Control Freak Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning in a fog.

When I managed to force my eyes open, I saw Dominic leaning against the headboard, smiling down at me. "Good morning, my love."

He kissed me. As he leaned over, his hand brushed against mine.

I flinched violently.

Before Dominic, I never could have imagined that there were so, so many ways to torment a person, to make them break, to make them lose control of their own body, stripped of all dignity... all without a single act of violence.

Seeing me recoil, he pulled me into his arms, comforting me. "Darling, how about we go to Finland for the weekend? I'll have my assistant clear a flight path. We can take off after work on Friday. You can sleep on the plane, and we'll fly back Sunday night."

He gently outlined a weekend schedule detailed down to the minute.

"On Saturday morning, we can try the bread at a local private kitchen. We'll go see the snow in the late morning, and then we can have a spa treatment in the afternoon..."

Everything was planned to perfection.

But the more he spoke, the stiffer I became.

"I promised Chris I'd go to the comic convention with him on Saturday," I said in a low voice. "I told you on Monday."

My words hung in the dead silence of the bedroom.

After a long, terrifying pause, Dominic finally spoke. "You're right, you did tell me. I forgot. I'm sorry, my love. You go have fun."

He released his grip on my waist, letting me go without a fuss.

Just like a normal, ordinary boyfriend.

With my back to him, I couldn't see the blank, emotionless mask that had replaced his gentle tone.