by Julia Sykes
I lifted her, not stopping until she hung in midair, a meter off the ground. I tied off my work, leaving her with nothing by the artfully-arranged ropes holding her aloft. Her body was parallel to the floor, turned on its side so she was facing my desk.
Her left ankle still dangled, so I secured it with the remaining rope, forcing her knee to bend. The tighter harness around her right thigh worked against the gravity that dragged her left leg down, leaving her spread wide for me. Her pink cunt wept for attention, open and inviting.
I’d leave her wanting for a while longer, allowing her need to build.
She stared at me in rapt fascination, as though I was the center of her world. Her head began to droop toward the floor, her long copper hair cascading down in a shining wave. I cupped her cheek in my hand, craving more eye contact before her lids inevitably closed. The way she focused on me so intently made me feel worshipped, adored. In this moment, I was her god: all-powerful.
That power flooded my system, making my muscles flex as I seemed to expand in stature. My size was already intimidating to most men, but she made me feel invincible, super-human. I held her delicate face, my big hands curving around her skull. She was so physically fragile, but she’d surrendered her fierce, fiery will to me. The knowledge made something swell in my chest.
Disconcerted by the foreign sensation, I braced myself to back away. “I’m going to take care of a few things now,” I murmured. “You look very pretty, sirenita. I think I’ll keep you like this more often.”
I finally released her and settled down in my desk chair. I flipped open my laptop, and a high whine eased around the gag that filled her mouth.
“Hush now,” I commanded, not looking in her direction. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to resist touching her, and she needed time to simmer in her mounting desire. “The sooner I finish, the sooner I can play with your wet little pussy.”
She whined again in response, a needy, keening noise. Now that I’d planted the promise in her head, she’d be consumed by erotic anticipation. Once I was satisfied that she was fully malleable to my questioning, I’d begin the interrogation.
The wait was almost as difficult for me as it must be for her. I couldn’t help glancing at her every minute or so, watching her slip deeper into her helplessness. Slick arousal dripped down her thigh, but she couldn’t stimulate herself. She could only wait for my merciful touch.
Her face went slack, her head lolling forward as she floated. It didn’t take long for her eyelids to droop, blinking slowly a few times before lowering her lashes to her cheeks.
I couldn’t focus on my work, not with this gorgeous distraction. Instead, I decided to devise a means of entertainment to keep her mind occupied while I was away during the day. I wasn’t sure of her interests, but she’d said something about X-Men and cosplay. I searched my memories of her desperate confession of her innocence when I’d tormented her with the arousal cream.
Yes, she’d definitely mentioned that she’d chosen to dress up as The Dark Phoenix.
I wasn’t familiar with comic books, but I’d provide them for her amusement. After some searching online, I managed to find first editions of the story she wanted at a store in New York. I fired off an email to one of my men, a low-level underling who’d do any grunt work I gave him without question. I arranged his overnight flight to New York and a morning return to Chicago, giving him just enough time to get to the store and purchase the items I’d selected for Samantha.
By the time I finished, she was completely limp in her bonds, the ropes caressing her body as they held her aloft.
I put my laptop away and closed the distance between us, kneeling beside her and leaning in so she could feel the heat of my words on her neck. “Is my pet sleepy? Or horny?”
A pitiful, needy whimper teased around the gag, providing me with the response I desired.
“I have a few questions for you, kinky virgin,” I murmured, keeping my voice low and even. “If you’re honest with me, I’ll let you come.”
I finally unbuckled the leather straps that kept the rubber ball between her teeth, tugging it free so she could speak. She swallowed several times, regaining the use of her tongue.
“I’m the first man to touch you, is that true?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered softly.
“But you know about BDSM. You’ve been to a club. You knew what the flogger was when I used it on you, even though no one has disciplined you before, correct?”
“Yes,” she confirmed again.
“I want you to tell me how you know these things.”
“Porn,” she responded. “I watched Dex’s porn.”
Something ugly stirred in my gut at another man’s name issuing from her lips, but I kept my tone even and calm. “And who is Dex? You’ve mentioned him a few times.”
“He’s my…my best friend.”
Some of the tension inside me eased, but that didn’t clear away my confusion. “Why did you watch your friend’s porn?”
“I wanted to know what he liked. So, I hacked into his browser history.”
“Why would you care what kind of porn your friend watches?”
“I love him.” Her slurred words made rage ignite within me, my possessive fury swelling to fill my entire being.
I gripped her jaw hard, my harsh touch on the edge of violence. “Look at me,” I snarled.
Her eyes snapped open, her pupils immediately dilating with fear when she met my furious glare. She tried to scramble away, but the ropes held her fast, twisting and tightening around her. The fresh sensations elicited a moan, and her lashes fluttered as bliss began to fog her mind again.
My fingers firmed around her jaw, forcing her face up to mine. “No,” I commanded roughly. “Look at me.”
Her eyes opened once again, her full attention riveted on me. Her intense focus eased some of my ire, but not the possessive heat that burned in my chest.
