by Stella Hart
I could regret it all later, when the moment was over and my sanity had returned.
Elias groaned and moved one hand down to grip my left hip, and when he brought me closer to him in one rough movement, I felt his stiff cock straining against the confines of his pants. He suddenly pulled back from my mouth, and just when I was about to protest, his hot lips found my neck, peppering my throat with soft kisses and hard nips, making me moan.
I felt myself moving backwards. Seconds later, Elias pushed me onto the bed. I gasped as he settled his weight over me, pinning me down before delivering another brutal kiss to my lips, one which made all the breath fly out of my lungs.
A hand slid down over my stomach, then drifted over the top of my panties, his touch as light as a feather. I squirmed beneath him as my core began to ache like mad.
Elias reached into the slit at the front of the panties and pressed down on my clit with his thumb. “You’re being such a good girl,” he said against my neck, his hot breath tickling my ear. “So compliant. That’s what you want to do, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I gasped, bucking my hips. I would agree to anything if it meant he’d keep touching me like that. Besides, the knowledge that I was pleasing him sent electrifying thrills through me, even though I knew I should feel deeply ashamed for that. I shouldn’t want to make him happy, shouldn’t want any of this, but that only made me want it more. It was wrong, taboo, and oh-so fucking hot.
“Do you want to know what I feel like inside you?” Elias said in a throaty murmur, flicking my clit again.
A breathy moan ripped through me. Against my better judgment, I nodded. “Yes.”
“I can’t wait to make you beg me to fuck you,” he said, his voice a low hiss through his teeth.
I mewled beneath him, crying out for release. “I will. I’ll beg. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Not yet,” he said, thumb swirling over my clit. “We have to wait for the Bonding ceremony.”
My breaths turned harsh and ragged. It was so cruel, making me want him like this only to rip it all away. “Why?”
“That’s the rules, Doll.”
“When is it?”
“Tomorrow. Believe me, I’m going just as fucking crazy as you,” he said, rolling his hips and grinding himself against my pussy. His pants were still on, but the mere touch of his hardness against my clit made me feel like I would split open at any moment from the pressure building inside me.
I wasn’t just captive to Elias anymore. I was captive to this fiery, insatiable need for him, and I didn’t want to be freed from it. I wanted him inside me, wanted him to fuck me until the world went dark.
He began to kiss his way down my body, leaving trails of sinful wetness behind. When his mouth reached the top of my panties, I spread my legs on instinct, and he chuckled, nipping at my inner thigh. “You want it bad, don’t you?”
I looked down at him and nodded. “Please….”
He moved closer to my aching core, one hand parting the lacy ruffles on the panties so that the split was exposed. My pussy was only inches from his lips now, and I swallowed thickly, unable to stop the wild cravings from flooding me.
“Beg, and I might give you a sneak preview,” Elias murmured, a wicked glint in his eyes.
“Please,” I whimpered. “Show me what it’s like. Make me come.”
“Properly.”
I let out an exasperated cry. “Please, Master. Please make me come!”
I couldn’t see straight anymore, could barely even think straight.
Elias smirked and brought his mouth over my pussy, his tongue parting my folds and swirling over my clit. He lapped and nipped at me, making me shiver and moan, and I closed my eyes and let myself drift away on the waves of pleasure until I began to spasm wildly beneath his touch. I knew I was soaking his face with my arousal, but I wasn’t ashamed. He obviously liked the way I tasted, or he wouldn’t be down there devouring me like that.
When my climax finally ripped through me, I let out a strangled cry, my legs twitching like crazy. Elias held me down, his tongue moving lower, darting at my entrance and lapping up all my juices.
He moved back up the bed and nestled beside me, strong arms wrapping around my quivering body. “Did you like that, Doll?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Tell me why.”
“It… it felt so much better with you touching me this time,” I said, thinking back to the other night in my cell when he made me have my first orgasm in the vibrating panties. It was amazing, but it was still nothing compared to how this felt, with his hands and tongue all over me.
“Just think how much better it will be with my cock in you,” he replied, burrowing his mouth into my neck.
I gasped and nodded. “Why do we have to wait again?”
“Crown and Dagger rules. You can only lose your virginity at the Bonding.”
“But how would they even know?” I asked softly. “It’s just us in here.”
He smirked. “As happy as I am that you want me to fuck you so badly, I really can’t. There are cameras hidden all over the place, so the society council will know if I take your virginity before the ceremony.”
“Oh.” I shivered, suddenly feeling far too exposed. I scooted back and pulled the duvet over myself.
“Don’t be ashamed,” Elias said, sitting up on one elbow. “Your body is perfect.”
“Thank you,” I murmured. “It’s just weird knowing people might’ve seen us doing… that.”
He laughed. “You’re going to have to get used to it, Doll. The Bonding happens in front of everyone.”
“Oh.” I bit my bottom lip. “What exactly goes on during the ceremony? I mean, apart from the obvious.”
“I’ve never been to one before, so I know about as much as you.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Really? You’ve never been?”
“Never had any reason to go before now. So I guess we’ll experience it all together, won’t we?”
