Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ella
Shameless - Camilla Cabello
I look down at the text I received this afternoon. It’s been a million times, but the closer it gets to 8 p.m., the more I look at it.
Unknown: Aphrodite, you are required to attend the annual Shadows business weekend at the temple. You will be picked up on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. and brought home on Sunday night. You may not refuse. Zeus
It’s the first time I’ve been called upon as an Aphrodite since being initiated a couple of weeks ago. And the days I spent trying to ignore that I am part of the Silent Circle are now officially over. A lot of things went through my mind while I was waiting at home.
How many Aphrodites were asked to come?
Who will I have to serve?
Does Chris know? He was adamant he never wanted to see me with another Shadow, but he knows perfectly well I don’t have a choice.
Zeus doesn’t play with young Aphrodites, but if he’s the one who invited me for the weekend, does it mean I’ll be spending it with him? Or is it a general invite?
My head is swimming when there’s a knock on my door.
“Ella Baker?”
I run down the stairs, an overnight bag on my shoulder and wearing a pair of jeans with a cami top. There was no indication as to what to wear or what to pack, so I did my best.
“Hi,” I say to the middle-aged man with a chauffeur’s hat on his head.
He indicates the blacked-out SUV parked in front of my house, and I follow him until he opens the door and lets me in.
I freeze as I climb inside, taking in the handsome man in a tuxedo in the backseat.
“Come,” Chris says calmly. “We need to talk before we get there.”
I clench my jaw, not wanting to talk to him. The last conversation we had was a few days ago, and he admitted he had hurt the men I dated, interfered with my life, and shamelessly said he wouldn’t stop even if the blame was put on me.
“How are you, Sweets?”
Settling in my seat, I look out the window on my side and ignore him. My body is already buzzing having this man around, but unlike when he brought me home drunk, I’m logical enough to know engaging with him isn’t a good idea.
“Is that a pout?” he chuckles. “If you’re trying to look angry, you’re going to have to try a little harder because this cuteness isn’t really doing it.”
I do my best to harden my face, narrowing my eyes into slits when I turn to him. Still, I remain silent.
“I was going to be nice,” he sighs. “I wanted to run you past how the business weekend works, ask how you feel. But if you’re going to be a brat who doesn’t want to talk, I guess I can play that game too.”
I take in the black tuxedo he’s wearing. A black waistcoat, a black shirt, and a black bow tie. I’ve noticed he wears all black when he goes to Circle’s events. Like he wants to fit the darkness of the place. But his handsome face doesn’t match the wickedness of the Silent Circle. His beautiful eyes shine just a little too brightly, and the curls of his hair falling into his eyes make him just a touch too innocent.
Chris hides his depravity down deep, made it his. His brand of evil. Nothing can compete with that.
Worried I’ll get lost in the amber of his eyes, I look away again. He doesn’t deserve my attention, no matter how much I want to give in.
He sees me as an Aphrodite, thinks of me as someone he can use no matter what. I don’t have to actively participate in this insanity.
“Ella.”
I startle, emerging from my own head.
“If you want to stay silent for the next twenty-four hours, I can make that happen. But I’d suggest you play nice when I’m the only one who is going to protect you at the temple.”
He almost gets me to talk. Not because he tells me to, but because I’m dying to point out that the only reason he’ll be protecting me there is so he can have me to himself. So he can be the one to break me.
I decide to not say anything, since according to the tightness in his jaw, that’s what bothers him the most. Giving him the silent treatment feels rather good.
“Alright,” he finally murmurs. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
My head snaps to his side, not liking the second half of his sentence. I’m already too late.
His strong hand wraps around my upper arm, pulling me until he can circle an arm around my waist and pull me on his lap.
“Since you don’t want to talk,” he growls in my ear. “Daddy has to teach you a lesson.”
Sudden fear mixes with a strange lust. This is the part of me that’s always betraying my brain. The one he’s got a hold of.
It’s happening too fast for me to catch what he’s now holding in his hand, but when I feel something push at my mouth, panic overtakes me.
“No!” I scream, throwing my head to the side.
