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"Submission without domination is when you keep doing what he wants even after he keeps insisting he doesn't want it. Domination without submission is when he keeps telling you to do something and you keep telling him to fuck off."

~Linda

Kneel? Kneel? Was this guy for real? I wasn't kneeling to him. No way in hell. Not now. Not Ever.

"In your fucking dreams! You don't own me! This isn't pre-Civil War days!" I declared vehemently.

A raging storm swirled behind his eyes. He didn't move a muscle and it was the only way I could tell I'd affected him at all.

"Here's a wake up call, Sugar. I do, as a matter of fact, own you. I paid quite the small fortune for you and even have a receipt." He snarled as he grabbed my wrist. I tried to yank it back and when it was apparent that that motion would be futile, I started to fight against him in earnest.

The last straw came when I kicked him in the knee. He buckled, but remained standing. My wrists were suddenly let go but before I had time to move he had me by the throat with one large hand. He forced my chin up with his thumb. I tried to avoid his eyes as I attempted to calm the pounding of my heart.

"Look at me." His quiet, harsh tone demanded. Unwillingly, my eyes rose to meet his and they were all business. "You. Are. Mine. Your very survival depends on me now. You need me in every sense of the word -" My mouth and temper got the better of me, unwisely interrupting him.

"No I don't!" I practically screeched into his face, spewing spittle in my adamant denial. Apparently that was the last straw.

His mouth twisted up in a snarl as he grabbed me roughly by the arm. What the fuck was with guys around here doing that? I was going to be spotted like a cheetah.

"You don't eh? We'll see about that." He growled as he drug me out of his office and down the stairs. I focused on staying upright as I stumbled along beside him, trying my best to match his pace and keep up with him. It was only by the grace of God that no bones were broken by the time we reached the bottom. He didn't stop there though, but marched me on over to the front door.

He flung it open with a loud resounding bang as it bounced off the wall and caused me to flinch. Where was he taking me? To kill me? To torture me? Or worse yet, sell me off? He drug me off the porch and out into his front yard.

He pushed me ahead and let go of my arm abruptly, causing me to stumble and fall. I started to notice how hot the ground beneath my feet really was when my knees, arms and hands came in contact with it. I looked up at him hatefully to see him standing with one hand in his pocket of his slacks and one gesturing towards the gate.

"If you can make it back to civilization, then you've earned your freedom. If not, then you end up back here, with me. If you choose to forfeit now, you can come back inside, get cleaned up, then start your new life without much punishment to be had for this infraction. If you get brought back though, the punishment will not be light. Which do you choose?"

His eyes had a knowing look in them. He knew I would rather attempt the desert than just surrender. I knew there were all sorts of dangers out there. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, spiders, coyotes, scarce water and numerous other factors were stacked against me. I was ill prepared in just my underwear and sundress. I had no shoes, no weapon, no canteen, no nothing.

Still, I would rather face the hot, open desert and all it's dangers than to relent and go back inside with him. He didn't own me, despite what he thought.

"I choose the desert." I said quietly, not breaking eye contact with him. He nodded once with a cocky smirk and barked something out in Spanish. I watched as the gates slid open slowly. He gestured to them.

"Then by all means." His amusement was palpable as he looked me up and down. After his cursory once over, he turned and went back up to the porch, sitting in one of the cushioned chairs and crossing his legs. I took one last look at him before turning and fleeing.

I ran and ran until I couldn't see the mansion when I looked back over my shoulder. Only then did I stop and take stock of things. The earth beneath my feet was scorching hot and I'd never missed my sneakers so much until then. There was lots of scrub brush scattered everywhere and big reddish mesas lined the horizon with the occasional break between them. There was also the occasional desert willow and boulder or rock formation. Cacti like the big Saguaro cactus and prickly pears as well stuck up above the scrub and I could guess as to what region I was in, though I doubted it'd be an accurate estimation.