“You’re mine,” I growled. “From now on, you don’t think about other men. You exist to please me.” I reached between her legs, driving two fingers into her wet heat. My palm curved against her clit, locking her cunt in a proprietary hold. She cried out at the sudden intrusion, the sound holding an edge of pain. I curled my fingers against her g-spot, intent on drowning her in pleasure so intense that I obliterated all thoughts of other men from her psyche.
“You’re mine,” I declared, savage. “Your body, your mind. All of you. Your pain, your pleasure, they belong to me.” I released her jaw so I could twist her nipple. She shrieked at the shock of pain, even as her core contracted around my fingers.
“Come for me. Come for your Master.”
I continued to pinch and pull at her nipples as I ruthlessly pumped my fingers in and out of her pussy, rotating my palm against her clit. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she screamed as her orgasm claimed her.
Driven by mad possessiveness, I crushed my lips to hers, tasting the flavor of her scream, her surrender to my declaration of ownership. I devoured her, my teeth sinking into her lower lip as I continued to assail her with pain, using it to tether her to me. And to punish her for uttering another man’s name.
I subjugated her mouth with mine; an act of force and dominance.
She continued to come, her pussy fluttering around my relentless fingers as she moaned against my lips. I didn’t show any mercy until she shuddered and whined, her sex growing sore and sensitive from my rough treatment.
I didn’t feel a shred of remorse at how I’d ravaged her untried body. She’d feel the effects of my cruel fingers tomorrow; she’d remember who owned her.
Even though I withdrew my hands from her pussy and nipples, I couldn’t release her mouth. My kiss slowed, my lips caressing hers with more finesse. She opened for me on a sigh, and I slid my tongue inside to claim her mouth.
I didn’t free her lips until she was desperate for oxygen. She drew in deep breaths as her head lolled toward the floor, all the strength leaving her sated, conquered body.<
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I left her just long enough to get the blunt-tipped shears from my desk, and I quickly cut through the knots that held her aloft. I braced her limp form, easing her into my arms as I lowered her from suspension.
I pulled her close to my chest, craving her soft heat. The last of my lingering fury faded when she snuggled into me, seeking comfort under the cruel hands that had just tormented her minutes earlier. I stroked her back, murmuring to her in Spanish.
Then, she tucked her face against me and pressed a kiss to my neck.
Despite the disgusting words that had spilled from her lips and incited my ire, hope unfurled in my chest. I’d resolved to treat her more gently to earn her devotion, but it seemed my show of savagery had affected her deeply. Samantha would surrender herself to me willingly. It was just a matter of time.
Chapter 10
I allowed her to sleep in the next day, waiting with her until her present arrived. I wanted to watch her open the gift box, so I could study her reaction when she discovered the comic books. Would she smile for me?
That could wait until after breakfast. Right now, she didn’t seem pleased with me.
“Do you have to do that?” she complained as I locked the collar around her throat.
I chuckled, my good mood immune to her grumbling. “The fact that you still take that tone with me means yes, I definitely have to.” I grasped her hand and pulled her upright. “Go brush your teeth and come back here.”
“And then you won’t chain me to the bed?” she asked with asperity.
“With that attitude, of course I will.” I laughed, delighted with her. I remembered the feel of her lips beneath mine, the way she’d kissed my neck when I freed her from my ropes.
Did she remember what she’d done? Or had she been too drunk on lust to register her actions?
I decided it didn’t really matter. She’d kissed me as she cried into my chest, and that small show of affection was enough for now.
She mumbled under her breath as she trudged toward the bathroom, but I couldn’t discern what she was saying. Her obedience was all that mattered, and she complied with my command. Already, she was becoming amenable, despite her flashes of defiance. She hardly noticed her nakedness around me, not bothering to cover herself when I studied her body with open hunger.
She’d adjust to so much more. She’d be happy here with me, just like I’d promised.
Then again, her progress might not be as advanced as I thought. The docile woman who’d disappeared into the bathroom suddenly rushed toward me, launching herself at me with a fierce growl.
Moving on instinct, I dodged her punch and pushed her away with shove to her sternum. She fell back on the bed, cushioned from harm by the mattress. I’d knocked the air from her chest, and I took advantage of the moment it took her to gasp for air. I settled my body over hers, pinning her down with my weight as I grabbed her wrists. I secured them above her head with one hand and grabbed the length of chain attached to the bedpost with the other, locking it to the front of her collar so she was effectively leashed.
Still, I didn’t release her wrists. When she began to thrash wildly beneath me, I gripped her jaw to still her shaking head.
“What’s this about?” I demanded.
“You leave Dex alone,” she shouted, jerking desperately against my hold. “I’ll kill you if you do anything to him. I swear, I’ll kill you.”
My hand tightened around her jaw, my muscles rippling as wrath gripped me. I thought I’d wiped all other men from her mind when I’d ravaged her last night. Apparently, the lesson hadn’t been effective.
“I have no interest in this man,” I snarled down at her. “And from now on, neither do you.”
“But you said Cristian would kill him if he found out,” she squeaked, on the edge of panic.
I recalled telling her that Cristian would take away everything and everyone she loved in order to break her, making her watch as he destroyed them.
