I wake up with Eden’s arms wrapped around me. My body is far too warm, but I won’t dare move her. I like her skin against mine too much to care about something as silly as being too hot.

What’s gotten into me?

I’ve become a wuss in a matter of moments. Ever since I rescued Eden from Armas. Although, I didn’t arrive there fast enough like I thought I did. I thought I stole her back before the worst happened. I was wrong.

I think I helped her now though. She didn’t wake up in the night. No thrashing or apparent night terrors. And she’s still asleep now, despite it being well past eight in the morning. We’ve been sleeping for over ten hours.

I saved her from Armas, but she should be equally terrified of me. I thought fucking her again would stir up the memory of me raping her.

It didn’t.

I’m not sure what I want more. Her to remember me raping her and be afraid of me, or her to forget about it forever.

Her sultry eyes eventually open and she grins when she gapes at me.

“Good morning,” she says, smiling like I’m her favorite person in the world.

I stroke her hair automatically. “Morning.”

She bites her lip.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Good. Really, good. I didn’t have any nightmares.”

I nod.

We both stare at each other, not sure where to take this from here. For one, I need food and coffee in my system to think straight, and then I have to get to work. I can deal with Eden later.

“You hungry? I can have one of the servants bring you some breakfast. I don’t think you should walk all the way to the dining room until your leg is further along in the healing process.”

“Eat with me here.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Why?”

The covers slip, and I’m rewarded with a view of her perky breasts and nipples, which I can still taste in my mouth.

She doesn’t cover up. Instead, she blushes.

“I know you aren’t the rainbows and hearts kind of guy. I know you are still evil. But I have a proposition for you, and I think we could both use some coffee first.”

I frown.

She’s still my prisoner. I don’t like her thinking she has any power over me. I have the control, not her. But I guess I need to listen to whatever she thinks she gained yesterday so I can put her back in her place.

I step out of bed, sensing her gaze on my ass.

I smirk.

She still wants me. I walk over to my dresser and pull out a dark pair of boxer briefs and put them on. I walk to my closet, pull a pair of sweatpants out, and put them on before walking back out.

She’s biting her lip when she gawks at me.

“Coffee no sugar, extra crispy bacon, and eggs sunny side up?” I ask, although I know it’s what she wants.

She nods with a grin.

Damn that grin. It’s beautiful. Just looking at it makes me happy.

I dash down the stairs to put in our order and impatiently wait before I carry both of our breakfasts on a tray upstairs.

When I return, I place the tray on Eden’s lap before climbing into bed next to her and taking my coffee off. I start drinking it while I wait for her ridiculous proposal I’m going to say no to.

She takes her time and drinks her coffee while nibbling on the bacon on her plate. I made sure the cooks prepared plenty of bacon for her since it’s her favorite part of breakfast.

“So you going to tell me what your proposition is or what? I have a lot of work I should be doing.”

She sighs and twirls the piece of bacon between her finger.

“Fine. I would like to make a deal with you.”

“I figured that. What kind of deal?”

She sucks in a breath. She’s nervous. Her hand is shaking slightly, and her breathing has sped up.

“The kind where I get more sex like last night.”

I laugh. “Nina tried the same thing. You can’t seduce me and get me to fall in love with you to help you escape. If I fell in love with you, it would only make you more trapped. Remember how it turned out for Nina?”

She blushes. “I’m not trying to convince you to fall in love with me. That’s not what I want.”

“What do you want then?”

“I want more sex like last night. Sex that makes me feel good but in control. I don’t want to be raped. I want the kind that makes me feel stronger afterward.”

I shake my head. “Not going to happen. Last night was a one-time thing. I did it because I don’t want another guy in your head. Now I can talk to you. Question you. Torture you. Or rape you without worrying you are thinking about any man but me.”

She laughs, but it’s nervous. “You won’t rape me.”

I raise an eyebrow and inch toward her, watching as the breathing in her chest becomes weaker. “I won’t?”

