“You know the Italians really were cruel fuckers in medieval times. You should see the variety of devices I’ve got lined up in my dungeon for tonight’s game of ‘Let me see how long it takes to make you cry.’”
“I’m serious, Godman. Slow but sure with this one.”
“I’m serious, too. The taste of a virgin’s tears and all that.”
She laughed. “You love your gift.”
I hung up on her.
The lighting was dimmed in a soft red haze. Unfamiliar shadows danced over furniture and certain devices I recognized from the porn I’d managed to sneak a peek at while hidden away in my bedroom.
I stripped down naked again and placed my dress, underwear and shoes on a corner chair.
An impressively carved four-poster-bed was positioned in the center of the room. But instead of red silk ribbons, there were chains attached to each bedpost with metal cuffs on the end.
This sense of fight or flight or fuck was cranked up enough to have my nipples beading and my clit throbbing; my pussy was already soaking wet.
I’d felt just as intimated back when Damien had tied me to the bed in his oceanside home. There’d been no regrets over that evening. He’d warned me it would be memorable, and it was. Though he’d done hardly anything to me there.
Which was why I hadn’t left this room yet. A replay on that night was as alluring as it was terrifying. I recalled my disappointment when I’d been escorted out of Seascape in the early hours and whisked away in a helicopter with the unspoken threat that I would never return there.
I ran my palm over my right arm, feeling it tingle at the memory of Damien’s touch, trying to comprehend why I had this craving.
For him.
For this.
For more.
The excitement inside me elicited a heady sense of arousal that had me craving his affection, yearning for more of his roughness.
And admittedly his love—or at the very least, his approval.
What he’d done to me in the back of that chauffeur-driven car on the way here had given me the merest taste of the way he liked to dominate. God, I wanted it.
Wanted it all, only…
I looked around at the walls and shelves that offered up strange contraptions promising an alternative to pleasure. It made me recall the images Madeline had shown me—a glimpse into Damien’s depravity, a whole spectrum of perversion, apparently.
To be taken like that…shared, even. Owned like that woman in the video.
Footfalls were heading in this direction.
I gasped and hurried over to the end of the bed, kneeling before it and assuming the same pose that had seemed to please him upstairs.
I only had to wait a few more moments before he walked into the room.
He moved toward me with a stern demeanor that sent shivers up my spine. He’d already removed his necktie. I watched as he peeled off his watch strap, placing it on a high table.
He rolled up his shirt sleeves and casually moved about the room, opening drawers and pulling out contraptions, laying them all in a line on top of the mahogany table.
Daring to raise my head a little more, I peeked at the nipple clamps he’d chosen. The magic wand that lay beside them looked familiar, and I saw a mysterious metal device that was unappealing. I tried not to betray my thoughts, but was unable to hide my concern.
He leaned back against the table and returned his focus to me, crossing his ankles casually as though gauging my reaction to the objects he’d put on display.
I went to speak, wanting to ask what came next.
He raised his finger to stop me. “Eyes diverted. That was your first mistake. Second, your palms should be turned upward. Ready to receive. Any of this sound familiar?”
“Don’t send me away,” I blurted out.
“Give me a good reason not to.”
“If I don’t experience this now, I never will.”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
I shot him a glare. “You know this is not the world I come from.”
“Second mistake, you’re still speaking. Which offends me.”
I slapped my hand to mouth to stop myself from interrupting.
He pushed off and strolled toward me. “This chamber has rules. You broke all of them.”
I averted my eyes, aware of him kneeling before me, sensing his dangerous demeanor. He even seemed to dominate the air I had to breathe.
His hand reached between my thighs and he touched me. I jolted when his fingertip brought an instant of bliss as he stroked my sex. Then he pulled away to examine the sticky wetness on the tip of his fingers with curiosity, rubbing the thickness between his thumb and forefinger like a teacher grading a task.
Reaching for me again, he cupped my pussy, his firm hand pressing against my softness. “I shouldn’t have had to wait for this. You’ve been mine for months.”
“Let’s make it special between us,” I said breathlessly.
“It’s my understanding that you’re here for a different kind of special, true?” His thumb grazed my clit.
I shuddered as his fingers slid along my wetness. Oh, it felt so good. My feelings were gliding between affection and wanting him to be the man I’d imagined he was.
“So wet.” His finger flicked my clit.
I flinched forward.
“Good girl.” A nod, hinting I’d passed a test.
He pushed to his feet and stared down at me, looking intrigued.
I reached for his zipper.
“Another rule broken.”
I let my hands fall to my thighs with my palms facing up. “I thought you might like it.”
“What do you want?”
“My wish is to be taken by you.”
“Are you hoping that will work in your favor?”
I looked away, considering how to answer his question. Damien was Yale-smart, and street-smart, too. He’d know I was lying if I denied it.
“This room,” I whispered. “It’s like a womb.”
His sternness softened for a beat. “Scared?”
I leaped to my feet and hurried over to the bed, reaching for one of the chains lying there and slipping my wrist through the metal cuff. “This is what I want.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I thought wearing this—” My free hand reached for the pendant— “might get your attention. Persuade you to help me and my family. But now I find myself not caring about any of it.”
“Tell me who the necklace came from.”
“I promised not to say.”
“Madeline Rhodes?” He studied me carefully.
If I said yes, I’d be breaking a confidence.
“There’s a serial number on it.” He arched a brow. “Each necklace is worth thousands of dollars because of the diamonds. All I have to do is look at it under a magnifier.”
This felt like a mind game.
“I gave my word.”
“I’ll give you exactly what you’re asking for,” he said quietly. “Break that promise to whomever gave the necklace to you, and I will do everything in my power to have your father’s position realized.”
I’d always been the good girl. The one sent across an ocean to be forged into a valuable asset to be used later. For the first time, I wanted to do something for me. Have my own experience that felt sacred and not waste another second pleasing others. I felt no animosity toward my family. This was about me needing to breathe and have my own life.