Chapter 11
11
I ’m led off the stage in the opposite direction that I walked on. I can’t help lingering there, wanting to see what will come out next. It turns out to be another woman, this one petite and blond—and naked. Hopefully she gets a better rate than the brunette.
“Ms. Belmonte? Please follow me.”
I allow yet another staff member to gently take my elbow and guide me away. With each step, the truth hits me again and again.
Wolf was here. He won.
Was he wearing the mask when he did it? Or do all the other attendees know what I don’t—what he really looks like? Reaper certainly seemed to know who he was.
The Mad Wolf.
That name tickles some memory in the deep recesses of my mind, but the recollection slips away when I try to grasp it. All I know is that I’ve heard the name before, a long time ago. He’s not from Carver City—that much I’m sure of. If he were, I would have registered that nickname.
My guide takes me back to my dressing room, where I wait impatiently for the funds to clear. It seems to take forever, but I suspect is a very short time indeed. I’m still pacing in circles when they reappear.
They smile. “Everything is finalized. Please follow me to the room chosen for you.”
Within a few minutes, I’m led through the warren of hallways to a luxurious bedroom that puts the one I spent the day in to shame.
And it’s fully kitted out.
I step through the door and look around. I may avoid the Underworld like the plague, but I’m familiar with the equipment and toys that go along with some flavors of BDSM. This room has a significant number of them.
There’s an open trunk that displays crops, floggers, and paddles in every shape and weight. The four-poster bed has rings embedded in it at different heights, the better to bind someone to. There’s a rainbow of Shibari ropes and three different kinds of padded cuffs. That’s not even getting into the spreader bar, the spanking bench, or the seat that very much looks like a throne.
I cross the room, look through a door, and find a bathroom fit for royalty, all dark glossy tile with more showerheads than any shower actually needs.
“Damn, y’all really go all out.”
“Ms. Belmonte.”
I turn to my escort, belatedly realizing that they were waiting for me to acknowledge them so they can leave. I try for a smile, but I’m too overwhelmed to fully swing it. “Sorry. I got a little wowed. What do you need from me?”
“Nothing, miss.” They smile. “I just want to reiterate: once you leave the premises, you are agreeing to hold the auction harmless in any damages that result in the events that follow.”
Damages . They would see it like that, but I can’t exactly fault them. I’m here of my own free will, and I knew exactly what Wolf was capable of when I boarded that plane.
When I fucked him.
When I came all over his fingers with a dead body at our feet.
“I understand.”
“Good.” Another person hurries in, faintly out of breath. They whisper in my escort’s ear and then press a box into the other’s hands. My escort frowns. “This is highly irregular, but the Mad Wolf would like you to have this while you wait.”
There’s nothing to do but accept the box. I almost laugh at myself. As if I’m not frothing at the mouth to see what he’s sent along ahead of himself. “Thank you.”
“Good luck.”
Before I can ask why everyone keeps saying that to me, they’re gone, closing the door softly behind them. It’s just as well. For better or worse, I mostly know what I’ve gotten myself into. I hope.
I walk to the bed and set the box on it. It’s about the size of a shoebox and made of heavy wood, but aside from being polished to the point where I can see my reflection on its surface, there’s nothing notable about it.
I’m stalling.
I tug on my ring, relishing the little spike of pain I get in response. Strictly speaking, I’m not a masochist, but I can’t deny that a little pain adds a fun element of spice to normal sex. If my parents weren’t who they are, I probably would have found my way through the Underworld’s doors before now.
“Stop stalling.” I flip open the lid before I can talk myself out of it. There’s a flat black surface with a thick note card on it.
I want you naked and kneeling when I come for you. Wear this.
“Well, there’s one thing Wolf consistently has—audacity.” I flip up the secondary lid, and my mouth goes dry. It’s not the blindfold that makes my stomach erupt into butterflies.
It’s the collar.
I lift it carefully, shooting a nervous look at the door. I know what a collar means when it comes to BDSM. It’s a claim, a sign marking consent of ownership, of submission. This collar is gorgeous, more jewelry than utility. It’s a choker that drips rubies in various lengths. I hold it up to my neck and shiver. The pattern will frame my bare breasts and shoulders when I put it on.
I’m nervous for sure, but nervousness can be a good thing. I lick my lips. “Okay, I can do this.” The question is whether I obey or start pushing boundaries immediately. I look around again. “If you’re going to play this way, then we need a damn negotiation first.” A safe word, though the very concept seems almost laughable after what we’ve already done.
