Chapter 66

We made it to the restaurant with no further incidents, and I finally relaxed a tiny bit as soon as the doors shut behind us. The restaurant was quiet and sophisticated, a lot different than what I had taken Juliana to that morning.

And I hated this place. But I knew Mr. Kellum wouldn’t meet anywhere else.

We were running a few minutes late, so I was a bit pissed when I didn’t see the attorney waiting on us. I wanted to go over this contract with Juliana, have both of us sign it, feed her lunch, and then take her back home where I knew she was safe.

I didn’t like being out in the open, not after what had just happened.

The attorney rushed up to our table, looking a bit winded. I shot him a cold look. He nervously brushed his hand over his tie. “I apologize for my tardiness, Mr. Jackson. I got stuck in traffic.”

“You should have left earlier,” I snapped at him. He cringed as he held his hand out for me to shake. I clasped his hand in mine, glaring at him. “Do not make me wait again, Mr. Kellum.”

He nodded, fear flickering in his eyes for a moment. He knew what I was capable of, and he knew that I was the more dangerous one out of me and James.

I wasn’t one to cross. I did the dirty work my brother wasn’t willing to do himself.

He smiled at the woman next to me. She flinched back from him, casting her eyes on her lap. I gently gripped the back of her neck, waiting for her to raise her eyes to me.

When she did, I briefly tightened my hold, reminding her that she was safe. “Breathe, baby. You’re mine,” I reminded her.

She drew in a deep breath, her anxiety easing. I brushed my thumb along the column of her throat before I released her, turning my attention to Mr. Kellum. He had smartly kept his attention away from us as I calmed her, but when I turned back to face him, he was quick to meet my eyes, keeping his gaze off my woman.

“I want to eat before we begin looking over the contract,” I told him. “We’ve had a bit of a stressful afternoon thus far, and Juliana needs food in her system.”

He nodded in understanding. I ordered Julian lobster ravioli with two glasses of water. I ordered myself the same thing except I ordered a soda instead of a water. A beer would have been fucking nice, but I didn’t want my senses to be fucked with at all – not when I had Juliana’s life in my hands.

The attorney and I spoke about my time in prison and my parole now that I was out and how I was adjusting to being on the outside again. Juliana stayed quiet, but at some point, while we were waiting on our food, her hand found mine under the table.

She was slowly opening up to me more and more, and I was relishing every little bit of it. And I was fucking happy that she wasn’t shying away from hearing of my stint in prison.

Our food was delivered shortly after, and I fed Juliana her lunch, eating bites of mine in between feeding her, so we finished at about the same time. I noticed Mr. Kellum staring, but when I shot him a dark look, he quickly focused his eyes on his food, no longer staring at the way I cared for my woman.

She drank her water, and once our plates were cleared away, Mr. Kellum handed us each a copy of the contract.

Instantly, Juliana clammed up, her hands clenching the edges of the paper, crinkling the contract.

Instantly, I knew.

She had a fear of making decisions.

I didn’t know what it stemmed from, and it fucked with me bad that she did.

“Easy,” I soothed as I clamped my hand over her thigh. She jerked in surprise, her wide, alarmed eyes snapping up to mine. I waited until she relaxed again before I spoke. “I know making any kind of decision is frightening, little girl,” her eyes brightened at the term of endearment as it slid past my lips, “but I need you to read through this. I will explain anything to you that you don’t understand, but you have to agree to this of your own accord, or it’s null and void.”

She shook her head, not wanting to do this. I cupped the side of her neck, drawing her a little closer to me. “When we get home, I will take you into my playroom, and I will reward you for all of your good behavior today.” Her breath hitched in her throat, and she licked her lips. My cock strained against my zipper as I got a sudden vision of those plump, wet lips wrapping around my cock as I fucked her mouth. “But for me to reward you for your good behavior, I need you to read through this contract for me. Can you do that? Can you be my good, little girl and do what I’m asking?” “I can,” she whispered.

I grinned at her, loving the sound of her voice. Leaning forward, I claimed her mouth with my tongue, forcing myself to take what I could until I could have her gagging on my dick.

Mr. Kellum was silent, reading through emails on his phone, and Juliana and I read through our contracts. Everything was just as I had asked Mr. Kellum to write out, including the anklet that would go around her ankle instead of a collar to go around her neck. I also included that limits could be written into a new contract at any given time as we found them.

I finished before Juliana did, and when she was finally done, she looked over at me, simply nodding her head. Mr. Kellum handed me two pens without a word, and she and I both signed our names onto the contract that would be filed in his office.

When Juliana handed it back to him, Mr. Kellum’s fingers brushed hers. She jerked back in her seat, her eyes flashing with panic as her face paled. I lurched forward and grabbed Mr. Kellum’s wrist, glaring deep into his eyes as I did so.

“You ever fucking touch her again, and James will be burying you,” I

quietly snarled, every muscle in my body urging me to fucking hurt him for making her react like that.

He looked like he was going to pass out. “It was an accident,” he rushed out.

I tightened my grip. “Make sure it never fucking happens again.” With that, I stood up from the table and leaned down, lifting Juliana into my arms. She was shaking, clearly lost in her head. People stared at us, but I didn’t give a fuck.

She buried her face in the crook of my neck, her trembling arms wrapping tight around my shoulders.

Two of James’s men fell into step with us, seeing as my hands were full, ready to protect us if need be. I didn’t set her down until I got her to my car.

She clung to me when I set her on the seat, not wanting to let me go.

I crouched in front of her, grabbing her face in my hands. “Little girl, look at me,” I growled, putting myself into dom mode. Her eyes snapped up to mine at the rough command in my voice. “I need you to breathe, baby girl. I need you to trust me. Whatever is going on in your head, push it down. You’re mine now. No one will fucking touch you, you hear me?” She nodded. “Words, little girl.” “I understand,” she whispered.

I rubbed the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip. “Good girl,” I praised.

I stood up and quickly shut her car door before I moved around the hood of my car and slid into the driver’s seat, speeding away from the curb to get her home.