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be a huge fight
and Pierce might “punish” her. He believed it was a husband’s right to have sex
whenever and wherever he wanted it and it was the wife’s duty to provide it.
The same way Tess provided his meals exactly on time every day, cleaned the
house to his specifications, and did his laundry just the way he liked it.
Pierce was king of the castle in every way and he always claimed she was his
princess.
    So why did she feel more like his
prisoner?
    “Come on, Princess,” he muttered in her
ear.
    There was really no choice.
    “I’m so glad you like it,” she said,
hoping her smile didn’t look forced. “Come on, let’s go in the bedroom.”
    After ten minutes of staring at the
ceiling, he was finally finished. Tess breathed a sigh of relief when he rolled
off, satisfied. She had to be careful not to react no matter what he did. If
she seemed like she was enjoying it—not that she was—but if she even looked like she was getting pleasure
from what he was doing, Pierce got really upset. Apparently, even though a wife
was supposed to provide sex on a daily basis, only “sluts” and “whores”
actually enjoyed it. In the early days of their marriage that had been hard for
her to understand but after being “punished” if she moaned involuntarily or
even moved her hips in time with his rhythm, she had learned to put up a wall
between herself and any sexual feelings she might have. It was easier that
way…safer.
    “Well, that was nice,” she said carefully,
sitting up and smoothing her dress, which was somewhat wrinkled from the
encounter.
    “Yeah, it was.” Pierce gave her a lazy
grin. “Really worked up an appetite, there. How about you go in the kitchen and
make me a sandwich, Princess?”
    “A sandwich?” Tess felt her heart sinking.
“But…what about our dinner reservation? If we hurry we can still make it.”
    Pierce raised an eyebrow. “You really want to go out tonight, huh?”
    “Well…” Tess twisted her fingers together.
She hated begging but there was no other way. “We haven’t been out in a long
time,” she pointed out. “And it is our
anniversary…”
    “Plus I’m sure you want to show off your
body to the guy you bought that dress for,” Pierce said conversationally.
    “What?” A red warning flag suddenly went
up for Tess. Trouble coming! But she
tried to stay calm and defuse the situation. “I bought it for you ,” she said, trying to smile. “Just
for you, honey.”
    Pierce sat up suddenly, his big body tense
with anger.
    “Did you try it on for him right there in
the store?” he demanded. “Did you let him fuck you in it? The way I fucked you
in it, Princess?”
    “I would never—”
    Pierce slapped her hard across the face.
Her head rocked back with the force of the blow and her ears rang.
    “Oh!” Tess put a hand to her cheek, tears springing to her
eyes. Her face felt puffy and swollen. She licked her lips and tasted blood—her
bottom lip had split and was already swelling.
    “Now, look what you did.” Pierce shook his
head sorrowfully. “Why did you make me punish you on our anniversary, Princess?
Now your pretty face is all messed up and we can’t go out.”
    “I…but I…” The tears in Tess’s eyes now
were not just pain but rage. It wasn’t just the hurt he’d inflicted—it was the
disappointment. She hadn’t been out of the house except to work and for a
single weekly trip to the grocery store in months. Pierce had been building
their “special anniversary date” up to her for ages—telling her how good the
food was at the restaurant he’d picked, promising her the best bottle of wine
they had on their list.
    But it wasn’t just the food or wine Tess
wanted—she had dared to hope that they might get back to their old
relationship—the one they’d had back when they were dating.
    Back to the time when she felt more like a
princess than a prisoner.
    “Why do you do this?” she burst out,
before she considered how unwise it