by Fawn Bailey
I couldn't resist one touch, one flick of her engorged clit to which she responded so beautifully - with a little moan and a soft sigh escaping her lips.
There was no way I could have stopped after that.
My finger plunged deeper inside of her, and I explored her silky depth with the tip of it, slowly feeling out the shape of her cunt, feeling her wet walls and letting her pussy suck me inside. I could barely suppress the groan leaving my lips. She got me so fucking hot...
Her lips parted and I waited for the inevitable. For her to wake up and get upset that I had touched her, that I'd had my way with her body while she slept.
"Kain..." she whispered, and I pulled out my finger.
I stared at her with contempt as I placed my fingertip on my lips and tasted her. Fucking sweet as hell, and juicy at the same time... It was a familiar taste, and I recognized it as the scent I'd been smelling on her all day long. Sugary sweet pink grapefruit... Where the fuck did that come from?
I got out of the room as fast as I could, and I didn't lock it this time around.
As I walked downstairs to get everything ready for the day, my mouth was set in a thin line and my mind was made up.
She may have been a pawn in this game, but Ophelia was going to suffer for getting involved in the first place.
Chapter 14
Ophelia
I woke up late that morning, sprawled on the cushions in the cage I'd been given. It was the same one I'd had at Thorn's, but it was nothing like the one Kain had made for me. It was too big and too comfortable. It almost felt like a room in itself. But still, it was better than sleeping in a proper bed. That was the last thing I wanted.
I started to leave the room when I remembered Max's preferences. Unlike Kain, he didn't want me bare. He wanted me decent.
I picked out some clothes - a simple white dress and gold sandals that laced up my feet then left the room.
The hallway was quiet, and I was unsure of where I was supposed to be. But I did hear the faintest sound in the distance, so I decided to follow it to its source.
I moved in the direction of the sound, soon coming to realize it was somebody groaning. I quickened my pace and followed the groaning into a large hall on the ground floor. It was equipped like a gym, with a proper boxing ring in the middle. Two men stood in the center of it, and I only recognized one of them as Max.
He was hitting, throwing punches faster than I could count. The other man was helpless against the monster that was my fiancé. He was quick on his feet, his face colored in red rage as he hit his opponent over and over again.
"You better get a good look, princess," Max shouted at me without taking his eyes off the man in the ring. "This is how I'm going to fuck up that pansy ass prison ward of yours once I get my fucking hands on him."
He was talking about Kain, and my blood froze in my veins at the mention of him. It was as if I lived in two separate worlds - one with Max and the Marinos, with my now long-gone family, and another when my only purpose was to be Kain's obedient little plaything. But the problem was, I didn't know where I belonged. I had a bad feeling that I was meant for neither of those two lives.
I came closer and watched the two men fight, the other guy throwing in useless punches that didn't even help. At least he was resilient... But Max wasn't saving him any grief, he kept hitting with blood spurting out of the other guy's mouth. I wondered whether I should stop them when I spotted two other men, probably guards, standing impassively to the side.
"Max," I begged. "Please, you're going to hurt him!"
"I. Don't. Give. A. Shit!" Max yelled, punctuating every word with another blow to the poor guy who was gripping his stomach with his hands on the floor. "There. Fucking done. Do you yield?"
"I yielded an hour ago," the man grunted, and Max laughed in his face.
"Pussy," he said, spitting on the groaning figure on the floor.
He took off his gloved and when he did, I noticed a glint of metal in them and realized they were embedded with silver blades. What a horrible weapon... What had the other man done to deserve Max treating him like this? Or was this just part of his training?
Max wasn't the boy he used to be, and a part of me wondered whether it was my fault. After all, I had been the one to condemn him to a life of fighting... it was my responsibility to bring back the boy I cared for so much when I was a girl. I was sure he was still hiding in there somewhere.
Max came out of the ring, and it was the first time I got a good look at his ruined body.
He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of shorts. His body was disturbingly perfect but marred by countless scars and tattoos that looked homemade. It was such a sharp contrast to the man I'd met the day before, wearing an expensive designer suit and polished Italian leather shoes. Now, he looked like a fucking monster... and I was more than just a little afraid.
When he approached me, I surreptitiously took a step back, and he smirked when he realized I was afraid.
"I'm not going to hurt you, princess," he growled, coming up to me and grabbing my chin in his bandaged hands. "I'm here to make your life better, not fucking harder, Ophelia. Will you finally just learn to trust me? I'm never going to fucking hurt you. I swear to God."
"I need to know more," I said softly. "I need to know what's going on... With Ryker, with my family's things. Where are the people I used to know? Doesn't anyone care that I'm back?"
"Of course they do," Max replied, his voice a little softer. "I've organized a little get-together tonight for everyone who has been looking forward to seeing you. Would you like that, princess?"
My mind slipped back to the last 'get-together' I'd been to - my eighteenth birthday party.
I shut my eyes tightly, trying to think of anything but that. Max must've seen me hesitate as he took my hand and gently pressed a kiss to the top of it.
