“Oh, I know you,” I throw back at Roo, because it’s becoming very clear. And even though my pulse is frantic and fearful, I can’t deny that I’m not disgustingly turned on by my consent being held to ransom.
Swiftly, Luca throws me over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift and stalks for the doorway to the tower. My hair dangles down by his ankles, Roo catching it in his hands and holding it out of the way. The sound of the jeweler’s box being collected from the kitchen table registers, my thoughts in disarray as Luca climbs the curving staircase.
“I can smell how badly you want this,” he murmurs, running a palm over my ass.
In the mirror room, I’m tossed to the bed. I sweep my hair behind my back and shoulders as the trunk lid creaks open, Reuben pulling out lengths of rope. Naked, I let him tie my wrists above my head as Brecken lays the inch thick material across my throat, securing it on either side of the bed.
The natural-colored rope is rough but not too prickly, the half-crown Luca places on my head gripping my scalp tightly.
The cameras get switched on.
Feeling every slight movement of the abrading material, I say carefully, “I imagined a queen would get more sumptuous ties and restraints.”
One by one, Luca, Reuben, and Brecken come to stand at the base of the bed.
“Queens that behave do,” Roo remarks.
Luca nods. “Queens that need to be held captive, don’t.”
“We’re in too deep, Winter,” Brecken murmurs. “This is how we remind you that we’re bound to you, and you to us. There’s no escape.”
Together, these men have held me within their protective arms, encouraging me. Their broad shoulders have taken my burdens and weight, freeing me. And their strong, warrior hearts defend and nurture me. Love me.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
In my crown of stars and moons and snowflakes I let them take their turns tasting me, eating me from the inside out. And when they’ve finished worshipping my body, when they leave me boneless and incapable of speech other than a repeated promise to never leave them, I feel whole again.
The End