, hastily removing her sweatpants, underwear, socks, and shoes. I unbuckled my belt, then unzipped and unbuttoned my cargo pants. I freed my cock and gave it a couple of thorough strokes before grabbing her hips and guiding her back down to my lap. I licked my fingers and slid my hand down her body until I reached the V of her legs.

“Watch,” I ordered, my mouth right next to her ear.

She blinked and lifted her head only to open her eyes wide when she realized just what I’d done, which was position us right in front of a mirror. I spread  her out on my lap, her pussy reflecting beautifully in the mirror.

“Let go, Zosha. Surrender.”