I was surprised by Mauro’s kindness. He reminded me of Wyatt, except he was younger and incredibly attractive. He had a confidence in his kindness, as much confidence as Reynard had in his cruelty. It was hard to imagine a man like that being complicit in what Reynard was doing to me, but it was clear that he was. I don’t know what I would have done if he offered me my freedom. I had finally come to terms with what I deserved—and I felt like I needed to pay the penance—no matter how much suffering I endured in the process.

It wasn’t just about Wyatt anymore, even if what I did to him was the catalyst. The darkness had broken me—the humiliation and loneliness—having my physical needs deprived. I wasn’t ready for kindness. Wyatt was definitely my greatest sin—because he was the one I pulled across the threshold of my greed. He just wanted someone to talk to and I gave him temptation—maybe he was searching for it when he first messaged me, but that wasn’t what he truly needed—until I told him he could have me—then I destroyed him.

I was starting to doze when the door opened again. I had a full stomach, I didn’t feel dehydrated, and I was no longer dirty. It was the most comfortable I had been since I was first put in the cage. When the light came on and my eyes opened, I almost hoped it would be Mauro. I didn’t deserve kindness, but there was a lingering part of me that still clung to the little bit that he showed me. Instead, it was Reynard. He had a stack of papers in his hand, a scowl on his face, and I could tell that he wasn’t happy. He pulled the chair over near my cage and took a seat. I immediately moved to the back of the cage—a fight or flight reaction to the look on his face, even though my soul screamed for penance that rage would bring.

“I hope you didn’t get used to being treated like anything less than a filthy whore.” He growled under his breath. “Mauro may have compassion, but rest assured, I have none.”

“I know.” I looked up at him. “And I don’t deserve any.”

“You don’t even know what you really deserve.” He shook his head back and forth with his jaw clenched.

“I—I’m sorry that I hurt your brother.” I tensed up and felt my stomach twist into knots. “I know what I did was wrong.”

“I don’t want to talk about Wyatt.” He lifted a piece of paper from the stack in his hand. “I want to talk about William Edwards.”

Bill4Buckeyes. He was the last guy I ripped off.

“Another one of my sins.” I looked down and nodded.

“Some pretty interesting chat logs here.” His eyes scanned the first page.

He has my chat logs? Oh god—he must know everything I’ve done…

“I made a lot of mistakes.” I felt my eyes trying to well up with tears, but I fought against them.

“Yes.” He nodded quickly. “And you’re going to pay for them—one at a time. You promised all of the men you ripped off a fantasy and something they couldn’t have. Well now you’re going to live out all of those things you dreamed up—all of the things you agreed to—like the filthy little whore that you are.”

“Those were—not…” My words trailed off. “I would have never gone through with them.”

“Then you shouldn’t have promised them—because I’m going to collect on every promise you made.” Another growl resonated in his throat. “Starting with the filthy things you told William Edwards that you absolutely loved.”

Oh god…

I didn’t even know how to respond to Reynard. I had never done any of the things I promised those guys.

“When you’ve fulfilled every promise, you will be free to go.” He slid the chair back and dropped the stack of papers on the table. “I believe that’s a fair price for your freedom.”

The price for my freedom was my innocence—my virginity—things I promised that I truly didn’t like. I coaxed men into telling me their darkest fantasies, and I told them that I would love to fulfill them—even when they were things that I knew I had no interest in. I made those men pleasure themselves to the thought of being able to use me in horrible ways—do dirty, filthy things to my body. That was my comeuppance, and I didn’t know any other way to avoid facing it. I knew Reynard would raise the price if I refused—he had already shown me that. Was I strong enough to walk into the oblivion I created? Did I have a choice? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to those questions—and I wasn’t sure enraging the vicious man who imprisoned me was going to bring me any closer to redemption.

“Okay.” I swallowed a lump that was trying to form in my throat. “I’ll pay that price.”

“Then I have a contract for you to sign.” He walked over and unlocked my cage.

“A—a contract?” I looked up at him as I crawled out of the cage.

“Yes.” He nodded and motioned to one of the chairs. “Please have a seat.”

I stretched my legs as I stood, never taking my eyes off of Reynard as I walked over and sat down.

“This contract is simple.” He sat down and shuffled the paperwork to reveal the one he wanted me to sign. “It says that you are here because you want to be—and that you consent to the terms of our arrangement. You belong to me until you’ve paid your debt—every fantasy you created for the men you trapped in your web of lies.”

If I sign this, I might as well be signing my life over to him.

“What is this part?” I tilted my head as I got to something that I didn’t understand.

“I’m a fair man—even if you don’t deserve fairness. I added protection for you. If you leave here after you’ve paid the price and one of the men ever tries to pursue legal action, then my lawyers will defend you.” He lifted his hand and ran his thumb across his tongue before flipping the page. “This part is a confidentially clause. You will never share anything that happens here with anyone—ever. That includes the authorities. If you try to run straight to the police after you earn your freedom, this contract will be the first piece of evidence that my lawyers use to make sure no charges are ever filed.”

This gives him permission to hurt me—punish me—do anything that he wants, and nobody will ever believe me if I tell them I was put in that cage against my will.

“I trust these terms are agreeable.” He pointed at the spot where I should sign. “The contract I come back with tomorrow won’t be nearly as generous.”

What choice do I have? I know I deserve my penance—even if the thought of what he’s going to do to me is absolutely terrifying.

“Yes.” I took the pen and my fingers trembled when I pressed it to the page—but I signed my name anyway.

“Good.” He took the contract. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, and then we can begin with what you promised William Edwards. I trust you remember what he liked to do to naughty girls—and what you were going to do with those soft, pouty lips to apologize for your naughty behavior.”

“Yes…” I felt my stomach tighten into a knot. “I remember.”

Reynard took the contract, along with the rest of the papers, and left the room. I heard the door lock when he was on the other side of it, so there was no hope of escape, even if I wasn’t locked in my cage. I dreaded what he would do to me when I ran out of things to bargain with—and I finally had the answer to that question. There was no more bargaining. The contract promised me food, water, clothes—a warm place to sleep. I hadn’t had any of those things since I was first put in the cage. My body would suffer for my sins, and I wasn’t going to be a prisoner in a cell any longer—I was going to be a prisoner of my own signature—his to destroy in the ways I told others I wanted them to do.

At least I never promised William Edwards sex—he was more interested in other things. But I did promise it to others and Reynard will have my body at his disposal more times than I care to think about before I’ve fulfilled all of the promises I made.

William Edwards liked to spank naughty girls—he shared a few videos with me. They weren’t gentle. It was something his wife wasn’t into, so he chased those fantasies online, and he was quick to let me know that I would spend a very long time across his knee if I was there with him. I told him I liked it—that the thought of it made me wet. I told him it was a secret fantasy even though I had never gone through with it. That’s what I did with all the guys—when they told me what they liked, I acted like I was their sexual soulmate—or at least I could be once they took my virginity. I knew what was going to happen when Reynard returned because it had been described in vivid detail in the chat logs, I had with Bill4Buckeyes.

Spanking isn’t even the most painful thing I told people I liked—but it’s going to hurt. It’ll probably be a lot worse getting one from Reynard than it would have been from William Edwards. I doubt Reynard is going to care if I cry—nor will he show me mercy when I beg for it.

The door behind me clicked. The lock turned. I felt a panic setting in as the reality of the punishment I was about to receive truly resonated in my thoughts.

Reynard wasn’t going to be gentle.

He was going to hurt me.

And I deserved it.