“More?” he wanted to know, buried so deep inside me I felt him at my cervix.
“More!” I said. “More, Master. More.”
“Tell me to let go,” he said through gritted teeth, controlling the movements of his hips with the patience of a god. “Tell me you still want it.”
“Let go,” I cried out. “Let go for me.”
He roared into life.
As he pounded inside me, I realized I’d never done this before. I’d never been used, abused, treated like an absolute whore, and finally, right before my breaking point, I was pushed into sexual madness like a worthless fucktoy, fucked and sucked and beaten into utter, complete submission.
As I lay in his arms, broken yet feeling fuller and more stable than ever, Thorn pulled me against him and whispered in my ear. I drifted off to sleep with his words echoing in my mind.
I will always take care of what’s mine.
Chapter 11
Rose
I was exhausted, my whole body pulsing with tiredness as I woke up in Thorn’s bedroom.
There was sunlight pouring through the window, illuminating the all-white bed in beautiful, sparkling colors. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, moaning when I felt the hurt from the previous night. I knew already I was alone. My body always responded when Thorn was in the room, and that morning, I felt his absence in my gut.
Somehow, I understood why he’d chosen not to stay by my side when I woke up. After the previous night, it would be hard for him to face me. I’d made him let go… I’d made him hurt me more than I ever thought he could, and now it felt like we were truly attached to one another, invisible strings connecting my heart to his, as if I was some kind of marionette that could only dance when he made me.
I had breakfast by myself and took a shower after, admiring freshly blooming bruises Thorn had put all over my body. He’d said he didn’t want to hurt me, but his actions proved otherwise. However, I’d taken it all, showing him that I was tougher than I looked, and I could handle whatever he gave me.
I didn’t know what kind of plans he had for me that day, but I was ready by the time the maid took my empty breakfast tray away. I’d chosen to wear a simple pink dress that tied into a halterneck behind my back and flattered my body, tight at the top and flaring out on the bottom. I paired it with simple cream ballet flats with a small bow at the toes accented with a pretty, sparkly bracelet. While I struggled to put it on, I found myself wondering whether the diamonds were real.
“They’re real,” a voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to find Pia standing in the doorway, a smirk on her face. “I know a girl like you isn’t used to luxury like this, but they are real. Too good for you, of course. Not that I had a say.”
“At least you’re aware of your own unimportance,” I replied in a sweet voice while Pia stepped closer to me, reaching for the bracelet with cool fingers and snapping it in place on my wrist.
“Looks beautiful on you,” she replied in her icy voice, and we exchanged false smiles. “So, what is Thorn’s little captive going to do today?”
“I hardly see how that’s any of your business,” I told her coolly. “I’m planning to see whether I can go outside, though.”
“Outside?” she stepped closer, looking at me closely with the light pouring through the window. “What is there outside that you want to see?”
I wondered whether I should tell her, but knew full well she had less than pleasant ways of finding out if I refused her.
“I want to go to the garden,” I admitted. “The rose garden.”
“Ah, yes.” Her eyes sparkled with darkness and mischief. “Well, I’m sure you’d be allowed to go.”
I was about to move out of her way, but her hand stopped me dead in my tracks, her claw-like nails going to my cheek and gently stroking the skin.
“Silly girl,” she said softly. “Obviously I meant in my company. You’ll never be permitted to go by yourself. You do know that, right?”
I seethed quietly, choosing not to give her an answer, but then my anger got the best of me as I muttered, “Why not? It’s been so long. I wouldn’t do anything stupid.”
“No?” she mocked me. “Oh, poor little Harlow…”
She was the only one in the house who occasionally still called me by my real name, and we both knew it wasn’t because she cared about me so deeply. Instead, it was because she was convinced I was not a permanent fixture in Thorn’s life, and I’d go back to my real name once he got sick of me. I clenched my jaw at the thought.