Physically he hadn’t done anything I hadn’t dealt with numerous times in the past. It was the change in scenery. The chains that clanked with every movement I made. The threat of the unknown. Emotionally, he was tearing me apart. I’d never dealt with so many feelings before. He could be so soft, like the pat to the cheek. Then I’d remember the way he could so easily flip to the man that had no problem pulling me off a bed and sharing me with a roomful of strangers.
Yes, my whole world was changing and I had no say in it.
Since there were no windows, no light, no clocks, I had no way to measure how much time had passed before I heard footsteps on the stairs again. My stomach had been rumbling and I’d had to use the small bucket in the corner to relieve my bladder a couple of times since I’d last seen Matteo. I prayed he had food since my stomach was starting to burn and my lips stung with dryness from lack of food or water.
When Matteo flipped on the light, I sighed at the sight of a plate in one hand and a large plastic glass in the other.
I fell to my knees as I waited for him, hoping it’d please him.
“Miss me, bella?” he asked as he walked toward me.
“Yes, Matteo.” I answered honestly. I wanted out of the basement as fast as possible.
“I brought you some food and water. However, you must earn them. Your first lesson is that absolutely nothing is given for free. Nothing comes without a price. Never take anything for granted.” He set the food and cup down just out of my reach.
I’d tested how far I could move about the room during one of the bouts of boredom I’d dealt with. Before Matteo, I’d thought all I wanted was quiet, but I quickly learned that wasn’t true. There’d been absolutely no noise in the basement, leaving me completely alone with my thoughts.
He knelt in front of me and produced a black case I hadn’t noticed before on a sling from his shoulder.
I watched with rapt attention as he unzipped it and withdrew a clear glass tube. He withdrew a few other items as I watched, but I had no idea what any of them were.
“Lay on the bed, bella,” he said, holding up the glass wand-looking item.
“On my back or stomach, sir?” I wanted to be sure I got it right.
“Back. I want to watch your face,” he said after a moment of considering his response.
I climbed on and lay on my back, looking at my feet so I didn’t look at him when I wasn’t supposed to.
“This, dear bella, is called a Violet Wand. This is one of my favorite toys,” he said, dragging the tip of it over my nude body, making me shiver. Lifting it off me, he reached down and flicked a switch of some sort, causing the thing to blaze to life with a flickering purple glow through it.
My eyes widened, but I didn’t speak. It didn’t look so bad, not until he’d turned it on. The flashing of purple in it scared me.
“Just a taste,” he said before bringing the tip close to a nipple, but not touching. The purple energy arched between the glass and my skin.
I jumped at the shock, but it was manageable. Not as painful as I’d expected.
“Not too bad, right? Try a bit more,” he said, reaching down again before straightening and moving the wand close to my other nipple.
This time the energy shooting through me was more intense; a groan attempted to slip from my lips, but I managed to bite it back.
“Hmm. Yes, you can handle pain quite well,” he murmured to himself with a smile in his voice. Once again, he reached down, presumably to up the voltage. “We’ll see what you think of this.”
When he brought the tip close to the underside of my breast, the purple jumped to me again and I couldn’t hold back the cry of pain from the contact. My entire body tightened as pain strummed through me.
“Much better. Now, for your punishment. Since you seem to think it’s okay to agree to go out with Allegra without consulting me first, I think you should get ten seconds. What do you think?” he asked. But before I could answer or even formulate a response, he brought the wand down to the opposite breast.
I clenched my teeth and tried to count to ten in my head, but the sharp, unrelenting pain made it nearly impossible.
Finally the pain stopped, but he leaned down again, causing me to nearly cry out for him to stop.
“This is for all the pain and embarrassment you have caused me, because now I have to make excuses as to where you are while I train you,” Matteo said before lowering the wand to my inner thigh.
Instantly, I arched my back and cried out, long and ragged. He hadn’t given me a time limit for this one so I had no concept of how long it lasted; although it felt like hours, I knew it couldn’t have been.
Eventually, he released me from the pain. He set the wand down on the floor after turning it off.
I was gasping for breath, my entire body still vibrating from the pain and energy forced through it, when he climbed between my thighs. His cock entered me in a hard, harsh thrust. I wasn’t ready for him, and it felt like he was tearing me apart with the first few rocks of his hips. Then amazingly my body slickened and pleasure started to gather low in my stomach.
“Yes, come for me, bella,” Matteo breathed in my ear, his heavy weight over me. Still fully clothed, the fabric abraded my sensitive skin with each filling thrust.
When I didn’t follow his instruction, he growled low and slid a hand between our bodies until he found the nerve-filled bud that made me arch against him. It only took a few flicks against that bud before ecstasy burst through me, forcing me to clench down on his invading length.
He groaned low then stilled before fully collapsing on top of me, hindering my already erratic breathing.
Just when I thought I couldn’t take it any longer, he climbed off me. As I watched, he fixed his clothing and gathered his items into the case again.
He turned to head toward the door before stopping, and as if it were an afterthought, pushed the plate with the sandwich closer to me with the tip of his shoe, then scooted the cup along as well.
