by Robinson, M.
I cringed at how close he was to me and took a step to the side, examining the open room like I hadn’t been part of it just a few weeks before, wearing my collar, feeling hurt and exposed, playing for him but actually them.
I shuddered. “Is there a different theme each time?”
Troy paused before running a finger down my bare shoulder. “What a fantastic question… Yes, it depends on whoever’s hosting, which means this time you get to choose since your master deemed you worthy.”
I wanted to say I was always worthy, but I bit my tongue. “Interesting.”
“Isn’t it?” He grinned. “Come on, more to show you.”
We walked from room to room until we were at the left wing of the mansion.
“What’s back here?”
I would never forget the expression on his face while he opened the doors to a room that still had dried-up blood on the floor.
I gasped, my body shaking to the core. Following his lead, I walked in behind him. My eyes landed on a closet that had gashes in it like a knife was stabbed into the wood numerous times.
“Does Donovan own this place too?”
“Donovan, huh?”
Shit.
I abruptly corrected myself, “I mean, Master.”
He eyed me skeptically. “This and many others—it’s a family business, you know… The Society, the properties, the money—it’s been in Donovan’s family for a very long time. His father, God rest his soul.” He watched me out of the corner of his eyes. “He believed in achieving self-actualization through this program, through The Society. What better way to achieve your best self than to look at all your pleasure and pain through someone else’s eyes?”
My stomach tightened until I thought I was going to double over in pain.
“Oh.” I swallowed. “That makes sense.”
“Yes, well…” Troy continued to walk me through the room. “This property does hold a special place in Donovan’s heart, especially this room.”
Our eyes connected. “Why is that?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?”
I shook my head. “Tell me what?”
All of a sudden, a familiar voice roared, “Nothing that fucking concerns you.” Donovan emerged from the double doors, looking every bit the dominant master he was. His eyes locked on Troy. If glares could kill, Troy would be dead. “Where is Elaina?”
Relief hit my senses, not realizing that I needed to hear the words that Donovan didn’t know Troy was with me. He didn’t leave me alone with this sick bastard, and it was the reassurance I needed to think that I was different.
I wasn’t just his slave.
His pet.
He did care about me.
“She didn’t feel good, so she sent me to meet your pet instead. Why? Is that a problem?”
“I can handle it from here.” He nodded toward the doors, dismissing him. “You can go.”
Troy leaned forward and kissed my head. “Till next time, little one.”
Donovan didn’t move an inch, nor did he show any emotion. Despite me grimacing the instant I felt Troy’s mouth on my scalp.
Right when he left, Donovan looked ready to burn the world down if need be.
For me?
“I’m sorry, Master.”
His eyes now connected with mine. “What are you apologizing for?”
“For Troy.”
He was in my face before I got his name out, grabbing my arm so I couldn’t stumble back. “You don’t ever apologize for that son of a bitch. Do you understand me?”
I nodded, bowing my head.
“Look at me.”
I lifted my eyes, emotions in turmoil as I waited.
“That shouldn’t be what you’re apologizing for.”
My eyes widened.
Of course, he would already know. The guards probably called him the second they followed me into my family’s neighborhood.
“What do you think…” His voice soothed my soul, the way it caressed over me like silk. Yes, I would crawl back to him even if I could walk. It was about the feeling of looking up at him in adoration and worship, about knowing who you served.
My king.
Mine.
Master.
“…Your punishment should be?”
“W-what?” My head whipped back, nearly colliding with his chin. “For what?”
His eyes flashed. “For being tempted.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “But I didn’t get out of the car.”
“But you thought about it,” he whispered in my ear from behind me, bracing my body with one arm while tugging my hair into a ponytail with the other. “Didn’t you? Didn’t you imagine and fantasize what would happen if you went home?”
“I am home,” I responded quickly.
He jerked me against him. His arousal so present that a moan escaped my lips as he rubbed himself against my ass. “That’s right,” he growled. “I am your fucking home. I’ll kill you before I let you forget it, so what is your punishment, pet?”
“I don’t … I don’t know.” My mind was blank.
I couldn’t even think of a proper punishment with him holding me like that, bracing me, keeping me safe when all day I’d felt fear.
“I’ll decide then, yes?” he finally countered after a few heartbeats. “On your knees.”
When I didn’t move fast enough, he forced me to the hard ground, and my knees were the first thing to hit the floor. He didn’t waver, basically tearing my clothes from my body until I was completely naked and staring up at him with only my collar.
His dark eyes stilled and then roamed across my skin, over and over again like a predatory caress. “Stay.”
“What?” I asked.
“Stay,” he repeated. “Until I’m ready for you, stay.”
Tears burned my eyes, but I remained naked on my knees. Waiting for my master, waiting for my keeper, waiting to be released—and hating that the entire time, arousal dripped from every last inch of me.
For him.
For us.
