“Stop playing games.” I slam him against the door. It creaks. Israel’s eyes light up. I let go of his throat and step back.
“I thought you liked games?”
“No, I like obedient slaves. You are far from obedient. Texas has let you rule The Ranch, and you’ve forgotten your place because of it.”
“I haven’t forgotten my place,” he whispers, and sinks to the floor at my feet. “It’s always been beneath you, Sir. At your feet, and under you.”
My stomach twists with guilt, and I slide my fingers into his hair, and tilt his chin up to me.
“I know you love her,” he whispers. “But you loved me once too.”
I tighten my grip in his hair, because I feel as if I’m losing my grip on reality. Did Hermes send for Israel as some sort of payback? “Stop.”
“It’s true, Sir. We both know it.”
“I told you to fucking stop.”
“I can’t. I tried to stop loving you, but I can’t, and neither will she. If she survives Vladik, if she leaves you, she’ll never stop loving you. Just like I’ve never stopped, even after you gave me away.”
I jerk my hand free of his hair and step back, glaring down at his unnaturally pale eyes, his shock of thick black hair, and the angelic face of a boy who became my ruin. I walk away, because if I don’t, I’ll live to regret it, but he might not.
“You can’t run from us, Sir. Not from her, and not from me. You created us. You made our hunger. You knew when to feed it, and when to starve it just enough that a taste of your pain makes us feel alive again. You created us both, and now you’re giving us both away.”
I drown out his words as best I can, but they follow me down the hall and into my room. They torment me long after my door has slammed shut.
I watch Pet on the flat-screen above the fireplace. I want to go to her, remove her from the chair, and wrap her up and carry her to my bath where I’ll lie behind her and wash the sweat and tears and fear from her body, but I can’t do that. I need to ensure that I see through each punishment I mete out. Later, I’ll find a way to punish Israel too, but for now I watch Pet until her body goes lax and she settles into subspace.
She stops moving, stops everything but the slow, steady inhalations of breath. Then, and only then do I leave my room and walk the hall back to her.
If she’s aware of my presence, she doesn’t show it. I slide my hand along the sweat-soaked skin of her back. It’s not hot in this room, it’s perfectly temperate, but nothing gets sweat prickling along your back like fear and adrenalin, and of course, desire.
She jerks when I touch her, and I shush her with a voice too graveled to be free of emotion. I think she knows it too. I loosen the knot forcing her head back, and a muffled cry escapes her. I unfasten the buckle and remove the gag. Saliva has pooled on the smooth leather surface beneath her head. She cries as she slowly opens and closes her mouth and her jaw makes several clicking sounds.
“It hurts, doesn’t it, Pet?”
“Y-yes,” she cries. “Yes, Sir.”
“What did we learn from today’s lesson, little one?”
“To obey, Sir. To never question you.”
“Good.” I nod, smoothing the hair back from her face. “And what happens when you piss me off?”
“I get punished, Sir.”
“You get punished.” I run my hands down the length of her body. “Did you enjoy your little visit from Israel?”
“No, Sir.”
I scoff derisively. “Liar. I watched your face as you came, as he whispered dirty things in your ear. You don’t want to like him, but you do. I can tell.”
“No.”
“Don’t argue, Pet. We both know I’m right. It doesn’t make you any less mine because you like the way Israel touches you. I taught him everything he knows.”
“Please, Sir, please can you untie me? I’m sorry I disobeyed you.”
“Not yet, Pet. We’re not done.”