I’m quiet as I walk into my bedroom, hoping to get a look at Lilly without her knowing. But those doe-eyed baby blues are shining back at me the second I enter.

Hating me. They pierce into me, giving me a look that could kill a lesser man.

I’ve been given more hateful glares. From deadly men who intended on killing me, who despise me and my very existence. I’ve never been affected.

But the look in her eyes guts me.

Because I know she’s hiding pain behind the hate.

“Let me out,” she says in a low voice as she wraps her fingers around the silver steel bars. Her voice lacks the strength and conviction she’d rather I hear. She adjusts slightly, and as she does she winces. My eyes follow her movements; the grates of the cage have left an imprint on her knees. It’s only been a few hours since she’s been given her punishment. And I’m already regretting it.

I have to remind myself that this is for her own good. She’s being punished for a reason.

She wanted this.

She asked for this.

And now she wants to leave?

I won’t allow it.

My hands ball into fists as I stalk forward, my bare feet sinking into the lush carpet with each heavy step. The cage is large, much taller than her own height, and she rises to meet me although she remains on her knees.

Here’s a side to her I’ve never seen before. The fierce woman who was always there, hiding behind the facade of obedient eyes.

She liked to play the submissive. She thought this was a game.

She thought wrong.

Lilly looks back at me with daggers in her eyes as I crouch lower, leveling my gaze with hers. Even with the anger swirling in her blue eyes piercing into me, she gives off an air of purity, of innocence. She’s so delicate, so sweet. My flower.

Her rage only makes me want her more.

“Are you ready to obey?” I ask her, tilting my head slightly. My words piss her off. And I fucking love it. The comprehension of her predicament makes her eyes narrow for a moment. I watch as her hands attempt to ball into fists, but she corrects herself, warring between what she craves to do and what she feels she’s expected to do.

She clenches her teeth, but her eyes water. Tears form in her eyes as her lush lips part, but then quickly close without a sound being uttered.

I question everything in that small moment.

“Fuck you,” she finally responds with a sneer, but then instantly lowers her gaze. She’s strong, courageous even, but she’s a true Submissive. I have yet to earn that side of her. But I will.

“You want to,” I answer with a sharp smirk that curves my lips up, and that brings her glare back. We're at an impasse. If she’d give in, so would I, but she’s fighting it.

She didn’t realize how intense this would be when she signed that contract giving her freedom over to me. Neither did I.

She doesn’t respond, but I see her thighs clench ever so slightly. The small action makes my dick instantly harden with desire. She loves what I do to her. She still wants me, even when she hates me.

“All you need to do is obey, my flower.” I regain my strict composure, waiting for her answer.

My nickname for her makes her lips part just the tiniest bit with lust. It makes me lean into her that much closer. Wanting more. My fingers wrap around the bars just above hers, barely touching her, but feeling the heated tingle I always do when I’m with her.

She knew I wasn’t a good man.

That’s part of what drew her to me. I know it is.

“Fine,” she says in a mere whisper. I cock a brow at her answer, daring her to continue with that disrespectful attitude.

Our days are numbered, and if I let her, she may leave me the moment she can and never look back.

But she craved this arrangement for a reason. The same darkness that drives my desires is also in her. Stirring low in the pit of her stomach, fueling her hatred for me, but making her want me so much more.

“You know that’s not the way I’d like you to address me.”

“Yes, sir,” she says obediently, her voice the proper tone as she squares her shoulders. She’s still eye level with me, and there’s still a fierceness to her, but she’s willing to play. That’s just how I want her.

I’ll show her how good this can be.

But first, she needs to be truly punished. The cage door opens slightly with a gentle creak. I need to leave a lasting impression.

She may be angry with me, but she’s still mine.

I own her. And I’m not letting her go.