I nodded and settled back into his arms. I was still curious as to why he’d had such a sudden change of heart toward me—seemingly, anyway—so I decided to milk it for as long as I could. I might actually be able to get some answers out of him while he was in this pleasant mood.
“Could you tell me more about this place?” I asked shyly.
Elias frowned. “You already know what it is.”
“Not really.”
He chuckled softly and sat up properly. “Oh, that’s right. I keep forgetting. You’re supposed to act like you’re clueless.”
My brows furrowed. “I really am clueless.”
He smiled patiently, as if he were humoring a child. “Fine. I’ll play for a few minutes,” he said, waving a hand. “Ask me whatever you want. Within reason.”
“Okay. What exactly is this place we’re in right now? I know it’s called the Finishing School and it has something to do with training, but that’s all I really know.”
“This is where all the new girls get sent once they’ve signed their contracts. They need to undergo certain processes to prepare them for their time at the Lodge. The manner in which they are trained depends on who their master is, but the end result is usually about the same.”
“What’s the Lodge?”
A half-smile curled his lips up again. “I suppose I’d describe it as a playground for the elite. A twisted pleasure palace. Anything a man wants, he can have it there. Most of the girls are trained to provide whatever they ask for, no matter how depraved.”
My brows knitted. “Sounds like an illegal brothel to me,” I murmured.
“Well, if you want to be crass, then sure, that’s what it is.”
“But you’re good-looking, smart, and rich,” I said, tilting my head to the side. “You can probably have any woman you want. So why would you need to use something like the Lodge?”
“Because the only woman I want right now is you, under very specific circumstances that you’d never agree to if you weren’t being
paid,” he said, eyes flashing. “As for the other members, the reason they visit the place is because they can get anything they want there. Things regular women won’t do, even if they’ve been dating or married for years.”
“Oh.”
“Of course, that’s not everyone. Some members who visit only like plain old vanilla stuff, and they just aren’t getting any from their wife anymore. Others want a bit of light BDSM action, like handcuffs and spanking. But the vast majority prefer something… else. No rules, no limits.”
“I guess you’re firmly in that category,” I said quietly.
I thought he might chuckle at that, but instead he pressed his lips into a tight line. “Yes. But I really am sorry, Tatum,” he said. My eyes widened. It was the first time he’d used my real name in what felt like forever. “I pushed you too far last night, too soon.”
I swallowed hard. I wasn’t sure how to respond.
I changed the subject instead, trying to capitalize on his guilt. “You said I was being paid to be here with you,” I said warily. “But I’m not. I told you the other day, it’s my parents who are being paid.”
He sat up and rubbed his chin. “Well, yeah. Most of the girls who wind up here have the money distributed amongst their family members while they serve their contracts. It’s not like they can spend it while they’re here.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant,” I said, my voice sounding sharper than I intended. “I didn’t agree to any of this, and I know the other girls didn’t either.”
He sighed. “Christ… this again? I know what your contract says, but this act is getting very old, very fast. Just stop.”
“Why won’t you listen to me?” I said. “This isn’t an act. I’m not a prostitute. I’m here against my will and my parents are benefiting from it. Just like the other girls. They were either kidnapped or their parents sold them here!”
“For fuck’s sake...”
“Please, Elias, if you actually care about me at all, just listen! None of us want to be here. I’m not lying.”
“Yes, you are.” His eyes narrowed. “The girls are all here willingly. Competition to work at the Lodge is actually very fierce, because they can be offered up to a million dollars for their contracts, depending on the length and other factors.”
I shook my head. How could he say these things with a straight face? “What about Priyanka? That other girl from Roden. She was a straight-A law student, and she probably would’ve made a ton of money once she graduated. More than a million over the years. She wouldn’t sell herself here, and I know for a fact that she didn’t. She told me so herself!” I said.
Annoyance again, sparking hotter this time. “I thought we were doing so well today,” Elias said with an irritated sigh. “But we can’t have you spouting these lies, Doll. I need you to calm down or the guards will have to come in here and give you something to make you calm down. I’m sure you know what will happen then.”
The message was clear. No matter how sweet or nice he was to me, he was still my owner. I was still his possession to do whatever he pleased with. If I didn’t react the way he wanted, I could easily be drugged and forced back into my cell, just to shut me up or make me behave. I could be silenced for as long as it took for me to accept my new position under him.
I glowered at him, then got off the bed. I didn’t want to be near him anymore.
Elias stood and stalked over to me. “Don’t be like this. I’d really hate to spoil our good day. Wouldn’t you?”
I glared up at him indignantly. “It’s already spoiled.”
He looked at me like I was nothing but a toddler having a tantrum over a broken toy. “I’m going to give you one more chance to calm down, Doll. You’re a good actress, and it’s going to make it very fun to train you as my whore. I like all the fight you have in you. But now is not the fucking time.”
His words were like a cold-water slap to my face. That was all I was to him in the end. A whore. Something subhuman, an object to be trained and molded into the perfect pleasure doll.