I knew it was later in the day by the location of the sun and the temperature. I looked at the sun and due to my assumptions, I surmised that I was walking in a Southern direction. I had already come this far, I supposed if I kept walking I'd eventually find somebody or a house or something.

I would stop every little bit and rest in the shade of a tree. A couple of times I heard a familiar rattling sound and made an abrupt turn to go another path. The heat, sun and pain in my feet were overwhelming. The last thing I needed was to get bitten by a rattlesnake. I also kept an eye out for things like the larger spiders and scorpions of the desert. I had enough problems already and didn't need to add to them.

I was sweating so much. My dress was sticking to me as well as my underwear. My feet were blistered on the bottoms and cut open and I could feel the dry dirt digging into the open wounds, just agitating them further. My skin was slowly starting to burn, getting constantly redder. When I could stand being in the sun no longer, nor bear to walk no further due to my feet, I sat in the shade of a small tree. I watched as the sun slowly sank further in the say. I knew I only had about a couple of hours left until sundown and after that I had no plan of action.

In front of me, behind me, off to the sides of me there was nothing but dry, flat desert. No houses, no buildings, nothing. No civilization of any sort. If I looked hard enough I could even see the heat waves rising off the ground. Now I understood why that man said if I made it back to civilization then I earned my freedom...it was because there was no other civilization. I was in the desert with nothing surrounding me but the cacti and the other desert creatures. I was utterly alone.

I sat, curled up, until I finally felt no more of the sun's rays hitting what little skin it could reach. I was thankful that it was getting cooler, but I desperately needed water. My legs were starting to cramp, my stomach was twisting and rolling and I'd gotten a headache a couple of hours ago. I went to stand, only to have vertigo hit me hard and send me back onto my butt.

I clasped my head in my hands, cradling it and praying for the recently started throbbing to stop. My breathing became faster as my heart rate picked up. I felt like I'd started running with the way it was beating. Panic began to flood me. What was happening to me?

Dehydration. The word smacked me in the face. I was so consumed with getting out of there and finding a way to a house or phone or anything that I disregarded the conditions I was under. People died out in the desert all the time because of lack of water. I hadn't even paid attention for a stream or anything.

I tried my best to get up again, only to land flat on my back. I hissed as my burnt skin made contact with the hard, rough ground. I was so dizzy and I wished things would just go back to being stationary instead of spinning.

No. No! I couldn't let it end like this! I had to make it. I just had to! I couldn't go back. I didn't want to think of what punishments awaited me if I failed myself. I rolled to my stomach and got up on my hands and knees by sheer will alone. I began crawling, but didn't make it far. My elbows buckled and my legs gave out, leaving me to smack against the earth again. The next thing I knew, everything went black.

"I can't believe you're going to do this." a melodic voice said from the left of me.

I looked to him and his penny hair with emerald jewels for eyes and gave him a sly grin.

"Why not Cullen? Me and the others down here at La Push do it all the time" A rougher voice interrupted my planned reply from my other side. Well thanks, Jake, for the interruption.

I was just weeks away from graduating. I hadn't had much excitement in some time. Especially not after Charlie caught Jake and I on our fixed up motorcycles. I heard him grumbling something about dumpsters and fire, but didn't catch the rest. I could have guessed at his disgruntlement though.

I faintly heard the howling and braying of dogs. Dogs? What would dogs be doing in the desert? Unless it was a pack of coyotes.

"Because!" he gestured wildly out in front of him to emphasize his point "Who knows what's down there!"

I put one foot on the edge and leaned over some, looking down to the waves breaking against the cliff facing. I'd wanted to do this for some time now. At first I regretted telling Edward about it, but now it seemed like I made the perfect choice for once.

It was true, there could be sharks in the water, but I'd never heard of any attacks or anything like that, nor had any of the locals to my knowledge.

I started backing up several paces. No attention was being paid to me at the moment, which was perfect. Taking off, I flew towards the edge, running right between the two squabbling boys.

My eyes fluttered opened long enough to take in the sight of dusty jeans and even more dusty tan, leather cowboy boots. A small pack of hounds walked around his legs, eyeballing me.

