Mine Alone

Finally home. After a long, exhausting company trip, you’re finally standing in front of your apartment’s door. Your bag feels heavier than it should, meetings, bad coffee, sleepless hotel nights all pressing down on you.

You were happy the week was over, but you couldn’t help but feel something heavy on your chest. You pause outside, the key feels cold in your hand. Even after years here, your chest still tightens before the lock turns. 

Home sweet home, that’s what it should be. But Asa was waiting inside, and she had been alone for days. You know what that meant. Her perfume already seeps beneath the door, faint and sweet. 

Her messages had swung wildly: hearts and kisses one moment, and wild outbursts the next. Where are you? Are you alone? Why didn’t you call me? Are you ignoring me? 

You didn’t sleep much, but she probably slept even less. There was no reason for her to be texting you at 2 a.m. to check if you weren’t in a club, especially after she set up that GPS thing with your phone. 

You adjust your bag on your shoulder. One deep breath. You know she’s been waiting, watching the clock, pacing the room, maybe rehearsing what she’ll say. Inhale. Exhale. You slowly align the key with the lock, bracing yourself. Asa never just welcomes you back. She claims you back.

The lock clicks, and you push the door open.

For half a breath, silence. Then Asa crashes into you.

“Darling!” she exclaims, her lips brushing your ear as she throws herself against you. “You’re finally here!”

You stumble at her sudden contact, catching the doorframe to keep from falling. Her body immediately molds to yours as she tightly holds your neck. You feel the air being pushed away from you by her clutch.

“Hi, Asa,” you manage, forcing a smile. She looks happy, so far. “I’m home. I missed you.”

“I missed you more!” she insists, pressing her lips along your jaw. “I waited so so so so long! It felt like an eternity,” she says. Her fingers curl against the fabric of your suit. “The house never felt emptier without you.”

“I can imagine,” you laugh nervously. “You texted me every ten minutes. I could barely work.”

“Good,” she coos. “I like to remind you where you belong.”

Her expression is quick to change; her eyes dim, and her smile turns into a sensual smirk. Asa drags her nails down your chest, slowly, scratching your silky jacket. Her eyes never leave yours. 

“Tell me… did anyone else try to talk to you?”

Your throat tightens. “Asa, no. I was working. Just meetings and hotel room. That’s all.”

You try to keep eye contact, but you have to admit—she’s intimidating. You know looking away only makes you look more suspect, but you can’t help it.

“Hotel room, huh?” she repeats softly. “So private. So quiet. Unless…” She tilts her head. “…unless you weren’t alone.”

“I was,” you whisper, almost pleading. “Just me.”

Her fingers trail lower, stopping at your belt. “Just you? Not even a pretty receptionist? A client leaning a little too close? A waitress slipping you her number?”

You quickly shake your head. “No. I swear, Asa, nothing like that happened.”

Her hand pays a visit to your arm, circling around your tricep. Asa inches closer to your neck, softly sniffing your collar. Your mind starts to play tricks on you. Maybe it did happen. Maybe someone did talk to you, and you looked too happy to talk to them. 

What if she didn’t believe you? Then what?

“Nothing? Not a single woman dared to fix your suit?” she murmurs, her fingers now coming back to your tie. Two fingers near your collar, the other hand down at the tip, and slowly, you can feel it tighten around your neck. “Did anyone touch this beautiful tie? That I picked for you? Mh?”

“No. No one,” you can simply say, hoping for the best.

Asa hums and pouts, still unconvinced. “Mmh. You’re too handsome to go unnoticed. Don’t lie to me, darling.”

Her eyes narrow, her lips ghosting over your throat. “I’ll know if you do.” Her breath itches your skin, and you feel chills going down your spine.

“I’m not lying,” you say with a trembling voice. “I only thought about you.”

“Did you?” she whispers. Her fingers grip the back of your neck, turning your head so you’re forced to meet her gaze. “Tell me. Did you think about me before you went to sleep? When you woke up? When you were eating?”

“Yes,” you breathe, because the only answer is yes. “Every day.”

Asa smiles. “Good. Because I could barely sleep. I imagined you… imagined what you were doing. Who you were with.” Her nails follow her sharp words, leaving deep marks in your skin. “Do you know what that does to me?”

That’s when you start thinking to yourself: why were you still with her?

“I—no. Tell me.”

Her laugh is low, dangerous. “It makes me mad. Mad enough to tear apart any woman who so much as looks at you. Mad enough to mark you so everyone finally knows they can’t touch you.”

“Asa, there’s no need for that…” You swallow hard. “There’s no one else. I belong to you.”

She hums with satisfaction, pressing a kiss to your lips. When she pulls back, she bites down gently on your lower lip before letting go. “Say it again.”

You obey instantly. “I belong to you.”

“Again.”

“I belong to you, Asa.”

Her smile widens. “That’s better. That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Her hand finally leaves your neck. Deep grooves remain on your skin and you can feel them sting. Asa tenderly strokes your cheek. Her eyes show remorse. She didn’t want to do this. She doesn’t like hurting you but sometimes it’s necessary: she has to remind you what happens if you don’t listen to her.

It was a sacrifice she was willing to make if it meant you’d learn. 

It doesn’t last long as her tone sharpens again. “But if I ever find out you let another woman touch you,” her hand slides down to your throat, her fingers tightening enough just to make you tense. “...I’ll kill you. You understand that, right?”

“Yes,” you whisper. “I do. I understand.”

“Say it.”

“I’ll never talk to any other woman than you,” you say quickly.

Her grip eases and she leans in to kiss your throat, right where your blood was flowing. “That’s my darling,” she hums into you. Her touch becomes gentle and she softens against you, curling into your chest. “Promise me again. Promise me I’m the only one.”

You hold her, though your hands are still trembling. “You’re the only one. Always.”

Asa sighs deeply with satisfaction. “Good, good.” Then she tilts her head, her lips brushing your ear. “But I’m still checking your suitcase,” she giggles.