by Bella J.
With a sweep of my finger, I brushed her hair back to reveal her mutilated ear. For a moment, I stared at her skin, thinking about what lay hidden underneath. It was time to take care of that.
I took a step back. “Come shower with me, then you need to get some rest. Tomorrow, it begins.”
“What begins tomorrow?”
I placed my thumb on her bottom lip, excitement crackling through my spine. “Your journey toward being able to do what you’ve been born to do. Rule.”
All these weeks of preparation, manipulating her to break out of her shell, and finally it was time for us to put this plan in motion. My Doe was ready. She was ready to become the queen I knew she was meant to be. After all this was done, she would be the one standing on the ashes of those who destroyed the ten-year-old Alessia.
After our shower and getting into bed, Doe fell asleep within minutes. I, however, was unable to close my eyes. All I thought about was her, the woman sleeping so peacefully in my arms. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure she was as strong as she needed to be. Somewhere between finding her at Boston Harbor that night and falling in love with her, I stopped being the selfish bastard I had always been. Even though I would have loved nothing more than to be the one who would skin Vadik alive, little by little, until he eventually screamed himself to death, the revenge was hers to take. Not mine.
The next morning, I stood beside the bed staring down at the angel half covered with the black silk sheets. Her beautifully flawless skin enticed the fuck out of me. The dark curls splayed over the pillows begged to be fisted, pulled, and yanked while her body accepted the brutal pleasure my cock fucked into her. But unfortunately, my barbaric fuckery had to wait…for now.
“Doe.” I sat beside her, tracing my knuckles down the side of her face. “Wake up.”
She stirred, the most beautiful sounds coming from her lips.
“Wake up. There’s much to do today.”
Dark lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. She smiled while her sleepy gaze swept over me. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a t-shirt and tracksuit pants.”
“Come on.” I grabbed her arm and hoisted her up and out of bed. “Get dressed. And even though I love the little dresses you wear, I picked out something a little more comfortable for what we’re about to do today.”
She eyed the black tracksuit pants and pink shirt I laid out on the bed for her. “What are we going to do?”
“You’ll see.”
Doe wasn’t like other women. She took less than ten minutes to get ready. Obviously, it was expected that a woman like her, who had lacked the necessary resources for the everyday grooming routine of a normal female, to not care about make-up and all the superficial crap that went with it. Of course, Karina had supplied everything Doe would ever need—and more—in order to pamper and paint herself into one of those artificial porcelain dolls. But Doe had yet to use it. It didn’t seem like something she cared for, and I liked that. I liked the fact that she didn’t have the need to hide behind a shitload of layers.
After breakfast, we walked outside, the yellow Renegade quad bike ready and waiting for us. Doe frowned when she glanced from the bike to me, confusion causing creases on her forehead.
I smiled then shrugged. “This is one huge-ass estate, and these babies are the best mode of transportation to get around.”
I knew she’d be nervous, so I grabbed her hand and led the way. Like the good girl she was, she let me guide her as she climbed on behind me. “Don’t let go,” I said over my shoulder.
She tightened her hold around my waist. “I don’t think I can even if I wanted to.”
The second I started the bike, she tightened her grip. It only took a few seconds of feeling the morning air against her skin and the wind blowing through her hair for her to relax. I wasn’t even halfway to the other side of the estate before she loosened her hold around me a little.
“This is amazing,” she shouted over the noise of the engine.
I smiled, making a mental note that once all this shit with Vadik was over, I was going to get her her own damn quad. His and hers. Good God, I was turning into a pussy-whipped dork.
We pulled up to the barn house, and Doe stared at the building as she stepped off the bike. “I didn’t even know this was here.”
“How could you? It’s hidden pretty well. No one besides the family knows it’s even here.”
She looked at me. “Why is it so well hidden?”
“You’ll see.”
I could sense she was nervous. And why wouldn’t she be? I was giving her nothing, not even the simplest hint of what we were about to do.
