“Hey! Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I protest as my bedroom door opens and Seth walks in.

I’m glad I was only reading a cookbook in bed and not doing something weird. It would’ve been so embarrassing if I was reading one of my steamy romance novels with one hand down my pants.

“I got you something,” Seth says, holding up a white box with a classy black ribbon wrapped around it.

Of course he wouldn’t apologize for something as trivial as barging into my room without my permission. It’s his house anyway, and he can do whatever he wants. I should already know that by now.

“Thank you.” I take the box he’s offering.

The mattress dips as he sits down on the edge of my bed, on the same spot where he sat when he gave me his spaghetti. I want to bury myself in his arms, but I restrain myself.

We haven’t seen each other since we had sex yesterday because he was doped up on whatever the doctor gave him and practically passed out right after.

I feel like there could be a pattern here. The last time he came here with the pasta, he had just taken away my phone and locked me in my room. Now, he gives me a mystery box, right after I almost got shot under his watch.

Could Seth be feeling guilty about letting someone so dangerous get so close?

“Open it,” he says.

I pull on one end of the ribbon and take it off. The white box doesn’t give any clue as to what’s inside, but it looks expensive.

I wonder if it’s jewelry. It seems early for a man to give me jewelry at this point, when we’re not actually in a relationship. But maybe Seth has too much money than he knows what to do with. And, technically, we do live together.

I open the box and see the last thing I’d expect to see in there.

It’s a knife.

A chef’s knife.

A nice one. Like, one that’s worth a few hundred dollars.

I raise my gaze up to look at Seth, my mouth hanging open.

“This is…”

“I already have all the knives you need in the kitchen, but I thought this would make a nice addition.”

“I don’t know what to say. I’ve always wanted to buy this but I never had the extra money to pull the trigger.”

Seth winces at my choice of words.

“Thank you,” I say quickly.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I like it. It’s just…” I narrow my eyes at him. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to give me a knife? I could use it against you.”

“To run away? You’d never get past my guards. That guy who managed to get into the garden yesterday, he’d probably done constant surveillance for months and he still didn’t manage to accomplish anything.”

“I could stab you,” I say, annoyed at the implication that I don’t have the ability to do some damage.

“You could,” he admits. “But you won’t.”

“How could you be so sure?” I challenge him.

“You care about Swiss cows going deaf because of their bells, and now you’re talking about stabbing an actual human being? I don’t think you have it in you.”

“Fair enough.” I shrug. I suppose I can take that as a compliment. “It looks sharp enough to slice through a human being pretty easily, though.”

“You can try it out on the tracker,” he says so casually I almost miss what he means.

“Are you saying…”

“You can slice off the tracker.”

“You don’t think I’ve tried that?”

He chuckles. “Of course you have.” He takes my ankle, the one with the tracker around it, and pulls it toward him on the bed. “I’ll stick in a key in here, and then you’ll have to cut it off right here,” he says as he points at various parts of the tracker, his fingers grazing my skin, sending a frizzle of pleasure up my legs.

“You’re really going to let me take it off?” I ask before I can stop myself.

Shut up, idiot, I tell myself. Don’t ruin a good thing.

“Yes,” he says.

“Why?”

“You can keep it on if you want to.” Okay, so he’s not going to give me any explanation. Typical.

“No, let’s take it off.”

“Okay.” He pulls out a small metallic thing from his pocket and inserts it into a tiny hole in the side of the tracker. It beeps.

Seth pulls on the tracker with both hands until a part of the band that looks like it’s made of a rubber-like material is exposed. He looks up at me and says, “Cut here.”

I pull my ankle back so I can take a closer look at the damn thing. I grab my brand-new knife and put the blade to the spot Seth is pointing at, but it’s a tight spot and the knife is not exactly travel-sized. It’s an awkward angle, too.

“Can you help me with this?” I ask.

“Sure.” He grips my ankle with one hand, while his other hand holds the knife.

It’s the same knife, but in Seth’s hand, it becomes something more. The moment the cold metallic blade touches my skin, I feel goosebumps all over my body. A powerful thrill thunders through me.

What is wrong with me? It’s a damn knife!

Seth seems to have noticed it, too. He slices off the band of the tracker and it falls off onto the bed easily. It looks strange. Something that has made me feel so trapped, now looks so innocuous.

Seth keeps holding the knife against my skin. He moves it up my leg, pushing the hem of my pants up to my knees. The touch of the blade feels light as a feather, if feathers were also cold and hard and dangerous. He stares intently at my face, watching my reactions. My heart jumps in my chest, and my breathing grows heavy.

“You like danger, my angel?” He asks with an amused smirk. “Don’t answer that. I know you’re just going to lie, but I already know the answer.”

My cheeks are hot, and I’m sure Seth can see how much this is affecting me.