No, damn it. I don’t have to keep being reckless just because I started out that way. Wolf is familiar enough with kink to offer me this collar, so he can damn well sit through a conversation before we cross yet another line that we can’t uncross.
I carefully set the collar back in the box but don’t close it. Then I return the blindfold to its place.
And sit down to wait.
There’s no clock in this room, but I wait long enough that I’m heartily glad for the en suite bathroom. It has a whole treasure trove of goodies too. The tiled walls of the shower also contain sturdy anchors for bondage games. Under the sink, I find enough industrial-strength cleaners to make me laugh. As if there were any doubts about what went on in this room.
In my snooping, I find a drawer full of a dozen different kinds of lube, and another with a wide selection of dildos and vibrators. Truly, it’s a kinky wonderland.
I finally end up in the large chair. It’s more comfortable than I’d expected and wide enough to accommodate a number of body types, with extra room so someone could slip their knees on either side as they ride...
The door opens softly, moving slowly enough that I’m half-sure I’ve fallen asleep and am dreaming. But then he’s there, filling the doorway, his skull mask the only thing light about him.
Wolf.
He steps into the room and closes the door behind him, just as softly, just as slowly. There’s a faint click as he locks it, and then he crosses his arms over his chest. “I should have known you wouldn’t obey.”
“You haven’t earned obedience.”
He laughs dryly. “I just paid a million dollars for you, Red. I think I’ve earned plenty.”
“Oh, that?” I don’t lean forward, forcing my body to stay relaxed. “I thought that was for everyone else’s benefit.”
“In part.” He doesn’t move. “But it’s currently sitting in your bank account, so take off that fucking dress and get on your knees.”
My pussy pulses in response to the rough words. “Take off the mask.”
“Not yet.”
There’s no room for argument in his voice, so I change tactics. “You offered me a collar. You understand what it means?”
“It means you’re mine.” Still, he doesn’t move.
I am . I bite back the words before they can slip past my lips. He’s too sure of me. He has reason to be, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of digging in my heels over this. “I want a safe word. I want you to promise to respect it.”
Another of those dry chuckles. “You’d only have my word that I will.”
“Your word is good enough for me. Even if you haven’t been completely honest with me.”
Is there a hesitation in his response? I’m not sure. I don’t get a chance to question it before he nods once. “Fine. Pick your safe word, baby.”
“Huntsman.”
“Cute. Now that that’s out of the way.” He pushes off the door and snaps his gloved fingers. “Take off the dress. Get on your knees.”
“You’re not even going to ask me what I’m into? What my limits are?”
“We covered this. I wouldn’t be a very good stalker if I didn’t know shit about you, Ruby.” He keeps talking in that low, growling voice before I can react to his tongue forming the syllables of my name. “You like a little pain. You want to be bad, want me to hurt other people just to get to your pretty pussy. You want to pretend I’m forcing you into a corner, but you’re so wet, you’re practically shaking for me.”
I lick my lips. “That’s still very limited.”
“You have a problem with something, tell me, and we’ll discuss it.”
“Just like that.”
“Just like that. You’re mine, baby. Wearing that collar isn’t just about everyone who sees it knowing I own that pussy—that I own you . I take care of what’s mine.”
It seems too easy, but maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to push him until he takes what he wants. I might have gotten away with pretending I was being coerced before, but I came here of my own free will. I signed that contract. I stepped onto the stage.
So I stand and slide out of the heavy dress. It hits the ground with a faint thud, leaving me naked before him. Except for the ring he gave me. He points at a spot right in front of him, and after the slightest hesitation, I cross to kneel there.
“You don’t follow instructions worth a damn.” He moves to the bed and grabs the blindfold and the collar. Then he steps behind me and carefully lifts my hair off my shoulders. A heartbeat later, the collar fastens around my throat. The long threads of rubies slither over my skin, making me shiver.
Wolf holds up a small key in front of me. “This is mine. Not going to make you wear this one in public, but you will be wearing the alternative.”
My heart beats faster. “Possessive much?”
“You have no fucking idea.” He wraps his fist around the key. The blindfold is next, a thick thing that blacks out my vision of the room entirely.
“Wolf, I want to see you.”
“Later.” His footsteps circle me, and I can’t help tensing in response. “I’m going to put you on that bed and eat your cunt until you beg for mercy, then I’m going to fuck you until I fill you up. Then I’m going to do it all over again. And again. Until you don’t have any confusion about who that pussy belongs to.”