I love him, she’d slurred about her friend as she dangled in my ropes.
She’d confessed her feelings for this Dex, and now, she believed I’d hurt him to hurt her. She still thought of me as her sadistic captor, not her Master. She still loved him and feared me.
“I am not my brother,” I growled, the words so roughened by possessive fury that they were barely discernable. “I won’t torture you or threaten the people you care about to get what I want out of you.” I leaned in closer, so the weight of my glare would bear down on her. I would remind her of her powerlessness against me, that she already belonged to me, whether she wanted to or not. “I don’t need to torture you to get what I want.”
“And what do you call tying me down and whipping me until I scream?” she shot back. “Is that not torture?”
My stomach twisted, her words making phantom knives slice through my flesh. “If you knew what torture really was, you wouldn’t have to ask.”
“And how would you know?” she challenged. “It’s not like you’d ever let anyone whip you until you cried.”
My hand squeezed her wrists, tethering her to me as horrific memories threatened to spill from the dark corner of my mind where I’d locked them away.
“You think I don’t cry when I’m hurt? You think I don’t bleed when I’m cut? You think I don’t scream just like any other man in pain? I might not be sane, but I’m still human, Samantha. Don’t talk about things you don’t understand.”
Her breath caught. “Is that how your face…”
A feral snarl ripped from my chest, the ferocious sound making her query die in her throat.
“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” I repeated, enunciating every word. “And don’t say your friend’s name ever again. I don’t want you to even think about him. I’m the only man you should be concerned with, the only one you should think about. Your purpose is to serve me, to please me. No one else.”
“Please.” She winced, her eyes watering “You’re hurting me.”
I realized my fingers were digging into her cheeks, gripping her with brutal force. I’d lost all semblance of control, and I was on the edge of violence, on the verge of damaging her.
I released her and pushed to my feet with a curse. I strode to my wardrobe and began to pull on my clothes in jerky movements, rage simmering just under the surface of my skin.
When I was dressed, I walked toward the bedroom door, not glancing in her direction. I had to get away from her, or I might do something I’d regret. My emotions were roiling, the memories I’d so carefully suppressed rising to the surface. I needed to regain control, and the only way I could think to do that would be to drag her into my training room and whip her until she screamed for mercy.
That would destroy any chance at establishing trust between us. And in my unstable state, I might accidentally cause her real harm.
I didn’t want to break my toy.
That’s all she was to me. She thought of me as her monstrous captor, so that’s what I would be. She didn’t have to willingly surrender to be utterly devoted to me. I could still tame all the fire out of her and turn her into my docile, obedient plaything.
Contemplating any other course of action had been misguided. Kissing her had been foolish, irrational.
“Andrés.” The soft, tentative way she said my name almost made my final thread of control snap.
My thoughts instantly shifted from plans to make her scream in pain. I wanted her to scream my name as I pinned her to the bed and fucked her ruthlessly.
I stiffened, but I forced myself to keep moving away from her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I froze in my tracks. She might have driven me close to madness with her defiance, but her sweet contrition threatened to shatter me. My life had been devoid of tenderness for almost as long as I could remember. When was the last time someone had said “I’m sorry” to me without pissing themselves in fear?
Samantha wasn’t frightened. I wasn’t threatening her. She offere
d her apology out of kindness.
“I got something for you,” I forced out after a few tense seconds. I didn’t look at her. I wasn’t sure what I’d do to her if I looked into her lovely eyes. “It’s on the tray next to your breakfast.”
“What—?”
“I’ll see you tonight.” I strode away from her, sparing her from my mercurial mood. If I stayed, I’d consume her. I’d hurt her and fuck her and claim her in every way possible. She would scream and weep, bleeding out more pretty tears for me.
She would never forgive me, would never trust me.
I won’t break her. I won’t.
Chapter 11
By the time I finished my work for the day, I’d managed to bury the turmoil Samantha had incited within me that morning. My mood was still dark, but at least I was stable. I’d regained control by planning every detail of her training tonight. It had been too long since I’d had release. Having her melt in my ropes and come on my hand had left me aching for her, but she hadn’t been ready to serve me in the way I wanted.
That would change tonight. I’d given Samantha pleasure, but she had to learn that her main purpose was to bring me pleasure.
My plans were cold, calculated.
But the ice inside me melted as soon as I stepped into the bedroom. She beamed at me, and the brightness of her joy hit me square in the chest. She held one of the comic books I’d left for her, her fingers barely gripping the edge of the pages, as though it was something precious she didn’t want to damage.
“Thanks,” she said, the word warm with gratitude.
I blinked, feeling as though I’d been blinded by the sun. My lips spread wide in a grin of my own. “You are even more beautiful when you smile than I imagined.”
Her smile faltered. “You’re manipulating me again.”
The accusation didn’t puncture my satisfaction. “So, you don’t want the comic books?” I teased.
“No,” she exclaimed, clutching the book closer to her chest like a child clinging to her favorite teddy bear. “I mean, I want them. I um, actually already read all of them. But I’ll read them again,” she added quickly.
