32. Sable
SABLE
The next hour and a half are the longest of my life.
Everyone around me makes furious notes, hungrily devouring every word coming from the teacher’s mouth, while I can barely spell most of them.
I've never felt dumber in my life. The weight of my shame lodges in my throat, forcing tears to spill. Only a few drops before I hold myself back and keep my chin up. I’ve had so much worse done to me than a leash.
Putting me into a position where I need to keep up and can’t is much worse.
By the time the lecture ends, I’m still reeling. My eyes blur as they try to read the paper, reviewing everything I “learned.” I know full well I can’t possibly absorb that much information. Apropos of nothing, Lex pulls the collar, urging me to stand.
“Fuck you, Lex,” I spit at full volume, not worried about who around might hear.
The teacher looks for a moment but decides it's not her problem, and there aren’t any students around to hear.
The lecture hall empties, and people seem less interested in staring at me now that they’ve had their brain cells burned out.
“Come on, move,” he says with the leash in his hands and not an ounce of compassion in his voice.
Lex gets a rush from watching my scowl, so I school my expression and pretend there’s nothing out of the ordinary.
“Come on, Sable, fight with me,” he taunts.
That’s what he liked about me last time, too, and I’m not going to give it to him until we start walking and he pulls harder.
“Fine, how are you going to be a doctor when you’re such a miserable asshole?” I ask, genuinely curious.
Everyone is gone now, except for Cillian. He stands up front, tidying up a few things over the table. His eyes lift as we approach, gaze tracing the leash around my neck.
“I’ve warned him about his bedside manner,” Cillian says, commenting on our conversation but refusing to look at Lex.
“I need to talk to you,” Lex tells him, but only an idiot would fall for that tone.
Cillian silently curses, his lips distinctly forming the letters before he says, “Keep moving, Morwen. I don’t want anything to do with this.” He waves a hand between us but doesn’t look up.
I practically feel Lex changing his mind as a sick smile curves his lips and his stance hardens. “You’re going to do whatever the fuck I say, Cillian. Or you’re going to find yourself out on your ass and I’ll have an all-new babysitter.” Oh great, it’s not just me he enjoys torturing.
Silence follows after the threat, and I shift my weight, more uncomfortable than I was when hundreds of people’s eyes were on me.
Cillian shoves the paperwork into a battered briefcase, and my gaze follows every movement, taking him in from his inexpensive haircut to his regular clothes.
He’s wearing black as most people at Bellthorn, but he doesn’t look like an extra in a dystopian horror movie, more like a runner in a restaurant.
Lex pulls me closer to the table the teacher uses as a desk, forcing Cillian to step back.
Lex guides me to sit on the edge and instructs me to sit.
My cheeks hit the cold table and Cillian’s papers.
I don’t have any fight in me, whether Lex wants it or not.
Nothing that Lex does makes any sense to me, and after this class, I need a rest from thinking.
God, now what? I ask myself. Butterflies cause havoc in the pit of my stomach, but I refuse to show it.
I’ve had so much sex in the last few days, and every time the same mix of fear and desire overwhelms me.
I look at the ceiling, boring overhead lights illuminate us, different from the rest of the castle; the classrooms actually look like one. No stupid green lighting here.
“What are you doing, Morwen?” Cillian asks, his exhaustion leaking into his tone.
“You always complain about my work at the turret,” Lex says as he stops closer to where my head lies. “I’m just making your job easier like you wanted.”
“This isn’t?—”
“Remove your clothing.” Lex cuts Cillian off, but he looks at me.
“What?” I ask at the same time Cillian screeches.
“You ordered me to conduct my studies in the medical department. Here I am,” he says, looking at the other man, and then his gaze lands back on me. “Don’t make me repeat myself, Sable.”
His tone is final, and I know there’s no room for argument. His eyes are full of heat when they are directed at me, and the moment he turns back to Cillian, it's like all the fire is gone. He’s back to calculating Lex, half robot and half man.
“You know well that all I meant is that you’re not allowed to steal cadavers from the department.”
I flash Lex a look. Why the fuck is he stealing bodies?
His lips curve, but he says nothing, rolling his two fingers in the air in a sign of impatience.
There’s no getting out of this, so I start taking my clothes off.
At least he waited for everyone to leave.
Even though I follow his instructions, I keep things very slow.
The buttons of the dress bodice are many, and I’m not in a hurry.
“I’m using a live specimen today, as you can see.” He shrugs, right when the top falls open, and my breasts are free.