A scream left my lips from the thrill and excitement of the free fall. It was an amazing experience to know, if only for a moment, how a bird in flight felt. Over my joyous squawks and laughter, I heard them both shout my name at the same time. One in exasperation and the other in shocked panic.

It was seconds later that I hit the cold water. I wanted to gasp so badly but I knew how stupid that move would have been. I opened my eyes against the salty water and looked to which way the bubbles were floating, following them up. I had almost reached the surface when two other bodies broke through.

I grabbed onto Edward to try to stop his descent, watching as his eyes flew open in almost panic before recognizing what, or rather, who had a hold of him. We both swam for the surface after I caught sight of Jake heading that way himself.

We broke the surface, taking in a deep gulp of air. Laughter bubbled forth from me while distressed sounds came from him. After Jake surfaced, we collectively swam to shore. When I said something about doing it again, shouts of 'NO!' and 'Fuck that!' came from either side.

The next time consciousness pulled at me, there was much confusion to be had in my muddled brain. My eyelids felt heavy and I could barely lift my head. There were soft sheets and it was rather cool. I didn't understand. Had something happened? Was I in the hospital again?

The darkness was tempting but I didn't want to give in. Something was direly wrong and I needed to figure out what it was. Fighting hard, I managed to open both eyes. Taking in a warm colored room done in tones of chocolates and reds I knew I wasn't in a hospital but a house.

The temperature of my skin came to my attention next. I was burned, badly, which was probably the reason I was on my stomach. An alarming thing came to light when I went to move some hair from my face. My hands were bound to the bed. I had a little leeway, but not much. In my left hand was an IV.

Things started coming back quickly and I screamed from the instant replay my mind gave me of the past however long it'd been since I'd been abducted. I was in some strange man's house who thought he had ownership of me as if I were a table or chair.

I screamed and screamed and tugged against my bonds despite the sharp pain of my fried skin. A few moments later, I heard footsteps coming my way and the door opened to reveal the blonde haired devil himself in nothing more than a pair of silver silk pajama pants. He picked up something on the way over and the next thing I knew I was tasting cotton from the handkerchief he'd shoved in my mouth to gag me.

"There. That's better." He grumbled as he flopped down in the seat set up next to my bed. I felt him gathering my hair in his hands and tensed at the ideas of what he could be doing. Remaining frozen, I became confused as he put it into a simple twist on the back of my head and secured it with a couple of what I assumed were bobby pins. Then there was the snap of something opening and all of a sudden I felt something ice cold on my back. I squawked against the gag, earning me a sharp slap to my behind and a sharp reprimand of "Hush!"

I silenced myself quickly. I knew I wasn't really in a position to do what I did when I first came into his office, but that knowledge kind of left when his first words to me were 'kneel'. Now I was a little more aware of the position I was in. Naked and covered only by a sheet from the middle of my back down with my hands bound. If I pissed him off, he could do any number of things. I willed my mind not to go down a particular path in order to keep myself from becoming sick.

I remained still as stone as he spread cooling gel across my cooked skin. Admittedly, it was comforting to know he wasn't totally cruel. He could just leave me here to suffer. On the other hand though, there was no telling how much he paid for me. I knew it was no small amount, seeing as the Mob was involved.

The lid snapped back shut when he was done applying whatever it was to me. The sounds of the chair squeaking alerted me to the fact he'd sat back down. I twisted my head where I could peek over my shoulder at him.

He was sitting cross legged with one arm propped on the chair arm, his chin resting on his fist. His other arm rested across his lap as he silently watched me. After he got his thoughts in order, he finally spoke.

"I know you're not just going to up and quit fighting me, but I have a feeling you're not going to try to run away again like that. Look at what happened to you. Third degree sunburns and sun poisoning, not to mention severe dehydration... You will be punished for this, but not until after you heal. After you're back to perfect health, you'll have to earn your bed again as well as other privileges."

