13. The Shadow Never Leaves #4
His hand trailed down her stomach, and he pressed his fingers inside of her, swirling traces of his release with her arousal, getting his fingers nice and wet. When she moaned, he yanked her head back and shoved his fingers down her throat, making her gag.
“Savor that, darling. It’s what complete ownership tastes like.”
Her garbled outrage made him laugh as he held her jaw, forcing her to adapt to the panic and learn how to breathe.
“Better get used to it. Soon, it’ll be my cock sliding down your throat as I fuck that pretty little scowl off your face.”
“ Huck hou ,” she garbled.
“Filthy words for a filthy slut.” He wedged his fingers into her mouth, stretching her lips and forcing her silence.
“Right about now, your gag reflex is starting to spasm, but there’s nothing you can do.
Your eyes are starting to tear from strain as much as outrage because now you realize I’m coming for that precious self-control of yours, and I don’t plan on leaving anything behind.
” Withdrawing his hand, he slapped her ass hard, and a startled squeak escaped her throat.
“When you learn to savor such loss of control, all the tension disappears.” He gave her hair a tug and whispered in her ear, “I might be incapable of trust, but for you, my dear, trust is all you have. How much can you trust a man to take care of you after you try to kill him? It’s a delicate balance, you see, and darling, you’ve just rocked the boat. ”
He slapped her ass again, and her eyes dilated. The tension in her arms eased ever so slightly. She tried to look up to avoid his gaze, but he saw right through her.
“You like it when I punish you because it gives you a form of penance you can process. You want to be punished, don’t you?
Because you feel horrible about cutting me with that knife.
” He loosened the chains, providing enough slack to push her hand over the gash on his side.
“You want to match my darkness, darling? Match my pain?”
He swung his hand again, cinching the chains tight once more and deepening the red handprint that already showed on her lush flesh.
She cried out, lips parted, eyes hooded, and whispered, “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Have you had enough? Are we even now?” His nails scraped slowly over her sensitized flesh.
She shook her head. “No. I deserve more.”
“Deserve or want?”
“Both.”
His cock was rock hard as she teetered before him, arms restrained overhead, and her lush ass puffy and ready for the taking. “Beg me.”
“Please, punish me for what I did. I want to be a good girl again.”
He slapped her ass several more times until she was reduced to a panting mess. Groping his swollen cock, he stroked it against her bare thigh. “And what should we do about that dirty mouth of yours?”
She bit her lip and looked at him repentantly.
He chuckled. “Suddenly quiet as a mouse.” She met his stare but remained silent. “Good girls do as they’re told.” He stepped back and looked down at the gash in his side. Her gaze followed his. “Tell me why you did it. The truth, now.”
Her lips pursed as her eyes squeezed shut.
“Are we back to acting childish? You know I can see you when you close your eyes. You don’t actually disappear.”
Her chest lifted with each labored breath.
“Tell me why you wanted to hurt me.” She had a hundred valid reasons, but he needed to hear her motive. He wanted to understand what finally provoked her to rebel after relinquishing so much.
“You left me here all alone!” she finally snapped. “You took everything I had, then left!”
“I was coming back.”
“How was I to know that? You sent Gideon?—”
“ Gideon?” He scoffed. “You use his first name as if you’re old friends.”
“He’s more a friend to me than anyone else on this ship.”
“Careful, darling. Any kindness Gentleman Starr has shown you has been at my command. Let’s stay on topic. You were upset I left…”
Her eyes glazed. “That’s it.”
“That’s it? I left, so you tried to stab me?”
“Yes!”
“Not because I fucked you or called you names.”
“No. I did everything you asked, but you punished me anyway.”
He frowned. His taking some air was not meant to punish her. It was meant to bring clarity about her purpose here. And why was he suddenly justifying his choices? She was lucky she didn’t nick an artery or hit his kidney.
“The only thing your outburst proved is that you can’t be trusted alone. That’s going to complicate matters for you.”
Her lips formed a firm line, and she shook her head. Did she regret not doing more damage now that her predicament had changed?
He pushed her, letting her twirl on her toes while he thought about what to do with her next. “I took exactly what you offered.”
She scowled, but pain hid in the depths of her stare. Pain he put there by not fully considering her feelings.
His memory flashed to a time when he’d been left utterly alone in a frightening place, his family and comforts long gone.