“No, you won’t. I believe your story. You love Nina or are still obsessed with her or whatever your feelings are toward her. I believe that to be true. If you want to have a chance at having Nina back at the end of all of this, then you won’t rape me. You know she would never forgive you for it. She’ll forgive you for kidnapping me, but not rape. That’s how I know you won’t do it.”

I frown. “Fine. But that doesn’t mean I’ll fuck you. I have plenty of women at my disposal to fuck when I want.”

She smirks. “You might. But they aren’t who you want. You want Nina. And me. Admit it.”

“No. I like hurting women. Raping them. I don’t fuck often. Not for a woman’s pleasure.”

“Fuck me, and for every time I let you fuck me, you hold off looking for Nina for one week.”

I narrow my eyes chuckling softly. “That sounds like you get two things you want and I get nothing.”

Her eyes hide behind her lashes. “I said fuck me how you want. Rough, dirty, filthy. Do what you want to me, and if I don’t stop you, then Nina gets one more week of freedom.”

“You think fucking you last night was that good for me?”

“Yes,” she breathes.

She knows me too well. I don’t understand it, but fucking her last night made my top five all-time fucks. Nina, making up the other four.

“I’ll never get Nina that way. Why would I follow your plan? Why wouldn’t I just hurt you until you talk?”

She smiles, her face light and airy because she thinks she’s won. “Because you love Nina. That’s why you won’t hurt me because you can’t hurt her. I believe you love her. I think your love might be a lost cause. But it’s also the only way you can ever have her. I won’t talk if you torture me. As you can see, that hasn’t been working out well for you so far. I might talk if you gain my trust. Show me I’m right in my realization that you love her and will protect her. You are the better man for her and I’ll tell you where she is.”

I stare into her brown eyes intently. She’s lying. Nothing will ever make her tell me where Nina is. Or at least that’s what she thinks. I can think of several ways to get her to talk, now that I know her better.

Now, though, I don’t want Nina. I need to deal with the aftermath of Armas’ family. I need to make sure Clive and Erick are taken care of. That they won’t come after us as soon as I get Nina back. Until then, I don’t want to know where Nina is. It puts her at risk.

I won’t shake her hand or promise her a deal though. That way when I want the agreement to end, it can, without renegotiating or breaking my promise. It will be like last night where I promise with my body and that has to be enough for her for now.

I want to fuck her. And she’s right I don’t want to deal with Nina finding out I raped Eden repeatedly. But I will, if that’s what it takes to get her to talk to me.

This way I get to rape her with her permission. I don’t plan on going easy on Eden. I plan on making her pay for not telling me where Nina is. Because I’m more desperate to get her back than she knows.

“Finish eating your breakfast,” I say. Other than the one piece of bacon, she has hardly touched any of her food.

She bats her eyelashes at me as she lets the covers fall further down her body until only her pussy and legs are covered.

“Or…we could…” She grins, licking her lip.

I shake my head as I ignore her and continue eating my breakfast. I can’t help but chuckle, though, when I see her pout out of the corner of my eye.

“Eat. You’re going to need your strength.”

Her eyes light up like I just told her the most exciting news. She will regret the deal she made with me. Because last night was nothing. I enjoyed fucking her, but it’s not what I crave. I seek the darkness, just like I do during the day.

I drink the rest of my coffee, watching her as she digs into her food as frantically as she did after going without for several days when Dierk fed her. I watched the security tapes last week and saw her with him. She used her big eyes and seductive smile to get Dierk to do whatever she wanted. She’s not going to be able to do the same with me.

She finishes her food and looks at me with eager eyes.

I glance down at my coffee, letting her know she can’t rush me.

It doesn’t stop her from trying. She leans into me, her lips purring, begging me to make her feel as good as last night.

I slowly, deliberately, drink the rest of my coffee and then set my cup on the tray still in her lap. She practically shoves the tray into my hands as I set it down on the nightstand next to me.

“So eager,” I mumble.