With his other hand, he grips my hair, holding my head exactly where he needs it.
“Chris—”
“Uh-uh. We concluded you’d be silent for the rest of the weekend.”
Hard rubber pushes past my teeth. It’s not a ball gag, it’s something more invasive. It feels phallic, like the tip of a dick.
“Open wide, Sweets.”
“Chris, please,” I murmur against the rubber.
“Shh. Open.”
He pushes more violently, and it breaches the barrier of my lips, my teeth. I whimper when it invades my mouth, pressing against my tongue.
“Do you like my new gag?” I feel him buckle it behind my head, and for a second, I’m afraid it’ll go so deep I’ll be sick.
My hands automatically go to my mouth, trying to take it out. When I follow the straps to the back of my head, he takes hold of both my wrists, pinning them to my lower stomach with one hand.
“Calm down,” he says softly. “It’s a dildo gag. It’s a step up from the ball gag we used in the past. It’ll be hard, but you can try to swallow around it.”
Shaking my head, I try my best to breathe through my nose. Please is at the tip of my tongue, but it’s impossible to say.
“I think this will be a good lesson for you, Sweets. If you want to stay silent, I’ll keep you silent.”
A whimper gets past me, my frantic breathing now matching the tightness in my lower stomach.
He hooks my legs across his knees and spreads his thighs to keep me open.
“Now.” He pats my pussy through my jeans, making me jolt from the zap of pleasure. “About the next twenty-four hours.”
I shift on his lap, the presence of the small dildo in my mouth driving me insane. I don’t like having my mouth full like this, not being able to talk or take it out. But the helplessness he’s putting me through is awakening the pleasure that always comes with this treatment.
“Every year, the Shadows host what they call a business weekend after initiations. They have the new Shadows at the temple to confirm the role they’ll take on within the Circle. We’ve already been told those things before initiating, but it’s an occasion to make it official and meet with some people within the Circle who have similar roles.”
He presses his palm between my legs, making me moan around the gag.
“In a minute, I’m going to test how wet this is making you, and I bet my life your panties will be soaked.”
I shake my head, but I don’t think he cares about my denial.
“Most Shadows will be doing a little bit of business, and a lot of pleasure. And that’s when the Aphrodites come in. Heras aren’t invited, and only the Aphrodites people have asked for will be present. Your name was voted quite a few times.”
He slaps my pussy through my jeans again. I inhale sharply through my nose, squeezing my eyes shut as I go through more delicious torture.
“Until this week, you haven’t been called as an Aphrodite because the Circle thinks I’ve been using you. That text you received tonight, that’s what all Aphrodites get from a Shadow when they’re being called upon. And every time Zeus offered Aphrodites, I said I wanted you. Said it before anyone else. And I pretended to send you that text. Every. Single. Time.”
Is he telling me the reason I haven’t been used by anyone at the temple is because he was protecting me from them?
“Remember what we agreed, Ella?” His now stern voice makes me squirm on his lap. God, I love it when I can feel the way I belong to him deep in my bones. “No other men. It’s not a suggestion. It’s not advice to keep things peaceful between us. My word is law, and there will be hell to pay for disobeying.”
His palm presses through my jeans again, and instead of fighting against his obsessive behavior, I moan around the gag. “I would never hurt you. You’re my everything. You’re my heaven in this goddamned broken world. But I will hurt anyone you let near you, do you understand? I won’t kill them. I’d much rather they suffer for a long, torturous time.”
With a huff, he pulls his hand away from my burning core. “But I’ll admit, I would be rather annoyed if I ended up in prison because you disobeyed and let someone else than me touch you. So, be a good girl and keep in mind: No. Other. Men.”
He kisses my cheek, then my jaw, probably feeling the leather of the gag with his lips. Burying his face in my neck, he talks against my skin and brings goosebumps scattering down my arms.
“There was a bid for you this weekend.”
My breathing accelerates, my chest trembling as he bites the skin beneath my ear.
“I swear the amount of money Shadows play with within the Circle is on a whole other level.”
He chuckles. “Good thing I would spend all the gold in the world on you.”
