Chapter 16
Everly
"Xavier requests your presence in the dungeon."
I nod to let the doll know I've heard her, my face feeling like a mask. I don't betray any emotion as I close my bedroom door behind me and walk down the hall to where Xavier waits for me.
Every step echoes through the quiet hallway like a countdown to something I can’t escape. My heart isn’t racing—it’s just... still, like a held breath.
The truth is, I don’t want to go to the dungeon. I don’t want to face Xavier, not now, not when everything feels so... fragile. Xavier's upset because he can't get anyone to stay, and like a sick joke, I let myself think I could be the one he's looking for.
But why would Xavier even want me to stay? Out of all the dolls, out of all the women who are so much more experienced, so much more... worthy? I can’t compete with them, not really. Lila with her fire, Sable with her sharp edges, Winter with her polished perfection. I’m just soft. Weak. A charity worker who still blushes at the thought of certain words.
I reach the dungeon, and when I push the door open, Xavier is already there, standing in the center of the room with his arms crossed. He looks up when I enter, his green eyes narrowing slightly as he takes in the sight of me.
“Close the door,” he commands in a tone that I haven't heard in a week.
I do as he says, the click of the door shutting behind me echoing sharply in the room. My hands stay at my sides, my posture straight, my face still a mask. But inside, I’m screaming.
“Come here,” he orders, his voice softer now but no less commanding.
I move toward him, my feet bare and cold against the floor. When I stop in front of him, he reaches out and smoothes my hair, his touch light but unexpected. I flinch, just barely, before I can catch myself.
“Nervous, Everly?” he murmurs, his voice low and teasing.
I meet his gaze, forcing myself to hold it. “No.”
One corner of his mouth lifts, a small, knowing smile. “Liar.”
Xavier’s hands are suddenly on me, plucking at my clothes and tossing them aside. He's efficient, unfeeling. The cold bites into me as he peels the fabric away. I shiver, but I don’t protest. I’ve learned better.
When I'm completely naked, he cuffs my hands behind my back, the metal digging into my wrists. I listen to the clicks, trying to root myself in the present. But I'm just as removed from this situation as he appears to be. Xavier squats and fastens leather cuffs to my ankles, then stands back up.
“Get on your knees,” he orders.
I sink down, the floor cold beneath me. It’s a shock, the grounding I was looking for. My knees press into the stone, and I straighten, trying to steady my breath.
“Lie down,” he says next.
I hesitate, my heart pounding. The floor is frigid against my knees, unforgiving. I close my eyes, my breath hitching.
“Why?” I whisper, the word escaping before I can catch it.
Xavier steps closer, his strong body a silent threat.
“Now,” he barks.
I swallow hard, the taste of fear in my mouth. I lower myself slowly, the cold seeping into my skin. The floor feels like ice against my stomach, and I can’t help but shiver.
He blindfolds me then. I flinch as the world disappears. I hear the jingle of metal, the sound sharp. My legs are tugged apart, the cuffs at my ankles attached to something rigid. I try to resist, to pull my legs together, but it’s useless. A bar of metal forces me to stay open, exposed.
I gasp, the vulnerability overwhelming.
“Xavier,” I whisper, my voice trembling.
But he doesn’t respond.
The sounds around me mean nothing. I strain to hear, to understand, but there’s no rhythm, no pattern. My cheek presses against the cold floor, and I shiver, not just from the chill but from the helplessness. I’m blindfolded, bound, and completely at his mercy.
I flinch as something touches my back—soft, then sharp. A flogger. The leather tails kiss my skin, then bite. I jolt with each strike, but I don’t cry out.
I don't want to give him the satisfaction.
“Hm,” Xavier murmurs, his voice low, taunting. “Still so tense, Everly. Still holding on so tightly.”
I press my lips together, grounding myself in the pain and the cold. It’s all I can feel, all I can focus on. But then he speaks again, his words cutting deeper than any flogger.
“You said you cared, didn’t you?”
The words make my face burn. Shame and embarrassment crawl up my throat, mixing with frustration.