"I'm sorry, princess," he said gently. "I didn't fucking think..."
"It's alright." I offered him a brave smile. "I can go through with it. I am looking forward to seeing everyone, it will be great."
"Good," he said with a smile, and for him, the topic was closed. "Come on, let's have some breakfast."
We ate together in an enormous dining room that seemed lonely with just the two of us there. The more I looked at Max, the more I realized he was an unfinished puzzle. There had always been two sides to the coin - Ryker on one side, Max on the other. But now, with only one of the brothers present, it felt as if the balance was off somehow.
I didn't dare ask about Ryker again. He'd already glared at me when I'd mentioned him in the gym... Better not test my luck again.
The food that was brought out for us was delicious. I'd eaten well with Kain, but it was food he prepared for me himself, feeding me gloopy oatmeal and chicken noodle soup himself. He wasn't much of a cook, but he tried hard for me.
I realized with a start I was thinking about my captor yet again. It seemed impossible to escape him lately - he was everywhere I turned, lurking in the shadows.
"I'm going to have an outfit sent up for you for tonight," Max told me. "I picked out something perfect. You'll love it."
"I trust you," I replied, and at least that wasn't a lie.
I had always trusted Max since we were little kids just playing together. But now things were so much more serious... and I had a sinking feeling that night's get-together wasn't just going to be about my happy return. I was convinced the topic of our engagement would be breached yet again, and I wasn't ready for it.
After breakfast, I trailed after Max into the gardens. They were beautiful and lush in a manicured, well-kept way. He was telling me about the kinds of roses he had, all seeds from Thorn's garden when I pricked my finger on a long-stemmed apricot colored flower.
"Ouch," I cried out, and he was next to me in seconds, pulling out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and cleaning up the spot where I was bleeding.
"It's nothing," he said calmly. "It'll be ok."
I looked up into
his eyes, and for the first time since I'd been with him, I saw a hint of the Max I used to know there. The compassionate, sweet and kind boy who would do anything in the world for his family and friends. He looked at me with deep concern despite the very minor cut, and when he caught me looking, his eyes hardened and he spoke up.
"I'm not who I used to be, Ophelia," he said, his words strained. "Don't expect me to be that person ever again."
"I... I'm not," I managed to get out.
For some reason, our eyes were glued to one another. I saw him in a new light, and I wanted to know more, but I was too afraid to ask another question. I didn't want to rile him up.
"You're a beautiful girl," he muttered, his fingers wrapping around my chin. "I tried to resist you for so long, Ophelia..."
With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I realized what he was going to do. But I was frozen to the spot - unable to move away, my eyes drawn to his as if I was encouraging him to do it. My heart was beating a million times a minute, and Max's jaw set as he stared down at me.
"Come here," he said roughly, pulling me in.
His mouth enveloped mine in a demanding yet somehow sweet kiss. He pulled me against him, my body pressed tightly against his and my curves molding to his. His tongue forced my lips open and he kissed me deeply as if he had something to prove. I realized then that the kiss had nothing to do with me - it was all about him... A way to redeem himself, and perhaps prove to himself that he could be the man I needed him to be.
I kissed him back because I was too afraid not to.
I let him open my mouth, and I slid my tongue into his slowly, tasting his unfamiliar scent. He was all man now, not a trace of the boy left in his body. And he was a man who knew exactly what he wanted.
"Max," I whispered against his lips. "Please..."
"No," he growled back. "I've been too fucking lenient... I've waited so long for this. For a new chance to make things right."
He raised his palm to my cheek and cupped it gently, kissing me harder, with more force. I whimpered under his lip bites, trying to squirm out of the way, but he wouldn't let me. When he finally let go, I was out of breath, disoriented and flushed.
He stared at me, his chest rising and falling like an animal that had just attacked.
"Are you afraid of me, princess?" he asked me darkly, and my heart sank just a little.
"No," I whispered in response.
At least it wasn't a lie this time... I truly wasn't afraid of him. I knew Max too well, and I knew he would never hurt me. He would sooner position himself in the way of harm before letting anyone hurt me.
"You should be," he said, taking a step towards me and wrapping his fingers around my neck. "You really, really should be."
I stared right back at him. He was trying to intimidate me, but I wasn't having any of it. Kain had done so much worse... even his brother, Ryker, had treated me worse than this.
"You will be," he announced, letting go of me and making me catch my breath loudly as he backed away from me.
It took me a long minute to get my bearings, and my eyes lingered on the rose I had broken with my clumsy, stumpy fingers.
In so many ways, it reminded me of myself.
Chapter 15
Ophelia
The dress arrived that afternoon, just like Max promised.
I took it out of the beautiful pink box and lay it out on the floor. It was a gorgeous sapphire colored gown, but I hated it. It was made of silk, clung closely to my curves but covered everything completely. It had long sleeves and a train, and the only skin it showed off was the back, where it was cut in a deep cowlneck meant to accentuate the small of my waist.
Max had also sent me shoes, pretty silver sandals.
I stared at the outfit for a long time and grinned to myself when I reached a decision about it.