She reaches her hand to grab my neck and kiss me. I seize her hand, stopping her. Her mouth parts as she stares at me, holding her wrist a little too tight. I can see the realization hit her. This won’t be like last time. This time, I will be taking full advantage of her body.

She takes a deep breath while I plan in my head what I want from her body. How do I want her? Tied up? Red? Crying my name? What do I want?

All of it.

I want it all.

I get out of bed knowing she can’t follow me, and it will drive her mad the longer I’m gone. I step into my closet and unhurriedly remove my clothes again. Taking my time and letting the image of her body, naked and tied up for me, sink into my mind. Her body red with stains where her flesh was whipped and beaten. Her eyes shed of tears all but spilled from her pain.

That’s what I want. Her defeated and mine. I want her to feel like she did after Armas, but because of me.

I thought I could be kind, but the kindness has dried up.

I walk to the shelf where I keep my ties and pull two off. Usually, I would prefer something much stronger, but this will do for what I have planned.

Finally, when I know her pussy is dripping and her heart has sped to an unmeasurable speed, I step out.

Her eyes mix with concern and arousal as she looks at me.

I glare back. Her eyes reflect more worry than excitement. Her eyes drift down the ties I hold in my hand, and she grips the sheets trying to hide herself again.

“You can’t hide from me. Not now.”

“I’m not hiding. I made the deal remember?”

“And you are going to regret it.”

“Not likely, if it keeps my friend safe for another day.”

“And gives you another orgasm, right?”

Her cheeks blush her response. She wants me to fuck her as much as I want to fuck her. She just doesn’t want what I have planned.

“This is your last chance to back out. You don’t get a safe word. I won’t stop once I start. I’ll ask you beforehand each time, but once you say yes, that’s it.”

The fear disappears as I speak. Like my words give her confidence instead of panic.

“Fuck me, Matteo. Do your worst.”

“I will.”

I snatch the covers and jerk them off until her entire body is exposed and ready at my disposal.

I unroll one of the ties as I storm toward her, my gaze never leaving her and she’s fighting back just as strongly, telling me she is ready for anything.

I grab her healing leg, digging my fingers deep into her skin.

She screams at my sudden touch.

My fingers continue holding pressure, loving the sounds she’s making.

“You asshole.”

I smirk. “Didn’t think I would fight fair, did you?”

“No,” she growls. “I thought you would slowly transform into a monster, not become it as quickly as I can snap my fingers.”

I bend her knee, so her thigh is pressed against her stomach.

She cries again. Her leg hasn’t been used to bending that way in weeks.

“I didn’t need to transform. I’ve always been this way.”

I clutch her wrist and pull it to her leg before I attach the tie around it.

She takes a deep breath. Trying not to panic. She won’t be able to move when I’m done with her. She’s going to remain hurting, her leg throbbing how it is, the entire time I fuck her.

I finish tying her hand tightly to her leg; then I jerk her other leg back before I grab her hand and fasten it to her leg with the other tie.

She bites her lip.

“You regretting your decision yet?”

“No, I never regret anything.”

I enjoy her confidence. It will make this so much more fun when I beat it out of her.

I take a step back, admiring my work and her body tied up for me. She can’t move, and there is no turning back. No words will convince me to stop, not now I’ve had her.

I disappear again. Needing more tools.

When I return, she’s panting as she struggles against the ties, trying to break free. She freezes when she sees what I’m holding in my hand.

She closes her eyes, like that, will help her.

I hold the whip in my hand, letting my fingers tangle in the leather threads that will soon be touching her body. I doubt she has ever felt such a thing before. She would have if Armas had more time with her. But I get to be her first. I get to break her in. I get to make her mine.

“Open your eyes.”

“No,” she whispers.

“Open your eyes, or I’ll make it extra painful.”

I want to see her pupils dilate and the fear take over when the leather touches her smooth skin.

She opens them.

“Good girl.”

I don’t hesitate. I let the whip come down harshly against her ass that is splayed for me.