I licked my dry lips when water sloshed out over the rim of the cup at his roughness with it. The light flicked off and he was gone before I could even take my first swallow of the cool, cleansing liquid. I sat, shivering on the cold concrete, gobbling down everything he’d brought for me in case he returned and wanted to take it from me.
I needn’t have worried because he didn’t return, not for a long time. So long I was starting to wonder if he’d forgotten about me. My stomach hurt so much at times I thought I’d pass out from the pain. I was so thirsty I had even considered drinking my own urine, but I couldn’t sink to that level. Even the thought made me gag.
The pure silence was nearly maddening. No one to talk to, no one asking for assistance, no one needing anything from me. Nothing to help pass the time. It was just me. Not even footsteps or voices from overhead could be heard. The more time that passed, the more I begged for anything to listen to other than the sounds of my breathing, the whooshing of blood in my veins, the grumbling from my empty stomach.
When the door finally opened, I was so weak that I barely managed to get off my cot and onto my knees before Matteo walked across the room.
“I see your time down here is starting to get to you,” Matteo stated as he set down a bowl of soup and a small cup of water within in my reach. “Drink it slowly.”
“Yes, sir.” I picked up the water first, eager to quench the horrible thirst clawing at my mouth and throat. Following his directions, I only took a few small mouthfuls before setting it down. I did the same for the soup before also putting it aside and resuming my position in front of him without finishing either.
If he was going to leave me down there again for a long period of time, I wanted to savor the food and water for longer than I had the first time.
“Tell me, bella, why are you down here?” Matteo asked, crouching down in front of me as he hooked a finger under my chin.
My eyes met his and without hesitation I answered.
“Because I cou
ld not follow the directions my master gave me. Not just once but numerous times. I have been a bad slave that deserves punishment until Master deems me fit to be in his presence again. Until then I shall be locked away from anyone that I might embarrass my master to.” The words rolled off my tongue without thought. I’d spent much of my time thinking about why I was being punished and how I could avoid it in the future.
As angry as I had been when he’d first put me in the basement, I came to terms with the fact that I had indeed not been trained to be the slave he wanted and I had much to learn to fit into his life the way he wanted me to. He’d treated me well upon my arrival and it was only my fault that I’d been taken from the large, comfort-filled room that I was free in. I had to earn that room back by showing I understood how lucky I was to have it.
“Very good, bella. You will endure one final punishment and then, if you behave you will be allowed to return to your room. Would you like that?” Matteo pushed to his feet as he asked the question. Not waiting for me to answer, he pulled something from his pocket and held it close to his dress pants so I couldn’t see it with my eyes down.
“Yes, sir, very much so,” I said, nodding for emphasis.
“Then get on the bed on your back,” he instructed.
I moved the heavy chains with me as I climbed back on the rickety cot.
“Arms up. Hold on to the top of the bed. Bite down on this so you don’t hurt your mouth.” He held out a piece of leather that appeared to have been rolled lengthwise. Once I opened my mouth, he placed it between my teeth, and I bit down lightly to hold it in place. Stepping back from me, he pulled a rod of some type from his jacket and plugged the attached cord into the wall before moving to my side again. “I won’t lie, bella. This is going to hurt. Bad.”
Just hearing him warn me about the pain made the anxiety I’d already been feeling shoot through the roof. My body trembled uncontrollably even though I silently begged it to hold still.
My eyes were drawn to the end of the rod in his hand as it turned from black to bright red, then even brighter. I could feel the heat radiating off it even though it wasn’t close to me…yet.
Matteo slid a finger down my cheek, bringing my eyes to his seconds before he pressed the tip to one of my hips.
Pain ricocheted through my body as the smell hit my nose and made me gag. My teeth dug deep into the leather band as I fought to keep from moving. Time slowed, and I felt my vision fading as I fought to breathe through the agony.
Finally, he removed it and it felt like the skin was yanked from my hip as he did it.
“Only one more to go,” he said while somehow changing the end of the mechanism that had caused the most pain I’d ever felt. Even the wand he’d used the last time didn’t compare.
My breath rushed through me as I felt panic overwhelming me that I would have to endure the same torture once more. The first time had been bad enough. Before I could prepare myself or catch my breath, he was pressing the hot end against my opposite hip.
Even knowing it was coming, I couldn’t fight the tears running down my cheeks as I bit so hard on the leather I feared I’d bite through it and crack my teeth. However, the pain was all-encompassing and every thought left my head. My vision once again dimmed around the edges before going completely black as I passed out.
When I came to, I found that I was no longer in the basement on the hard cot, but back in my room upstairs. The soft bed I had started to become accustomed to before my basement punishment felt wonderful against my weary body. I didn’t know how I’d been moved from the basement to the room, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to avoid the basement again. The hunger, the silence, the pain I’d experienced while down there was enough to make me do anything Matteo asked of me. Not that I wouldn’t have before, but there was a much clearer understanding of why and how much I wanted to avoid upsetting him.
A single knock on the door had me pushing up to my elbows, and the movement caused pure agony to shoot through my abdomen.