Moments later, the people Leila had mentioned arrived - a hairstylist, manicurist, and a makeup artist. They helped me to get dolled up for the occasion and made an enormous fuss over me, but as they worked on my hair and nails I felt like it was all a lie. I truly had gone from one prison to the next one, and despite the extra pampering that went on in Max's house, I was still nostalgic, wishing more than ever I could be back together with Kain.
Kain...
God, how I wanted to hate him. Had wanted to for the past five years, but failed miserably every single fucking time. He always managed to charm me, to get reactions out of my body I never wanted to admit to. The kisses he gave me were so much different to the one Max and I had shared in the garden. The passion, the need, were raw with Kain. With Max, it was so terribly one-sided it only made me feel guilty.
My nails were painted a sexy red and my face made up perfectly, in a doll-like style that made me look younger than I was. I realized what they were trying to do, and I also realized they were probably on strict instructions from Max and his parents to make me look the way I had the night of my eighteenth birthday. All that was missing was my family... the family who was slaughtered by the only man I wanted to belong to.
When it was time for me to get dressed, the team left and I was left alone with a girl I didn't recognize in the mirror. My hair was fluffed in luxurious, thick waves, my cheeks laden with pink blush and my lips a bright red. I put on the shoes which gave me an extra few inches of height, and then slipped on the dress. But instead of putting it on the right way, I turned it the other way around, so the deep cowl neck was in the front.
I waited until I heard footsteps in the hallway outside. I'd heard some noise downstairs which told me the party was already starting. Moments later, the door to my room opened and a maid asked me to follow her downstairs. I smoothed down my dress, which was now daringly open in the front. But I didn't feel self-conscious - never did, not after Kain making me completely comfortable with my own nakedness.
We walked together, but the maid left when we reached the top of the marble staircase leading into the hall below. I walked over to the first stop, and once I saw the crowd that had gathered below me, my nerves set in and I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
The hall was filled with people, and my heart lurched when I realized just how many of them I recognized.
There were people who papa used to work with, even some distant relatives I hadn't seen in years. I smiled lightly, and then my eyes landed on Max.
He wore a designer tux, his hair slicked back and his eyes thunderous as they found mine. He was angry, so fucking angry, and I had a good idea why as his eyes slid down my face, over my neck and my exposed decolletage. He didn't like what I'd done with the dress... No, he didn't like it one bit.
He excused himself from the conversation with a tight-lipped smile and came straight towards me as I descended the stairs. Once I was on the ground floor, his hand wrapped around my forearm with some force, his fingers digging into my skin. I paled but didn't mention that he was hurting me, and let him half-drag, half-walk me to the other, less crowded side of the room.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he snarled at me in hushed tones. "That's not how the dress goes on."
"It's not?" I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as possible, but it didn't work on him. "I didn't know."
"Like fuck you didn't," he said, slamming me into the wall with his whole force.
Tears filled my eyes, not from the blinding pain down my back but because I was so ashamed. The room went quiet, and I felt everyone's eyes on me. From the Marinos associates to my distant family, they all looked at us before continuing their conversation as if nothing had happened. Nobody stepped forward to protect me - nobody gave a shit.
"Don't touch me," I hissed at him, but all he did was laugh in my face instead.
"I'll touch you any way I want to," he said darkly. "And if I choose to do so, I'm going to make the whole goddamned house watch while I do it. You're not the boss here, princess. You better fucking learn your place. You better learn to submit. Did your little pussy boy not teach you anything?"
"
He did," I snapped back. "He taught me to kneel for a real man only."
I ripped myself out of his embrace and walked away with my head held high, trying not to show him how much his fingers digging into my skin had hurt me. I blinked away the tears threatening to fall from my eyes and pretending everything was okay as I smiled at a man I barely recognized. The faces of the people there were blending together, and my eyes were watering. My heart was beating too fast and I was trying to collect myself further when my eyes landed on the last thing I needed.
He was so different from his brother now. Yes, they had similar features, but his hair was cropped closer to his head, his beard a hint of stubble across his chin, looking accidental-yet-purposeful. He was handsome, and like always, he was scowling at me. In the years since I'd been away, his crow's feet had deepened, though I knew it hadn't been from laughing.
I took a deep breath when I felt Max behind me yet again.
"Don't you dare," he growled at me. "We have more important work to do than your reunion with my brother. He's just here for the show. Move."
He nudged me with his elbow and I forced a bright smile on my face as he walked me around the room, introducing me to this person and that one. My heart was fluttering, too aware of the other man in the room and all the time that had passed. Did I still feel the same way? Did I still want Ryker as badly as I did when I was eighteen years old before I became Kain's dolly?
I didn't know, but I wanted to speak to him desperately.
I spent hour after hour chattering to people who didn't give a shit about me, and whom I couldn't care less about. But I was a good girl, smiling left and right, giggling and nodding and making sympathetic noises at all the right places. Max seemed a little more pleased with me, his forced smile at least a tone more genuine than when I'd walked down the stairs.