“Don’t be nervous,” I said as I unlocked the door and guided her inside.
“I’m not nervous.”
I cocked a brow. “Liar.”
Inside, it seemed like a simple barn house. Leather couches, a long dining table in the middle of the open-plan building, and of course, a bar. But the real story behind the supposed barn house? This was where we gathered with all our associates and allies, discussing business away from the main house where too many ears roamed the halls. This was the place where the most important decisions were made. The place where we didn’t have to hide our true colors.
I glanced at the seat at the head of the table. We hadn’t used the barn house since Dad died. It just didn’t feel right, and I wasn’t ready to sit in his seat, taking his place.
Suddenly, I missed my brother. I missed Dante being by my side, but I knew the best place for him right now was with his family. Again, it seemed like the selfish asshole in me decided to take a back seat.
“Why are we here, Antonio?”
Doe’s voice pulled me back, forcing me to shake the feeling of nostalgia as I took in the oaky scent of the building.
I turned to face her. “We’re here so you can learn.”
Nervously, she took her hair in her hand and pulled it down her left shoulder. “What am I going to learn?”
My gaze remained fixed on her, my face stone. “You’re going to learn how to kill.”
Chapter 8
Doe
Learn how to kill? I wasn’t a killer. Not even during my years as an imprisoned slave had I ever attempted to kill anyone. It just wasn’t something I thought I had in me. Taking someone’s life. Ending their existence in this world. Being the one to send their soul to heaven or hell. I’d witnessed countless killings and murders. I’d seen blood drain from people who had taken their last breath, but I never thought I’d be able to be the one to deal the deathblow.
Antonio stared down at me. “Don’t look so worried. This is something you need to do.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
“I told you. If anyone is going to kill Vadik, it’s you. After everything he’s put you through, you deserve to be the one to end it all.”
“I don’t want to. I can’t kill.”
“Remember the night at the beach? You said you trusted me.”
“And I do. But I’m not a killer.” My heart started to pound like a jackhammer against my ribs.
Antonio took my hand and guided me through the house. That was when I saw two suitcases standing by one of the couches. “Is there somebody else here?”
He paused then noticed what I was staring at. “No. That’s ours.”
“We’re staying here?”
“A few days.”
“A few days? I think it’s going to take a lot more than a few days to teach me how to kill someone.”
Abruptly, he pulled me closer, my body slamming against his chest. I instantly lost my breath, his power and dominion over me reflecting in his eyes. “Are you doubting me?”
I didn’t like the tone of his voice. “No. No, I’m not—”
“Yes, you are. You’re doubting me. You’re doubting the fact that I know what’s best for you.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I’m doing, Antonio. I’m just saying—”
“I see you, Doe. I se
e the real you. I see the hunger for revenge in your eyes every fucking time we mention that motherfucker’s name. I see the way your face turns to stone, how darkness falls over you. It’s all there, Doe.” He grips my wrists, turning the insides of my arms up. “It’s in your fucking blood. Can you not feel it pulsing through your veins every goddamn time I tell you about the men I’ve killed, men who hurt you, men who played a part in ruining your fucking life?”
My throat went dry, my tongue flicking over my lips. “Antonio—”
He twisted my arm behind my back and forced me to turn around, pulling me against his chest, his grip tightening around my wrist.
A rush of air escaped my lungs when I felt the roughness of his five o’clock shadow brush against the skin of my neck.
“I killed those men, Doe. I slaughtered them while I forced them to say your name over and over and over again. I made grown men piss themselves while they had the image of your face in their heads.” His head dipped down, warm, wet lips brushing against my flesh. “Think about it, Doe. They made their descent to hell thinking about nothing else but you…and pain.”
I closed my eyes, my heart racing, my spine tingling as adrenaline and excitement moved through my body. It spread like liquid through my insides, and I felt nothing but pure satisfaction while I pictured those men dying. Slowly. Painfully. No mercy.