Earn my bed again? What was that all about? It made me wonder where he planned on me sleeping. On the couch, at the foot of his bed, or worse yet in his bed with him? I was terrified to find out what he had planned for me. All I knew was that I was stuck. For now at least. He was definitely right on one aspect though, I wasn't ever going to give up. I would get my life back.

I was brought back into the present as he untied my wrists and gently rubbed them, easing out the ache that I hadn't realized was there. I flinched from the contact of his skin to my burn, though it did make my hands feel less tingly. Carefully, he took the IV out shortly after and bandaged it up. He took another slow look at me as I lay there, sprawled out with nothing more than a sheet covering me, before turning and motioning to follow with the crook of his finger. Clutching the sheet, I pulled it around me as I rose from the bed tentatively and followed him. He took me throughout the long hallway and up a set of stairs. He paused at the door before opening it. He only opened it so far, keeping a hold of the handle as he waited for me.

I made to enter the room, but he grabbed my hip and kept me in place by him. It was large and done in a cool color scheme of blues and creams with chocolate accents. A big queen sized canopy bed was to the left of the room next to a huge round window that looked like it had the ability to open like a door. Beside the window was a large highboy and across from the bed was a heavy looking dresser with an enormous mirror. All the pieces matched and were elegantly embossed and engraved with scroll patterns and flowers.

On the other side of the room, closest to us was a sitting area with two chocolate microfiber loveseats facing each other and a small glass and wrought iron coffee table between them. They were situated in a nook with a small fireplace. It was just big enough for everything to fit comfortably.

I could tell he was watching me as I looked around.

"This was supposed to be your room." He said quietly, one hand still on the knob while the other was in his pocket.

"Supposed to be? But why? Why put someone who's supposed to be a slave in a room as nice as this?" I didn't understand at all.

"Because. You are valuable. I spent almost two million dollars for you. People do generally take good care of their valuable possessions. You are no exception to that rule. Not to say you won't be punished harshly when you need it because you will. You won't return to this room until you've earned it again." His voice was firm with finality, but I had noticed a recurring pattern by this point. Even when he was angry beyond all belief, he never yelled. Never raised his voice above the level you needed to hear him.

He turned me and motioned for me to go back down the steps. I heard the tinkling of keys and turned back in time to see him pull a skeleton key out of the door before putting them back in his pocket. So, it was more than just a room. It was more or less a guilded cage to lock me in when he wanted. I waited for him at the bottom and watched as he descended quickly and easily. I wished I could do things like that. Especially in this sheet. Had I tried more than doing just one step at a time as I gripped the rail for dear life I know I'd have ended in a pathetic heap at the bottom.

He put one hand on the small of my back and led me back to his office. I hope he didn't expect me to kneel again. I was still planning on refusing. He opened and closed the door behind me tightly before motioning to a chair pulled up close to the front of his desk. It was covered in manila folders, papers, and pictures. Dread curled around in my stomach and I felt like I was going to be nauseated just at the thought of what all that was. My instinct was telling me that whatever was in those folders and scattered around the desk would be just a drop in the bucket to what this man in front of me was capable of.

"Sit. Down." He said quietly from his own chair. I hadn't even noticed what he'd been doing.

Quietly I moved over and slowly sat in the chair, letting my eyes roam across the pictures on top. Me. They were all of me. One was of me exiting my apartment to go running, bag in hand for after I hit the gym for my toning routine. Another was of me actually running through the park, water bottle in hand , ear buds in my ears, hair up in a ponytail.

There were at least 50 of different sizes and shapes just of me going through my day. Leaving work, getting out of my truck, coming out of various stores and even pictures of me through my windows as I worked on a paper on my computer or as I watched the news.

He swept them into a pile and began to systematically stack each set of manila folders. He took the largest one and opened it up with it tilted towards him. My mouth dropped open when he started pulling papers out and placing them in front of me. There in a row was my birth certificate, social security card, my passport, and my fingerprint cards my dad had had done when I was a baby and every 5 years after until I was 20. They weren't copies either, they were all the authentic versions.

