“We’re about to see how honorable he is.” Yanking on the chain, Pax pulls me from the room, and the trip to the dungeon passes in a terrified blur. By the time we descend the stairs, I’m trembling all over.
There’s something colder than usual about the underground space. Maybe because most of the lights are shut off, and this time, I’m alone with Pax. He strolls across the floor as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.
And why should he? He’s the one in control down here, the master of this torture chamber. He glances over his shoulder, sending me a grin I find more terrifying than the harshest scowl. Another ripple of fear shoots through my body.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” he asks, pulling on the chain. My breaths come too rapid; my pulse amps too fast.
I’m alone.
Alone with a monster.
And I’m not prepared for what comes next. He shoves me onto a bench, and a piece of my mind chips away at reality. I close my eyes and block out the chafing texture of the wood under my breasts and belly. Thick buckles surround my wrists and ankles, and a leather strap wraps around my waist. He stands behind me and tugs on the strap, raising my ass in the air.
“If you lower your ass, I’ll whip you, understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
There’s nothing comfortable about this piece of equipment. It was designed to humiliate and punish, immobilizing its victim in the most degrading position imaginable.
Thighs spread.
Ass raised.
Arms rendered useless.
Pax rounds the bench and stalls in front of me. “Do you know why you’re down here?”
I have a strong hunch, but I play dumb as he reaches for his zipper. With a shake of my head, I hold my breath. If I don’t, I might start hyperventilating.
“You’re down here to get ass-fucked.” He exposes his thick cock, aiming the tip at my face. “Some women love the pain these cause.” His fingers caress the spiked piercings surrounding the head.
“Please, no!” My voice comes out high-pitched, any semblance of courage or bravery running in desertion. “You don’t have to do this.”
He presses a finger to my lips. “Shhh, it might not be so bad.” He gestures at his erect cock and the painful-looking piercings there. “Sure, the spikes will hurt like hell, but you’re strong, my queen. I know you can take it…if you decide you want me to fuck you like that.”
I stall on a gasping whimper, searching the calculation in his expression for a sign of false hope. A man like Pax is more than capable of messing with someone’s head just for the fun of it.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve got a choice to make, since he won’t take what I so generously offered.”
“Who? I don’t understand.”
“Choose me now, or I’ll bring Castle down, and you can beg him to take you instead. Either way, once I remove that plug, you’re getting a rough ass-fucking.”
I close my eyes as understanding dawns. Liam told him no.
Which means Pax wants him to do it. He wants the chancellor to hurt me.
This is Pax’s revenge.
I eye the metal spikes poking out from his glands and imagine them tearing through my rectum. The last thing I want to do is bring Liam into this, but any other option is unfathomable.
“Clock is ticking.” Pax taps his platinum gold watch.
“If I ask him to do this…I need your word you won’t touch me.”
“I’ll touch you as much as I want, but if you get him to fuck your ass, I’ll leave it alone.”
I’m suspicious of his terms, but I don’t see how I have a choice, considering I’m strapped down to a bench, and he holds all the power.
I make the only choice I can. “I want him to do it.”
If Pax harbors any disappointment, he hides it well. “I thought you might say that, which is why I told him to meet me down here.”
As usual, Liam has impeccable timing. The door to the dungeon open and shuts, echoing through the chilly, dark space, and my attention swerves to the stairs, where Liam descends.
“What the hell is going on?” he shouts, rushing to my side. “Why is she strapped down like this?” His tone vibrates with enough rage to bring down the tower.
Stroking himself in leisurely fashion, Pax gives the chancellor his signature smug smile. “As soon as that anal plug comes out, the queen’s getting a rough fuck in that tight little hole. The question is, are you doing her, or am I?”
“I will kill you for this.”
“I wouldn’t make such threats if I were you. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”
Liam lurches toward Pax, intense hatred distorting his gorgeous face. “I could beat the life out of you right now, and no one would miss you.”
“You could, but you won’t.”
Liam’s shoulders slump. He’s not a coward. He was raised to be a leader, a diplomat, and somehow—despite having been raised in such a misogynistic culture—he found a way to keep from selling off all the pieces of his gentle soul.
“Liam, please. I want you to do this. Please.”
“This isn’t a choice!” He glares at Pax, who’s still stroking himself. “This is his sick way of getting revenge.”
“I know. Please, I’m begging you. I want it to be you.”
Liam’s eyes cut to mine. “You wouldn’t let me do it on the island, but you’re begging now?”
“Yes.”
Running both hands down his face, he shakes his head. “Under these circumstances…without time and preparation…it’ll hurt, Novalee.”
“He’ll hurt me more.”
Pax snickers. “She’s not lying.”
“If I do this, how do I know you won’t hurt her anyway?”
“On my honor as the Brotherhood Enforcer, I give you my word.”
Liam hesitates.
Pax taps his watch again, muttering, “Tik-tok.”
With a frustrated, resigned exhale, Liam reaches for his zipper. “Where’s the lube?”
“You don’t get any. Use spit if you must.”
“This is bullshit.”
“Focus on how you’re saving her from me. I take ass all the time without a drop of lube or spit.”
“You mean the women who end up in the hospital after a session with you?”
“They’re willing. I never said they were sane.”
As Liam settles behind me, his warm hands settling on my ass cheeks, I understand him better—understand why he risked everything to get me out of this monster’s grasp. “Just remember how much I love you, my sweet girl.” He spits between my cheeks, and then he’s probing and grinding, taking my ass inch by painful inch.
Pax crouches in front of me, those soulless eyes searching my face. “Does it hurt?”
“Yes!” A sob breaks free against my will, echoing in the cavernous space.
“Novalee,” Liam gasps, my name a strangled apology as his movement falters.
“Keep going.” It’s my only plea, despite asking him to do the unthinkable, even though it’s breaking my fragile heart all over again. “Please, don’t stop.”
Because the faster he finishes, the faster we can put this behind us.