For when the time came that he’d feed me one morsel of his touch, his taste, his scent. He was my jailor—me his prisoner—begging to be forgotten rather than set free because I could only be with my captor in my dreams.
Donovan
I knew there was a reason I put bodyguards on her. Not to keep her safe. No to keep her mine. It had nothing to do with actual safety but the fear of losing her to her own family—even to mine. When I saw her stop, I wondered if she would actually do it. Be able to leave me.
I had my answer in seconds.
I knew she was getting bored, and the time had come to proceed with the next steps of our relationship. If she wanted to work, I could grant her that. Her job would give her the illusion that she was being useful for something other than my pleasure and pain.
The nerve of that prick really did make me want to shoot him in between the eyes. I fantasized about it while I sped the entire drive to the property. Fully aware he wouldn’t hurt her, he wasn’t that fucking stupid. What he wanted to do was scare her, and by the look on her face when I arrived, he’d succeeded in doing so.
As soon as she saw me, her expression screamed it all. It shouted: own me, protect me, mark me—make him go away. I couldn’t give that to her without punishment first for disobeying my orders, although I wanted to.
I needed to show her who the master was. After, I’d love her the only way I knew how, and I’d worship her in a way that ruined her the next morning and the days to follow.
She. Was. Mine.
I was hers.
Everything would set itself to rights again. Except, I couldn’t do it, not with her kneeling in front of me, her pretty eyes lit up with tears, her swollen mouth begging for my cock, her pretty pussy gleaming, nearly pulsing with need.
I left her.
I went outside to collect myself and dialed his number.
He answered on the second ring. “Surprised it took this long…”
> “Blindside me again with her, and I’ll fucking kill you.”
Never had my voice been so calm, never had my heart beat so fast, waiting for Troy’s response.
A sigh.
A chuckle.
And then… “Sure, whatever you say, boss.”
I growled, “I’m serious, Troy. Not this one. Not this time.”
“Hey! I was just showing her the business. You’re the one who took it upon yourself to include her in it.”
I barked out a laugh. “Followed by a detailed show and tell of your dick? Right?”
“This is why we get along.” He laughed. “Because you understand! Business is business, and we never bring anything personal into business, right, Donovan? We wouldn’t want to make the same mistake your father did. You know, getting too attached. Man was almost unhinged before his untimely death; what was it again? An accidental—”
“Shut the fuck up!” I gripped the phone so hard I could swear my palm was bleeding. “Cross me again, and you’ll know exactly how he died. Only this time, it will be you looking up at me in horror as you breathe your last breath.”
Silence crackled through the phone, and the air was tense with it.
“Do your worst, Donovan, do your worst. And I’ll do mine.”
So he picked a side. It had always been about Troy and only Troy. He made it seem like he was rescuing me, saving me actually; instead, he was damning me and making plans in the process. Back then, I wasn’t smart enough to see it. Recently, it took everything in my damn body not to kill him and take it all. He still owned a portion of our company. Which meant he still owned part of my past, and he wanted to dictate my future, a future where he thought he could have what was mine.
Never fucking happening.
I hung up, shoving the phone into my pocket as I returned to the room I hadn’t walked into in who knew how long before this evening. Juliet knelt, waiting for me, chin tucked and eyes closed.
“Perfect,” I whispered.
Her ass was so round, so ready for my hands to grip, her hair falling across her shoulders in the short cut I’d given her with the scissors I’d used. I took a minute. I never did that. I never hesitated.
But I did then.
For the first time, I wanted more than the pain. More than the pleasure. I wanted everything, and she was the only one I wanted it from.
“Juliet.”
Her head jerked up, her eyes wide. “Y-yes?”
“Juliet.” I reached out, my hand caressing her cheek before pulling her up to stand on her two feet. Gripping her face with both hands, I pressed my mouth to hers, devouring kiss after kiss, tasting her need, feeling my own. “Juliet.” I bit down on her bottom lip.
I needed more.
Much more.
We pulled apart, both of us breathless as she stared me down, a nervous smile spread across her face.
“I know what I want my punishment to be, Master.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“I want to touch you.”
“So this punishment is for me?”
She blushed with a shy smile creeping. “I’ve never touched a man before, and the thought of touching you excites me, but it also terrifies me. You know you are kind of scary, right?”
Grinning, I remarked, “Kind of? And your mouth and pussy have touched me, pet.”
“Right, but only your lips and your, you know.”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you remind me?”
“Master…” She blushed profusely, and I found it erratically arousing.
“You’ve had my cock in your mouth too many damn times to not be able to say the word to me, pet.”
“Well, you can say it for the both of us.” She beamed, looking fucking radiant. “Can that be my punishment? Please…”
“You know how much I love it when you beg me.”
“Is that yes?”
“It’s not a no.” Before I could change my mind, I ordered, “Take off my shirt.”
The surprised expression on her face was enough to drive any sane man crazy.
I wasn’t sane.
Normal.