That meant someone had gotten into the Forks Police department. Not only that, but someone had gotten into my father's house! Charlie only kept the current card at the station. He had the others as backup at his house in case anything happened to the one on file. The thought of any of them coming that close to my father, snooping around in his personal space made me queasy. Jasper collected everything neatly before he fanned out some other papers. Upon closer inspection, they were my medical history, all original versions as well.

When I'd had enough time to look at them, he collected them and stuck them back into my file with the other items. Then he started laying out manila folders, the top of each laying on the bottom of the one before it. I looked down the row of tabs, reading off names of my family, friends and acquaintances. I picked up one at random and opened it up. I was met with the sight of an eight by ten picture of Jacob Black, working under the hood of his VW Rabbit in a pair of sweats and a white tank. He and his clothes were stained with grease spots here and there as he toyed with the socket wrench in his hands. I could tell from the look on his face he was working out what he needed or what may or may not be the problem.

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. I saw, rather than felt the folder slip from my hands and go tumbling to the floor in slow motion, the papers and pictures scattering everywhere. My eyes spied bits and clips of information from random papers that were flipped up and exposed. I felt like I had just ran a marathon and couldn't catch my breath. I started gasping for air and tried to stand. Where I was going, I didn't know, but I had to get out of the room.

A pair of large, strong hands took my by the waist and guided me to sit against the wall. My knees came up and I was lightly pushed to have my head between my knees. If he was talking I didn't hear any of it. All I heard was a combination of dull roaring and ringing in my ears.

After a few moments of sitting like this, out of sight of the papers with the coolness of the wood on my back and bottom through the sheet, I began to catch my breath. When the roaring and ringing faded, I heard his voice beside me, quietly commanding me to breathe in and breathe out. When I was breathing more regularly, he quieted again.

I leaned back and let my head fall backwards with a thud against the hard wood paneling. In my peripheral vision I could see him watching me silently, still as a statue. I clutched the sheet tightly to my chest and whispered out a choked "Why me?"

"All in due time." He said quietly before taking my hand and pulling me back to my feet. "Stay." He said before going back over to clean up his desk area of all the folders and papers. It was a command I didn't mind because I don't think I could quite look at any of it yet without nearly passing out again. He came back over to me once everything was put away and took me by my wrist, pulling me around his desk.

When we got behind it, he grabbed my sheet and ripped it out of my hands. I made to grab for it in my panic of being exposed but all he did was turn his back to me and fold it quickly before sitting on it. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and squeezed my thighs together, trying to melt in on myself. If my skin hadn't been so burnt, he'd have been able to see how far my blush spread.

"If I desire to look at you, I will look at you. If I want you to bathe with me, you will. If I want you to sleep in my bed, you shall do that as well. However, I won't take your virginity against your will. You will give that to me all on your own. I promise you that." He had that knowing look in his eye again.

"Now come here." I shook my head wildly, not wanting to uncover myself.

Getting out of his chair, he stalked over and got me by the arm, despite my cry of pain. "If I tell you to come here, you'd do best to learn to obey me and do it without hesitation." He hissed as he drug me over to his chair. My traitorous tears born of anger, pain and humiliation rolled down my face, mixing with my sobs as he forced me onto my knees directly in front of his chair before sitting back down.

I heard a little click before hearing a drawer sliding open. I looked up and gasped at what I saw. In his fingers was a pale pink collar that was about an inch wide with a small ring on the front and a bell. It was something you would put on your cat and with the bell on the front you would be able to hear it coming. I glanced towards his desk and saw a tiny silver lock. Hell no. I wasn't doing this willingly, I turned to scramble away from him but only made it about five feet crawling away before his weight shoved me to my belly on the floor.