“You see, Doe?” His hand slipped inside my pants, and I whimpered when his fingers touched my sensitive flesh. “It’s there. It’s inside you. Your wet pussy is proof of that. All you need to do is embrace it. Don’t fear it. Don’t turn away from it. Accept it.” My legs trembled when he forced a finger inside me, my body weeping with the need to be filled. “Don’t. Fight. It.”
A few more strokes of his fingers, and I came hard and fast. The orgasm that tore through me came out of nowhere, and if he hadn’t kept me upright, I would have ended up on the floor in a giant puddle of pleasure.
“I’ll make a queen of you yet,” he whispered, placing a soft kiss at the nape of my neck.
My heart was still racing, my mind still stuck in a haze of euphoria when he let go of my arm and took a step back.
I turned to face him, and judging by the heat on my cheeks, I was certain my face was a very unflattering shade of red.
Dark, cold eyes stared back at me. “Never doubt me. Ever.”
It wasn’t Antonio talking this time, but my master.
“I won’t,” I replied softly, my cheeks still burning.
“Good.” With one hand, he pulled the black shirt over his head, showing off the hard, taut muscles roped across his stomach. I often wondered why a man like him would prefer to be with a woman like me. Antonio was the epitome of perfection, one of God’s masterpieces. Smooth skin, broad shoulder, strong arms, toned abs. It never did make sense why a man of his caliber had any interest in used and damaged goods. That was what I was—used and damaged.
“Come. There’s lots to do.”
He turned and walked to the back without even checking whether I was following. Probably because he knew it was in my nature to obey. No matter how much he encouraged me to start thinking for myself and to do my own thing, my brain just wasn’t wired that way.
I followed him to the back of the house and down a set of stairs to what I assumed was a basement. He flicked on the lights as we continued down, and when we reached the very bottom, he pulled a switch which lit the entire open space.
I turned from one side to the other, taking it in. White walls, concrete floors, and four lanes separated by what seemed like glass dividers, stretching from where we stood all the way down to the end of the basement.
My lips parted. “What is this?”
He stepped in next to me, and in his palm was a gun.
“You first training,” he started then held the gun out to me, “I’m going to teach you not only how to shoot a gun, but to aim and not fucking miss.”
I swallowed hard. I’d never held a gun before, let alone pulled a damn trigger. “I can’t.”
His eyes darkened. “I haven’t hurt you since the night I hung you from my four-poster bed.” He took a step closer, his tall frame towering over me, intimidating me…scaring me. “Do not force me to hurt you again, because if hurting you is what it takes to make you realize what you’re capable of…I’ll do it.”
From the look in his eye and the way his jaw ticked, I knew he wasn’t bluffing. The man in front of me now, holding the gun, was not Antonio. He was my master. And he was demanding my submission.
My hands were shaking as I slowly reached for the weapon. The second my fingers touched the cold metal, my gaze shot up to his, and the corners of his mouth turned into a wicked grin.
I took the gun and wrapped my fingers around it. Oddly, it didn’t feel uncomfortable holding the weapon in my hand.
Antonio’s mouth curved slightly before he reached for a pair of black earmuffs and placed them over my head, but leaving one ear only half covered. He did the same with his protective earmuffs.
“Now,” he pulled me close, my back against his as he folded his hand over mine holding the gun, “wrap your fingers around the gun and place your finger gently on the trigger.” He spoke near my ear, and I held my breath, his hand firmly placed around mine. He wrapped his other hand around my waist and pulled my back flush against his hard body. I gasped, his scent of wild spice filling my nostrils, igniting a flame deep inside my core.
“Hold it up.”
I was merely a puppet, Antonio lifting my hand and straightening my arm in front of me as his fingers slipped from my hand to my elbow.
Soft lips brushed against the side of my ear. “How does it feel?”
“It’s not as heavy as I thought it would be.”
