Chapter 7
Aurora
Desire pushes me toward the panoramic window, his fingers clamped on my shoulder like a vise.
Down there, in the chaotic flashes of the light show, bodies of dancing girls writhe while his loyal entourage parties and drinks.
I can’t spot Kelsey. Zeus is lounging on the floor, unaware that right above his head, another predator is getting ready to feast on his prey.
My gaze drifts from the party below and snags on the ceiling.
Overhead, a rail system with electric winches lets the chains traverse the whole lounge.
The mechanisms control their length—and right now, they’re at their lowest. Long, heavy links, like the shackles on the floor, end in wide leather cuffs with tight buckles.
Just the sight of this setup makes my mouth go dry.
The corners of Desire’s lips lift almost imperceptibly, and his lazy, possessive half smile twists my stomach into a tight knot. I feel in my bones how much he wants to take from me tonight. And even scarier—I feel how much I’m ready to give him.
“Take off your clothes, Princess,” he murmurs. His voice vibrates my spine.
I glance at the window. The people below seem so close—I can see the gleam in their eyes and their glasses.
But my hands are already acting on their own, reaching behind my back and fumbling for the zipper.
The fabric gives way, rustling as it slips from my shoulders, baring my breasts to his heavy gaze.
I freeze, turning my back to the window.
“You want to show me off to your people?” My breath catches, the words coming hard. I was sure Desire was one hundred percent possessive. He chose this closed dress himself, he marked me, leaving bright hickeys on my neck and thighs, as if sealing his territory.
He gives a short laugh. “If my entire kingdom saw you naked, I’d burn them all alive.
” His eyes flare with primal fire. It’s terrifying, it’s completely insane, but it makes me unbearably hot at my core.
My panties are soaked—I’m dripping from his fierce obsession.
“The glass is tinted from the outside.” He steps closer.
“Your body belongs only to me. No one will see anything.”
“I thought your kingdom was precious to you,” I whisper, sliding the dress down. My heart pounds against my ribs. I still don’t turn to face the glass, even though I’ll soon be hanging in front of it naked, stretched out in those chains.
“It is.” His voice drops lower as my white lace lingerie comes into view. He licks his lips at the thin fabric soaked through with my desire. “But you’re my prize. My reward. You belong to me entirely.” He pauses, his gaze boring into my pupils. “Your body is mine. And so is your soul.”
Surprised, I cross my arms over my breasts without thinking.
My soul? Am I not just an expensive toy for him, a short-lived amusement?
Until this moment, I was fine with that.
I believed it was a temporary adventure, a dangerous thrill ride, after which I’d go back to my proper life.
Find some boring, safe guy, get married, have kids, and dutifully visit the clinic twice a week to discuss my neuroses.
My despair left me no chance at happiness, and I’d resigned myself to a gray predictable existence. That’s probably how it’ll be …
“You’re wet, babe.” His voice pulls me from my thoughts. “I’ll make you wetter.”
Desire’s gaze burns right through my panties. He frees his cock from his jeans and slowly strokes it without taking his eyes off me.
His cock is amazing. I unhook my bra, freeing my breasts with hard nipples, then I force myself to stop, and Desire raises an eyebrow at my hesitation.
“I don’t like repeating.”
“You tell me to strip, but you’ve only taken out your dick?” I lift my chin.
Flames flare in his eyes. Not the fire of anger I was so afraid of, though holding that gaze is still hard.
I don’t touch the waistband of my panties.
I may be scared and want him, I may crave the pain and need to feel alive, but I won’t let him fuck me like I’m just another notch in his bedpost or treat me with contempt. I’d rather he break my neck.
“I’ve changed my mind. Stay like that,” Desire says, and undresses himself.
His shirt and pants fall to the floor, baring his torso and shoulders laced with a web of scars and the ugly crown tattoo. I stand there fidgeting with the lace of my lingerie, not daring to disobey. I’m down to just my panties, necklace, earrings, and heels.
He straightens, his gaze fixing on the wet spot on my panties. I push my hips forward. I’m not ashamed. What’s shameful about wanting a god?
“Come here,” he commands.