I want to scream, cry, thank him, tell him how much his behavior is detestable and yet kiss him for protecting me.
“You’re mine this weekend, Sweets. There was no pretending to send the text this time. I asked Zeus to have you and paid the price. Now you’re all”—he bites my skin again, making me whimper around the gag—“mine.”
I’m nearly bursting into tears when we enter the temple. He didn’t take off the gag. I tried to do it myself countless times in the car, but he promised a punishment, and this is it. He didn’t have to tie my hands behind my back for me to stop trying. The simple threat of making me kneel naked and gagged with a dildo deep inside me in front of all the other Shadows was enough.
So I blink back my watery eyes as he walks me through the entrance hall, keeping my gaze on the floor to ignore all the ones zeroed in on me. Chris walks assuredly, standing tall and proud to have won his prize for the weekend. Their gazes burn through my clothes, making me feel more naked than ever. The only reassurance I have is my ex’s hand at the small of my back, keeping me at the pace he wishes, yet bringing me a warmth that stops me from trembling.
He takes me straight to the lower level, to an Aphrodite’s room, and locks the door behind him.
“Would you like me to take the gag off?” he asks softly, guiding me to an armchair in the room.
He helps me sit as I nod, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
“Are you desperate?”
I nod harder.
He puts his hands on the arms of the chair, his giant form leaning down right above my face. I’m craning my neck to meet his eyes.
“Do you understand what happens when you give me the silent treatment?”
I nod repeatedly, whimpering around the dildo. It’s so hard to swallow I can feel spit gathering at the corners of my mouth.
“Good. I’m glad you’re learning. You’ll keep it in until I’m done with you.”
A sob makes my chest quiver, the need to cry out for mercy rendering me hopeless. I’ve never wanted to be able to say please so badly in my life.
His evil smirk makes my heart skip a beat. It’s always so terrifying and exciting to be alone with him.
He undoes my jeans, pulling them down to my knees. “I’m going to meet with the other Shadows. The business part of the weekend is rather boring, but needed nonetheless.”
Turning his back to me, he walks to one of the shelves where all the toys are kept and comes back to me with something so small it fits in his closed fist.
“You’ve soaked the lace of your panties, Sweets. I can’t say I’m disappointed with the effect I have on you.”
He fists my thong, pulling it up to my belly button and dragging the material tightly between my pussy lips. I squeal behind the gag, throwing my head back as a mix of pain and pleasure lights my body on fire.
“Look at me. Right now.”
I force my head up, looking him in the eye.
“Good girl. I want to see the despair in your eyes when I don’t give you the release you crave so badly. I want to see the fight between hate and lust. It’s quite beautiful to see the way you torture yourself.”
I’m panting when he lowers the lace to my thighs. He finally shows me what he’s been holding. A vibrating egg that he runs against my slit, gathering wetness with it. He puts it in his mouth, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
“Ella,” he growls as he pulls it out. “That was a delicious reminder of why I call you Sweets .”
He presses the egg against my entrance, slowly pushing it inside me. I can feel he’s making sure he’s not hurting me. With a toy, it’s harder for him to judge how tight I am, and I know his focus is always my pleasure. But I’m so wet it slides in easily, disappearing within me and making me moan, my eyes fluttering shut. Only the small string attached to it is left, and he pulls at it a few times, driving me insane.
“Beautiful,” he rasps. “My God, you’re absolutely gorgeous.”
His next step is to put back my panties and jeans in place, so I’m completely dressed again. He cuffs my hands to the arms of the chair, and then my thighs apart so I can’t close my legs.
Straightening, he presses on the remote his holding, bringing the toy to life and me in the process. It’s on such a low setting I barely feel it, but it’s enough to know it’s there, turning me on even more.
“The first time I had you in an Aphrodite’s room, I made you come until you couldn’t stay awake anymore. This time, you’ll be teased, edged, and denied an orgasm until I get the chance to fuck you. And then you’ll come so hard on my dick you’ll remember why there’s no need for any other man.”
He kisses my forehead softly, caresses my cheek, and his bright eyes take me in again. “It truly is torture to leave you here. I won’t be able to focus up there knowing my pretty girl is needy and waiting for me.”