“Ah, she finally awakens,” Aida grumbled as she entered the room, kicking the door shut behind her. She held a tray in her hands that she set on the empty side of the bed before moving around to the side I lay on, breathing hard. “I see you are still suffering from your branding. Serves you right for upsetting Matteo after everything he’s done for you, you ungrateful girl.”
I couldn’t think of a polite response, so I didn’t say anything.
“I brought you some food. Eat it slowly and only little bits at a time or you’ll just make yourself sick after the time you spent without anything. Now come, we must clean the burns and keep them clean so they don’t get infected.” Aida turned toward the bathroom and left me to get up on my own.
Normally, I had no problem, but it was much harder since I tried to keep from using my stomach muscles as much as possible. When I finally made it to my feet, Aida stood in the doorway glaring at me.
“Hurry up, lazy girl. I have other things to do than care for you,” she huffed letting me know just how happy she was to be helping me out.
In the bathroom, she had set up the supplies she needed. I tried to peek at myself in the mirror, but she tugged on my arm impatiently and went about yanking off the gauze that had been taped over each hip.
I bit down on my bottom lip to keep the yelp of surprise from escaping. Thanks for the warning!
With brisk efficiency, she cleaned the wounds with a rag, then ointment, followed by clean gauze.
“There. Now eat and get yourself cleaned up. Matteo will be around sometime today to check on you so don’t bother dressing,” she stated before exiting the room.
My hips hurt more than they had when I’d first moved. She’d not been gentle at all with the sore, bright red scar tissue. I hadn’t been able to make out what he’d ‘branded’ me with as she said, but I knew I would in time and didn’t want to risk taking the gauze off. Anything to avoid another cleaning like the one she’d just given me.
Slowly I made my way back to the bed and stood on the side near the tray she brought. I ate the fruit off the tray, chewing it slowly, savoring each bite much longer than I normally would have. My body begged me to sit because I was still so weak, but I was putting off having to bend or move in any way that would tug at my abdomen.
After eating the fruit, I decided to skip the rest of the meal and chose to clean myself up. I filled the basin with warm water and used a washcloth I found to clean my arms, chest, and face as well as I could. My hair needed washing, but it would have to wait. Taking a few deep breaths, I fortified myself against the oncoming agony before bending to wash my legs and between them. Lastly, I cleaned my back and bottom as much as I could reach, then drained the water and returned to the room.
I stared out the large window for a few moments before giving into my aching body and crawling back into bed. It was painful, but once I got situated the pain lessened enough that I found myself dozing off.
When I woke, it was dark outside, and I looked around to see what had startled me awake. Matteo was in the doorway staring at me. I wanted to watch him as he walked closer, but knew that even without lights, he might be able to see my eyes, so I lowered them.
I heard him discard his coat, then the slide of his belt through his pants followed by the metallic zing of his zipper being undone.
“On your hands and knees,” he finally spoke.
I rolled over, careful not to knock the tray that still rested next to me on the bed. Pushing up, my stomach screamed out from the stretching, but I was too attuned to what Matteo was doing to think about the pain.
He moved onto the bed behind me, pushing my knees farther apart. A palm slid up my spine until he pushed all my hair over one shoulder. His lips brushed my nape before I felt the familiar glide of his leather belt around my neck.
“Not a word,” he growled before tightening the strap enough I could only manage short, shallow breaths. In one swift move, he filled my dry pussy. “Damn, I love
shoving into you when you’re dry. You make me work for every inch. Make me fight my way inside you just the way you make me fight to control you. Just like with everything else when it comes to you, I win every time. My hard cock will fill you, stretch you and make you come because you love the way it feels.”
As much as I was scared of him and the many things he’d done to me, I couldn’t deny that it did feel good when he was inside me. I liked the roughness when he forced himself into me. The way his voice grew raspy as he talked to me when he did it. I loved that I knew I had every ounce of his focus at that moment. It was the only time I knew there was nothing else on his mind, no one else taking his attention from me.
“See? I’m not even all the way in and your pussy is already getting wet for me,” he groaned, thrusting again. “Have you seen your brands yet? My initials. You’ll always be mine now. Nothing can ever change that, bella. Marked as mine. Even thinking about them makes my dick so fucking hard.”
I tried to focus on his words, but the lack of oxygen I was able to suck in was starting to make my vision dim. I didn’t want to pass out again, not since it was the first time he’d come to me after finally being released from the dungeon.
“Having a hard time breathing? Good,” he laughed darkly, but the pressure around my neck eased enough for me to draw in a few deep breaths. His hips slapped against mine roughly as he continued moving in and out of me.
I could feel the wonderful gathering of my release coming together low in my stomach. My body clenched; pain from the brands only seemed to make the pleasure more intense as he once again tightened the belt. The lack of oxygen seemed to only increase my swift rise toward orgasm.
A loud groan and Matteo’s fingers digging into my hip pushed me over the cliff.
My body convulsed uncontrollably while I flew higher than ever before. Ecstasy filled me for long minutes as my body continued to shake and clench around Matteo.
Slowly, I started gaining feeling in my body to find that he’d rolled us to our sides. His arm wrapped around my stomach, holding my back to his chest as we both struggled for air.
Matteo (Dark Erotic Mob Romance) (Rossi Family Book 1) Page 7