She yelps, her body swaying as it tries to adjust to the sting.

My eyes roll back as the pain I caused sinks into me, bringing me far too much pleasure.

I strike her again on the other cheek, more forceful than before.

Her yelp turns to a cry, almost a plea, that this is her limit. This is all she can take. Not a millimeter harder.

She hasn’t felt anything yet.

I whip her again, this time over the most sensitive bud on her body.

She cries, and I finally see the tears streaking down her cheeks. This is what I want. This is what I crave. To see women in pain, terrified of me. I want them to feel powerless, so I feel more power. I need the darkness.

“Please,” she whispers behind her tears. She doesn’t say stop. She doesn’t dare show she’s weak so quickly. But I can still see it. I know it won’t take much more for her to say it.

I crack the whip again, hitting her ass again.

Her body lurches from the contact before she rocks gently on her back, trying to calm the sting. My eyes deepen when I’m rewarded with the red mark I’ve left on her ass. I want more. Something permanent.

I strike her again with all the force I have. More tears spill, but she barely cries this time.

“Had enough?”

She glares at me but doesn’t say anything. My cock aches watching her. She might get lucky. I’m usually a patient person, but I can’t wait much longer to fuck her. My cock is growing closer to her with every moan from her body.

I hit her again, purposefully striking her pussy, needing her to tell me to stop. Needing to know I’m breaking her. That this feels like I’m taking something from her. Raping her.

She cries loudly, but her cry turns to an enduring groan.

I throw back my arm, coming down with all my strength, expecting this to be the moment she cracks. The moment where her new nightmares form that I caused.

She doesn’t cry.

Or scream.

No tears fall.

Instead, she grins before her mouth falls open in ecstasy. A deep growl leaves her throat, and her body opens up more for me to hit her again.

I do.

Her toes curl, and her back arches and she pushes into the strike.

My mouth falls open. She likes the pain. She wants me to hurt her. It turns her on.

And I can’t wait any longer.

I grab her ass as I stand on the edge of the bed and pull her to me, my cock plunging into her tight cunt. She’s dripping and easily allows me in.

I spank her ass as I drive in and out of her. It only makes her wetter.

“Harder,” she cries.

I fuck her harder.

“Deeper.”

I fuck her deeper.

I don’t know when I gave up control, and she took over, but I don’t care. I would give her control every time if it felt this good every time.

I pound into her, loving how her body tightens around me. I lean forward so I can grasp her nipples and twist them between my fingers.

She bites her lip and like it’s the most glorious thing I’ve done.

I stare into her eyes trying to find the woman who was raped by Armas, was so broken only a few hours ago. The woman who would have been equally shattered by me after I raped her, if she had retained her memory.

She’s gone.

And in her place is a woman more powerful than any woman I’ve ever met. She’s thriving being tied up, in pain, and in pleasure. She controlled this by making the deal. And in doing so, it gave her power over what she felt as well.

I won’t last much longer, though I want this feeling to last forever. It feels far too pleasurable, and I plan on fucking her again as soon as I arrive back from work. And every day until I’ve had enough.

I move faster about to push my cum deep into her belly when her lips brush against mine.

My eyes fly open as I take the kiss further. My tongue sweeping into her mouth, tangling with hers. I’m not opposed to kissing her, but I wanted to deny her any pleasure. Now that I know that’s not possible, why deny myself any?

I kiss her, taking in everything she feels as I fuck her.

“Oh god, Matteo!” she cries as her orgasm escapes her.

“Fuck,” I growl as I shoot my load inside her.

Our eyes connect as our orgasms slowly subside. Our bodies wrench as I collapse on top of her. Neither of us understands what the hell happened. We both know that should have terrified her. It should have ripped her to pieces instead of building her back up.

“Why do I crave you?” she asks.

I smirk.

She laughs.

“Because you’re fucked up. You like the darkness. The evil you have been fighting all your life is tucked inside, and you just started to let it free. You’re no different than me.”