Chapter 12
twelve
How can a harbinger of evil look so peaceful while she sleeps?
And deeply, too. She hasn’t moved in several minutes. Breathing evenly, eyes twitching behind her eyelids. I bet she dreams of pulling children’s teeth and gets joy from their lingering screams every morning when she wakes.
The freshman dorm room is small but tidy. Too soft and pink on her roommate’s unoccupied side to be anything Ashlyn would coordinate. No, her things are bare and minimal. White. Like she doesn’t plan to stay or…doesn’t want anyone to know who she is.
One spiny plant sits atop her desk hutch, and when I stick my finger in, it’s been watered recently. Laptop free of smudges. Locked with a fingerprint. A Kraft-covered planner lies perfectly perpendicular to it with her class schedule. Nothing else inside other than written assignments.
Phone background? Pure black. Like she’s trying to disappear.
Clothes? Hung by color. Those are bright and varied. As if her external appearance is chaotic, but inside, the place she chooses as a domain needs to remain calm.
Shoes, lots of them, and all neatly stacked next to each other. But any nineteen-year-old would have this closet.
Lingerie? Damn…she has a lot. I tuck a red lace thong into my pocket.
Books? Only one. The Picture of Dorian Gray in hardcover. Beige and thin. I haven’t read that one, but I add it to my mental list to study. It’s imperative.
Jewelry box… A simple cedar wooden box. That’s it. No fancy decorations or anything. Inside? A few earring sets. Mainly outlandish or theme-inspired, like for costumes. A simple pearl necklace and a set of hoop earrings. Expensive strands of silver and gold… No rings.
Air freezes in my lungs.
Vision blurs with every heartbeat.
Rage hits the back of my throat like rust.
With shaky fingers, I lift the delicate necklace located deep beneath the others. I hold it up to her sleeping figure, demanding a silent explanation.
Why the fuck does she still have my bottlecap necklace?
The one I made for her during crafts so many years ago. I gave it as a promise. An oath. I’d marked her, and I’d protect her. What a dumb kid I was.
Emotion stings my eyes, infuriating me even more. How dare she bring this here like it means something to her! Back teeth clenched, I return it, shut the lid, then hurry from her room. I stride down the hall at a brisk pace and take the steps two at a time.
Most girls in the freshman dorm are busy getting ready for their morning classes. A few recognize me, but don’t bother asking why I’m there. I wouldn’t tell them anyway.
In the shared kitchenette, I fill a giant cup with ice and water, then sprint back up to her floor. Not stopping, I throw open her door and dump her wake-up call all over her head until she sits up screaming and swiping at her face.
“Good morning, baby girl. Rise and shine!”
Spit flies from her mouth, her fists digging into her eyes. “What the fuck?”
Ever so sweetly, I lean over and press my lips to her wet head and tell her, “We’ve got a month to train you, and your master doesn’t like to fall behind.”
Fire burns up her neck and onto her cheeks. She’s a tsunami on the brink of causing destruction. “I was sleeping!”
“Kneel in front of me. You won’t speak to me unless I ask you a question. Refer to me as your boss, master, sir…or lord if you prefer.”
“How about assho—”
With a swift movement, I grip her throat. “You have a choice right now. Don’t make me take it away from you. Kneel and look at my shoes. Then refer to me as a chosen title.”
Her eyes grow calmer, more subdued, as if she needed me to put my hands on her roughly. I know what she wants…and I know how to make her behave. Though I hate to admit it, that brush against her skin has already made my cock firm.
While keeping her gaze affixed on mine, she slips to the ground, wet camisole showcasing her perky little pink nipples. Hard from the cold. Her tiny thong barely covers her cunt.
Staring at the ground in front of me, she murmurs, “Yes, my lord.”
“Thighs together, shoulders back, head down, and your hands in your lap. Show your submission to your lord.”
Her chest rises and falls for two breaths before she assumes the exact position I demand.
“Whenever your lord tells you to kneel, you’ll do this at my feet. Understand?”
“Yes, lord.”
The sight of her so obedient. Ready for me to do anything to her. I bite my bottom lip to contain my groan of excitement.
“Here are the rules. One: You get to choose your safe word. Deploy this, and I’ll stop whatever I’m doing immediately.
But here’s the thing, Ashlyn…” I squat so I can look directly into her eyes.
“I’m not going to be nice to you. Not soothing.
Or kind. I hate you. With every fiber of my being, and you’ll feel it all over your body…
Even inside. I don’t want you to ever forget how I genuinely feel about you. ”
Wet golden strands cling to her cheeks as she stares at me with a stoic expression.