I can’t quite catch my breath. “Wolf.”
“Somewhere in there, I’m also going to fuck that tight little ass. If you’re very good, at some point, I’ll fuck that bitchy mouth of yours until you gag and cry for me.”
“Wolf.”
The sound of his steps stops in front of me. “You got a problem with any of that?”
I might laugh if I could draw the air for it. “No.” I swallow hard. “I haven’t done much anal, though. You’ll have to be careful if you don’t want to hurt me.”
“Oh, baby, I do want to hurt you.” His hand—his hand , not his leather gloves—cups my face. “But not by accident. If I hurt you, it’s going to be on purpose. I’ll be careful with your ass.”
I can’t stop shaking. He hasn’t done anything but talk to me, touch me almost innocently with his bare hands. I can’t stop myself from leaning my cheek deeper into his palm. “Okay.”
“Good girl.” He removes his hand, but I barely have a chance to mourn the loss before he sweeps me up and sets me on the bed on my back. “Spread your legs. Let me see what a million-dollar cunt looks like.”
I don’t hesitate. I spread my legs wide enough that my hips ache. My pussy throbs in time with my racing heart, and my desire feels heavy in a way I can barely stand. His mouth. I’m finally going to get his mouth.
He moves away from the bed, his boots making soft sounds on the carpet. The slide of cloth reaches my ears, and I freeze. He’s stripping. For the first time, I’m going to have his entire body against mine. No clothes between us. No mask. No gloves.
I reach up for my blindfold, but his harsh voice stops me. “You take that blindfold off, and I’m going to forget about being careful with you, baby. Choose wisely.”
My fingers brush the blindfold, but as intoxicating as I find the idea of him doing exactly that, I don’t want it for the first time it’s truly just us, no one else around who’ll intrude. So I put my hands on the bed and fist the sheets. A reminder to obey.
“Thought so.” His voice is closer. I can’t hear his footsteps any longer, not over the rushing in my ears. There’s no telling how close or far he is.
Then rough hands find my thighs. The grip is painful enough that it surprises a yip out of me. I don’t get a chance to decide if I want to protest for real or not. His mouth finds my pussy, and then there isn’t a single thought in my head beyond more .
He devours me.
It’s as if he wants to imprint himself on every inch of my pussy. He licks and sucks at my folds, delves his tongue deep inside me, moves up to kiss my clit as if he can go for hours.
I, on the other hand, am a keg of dynamite about to explode.
“Wolf!”
He responds to my desperate cry by shoving two fingers into me as he works my clit. I barely have time to process the intrusion before his pinky presses against my ass. I tense, but he goes slow there, only intruding to his first knuckle.
It’s still almost too much. All I can think about is how much bigger his cock is. It scares me and excites me, and oh fuck , I’m coming.
My back bows, and I reach for him without thinking. He grabs my wrists with one hand and pins them to my stomach, all without stopping what he’s doing to my pussy. It only makes it hotter.
I come again. Or maybe it’s an extension of the first one. I’m not sure. All I know is that I need more. “Wolf, please. Fuck me.”
“Already pressing me,” he says against my clit. “Impatient.”
Yes. Always . “Let me ride your cock. Please.”
He sucks hard on my clit, but then he eases back. “Better ride it good. Can’t have you disappointing me.” He loops an arm around my waist, and for one disorientating moment, I’m spinning. Then I come down straddling his waist.
I was right. He’s naked.
I start to press forward, intending to feel as much of him against as much of me as possible, but he again catches my arms. This time, he guides them behind my back. “Clasp your forearms.”
The new position leaves me helpless once again. Especially when he grabs my hips and guides me to the broad head of his cock. “Now, baby. Make me proud.”
Even with the recent orgasm, I have to fight my way down his cock. It reminds me of... But no, I’m not thinking of Luke right now. He might have had a monster cock, but that just means I know how to take one.
One step at a time.
One sliding inch after another.
I work myself down Wolf’s length in slow strokes. With my arms behind my back, he’s got to have an excellent view. I wish I had it too. I need it.
It seems to take a long time, but eventually I sink the last inch and seal us together. Wolf mutters something in a language that sounds like Russian, but I’m too far gone to question it.
I grind mindlessly on him. It’s not enough. “I need my arms.”
“Fine.”