Then he locks the door behind him when he leaves, and the true torture begins. The vibrations become my only focus, so slow and light, but so delicious. They’re constant, keeping a rhythm that makes me squirm.
I have no idea how long it lasts, but I’m sweating when the door opens again, desperate for any sort of stimulation that would bring me closer to the edge.
He stands in front of me, a growl resonating deep in his chest. “You’re really taking the business out of this business weekend, Sweets.”
My whimper makes his eyes flutter shut. He brings his hand to his tux pants, fisting his hard dick. “Everyone upstairs wants to know what I’m doing with you down here. I won’t tell them. This is for me alone, isn’t it?”
I nod like a crazy woman, pushing my chest forward in a plea to get him to touch me. He shows me a pair of scissors, and I’m quick to press myself against the seat again, now shaking my head.
“You know I would never hurt you, baby,” he murmurs, cutting through the top I’m wearing. He rids me of it, leaving me bare.
My nipples are hard as rocks, and he throws the scissors to the side to rub them with his thumbs. He kneels on the floor between my spread legs and starts licking my hard nubs one after the other before grazing them with his teeth. When he bites them lightly, I push harder against his mouth. I’m breathing feverishly, knowing if he continues like this, and mixed with the light vibration inside me, I could come.
Fuck…I could come from him biting my nipples. But he stops, stands up, and wipes the drool dripping at the corner of my mouth before spreading it on both my tits.
“I want to fuck you until you can’t breathe,” he growls, almost like a threat.
But instead, he pulls away, turns off the lights, and leaves the room.
With no more light, the only thing I’m able to focus on is the vibrations, once again, the pleasure just out of reach, the torture I can’t sustain anymore.
I’m pretty sure I’m crying when he comes back what feels like hours later.
“Ella.” He walks to me again. “My beautiful slut, don’t cry.” As he wipes my tears, I whimper, my head attempting to follow his hand when he pulls away. “I know, baby. I know it’s hard to be so desperate for cock.”
I groan, throwing my head back as this time he cuts my jeans and panties off me. “What a soaking mess.”
He brings two knuckles to my clit, and I jolt from pleasure when his skin grazes me.
“I wish you could see how gorgeous you are.”
It’s a good thing I’m wearing the gag, or I would be making an even bigger fool of myself by begging him with all I have to fuck me.
Sitting naked, I can feel the way my wetness is soaking the chair, making me the exact slut he describes me as.
“It’s almost over up there,” he says calmly, caressing my sweaty hairline. “You’re so close to getting your reward, Sweets. You’re so strong. Holding on for hours for me.”
The confirmation that it’s been hours is worse than not knowing. Now that I understand time again, I’m even more miserable.
I try to say please around the toy in my mouth, but my jaw aches. I would be scared of permanent damage if I wasn’t so turned on.
He kisses my neck this time, clearly hungrier for me.
“I’m going to be fucking this desperate pussy very soon, baby.”
And he’s gone.
The door opens again quicker than I thought, and I could cry from happiness. But something is different. The shadow in the doorway is smaller, the steps toward me not as calm as Chris’s confident demeanor. They’re hurried, from someone who can’t control their excitement. Nothing like the man who owns my body.
“Fucking hell.”
And those words. They’re not only not his voice, but they’re also not words he would use. They don’t have the adoration his descriptions of me do.
When I can finally see a face in front of me, I can’t say I recognize it. He’s a Shadow, but I have no idea who. Just another man who thinks the rules don’t apply to him.
“Aren’t you a desperate fucking whore?” he snickers. “Look at how fucking wet you are. I understand now why he wouldn’t say anything to us upstairs. I would keep this to myself too.”
But I’m not desperate anymore. Not with him around. Not with his dull eyes on me that are nothing like Chris’s. Not with his dirty words that are like a bucket of ice water on my entire body. I feel a shiver of disgust running through me, the egg suddenly hurting despite its low setting.
I’m pressing myself against the chair when his disgusting hands touch my boobs, shaking my head no. A scream gets lodged in my throat, impossible to get it out with the gag.