I kicked, jerked, bucked, clawed and screamed as I tried my damnedest to get away from him. He planted himself on my lower back and pinned my legs to the ground with his own. He was so much bigger than me, and heavy as well. My skin was hurting so badly from my thrashing around, but I wasn't going to stop fighting. Not now. Not ever. He got tired of waiting for me to wear myself out or quit after a few minutes and grabbed my hair, shoving my face against the oriental rug in front of his desk.

It soaked up my tears as I felt the soft, supple leather being threaded between my neck and the floor. The buckle was cold and my level of panic rose as it began to tighten. Hyperventilation was almost immanent when I felt the spoke going through the hole and felt him finish fastening it after he made sure it was a safe amount of tightness. My eyes fell closed at the click of the lock. I wouldn't be able to tamper with it, short of cutting it off somehow. It was a combination and key lock.

When I realized it wasn't too tight, I silently sighed in both relief and resignation. I'd just have to deal with it for now I supposed. It wasn't until his gruff voice commanded me to get up that I realized he still had a hold on my hair. He rose and when I realized my hair was staying in his fist, I rose with him. Leading me over to an arm chair, he slowly sat down and guided me over his lap. What the hell was he doing now?

I got the gist of the idea when he finally let my mane go and jerked me to where I was laying on my belly across his legs. Before I could move out of my shocked state however, he'd already taken a belt, wrapped it around my knees and fastened it tightly. The bell on my collar jingled with every move I made, igniting a fiery hate for it immediately.

"This will be but one of your punishments for running away from me. All punishments include a spanking, but that doesn't mean I limit it to just that. In due time, you'll be trained to come to me when I command and take your punishments with grace."

I didn't believe that for a second. Did he just forget the past 10 minutes where he had to rip my sheet away, force me to kneel in front of him, then pin me to the floor to put this God awful collar on me?

He took the back loop of the collar that you would normally attach a leash to and hooked one of his fingers through it to make his hold on my neck more firm.

"Today I'm just going to use my hand, next time, you'll get the belt. Do you understand?"

I grit my teeth together in silence, eliciting a growl from him.

"I asked, Do. You. Understand?" He accentuated each word of the question with a sharp smack. I yelped and jerked against him, but with my legs bound and his hand around my neck I couldn't hardly move at all.

"Yes! I understand!" I got out, feeling the spots on my ass heating up from where he'd struck.

"We'll work on how you'll address me and respond later. This time I'll let it slide." He said quietly.

My body was tense and ridged and for a moment, it was completely quiet. I could tell he was watching me to see if I would try to fight him or get up. I didn't desire to risk breaking my neck or possibly breaking anything by trying to squirm away.

Then it started. The office was filled with loud, sharp smacks as he spanked my behind and upper thighs. I would squeak or whimper at first, but as he continued on, my cries and pleas started getting louder the more it burned and stung. I swear, he had to have given me at least fifty or so strokes before he stopped and loosened the belt. After letting go of my neck, he helped me to stand back up. I felt so humiliated, being drug naked across his lap and having my ass busted like I was but a mere child he was correcting instead of the twenty three year old woman I was. Not to mention the whole ordeal with the collar.

"I sincerely hope you don't end up here often, but if I have any indication so far, I have a feeling you'll be across my lap quite often. I have no qualms punishing you when it's called for. You've done almost nothing but defy me, disrespect me and on top of it all, you ran away and damaged yourself. That is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Normally when a slave runs away, they usually end up being tracked down and killed, but I'm not prone to blowing money like that."

Retrieving the sheet, he wrapped it back around me and led me back to the room I was in prior. He guided me to the bed where he had me lay back down on my stomach and for a moment I was afraid her was going to strap my arms back down rendering me practically immobile. Instead he silently fixed my hair and applied more of the soothing cream to my burns before telling me to go back to sleep. He sat there as I curled around my pillow and balled myself up as much as I could, doing my best to ignore his presence. The promise that he wouldn't rape me made me a lot more relieved, but not totally.

Being emotionally and physically drained, I sunk into a dreamless slumber, dreading what the next days would bring me.

A/N: Whoever leaves a review, gets a sneak peek at the next chapter. :)