I release my forearms and grip his shoulders. It’s tempting to lean forward again, to rub myself on his chest, but it’s clear he won’t allow it. I’ll figure out why later. Right now, I’m too busy fucking him.
“My perfect little slut.” He tightens his grip on my hips, lifts me, and slams me back down onto him. “Always so eager to ride any willing cock that will have you.”
I gasp, but his coarse words only make the pleasure coil tighter inside me. “Yes.”
“Watched you fuck that enforcer as if he had any right to this pussy. Watched him put his hands all over you while he split you wide open where anyone could see, in that short little dress.”
I can still see the picture he sent. The damning evidence of me on someone else’s cock. “Yes,” I moan.
“Then you shared my pussy with that bitch, letting her mark you up and take a picture with her hands all over you. Taunting me.”
“Yes!” I ride him harder, faster. “It felt so good. I knew it’d make you so mad.”
“You keep passing that cunt out like free candy. It’s like you want me to punish you. To fuck you hard and fast and reclaim what’s mine.” His teeth find my nipple, and it’s enough to have me dancing right up to the edge.
I don’t make a conscious decision to move. To disobey. It’s as if my hands have a mind of their own. One moment, I’m quivering and shaking, on the brink of coming, and the next, I rip off my blindfold and look down at Wolf.
I freeze.
He’s not wearing a mask right now. He’s just as naked as I am, his face all harsh lines.
His . . . familiar face.
Because I know this face. I’ve seen it wearing a thousand different emotions, seen it angry and soft and filled with the kind of lust that makes my clit throb.
Luke .
But no. That’s impossible. It can’t be. I know Luke. He’s a nice guy. Respectful. Almost boring these days, though he wasn’t when we started dating.
I’ve never seen this expression on his face, though. He looks cruel, his blue eyes so cold that I shiver on his cock. It’s as if another person is wearing his skin. I don’t know this man. My Luke would not stalk me. My Luke would not murder someone and then finger fuck me over their dead body.
“What the fuck,” I whisper.
If he says something harsh and self-assured like Wolf would, I may do the mental gymnastics to keep fucking him. Instead he says, “I can explain.” And he doesn’t sound like Luke right now. But he doesn’t sound like Wolf either.
He has a Russian accent.
I shove off him. I don’t have a plan, but I’m nearly to the door when he catches up with me. He wraps me in his big body, and I really am a fool because part of me wants to melt for him.
“Stop, Ruby.”
“Let me go. What did you do with Wolf?” It’s the only explanation. Luke and Wolf can’t be the same person. Luke must have figured out what was going on and then stepped into Wolf’s clothing.
“I’m Wolf.”
“Don’t lie to me!”
He braces one arm on the door in front of me. “Look.”
I see what he means immediately. The bite mark on his forearm, the perfect impression of my teeth from the last time. When he fucked me on the couch and told me to be quiet or he’d kill Luke. Except he’s Luke. “What the fuck ?”
His hard cock presses against my ass. “What’s your safe word, baby?” His accent gives the words a strange flavor, as if he’s not Wolf or Luke. But someone who may be more dangerous than both.
“What?” My head is spinning. I can’t think. I can’t process what the hell is going on.
“Your safe word.” He tightens his hold on my waist and lifts me just a little, just enough for his cock to find my entrance. “Because as far as I’m concerned, nothing has changed between us. You were happy enough that I paid a million dollars for this cunt five minutes ago. I mean to take what I’m owed.”
Again, my foolish body takes over. I arch back against him, my safe word trapped on the inside of my teeth. “I hate you.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that.” He wedges his cock into me, one slow inch at a time. It doesn’t feel like care, though. It feels like humiliation, especially when my pussy blooms around him in response. “Hands on the door.”
“Fuck you.” But I obey. I press my hands flat to the door as he starts to fuck me again. This time, it’s not like when I was riding him. It’s closer to what happened on the couch.
A claim of ownership.
“When you come, I want you to say my name,” he murmurs in my ear. “My real name.”
“I... get that... now? Lucky me.” Gods, his cock feels good inside me. I don’t understand how I didn’t recognize him as Luke, who I’ve fucked more times than I can count. But then, Luke never fucked me like this . He was selfless to an outstanding degree, and if sometimes we got a little rough, it was always with me on top and driving things. It never felt dirty or borderline violent.
“Casimir.”
Just like that, everything clicks. The name I barely recognized. The Russian accent. Casimir Romanov. The vicious fixer for the Russian branch of the Romanov family.
The Mad Wolf.