“Maybe I lied,” I retort, my voice strained.
“Lied?” He scoffs, a hint of amusement in his tone. "A lie of omission, perhaps. You do care. That much is obvious." He pauses, letting the implication hang in the air. "But if you truly cared, you wouldn't hesitate. You'd submit completely."
The flogger cracks down, a searing stripe across my back. I cry out, the unexpected force stealing my breath. The sting blossoms into a burning heat. I clench my fists, the restraints biting into my wrists. I want to thrash, to resist, yet a strange compulsion keeps me still.
“You care," Xavier repeats, his voice a low murmur laced with cruel amusement. "And that pathetic flicker of defiance? That's you punishing yourself for it.”
I don’t answer. I won’t.
The flogger doesn't come again. I hear the sound of leather slapping against the floor, then the heavy thud of his boots as he moves closer. His fingers brush against my cheek, cold and calloused.
“Let go, Everly,” he whispers, his breath hot against my ear. “Let me in.”
I shake my head, just a small movement, but enough. My heart is pounding, but I’m not going to give him what he wants. Not like this.
Xavier’s hand tightens in my hair, pulling my head back. “You’re so stubborn,” he growls, his voice low and rough. “But I’m not going to stop until you’re mine. Completely.”
A shiver runs down my spine despite the cold floor beneath me. His words—low, rough, possessive—send a thrill through me, settling in the pit of my stomach.
I hate myself for it, but my body reacts. There, between my legs, a warmth spreads, a pulse I can’t ignore. It’s humiliating, but it’s there.
Xavier wants to claim me. The thought sends a dangerous spark through me, igniting something I’ve tried to smother. But even if he means it—even if, by some twisted chance, he’s telling the truth—it’s just a distraction. A way to pull his attention away from Lila’s absence, from the emptiness that’s been growing in this house since she left. He doesn’t mean it. He can’t mean it. Not really. Not when he has Winter and Sable—women who know how to play this game, who know how to be what he wants.
But the pain curling in my chest tells me I want him to choose me. I want to be the one he keeps, the one he needs. And that’s what hurts most. Because it’s not just about being wanted—it’s about being enough. And I’m not. I’m just Everly, the na?ve charity girl who doesn’t even know how to be what he needs.
His fingers tighten in my hair, tugging my head back farther, and I gasp, the sound catching in my throat. He’s closer now, his lips against my earlobe.
“Let go, Everly,” he whispers again, his voice a low, velvety command. “Submit.”
I want to scream. I want to tell him he’s already in—buried so deep in my head, in my chest, that I don’t know how to get him out. But I can’t. Because if I do, he’ll know. He’ll know how much I want him, how much I ache for him to choose me, to keep me, to want me. And then he’ll push me away.
Like Liane.
But then I hear it—the metallic rasp of Xavier’s zipper. My breath catches in my throat, a sharp hiss that gives me away. I want to pretend I didn’t react, to keep up the mask, but Xavier’s low, knowing chuckle tells me he heard it. He hears everything.
“You want this,” he murmurs, his voice a silky taunt. “You want me to fuck you, don’t you, Everly?”
The truth is too dangerous to admit out loud, even to myself. But I feel my pussy heating up, an ache stirring there. I'm getting wet at just the thought of him.
Then he’s inside me.
One brutal thrust and he’s buried deep, his cock filling me completely. I gasp, the sound muffled against the floor. His hands find my hips, gripping hard, his fingers digging into my flesh as he pulls me back to meet him. Each thrust is hard, punishing, as if he’s trying to drive something deeper than just his cock into me.
“Submit to me,” he growls, his voice rough and raw.
He knots his hand in my hair, yanking my head back. My scalp stings, but the pain only sharpens everything else.
“Let me in, Everly. Stop fighting me.”
I moan, the sound torn from me despite my best efforts to stay silent. My body trembles and arches into his relentless rhythm. But I won’t give him what he wants. I won’t say it. I won’t admit it.