“Can you please—” Cillian starts, but Lex laughs.
“It amazes me that you still try to order me even when it’s obvious I won’t ever obey. It’s quite tragic that you feel the need to keep pushing the same sermon over and over again.”
Lex circles the table and helps me remove the skirt and underwear, and finally, I’m completely naked.
He tosses my clothes away and presses two flat hands to my shoulders, showing me he wants me to lie down.
My back hits the cold table, but I don’t make a sound.
My cheeks burn, and the urge to cover myself is strong, but I try to remain impassive, as if I’m really his specimen.
And dead things pinned beneath glass don’t have room to feel shame.
“There’s so much I can learn from a living body. Things a cadaver won’t teach you,” he drags out as he circles my nipple with his thumb.
Static cracks the air, and I suck in a breath, trying not to react.
My gaze doesn’t move from the ceiling. I won’t look over at Cillian or even pay attention to Lex's expressions. No. I stay where I am, breathing slowly as they talk over me. Heat pours inside me, and I’m not sure when exactly I became this fucked up. Maybe at the bottom of the river.
“Can you see how she reacts to my touch?” he asks the other man. “What does that tell you?”
Cillian sighs, but his breath shakes. “What kind of game are you playing?”
Doesn’t Cillian know? Whatever the hell Lex wants. Lex pinches both of my nipples, the sensation travels straight to my pussy, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from moaning.
“Don’t you think this is a case to be studied? A woman who likes to fight, who pretends to despise me just so she can play…” He leaves a hand to trail my stomach as he walks along the table, finally reaching my pussy. He strokes my slit once before his thumb and forefinger open my pussy.
Cold air hits me, and I curse without making a sound. There’s no mistake about my desire if he can see how soaking wet I am, and I can feel my own swollen clit pulsing.
“Look at that…” Lex says with fake disappointment in his voice. “So wet, so needy. Can you make sense of this, Cillian?”
My eyes close for just a second, but I don’t let myself relax.
My will is made of iron, and I won’t melt in his hands when he’s being such a prick.
But Lex’s other hand slowly circles my clit.
My determination crashes in front of us as the pleasure rises.
He pulls a reluctant moan from between my lips. He darkly chuckles at my pleasure.
“I’ve never met someone so responsive,” Lex murmurs to himself.
I look to the side, thinking that maybe Cillian left, since he can walk away from this torture, only to find him standing in the same spot.
His glassy eyes pin me, and even at a distance, I can see the tent in his pants.
We lock eyes, and I don’t know what to do.
If anything, he’s wrong; he should have just left.
Why is everyone in this fucking school so okay with this?
Lex pushes a finger inside, stretching me with a moan and bringing my attention back to him.
I came so hard last night with Parker, but my pussy has been desperate to be filled ever since, and everything is too intense.
The edges of my vision dissolve until there’s nothing left but Lex standing over me.
“If she wasn’t mine, I’d let you touch. She’s so tight,” Lex goes on, taunting Cillian. “Unfortunately for you, you’re not a founder and you never will be. We don’t share.”
I frown; they share constantly. Then I remember that I’m trying not to show emotion. Lex notices right away. “Sharing with them doesn't count.”
Why? I want to ask, but I don’t. Their dynamic confuses the hell out of me, and I’m dying to ask why, beyond this contract I never signed. It does help with one quiet fear, though: are they going to pass me around? It doesn’t seem like it.
“If I make her come in less than a minute, would I get an A?” Lex asks with a smirk.
“Morwen, stop it.” Cillian’s voice is weak. If he wasn’t in control before, it’s now clear that he’s powerless over Lex.
“Look at her, Cillian.” Lex sighs. “Would you leave her wanting like this?” His gentle, caring tone is so fake my blood starts to boil.
His fingers are faster than my anger, and the pressure is just right on my clit. I abandon any attempt to hide my climax or hold it back, and I release all over the teacher’s table. Sopping wet, sinful sounds come from my pussy, and there’s no way to hide what is happening as I scream and squirt.
My body shakes, the orgasm wrings me out completely, and my entire body shakes as I come back down. When I can feel again the desk is hard at my back, and the papers Cillian was so focused on are soaked beneath me.
Fuck Lex Morwen and the rest of these clowns.
Lex dips the fingers that were inside me into his mouth and groans, “Incredible.”
He grabs the leash, pulling me up off the table with absolutely no mercy. “Clean it up,” he tosses over his shoulder to Cillian before he leads me out to another walk of shame.