“You’re sick,” I muttered. “If you just opened your eyes for five minutes, you’d see the truth. I don’t belong here, and neither do any of the other girls. This place and the Lodge aren’t high-class brothels. They’re sex trafficking hives, and the men in your society who set them up belong in prison.”
Elias narrowed his eyes and pushed me up against the wall. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were doing this on purpose to make me punish you. Is that what you want me to do?” he said, a dangerous edge to his voice.
“No. I just want you to let me go home!”
I inwardly cringed as I said it. I wasn’t saying ‘I want to go home’ like a normal person. No, I was saying that I wanted Elias to let me go home, as if a large chunk of my mind had already given itself over to him and his claims to my ownership. As if part of me genuinely thought I couldn’t do anything without his express permission.
He leaned even closer. “Your contract states that you will remain with me as long as I want to keep you. You know that. And right now, I don’t want to let you go.”
Hot anger swept through me. “No! I fucking don’t know anything of the sort, because I never signed any fucking contract!” I shouted, pushing him away from me with one hand.
I wasn’t sure what came over me, but before I could stop myself, my other hand was swiping through the air, delivering a hard slap to his right cheek.
I immediately skittered away from the wall, cowering in fear near the bed. Oh, shit.
I slapped Elias.
I actually reached out and slapped a man who could beat me senseless if he so desired.
He touched a hand to his reddening cheek and turned toward the bed, eyes steel-hard as he regarded me. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he said. His voice was soft yet icy-cold and dangerous.
I fell to my knees. “Please, I’m sorry!” I said, desperate to avoid whatever terrible punishment he had in store for me now. Hot tears were already spilling from my eyes. “I didn’t mean it. It was an accident!”
Elias roughly dragged me to my feet and pushed me back up against the wall, his eyes blazing. “You’ve always had a very fucking twisted concept of what an accident is, haven’t you?” he hissed through his teeth. “You raise your hand and very purposefully slap me, and you call it an accident. You push a man off a cliff out of anger, and apparently that’s an accident too.”
“Please,” I whimpered. ”I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant…” I trailed off, sobs replacing my words as he dragged me toward the door.
“You’re going back to your cell and you’re staying there. You will not leave for any reason until the Bonding tomorrow night, and after that you’ll be there for another three days. No exercise, no shower, nothing,” he said. “I was actually going to keep you here with me for the rest of the day and night, but you’ve just proved that you can’t handle it yet.”
I shrieked as he pulled me along. Now that I’d seen the nice room and been in it with him, I couldn’t bear the thought of returning to my cell. Especially if I would be left alone for days on end again. I’d had more than enough of that. One more day might just push me over the edge into pure insanity.
“No, please, I’ll be good! I’m sorry!” I cried as Elias pulled me roughly down the hall, toward the elevator.
He ignored my pleas. When we reached my underground cell, I refused to go in, planting my feet as firmly as I could on the concrete floor outside. “No! I can’t be alone again!” I said. “Not anymore. I can’t do it. Please, Master…”
My voice was broken, heavy with emotion. Elias simply stared at me with cold eyes, unlocked my door, and pulled me inside with him. No matter how hard I struggled, his strength would always outmatch mine.
I fell to my knees again, begging and pleading, clutching at his legs. “Don’t leave me here. Whip me again, do whatever you want to me. Just not this again!”
He still didn’t respond, a
nd I felt my face turning hot with desperation. “Please, please, please,” I sobbed, lowering my head. “Elias, you’re all I have….”
It was bleak but it was true, as much as I hated to admit it. The guards never spoke to me, and I wasn’t technically allowed to talk to any of the other girls here, so conversation with them in the gym was always whispered and sporadic. If I was kept in my cell for the next two days straight, even those short instances would vanish.
Elias was the only one I could have real conversations with, as long as I was good, and he was the only one I could spend time with. My only proper human contact. He really was all I had in this place.
Now I’d gone and messed it up. He didn’t want me, didn’t even want to be around me.
Bad girl. Bad girl. Bad girl! The awful chant started in my head, growing in pitch. Guilt and shame swirled deep within, making my guts churn.
Elias looked down at me, his eyes flat and emotionless. “I really tried with you,” he said softly. “How many times did I say I wanted today to be good for both of us?”
“You said it a lot,” I said, wiping my cheeks and nose as tears leaked down my face.
“And what did you do?”
“I messed it up. Please, Master, I’ll make it good again. Just punish me like you did last night and take me back to the room with you. Don’t leave me alone.”
He smiled, a cruel smirk. “I’m not going to whip you. For one, you aren’t entirely healed from last night. You’re covered in welts, and I don’t need my toy to get infected and broken,” he said crisply. “And two, I’m not going to give in and give you what you want. I know perfectly well that you can’t stand the thought of being left alone in here again, not after all the little tastes of freedom and luxury you’ve been given. This is the worst punishment you can imagine right now. So it’s what you’re getting.”
I wailed and begged, but he ignored me and stepped out of my cell.
I cried hysterically as I waited, hoping this was just a test, but he didn’t return. Still sobbing, I crawled over to the corner and pulled my body into a tight ball, rocking back and forth.