I step forward, arms at my sides. His wide palm closes around my throat, above the necklace, while the other squeezes my right breast. I don’t hold back a moan. Not long ago, I wanted Zack to take me just like this, but he turned out to be a pathetic liar. Desire is honest and cruel. I like that.
“Eyes up,” he orders.
I lift my gaze as his fingers tighten around my throat. He lets go of my breast and slaps it hard with his open palm.
I jerk back, trying to recoil from the sharp burst of pain, but his iron grip on my throat keeps me close.
I gasp, everything between my legs throbbing feverishly.
I should have taken off these damn panties.
Now the soaked lace clings to my skin, becoming a barrier—his hard, hot cock presses impatiently against my stomach just above the waistband.
“Do you want to be my good princess?” he asks, his voice silky.
With the lack of air, my vision swims, but his fingers find my nipple. He twists it mercilessly, pulling upward, forcing me to push onto my toes despite my high heels.
“More than anything,” I choke out. “A bad, good princess …”
A predatory devil’s grin spreads across his lips.
He slaps his palm between my legs, right over the soaked lace.
The sharp clap echoes through the room. From the shock and the acute pain shooting through my body—which instantly explodes into a hot, heavy throb—I cry out.
It’s like a jolt of electricity through raw nerves, making my legs buckle.
“Then, let’s begin.” He tugs toward the chains, not giving me a second to recover from the pulsing burn.
I stumble on my high heels but force myself to stay upright.
“Raise your arms,” he commands.
The black leather cuffs close around my wrists.
The buckle clicks, and Desire pulls the chains taut.
My arms are spread apart and yanked up over my head.
I jerk, trying to feel if there’s even a sliver of freedom.
There’s none. Unyielding restraint. I close my eyes, surrendering to this feeling of utter helplessness.
He kneels to my left ankle. His face comes so close to my panties that a heat radiates my cunt. He fastens the floor shackle around my ankle, tugs the chain taut, forcing me to widen my stance, and does the same with my right leg. Now my legs are spread wide, and I’m breathing hard and uneven.
Moving behind me, he picks up a remote from the couch and presses something.
The chains clank into motion, the heavy carriages on the ceiling grinding along the rails as they move forward and lengthen, and my body bends with them—my head and breasts now almost parallel to the angled panoramic window.
The mechanisms lock me in this bent position with a dry click.
Beyond the transparent glass is an abyss.
I’m suspended over the club floor, vibrating with heavy bass.
I lick my dry lips. My body is stretched taut, bent and spread-eagled over the dancing crowd below.
The sight of the shifting shadows makes my heart skip a beat.
Standing behind me, Desire gathers my tangled hair, drawing it away from my face—so nothing blocks my view, apparently—and fists it at the back of my head.
“I like that you curled them today,” he says low, his hot breath washing over my neck and sending goosebumps down my spine. “It reminds me of our first meeting, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” I whimper, my eyes wide open.
Right below me, human shadows writhe, merging into a single pulsing mass to the rhythm of the heavy club bass.
My heart pounds wildly, and my hard nipples brush against the cold glass with every beat.
The abyss jumps and shimmers with colors.
I try to turn my face away and hide my gaze, but Desire yanks the ponytail gathered at the back of my head until I feel a sharp pain at the roots.
He locks my head in place, robbing me of even the slightest chance to look away.
“Don’t you dare turn your face away.” It’s impossible to disobey this man. “Don’t you dare close your eyes. Or I’ll make you suffer like you’ve never suffered before.”
Hot tears spill from my eyes and roll down my cheeks, blurring my vision. The shadows dancing below morph into terrifying, distorted silhouettes, but the truth is, Desire standing behind me frightens me far more.
“Do you see them?” His silky whisper glides along the shell of my ear, seeping straight into my fevered brain.
“Yes,” I choke out, swallowing my tears.
He knows. He’s read all my confidential medical records and therapist reports.
He knows how broken I am inside. I’m terrified down to my very bones of shadows on the walls and sounds in the night.
Every news story about bad people only confirms my fear: this world is cruel and dangerous.
I’ve experienced it firsthand. I’ll carry those scars forever. Now Desire is exposing my terror.