Strawberry scents of summer radiate off her so strongly, I get dizzy from the memory.
Trees blowing in the breeze at midnight.
Rustles of the lake as it rolled onto the rocky shore in a steady rhythm.
The intoxicating taste of her soft lips.
Fingers gripping the back of my neck as I plunged inside her—
“Crest,” she says. Like it’s not a dagger to my heart.
A vision of my younger self reflects in the glassiness of her deep blue eyes. She and I both know what they did to us. To kids like us. We survived that hell of a camp.
But not each other.
“Crest it is, then,” I manage to say through a tight throat.
Two beats pass, like we’re patching each other back up with the ruins of yesterday. And I fucking hate her once again.
Standing, I hover over her and dig into my pocket to produce a red leather collar with a ring on the front. “Look at me.”
When she does, her eyes grow wide, and it’s not from fear. No…it’s heat. As I suspected.
“I’m securing this around your neck. You’re to wear it at all times this month, except for bathing. Got me?”
She nods as I stoop to attach it. Quiet breaths from her nose tickle my hands, and inadvertently, I stroke her damp cheek. “Gather your hair up for me,” I whisper, and she shivers, but does as she’s told.
The metallic snap of the clasp at her nape makes her twitch. When I straighten up, I examine her slowly, cupping my chin with a fist.
“One more thing…” Walking over to her jewelry box, I lift the lid, and she gasps.
“What are you doing?”
“Shh. No talking.” Digging out the bottle cap pendant, I unclip it from the cheap shells that I’d used as the chain, then return to her and attach it to the hoop around the front of her new badge of ownership. “AIC. Mine.”
She fingers it gently for a moment, but my eyes narrow until she resumes her position.
“Why didn’t you go to class this morning?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Didn’t feel like it.”
“That needs to change.”
Slowly, carefully, she lifts her eyes to my face. “What do you mean?”
A venom-laced chuckle escapes my lips. “I control every aspect of your life now, baby girl. And you’ll obey me in everything.”
The way she sneers makes my cock throb until I palm it to keep it in check.
My movement doesn’t go unnoticed by her as she stares at my belt buckle. “Let me guess… Suck your dick in the mornings?”
“Yes. Usually. But not this morning, no. Strip and then lie on your bed on your back.”
The corners of her lips curl into a seductive grin as she hooks her thumbs into her panties and shimmies them off her legs, then crosses her arms and peels off her wet camisole until she’s nude for me. Completely bare.
I grab the armchair from the corner and position it at the side of her twin mattress, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. She gets into position, and I stroke my chin, then point to her nightstand.
“Get out your vibrator and play with yourself. Legs wide so I can watch.”
As if she’s won some victory, she snorts, then slides a hand to her drawer, reaching for her small bullet toy. I’d already seen the dildos. The clit sucker. The nipple clamps. A paddle. Probably has to beg Moretti to go deeper so she can feel him.
Not this month.
Propping herself up on some pillows, she spreads her knees for me, then sticks the purple vibrator in her mouth to give it a good suck while watching my face. I don’t move an inch. No reaction. Other than my dick throbbing at the sight.
A memory surfaces—late-night video calls, her daring me to look away, both of us pretending we weren’t crossing lines we never learned how to uncross. When I let myself believe it didn’t matter because we felt inevitable.
She was the addiction I chose, knowing exactly what it would cost.
I take a deep breath and monitor her with sterility as she slides it to her clit and turns it on.
“Do you like me watching you?” I ask.
“Do you like watching me?”
“Not particularly,” I lie.
“You’re such an asshole.”
“I can’t wait to take yours. Hard. Rough. If you’re good, I’ll use lube, but baby girl… If you don’t mind me? I’ll rip it apart and relish your wailing cries as I do.”
She bucks against her toy and whimpers. Got her.
“Now you’re here, slut. My collar around your neck. Obeying every filthy command I give you. How does it feel to lose so badly, Miss Donovan?”
“G-G-Great…” she pants, out of breath.
“Mm, an absolute dirty whore like you probably loved sucking me in front of that entire room of horny guys, didn’t you? Letting me show off that sopping cunt like a prized pet at a show. So full of spite, but for me? No… You kneel. Like an obedient, mindless bimbo. My bimbo.”
She grunts in reply.
“Stick your tits out.”
Hips lifting, body arching…she growls. “I need more.”
“No.”
Her eyes flash to mine. “Aiden!”