Moans echoed from her mouth into mine, and it only caused me to deepen the kiss more.
My body was rigid, my cock still standing at attention. I was far from finished. I wasn’t even near being done with her.
Pity this first part didn’t go quite as I had planned. But then again, nothing with this woman had ever gone as planned. She had the tendency to fuck everything up, to put me on a completely different path than I had intended. But I realized I wouldn’t want it any other way. I wanted her in my life, and there was nothing in this world that would change that. I felt it inside my veins, with every beat of my heart. There was no other woman for me, and I needed her to know that.
But I had to prepare her for a life with me, for a life with a man who could easily slip from lover to monster. Our lifestyle demanded I be ruthless, merciless, cunning, and heartless. So I needed to make her look past the monster, past the cold-blooded bastard in me. And in order for me to do that, I had to make her see the outer layer of innocence she wore so well needed to be hidden. The broken parts of her might never mend, but I would teach her, show her how to use her brokenness and turn it into a strength that would guarantee her survival. A strength that would give her the kind of power she was born to have. This was why I needed to push her past her limits. I had to make her realize how strong she truly was, build her up to a place where she no longer had to fear anything. But in order for me to do that, I had to break her…completely.
Chapter 19
TATUM
The trembling wouldn’t stop. Electric currents kept shocking through my veins as everything between my legs throbbed with release. His tongue felt like velvet against my sensitive flesh, and the warmth of his mouth felt incredible as he lapped and sucked, milking an orgasm out of my body. When he had his head between my legs, his mouth devouring every inch of me, I wanted to push my body up to give him more of me to taste. But the four chains attached to my collar made it impossible. So all I could do was rock my hips as my body became desperate for release.
Every muscle went numb, like all the strength had drained from my body. But I knew he wasn’t done with me. It was too easy, too simple. Nothing with Castello was easy or simple.
The mattress moved, and I tried to listen to figure out where he was, what he was doing. Then I heard the clanking of the chains and felt the faintest movement from the collar around my neck. More sounding of chains, until finally I could feel I was no longer bound to the four bedposts.
Just as I wanted to fall back, to allow my body the rest it needed, Castello grabbed the collar and jerked me upright.
“Not so fast. We’re not done.”
“I just need five minutes,” I pleaded.
“Not yet. You can rest when I say you can.”
Abruptly, he pulled me forward by the collar, and I fell face first against the mattress. My hands were tied behind my back, and the blindfold was still secure. Nervous anticipation bloomed inside my stomach, and even after the mind-shattering release I had just had, my body started to hum again, my skin tingling with the need to be touched.
Castello placed his hand beneath my chin, lifting my head, and I heard the clasp of the chain, realizing what the purpose was of the fifth ring on the collar. I tried to pull myself back up, but the chain held me in place…head on the mattress and ass in the air.
“Are you comfortable, little mouse?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Remember, you trust me.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You’re scaring me by saying that every ten minutes.”
“I’m saying it every ten minutes to make sure you don’t forget it. Especially because of what I’m about to do next.”
“What are you about to do?”
My words weren’t even cold when the first lash landed against my ass. It wasn’t so much the pain as it was the surprise that made me cry out. Only when the burn on my skin started to intensify did I recognize the pain…the pain caused by a belt.
“Castello—”
Another whip and crack followed. This time, I bit into my lower lip, trying to swallow the cry of pain that wanted to force itself out of my throat.
I felt his breath against the side of my face. “Forgive me,” he whispered, and I could hear the regret in his voice.
“Castello, please.”
“For you to conquer your demons, you need to face them, little mouse.”
And then his face was gone, another lash against my body.