I was a fucking sociopath, and don’t think for one second I wasn’t or that I wasn’t aware of it. On the contrary, I’d embraced it long ago. It was the only way I could survive in this seedy world. I took the good with the bad—though, there was more bad than good.
She was good.
Juliet was pure.
Innocent.
Naive.
She was the complete opposite of me, and part of her allure was that I corrupted the angel in my darkness. In my dungeon. In my hell. I had no fucking problem in doing so. I wasn’t alone anymore—I had her.
With the devil on my side, I’d keep her forever.
Like a fallen angel sinning over and over again, I’d keep her.
Her fingers slowly raised toward the first button on my dress shirt, and little by little, she unbuttoned each one until it was fully opened and ready for her touch. Her eyes widened at the expanse of skin like she couldn’t drink in enough of me. God, it was addicting, a sin I’d commit endlessly, making her fall for the villain, making her need me.
“Where do you want to touch me, pet?” Anticipation coursed through me like a shot of adrenaline; had I ever wanted anything more? No. Never.
Her gaze shifted toward my chest, and the first place she wanted the palm of her hand to touch was right over my godforsaken heart.
No one had touched me there except for my mother, always saying that as long as my heart was still beating, she could go on.
“How do you do that?” She gave me an awestruck expression.
“Do what?” I replied above a murmur, getting lost in the still of her eyes.
“Keep your heartbeat steady like that. How do you always stay calm in situations that cause you distress?”
I wanted to tell her she should know, knowing who her family was, what her past was. Instead, I was blatantly honest. “It’s how I stay alive in a world that wants me dead.”
“Does that include Troy?”
“I don’t want to talk about him right now,” I said quickly.
She was the first to break our trancelike state. Leaning in, she softly, tortuously kissed along my heart, letting her lips linger for a couple of seconds before she glided them down toward my stomach until she was on her knees.
Willingly.
In front of me.
Her stare asked if she could undo my belt and slacks, and I nodded. Carefully, she undid them both, and my cock stood at attention for her.
I wanted to see how far she would take this. How brave she’d be in a moment when I seemed so weak.
I didn’t do gentle.
Soft.
I was rough in everything I did, especially fucking.
Once my dick was in her face, she licked from the head, down the shaft, and back up again. I groaned, feeling vulnerable that I was giving her all the control. I didn’t do that either. This was a first for me, and I wasn’t quite sure if it would be the last either.
I was torn.
Hard as hell.
Waiting for her to do as she pleased. This punishment was more for me than it was for her; that much was sure.
“Donovan,” I heard her whisper, deep throating my cock again.
She knew what I liked; however, she was giving me what I wanted so achingly slow that my balls felt like they were about to explode.
It was so real.
So true.
So consuming.
She was right there with me.
If this was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up. Not now, not ever. I felt her hand start to work me over as if she was making love to me with her mouth.
Up and down.
Twisting and turning.
In and out.
I was in her mouth and hands.
“Juliet, you’re such a good girl. You’re such a lovely pet,” I praised, resisting the urge to grip onto the back of her head and thrust my d
ick to the furthest part of her throat.
Hard.
Eager.
Fast.
I stirred, focusing on how fucking breathtaking she looked, on her knees, serving me…
Her Master.
For now and forever. Never to be parted…
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Donovan
“You’re so beautiful. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
She moaned, vibrating my core with her mouth still wrapped around as much as she could take of my dick. Usually, I made her take all of me. She didn’t have much of a gag reflex, and that was always a good trait to have, not that it mattered because, at the end of the day, she’d learn to take me.
Her eyes held so much emotion. Her sincere expression was almost hard to follow. I had always been so in tune with what her eyes shared with me, and at that moment, all I could see was love.
Devotion.
Sincerity.
My heart ached at the sight of her. So fucking submissive. Subservient. Wanting to only please me with whatever she could, in any way she could. There was no confusion on her behalf, and it was wreaking havoc on the pieces that were still left of me. I could physically feel her love, and it was an emotion I wanted to keep forever. Feeling it so much more than I could have ever imagined. Almost like I could touch it.
Smell it.
Bathe myself in it.
Like a final baptism, linking us together forever.
“Donovan, stop thinking.” She lifted her hand to touch over my heart again.
This time it was beating faster.
Urgent.
Demanding.
Beating a mile a minute for only her. My control was gone. I wasn’t sure if I’d given it over to her or if she’d just stolen it like a thief in the night—did it matter anyway? It was hers. I was hers. Always. Forever. Hers.
“Just feel me. Be here with me, just me and you,” she whispered, sensing my apprehension.
I watched, caressing the side of her cheek with the back of my fingers as we stared into each other’s eyes, seeing our truth, our tainted love, reflected back at us.
I wouldn’t come.
I couldn’t.
Not when she was being this delicate with me, but I didn’t stop her from trying. I could tell her mouth was becoming sore, tender, and it was enough to drive me over the edge, knowing I was causing her distress.
