Damn, this kid was savage. Pride ran through my body. He wasn’t my blood, but it seemed he could be more and more every day.
Anger blazed in her gaze as she spun around to address me. “How could you?” she spat.
“What did I do? You’re the one who tried to take off again.”
“This isn’t about me running, asshole. This is about the fact that you have a child holding a gun on me. A fuckingchild.What is wrong with you?”
I shrugged. “It’s–what do you Americans call it? Quid pro quo. He needed food to eat and a place to sleep, I needed a strong, capable soldier that people would underestimate to gather intel for me.”
“You are the worst fucking scum to walk this planet,” Sloane sneered. “And that may mean nothing to you, but I know some truly messed up people.” She stomped back over the threshold and slammed the door closed in Roman’s face.
I eyed the knife still in her hand. “Do I need to call Roman in here to force you on the bed?”
“No, you don’t need to call an armed baby in here to lead me to my torture, thank you.” She handed me the knife back in passing. “You can carve into my skin, Alexie. You have my consent.”
I shook my head, bemused. “It was going to happen, consent or not. It’s your punishment, and you will take it.”
“I want you to hurt me.” She shed her shirt off as she approached the bed, then swan-dived onto the mattress before rolling over and flattening herself on her back like she was a sacrifice on an altar. “Let’s do this.”
Smiling, I let curiosity get the better of me even though I knew asking would be a show of weakness on my part. “Why the change of heart all of a sudden?”
“I just want to get this punishment over with so maybe you’ll be nice to me again.”
I climbed onto the bed and straddled her torso, making sure her arms were trapped beneath my weight. “I might be nice, but I doubt I’ll ever let my guard down with youagain.”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “And you shouldn’t.”
Smirking, I felt around her chest for the perfect spot to carve my mark. “This is going to hurt,malishka. A lot.”
Sloane snorted. “You think you’re the first man to ever hurt me like this? You’re not special.”
I positioned the tip of my blade. “I’ll be the first man you’llwantto hurt you like this. That makes me special. And I will be the only man who will hurt you like this from this moment forth. You’re mine.”
She hissed as the knife pierced her skin, then groaned behind tightly sealed lips while I went to work. Blood spilled, yes, as did her tears, which quietly leaked out past her closed lids. Other than for her breathing, she remained fairly still, somehow overriding the body’s natural instinct to move away from pain. I must admit I was impressed. She didn’t even pass out.
My eyes riveted at the blood trailing down her smoothed skin and onto the sheets. I laid my claim on her body forever, and while simple in design, the wound would scar over and forever decorate her chest like a brand.
ALEXIE
It was beautiful.
“You did good,malishka.”
She released the heavy breath she’d been holding. “So, I’m forgiven then?”
I quirked a small smile. Why did I find her so adorable, her eyes so hopeful even as her blood spilled out. I leaned over and licked the wound I had made, relishing the coppery taste coating my tongue.
“If you mean to ask if my fury over the issue has subsided some, then yes.” My bloodied hands gathered her breasts as my lips traveled over the swell to capture a nipple in my mouth.
“Alexie,” she whispered, trying to pull her arms free from beneath my weight. “Please…”
“Please what,malishka?What do you need from me?”
She arched into my adoration of her beautiful tits. “I need you.”
I nipped her hard. “I wouldn’t have thought that this morning.”
“I said I was sorry,” she whimpered.