It barely lasts a few seconds before a colossal presence appears behind him. Chris is so much taller I can see his furious face as he stands behind the man.
It’s almost delicate. All I see are the man’s eyes widening, a strange scream of shock and pain leaving him. His hands leave my body, and he falls to the floor on his side.
“A pity that some men don’t know how to keep their hands to themselves, isn’t it?” Chris says to him.
The man is blinking with shock, unsure what’s happening to him, but his face twists with pain. And that’s when I see the same scissors Chris used to cut my clothes lodged in his lower back. My heart stops, muscles tightening to the point of pain. Did he just…
“Are you okay, Sweets?” he asks me like I’m his only focus. The egg inside me stops, but Chris’s hand on my chin ignites the fire within me again.
He just stabbed a man. Come back down to earth.
But I can’t, not when he sees my need flaring. I can see that he notices. His grip is tighter, a low growl leaving him.
“Oh, baby. You’re incorrigible.”
He grazes my nipple, making my eyes flutter shut. “Does it turn you on to see me hurt someone for you?”
I shake my head, but the truth shows when I press my tits harder against him. He pulls out the egg, and I moan loudly.
“Only desperate for me,” he says assuredly. “My slut. My girl. Mine.”
When he finally releases me from the gag, a moan of relief leaves me. My mouth feels like cotton from being held in the same position for so long. He pulls down his pants and boxers, releasing his hard dick with a groan. Then he undoes the cuffs around my thighs, pulls my ass to the edge of the chair, and wraps my legs around his waist.
“Open your mouth. Show me the mess I made of you. That’s it, baby. Show me your tongue. What a pretty, perfect slut.”
I’m sticking out my tongue so far it hurts, but I’m ready to do anything for him to fuck me, to own me, to put me in my fucking place.
He presses the tip of his dick against my entrance, and the pleasure of that only makes me throw my head back. It earns me a slap. Nothing painful, a reminder to follow orders.
“Back in position. Tongue out. Now.”
The stern order at the same time as he pushes in slowly makes me execute. I put out my tongue, and his smirk melts my sanity .
He grips my chin, holding me in place, and spits on my tongue.
“Swallow.”
And as I do, he pushes all the way inside me, making me whimper from the overwhelming relief as he fills me.
“Whose slut are you, Ella?”
“Yours, Daddy,” I moan.
“Who do you belong to?”
“Y-you,” I pant, feeling my orgasm coming at me like a fast train.
“What an obedient little desperate thing you are,” he growls against my neck, biting my skin.
With a hand on the back of the chair and one grabbing my face—pushing so hard on my cheeks it makes me pout—he forces my head to the side so I’m looking at the Shadow on the floor. He’s groaning from pain, barely conscious.
“Look at what I do to the men who touch you. Forget the fucking act I put on for everyone. That’s the man I become for you,” he says in my ear, his breath a hot caress. “T10 to L1 spinal cord segment. A great place to stab someone.” He thrusts into me hard, and I scream from pleasure. “Not dead.” Thrust. I moan. “Legs paralyzed forever.” Thrust. Fuck. I’m going to come. “I want him to remember the day he touched my girl and what happened to him. I want you to know what happens to people who try to hurt the person I care the most for.”
He pauses, for a second, just to force me to face him.
“Look at me. Look me in the eye. Atta whore. You’re gorgeous.”
When he thrusts into me again, it’s without mercy. And he’s barely holding himself back as he orders, “Come.”
I explode like a thousand fireworks, twisting all the ways I can to feel him deeper inside me. Blinding euphoria swallows me whole, darkening the room, and everything disappears apart from his beautiful eyes on mine. He’s quick to follow me, releasing the desire he’s been holding the whole time he was torturing me.
I’m too lost in a state of bliss to realize I’m letting my ex rope me back in. I’m too taken by our hearts beating in sync to understand this is a mistake. A big mistake.
No one should feel so strongly about a man who just stabbed someone for touching them.
But this is what Chris and I have always been. Artificially sane separately, completely unhinged together.
And God, it feels so good to have that again.