The recollection knocked the wind out of him.
He remembered crying—not because of his lashings or empty stomach but because he didn’t understand why his mother or Sister Nagina couldn’t love him.
Their neglect was never their fault. He’d always internalized it and made it his own.
Was that how he made her feel? Abandoned and undeserving. He’d threatened to break her, but never in that way.
He lowered the chain, taking the strain off her arms. “Take a deep breath.”
As much as she might hate him, she still obeyed and took a long breath. He could hear her dismay through the jagged way the air entered her lungs.
“Let it out slowly.” Her brow softened as she looked up at him. There was so much longing in her eyes that he found it hard to deny her anything in that moment.
Tracing his fingers over her cheek, he lowered his voice. “Good girl.”
It was the praise he vowed not to offer, but she was a good girl, doing exactly as she was told, accepting that he was in total command, and she deserved a reward more than she deserved any punishment.
Her lashes lowered, and she nuzzled into his hand, soft and utterly trusting.
For a split second, he imagined what it would feel like to have her there by choice. He quickly shoved the insane thought away. She would have never stolen that knife if she wanted to be here.
“Let me make it all better.” Slipping into the chair, he caught her hips and positioned her knees on the upholstered arms, forcing her to use her core muscles so she didn’t fall. He caught her hips and dragged her to his face, sliding his tongue through her slit.
Her breath quickened, and she panicked when he licked her again. “Wait?—”
“Not a chance. Daddy’s hungry.” He swirled his tongue around her clit. “Mmm… You taste sweet, like innocence and privilege, yet salty with my claim.”
“You can’t?—"
“Hush.” He dove in and didn’t let up until she learned those words didn’t work on him. “There’s a good girl.” Closing his lips around her swollen clit he sucked hard, using his tongue to tease her to climax.
A deep red flush covered her breast as he stripped away whatever sense of modesty she had left.
As soon as she came, he pushed her toward another climax, never giving her a chance to come down.
Pleasure built to an intensity that bordered on pain, and he watched the moment she succumbed to surrender, losing herself in a place of bliss and torment where she no longer had to think. She only had to feel.
“That’s it. Look how your body responds to me.” He fed his fingers into her, pumping quickly as she lost control to another orgasm. His chest was soaked, but he still wanted more. He wanted every drop of her pleasure and the final say over her pain.
“Please, it’s too much.”
“Take it like a good girl.” Hooking his fingers inside of her, he teased the spot that made her cry out. He drank every drop that spilled from her. “Beautiful.”
She folded forward, weak and tired, but he was far from done.
He stroked her spine, giving her a small reprieve. “Just relax and let Daddy take care of you.”
He lowered her into the chair and dropped to his knees, devouring her softly. A single touch jolted her like an electric shock, but she made no objection as he ate his fill of her pretty, pink pussy.
He lifted her back onto his lap once he’d had his fill. “See how much you gain when you truly let go?”
Cradling her close, he stroked the swollen lips of her sex. She shivered in the aftershock of so many orgasms. He petted her softly, hoping to soothe any aches that already set in.
She sighed as if enjoying his touch, resting her head against his chest, eyes closed and her face a serene work of art.
“Unfortunately, my cock’s rock hard. Which means I’ll probably fuck you like an animal at least one more time before you get to sleep.”
A quiet sound of distress left her throat.
“If you’re too sore, there’s another option.” He traced his finger back and pressed lightly against her virgin hole. “I won’t be satisfied until I claim all of you.”
Her dark lashes lifted as she met him with that penetrating blue stare. He watched as curiosity battled caution.
“Imagine how my cock will feel when it stretches you here. Tight. Intense. Full. Until the mind goes numb, and all you can do is feel my possession. In you. Over you. Total ownership.” He needed to get back inside of her. “Does the thought scare you?”
She nestled closer and sighed. “Not if you promise to hold me.”
He stilled from stroking her. Fuck. In the end, she’d gotten her way. Perhaps they both had. Now, he wasn’t so sure her actions were as calculated as they first seemed.
“I’ll hold you,” he said, realizing he had no desire to let go.
She smiled against his chest. “Then I’m all yours.”
There had to be a limit to the depravity she’d allow. He needed to find it. The darkness inside of him would not be satisfied until she was fully his. He stilled. Could it be that simple? Was his ownership all she wanted? The sense that she truly belonged to him and could not be disowned?