“Say it,” he hisses, his thrusts faster now, harder. “Say you’re mine.”
I shake my head, defying him. Fuck the rules. Tears sting my eyes—not from the pain, but from the anguish of wanting him and hating myself for it. He’s using me, distracting me from the ache of Lila’s absence, from the truth that I’m just another doll to him. But I don’t care. I still want more.
I still want him.
“Xavier,” I whisper, the name breaking free despite my resolve.
It’s not surrender, not exactly. But it’s enough to make him growl, a raw, primal sound. He’s everywhere—his weight pressing me into the floor, his breath hot against my neck, his cock driving into me like he’s trying to erase every thought, every doubt, every fear.
But he can’t. I’m still holding on, still locked in this endless cycle of wanting and resisting, of fearing and craving.
And I know he knows. He can feel it in the way I’m tensed beneath him, in the way my body responds but my mind refuses to let go. He can feel it, and it only makes him more ruthless, more determined.
The flogger bites into my skin again, the pain searing, but it only adds to the fire that's building inside me. I can't stop it, and I don't want to. I want to fall into it, to let it consume me.
Xavier's thrusts become more frenzied, his grip on my hips bruising. He's using my body to work out his frustration, his anger, his need for control. And I'm letting him.
I'm losing myself in the sensation, in the burn of my back, the stretch of my body, and the ache between my legs. It's too much and not enough. I need more. I need—
I cry out as the pleasure explodes through me, my body bucking involuntarily against his. I can't stop it, don't want to. I'm coming, my pussy clenching around him, my body bowing as the waves of pleasure roll through me.
Xavier grunts, a sound of surprise, and suddenly, the flogger stops. He's frozen above me, his breath hot against my neck. I can feel his cock twitching inside me, his release triggered by mine. The realization is overwhelming, this power I seem to have over him, even as he wields so much power over me.
He pulls out abruptly, and I whimper at the loss, my body feeling suddenly empty. But then I feel his release on my back, his warm come mixing with the sting of the flogger. Fuck, it's all so intense. A rush of emotions and sensations sweeps me up.
But then, as quickly as it started, it's over. Xavier steps away, and the cold air hits my overheated skin. I shiver, my body feeling heavy, my mind spinning.
"Get up," he commands, his voice harsh.
I struggle to my knees, the cuffs biting into my skin, his come sliding down my back. I feel him behind me, jiggling the cuffs until they spring free, and I immediately rub my wrists, still coming down from the orgasm.
"Take off the blindfold," he says, his tone brooking no argument.
I reach up, my hands shaking, and pull the blindfold off. The dungeon comes into focus, the light harsh after the darkness of the blindfold.
When I look around, Xavier is standing a few feet away, his chest rising and falling as he catches his breath. His eyes are dark, angry.
"You came without permission," he says coldly.
I flinch, the words landing like a slap. "I—"
"You know the rules, Everly," he interrupts, his gaze hardening. "You broke them."
I lower my eyes, shame washing over me. "I know."
"And what do you think should be done about that?"
I bite my lip, my mind racing. "I-I don't know."
"You don't know?" He steps closer, his eyes narrowing. "You disobeyed me, Everly. There are consequences for that."
I swallow, my throat dry. "I'm sorry," I whisper, hating the weakness in my voice. "I'll do better."
He shakes his head, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "Not good enough."
I flinch, my heart pounding. "What—what do you want from me?"
"I want your submission," he says. "Your complete submission. But you're holding back. Why?"
The last word is a demand, but I have nothing to say.
"What are you holding onto? What do you think you're fighting for?"
I know the answers to his questions, but there's nothing he can do to get me to say it right now. This is all so wrong. I can still feel him inside me, his come marking me, and yet—
"Everly!" Xavier suddenly yells. "I'm talking to you! You really don't get it, do you?" He runs a hand over his face, the frustration radiating off of him. "Fine! You want me to fucking show you? Get yourself cleaned up."
"Xavier—"
"Now!" he roars.
Fuck. Now I've done it.