“I’m not talking about the gun, Doe.” The arm he had around my waist slipped downward, his hand softly moving down my hips. “How does it feel to hold a weapon in the palm of your hand, knowing that all it takes is one flick of a finger for you to pull that trigger?”
“It feels…empowering.”
He moved behind me, and I felt how hard he was. I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin while I clutched the gun in my hand. “You see the target over there?”
I nodded while keeping my eyes on the board with the black circles.
“Think about it. Pretend the target is him. Think about his face.” A hand dipped between my legs, and my eyes fell closed just for a second. “Imagine it’s Vadik standing there, staring at you, taunting you.” His voice dipped low, soft. Mesmerizing. “Imagine that the only thing standing between him and hell is that tiny trigger against your finger.”
I saw his face. I saw the crystal blue of his irises. It was so deceiving, the light color of his eyes. They seemed so innocent, so tame, but I knew what evil hid behind the blue shades of deception. I wore the scars of his evil on my body. The beatings. Countless rapes, night after night. The humiliation. I felt it. It started to flood back, and I now held the gun in both hands, aiming at the target. Him. The devil.
I felt Antonio’s hand behind my back, and then the tip of his cock prodding against my ass through the thin fabric of the sweatpants I wore.
“Do you see him?
I clutched the gun tighter. “Yes.”
Antonio’s hand moved as he rubbed his cock behind me. “What are you feeling right now?”
My tongue darted out, licking my dry lips. My stomach tightened, my insides fighting for a way out. “Hate. Rage. Fear.”
His hand gripped my hip. “Fuck fear. You’re the one with the upper hand here. You’re the one holding the gun. There’s nothing to fear. In fact, he’s the one who’s fearing you right now.”
The thought sent a rush of adrenaline up my spine. The thought of the roles being reversed. The thought of Master V…Vadik fearing me. It felt good. It made me feel strong, galvanized, and roused. Suddenly, I was thinking about how many holes I wanted to shoot through his vile body. A body I felt against mine too many times. A body that desec
rated my own.
Antonio slipped his hand down my pants, pulling it down just enough to expose my ass. I shuddered when I felt the skin of his cock against my flesh. It was too much. Too many emotions running through me at once.
Rage. Fury. Hate. Lust.
He pushed his cock between my ass cheeks. “Fuck fear. Think of the hate. Think of the rage. Think about the motherfucking pain this bastard caused you.” His one hand came up, shifting the earmuffs to cover my ear completely.
I bit my bottom lip, anger rising from my lungs, filling my chest while my body was electrified with lust, anticipation…need.
“Do you see him, Doe? Do you see Vadik? His ugly motherfucking face?” I could still hear him as he raised his voice—hard and demanding. He dragged his fingers down my spine, and I could feel him playing with his cock against my ass. “Pull the trigger, Doe.”
I tightened my hold around the gun.
“Pull the trigger.”
My finger squeezed, his cock moving between my thighs.
“Pull. The. Trigger.” Louder and louder he started to spit out his words.
His teeth grazed the skin of my shoulder, and I narrowed my eyes.
“Pull the motherfucking trigger!”
I squeezed…hard, the force of the bullet leaving the muzzle pushing my arms back, the hard thunder of the shot resonating around us. I pulled the trigger.
The bullet casing plinked on the cement floor, but the echo of the gunshot hadn’t even faded completely when Antonio abruptly grabbed my hair, swung me around, and pushed me against the wall behind us. I was only able to suck in a single breath before he slammed his cock into me, my cheek planted against the cold concrete. His big frame towered over me, his broad shoulders boxing me in between his hard body and the wall.
“Jesus Christ, Doe.” He grabbed my wrists, one hand still holding the gun, and pinned them against the wall on both sides of my face I heard the safety of the gun click before he dragged his nose up my neck. “You almost made me come when you pulled that motherfucking trigger.”
It felt so fucking good feeling him inside me, stretching my pussy so my body could accommodate him. I pushed my ass out, wanting more of him, deeper.