Without asking, he starts to cut through the leg of my pants with the knife in his hand. He puts the knife aside and rips the fabric with his bare hands, the muscles in his arms flexing and bulging under his suit as he does.

He does the same to my panties, cutting with the knife and tearing them off with his hands. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn the nice lace panties today, after all, even if Seth does get to see them.

He climbs up on top of me and pushes me down, flat on the bed. I swallow. Could I be this messed up in the head, that I’m excited by a weapon that can potentially kill me?

Maybe, I realize. Maybe Seth is right. Maybe I do like danger. I’ve never felt more alive than when Seth is by my side, and he’s a dangerous man, his skin hardened by violence, his wealth and power making him virtually untouchable.

His body feels hot and hard on top of me, his searing gaze branding me with his desire. Keeping his eyes on my face, he slides the tip of the blade down my neck and holds it against the top button of my shirt.

With one flick of Seth’s wrist, the button goes flying across the bed. My heart is hammering so hard against my rib cage I’m worried Seth might really cut my skin, even if he doesn’t mean to. But he quickly goes down my shirt, cutting off the buttons one by one.

“I told you to wear the uniform, didn’t I?” He asks, his blue eyes dark and dangerous. He knows I’m completely vulnerable now, and that seems to excite him.

I’m not the only sick person who gets off on danger here. Lying on the bed with my clothes in tatters, looking at the excitement in Seth’s eyes, I realize that he does, too. We’re two sides of the same coin.

“Sorry,” I say, looking up into his eyes in submission.

Just like he trusts me to never hurt him with this knife, I trust him.

I don’t know if I should, since Seth is perfectly capable of violence. But I’ve lost the ability to think. All I know is letting Seth take control feels good, and I want more of this giddy, intoxicating feeling.

“Looks like I’m going to have to punish you,” he says. He slices through the center gore of my bra and peels the cups off my chest. He puts the knife on the nightstand. Now that all my articles of clothing have been torn, it has done its job.

As he turns to put the knife away, I inhale deeply, suddenly realizing that I’ve been holding my breath.

Seth kicks my knees apart, spreading my legs wide, and gets on top of me. He’s fully clothed in his business suit, which for some reason makes me feel even more naked and powerless.

“How am I going to punish you?” The glint in his eyes tells me he already knows exactly what to do to me, and it sends a thrill right to my core.

I whimper as he grinds his hard bulge against me, rubbing against my pussy through his pants and my tattered clothes. His lips capture me in a bruising kiss, crushing me with the force of his desire.

“Your lips are delicious,” he says as he pulls away. He looks at me and smirks. “I bet they’d feel good wrapped around my cock.”

He gets up to his knees and climbs up my body until he’s straddling my chest. He unzips, then pulls out his impressive cock. This is the first time I see it from up close. It still looks impossibly big, and I almost can’t believe I had it inside me.

“Open,” he says.

I look up at him, meeting his cocky stare, and part my lips.

“Bigger.”

I open my mouth wide.

Seth slides his cock past my lips and inside my mouth, groaning as he does. It’s such a sexy, manly sound, and I love knowing that I’m the one causing him to make that noise.

He pulls back, then slides back in, again and again, while his hand grabs my hair painfully, keeping my head in place.

This feels degrading, like he’s only using me to get off, but it drives me crazy. My pussy is tingling with arousal, my clit aching with yearning. I can even feel wetness trickling out of me.

He gets so deep I feel the head of his cock poking into my throat, and I gag. He pulls out and lets me cough.

“Lie back and open wide,” he orders.

I do as he says.

When his cock touches my throat again, he stops mid-thrust. He says, “Breathe.”

I suck in as much air as I can through my mouth. Seth’s cock blocks my airway, but there’s just enough space to let some air in and out.

“Stay still,” he says as he slowly pushes his cock deeper inside me. “Keep breathing, just like you were doing.”

I realize I can still breathe even with Seth’s hard cock lodged in my throat, the thickness stretching me.

“Good girl,” he says. For some reason, his praise makes me more eager to please him. I want to worship his magnificent body and let him use me for his own pleasure.

Still, as he thrusts more and more violently into my throat, it gets overwhelming. I put my hands on his thighs and push him back.

“No hands,” he says as he grabs my wrists.

He pauses and hovers over me, letting me breathe, as he pins both my wrists down over my head with one hand. With his free hand, he undoes his belt buckle, making a metallic clanging sound, and yanks if off. He loops the belt around my wrists, the leather warm from his body heat, and pulls it tight until my wrists are secured.

“Now, where were we?” Seth plunges his rock-hard cock back inside, my mouth warming it up again.

There’s nothing I can to do stop him now, with my hands immobilized and my mouth stuffed full of cock. I can’t even scream. Even though my legs are free, they can’t reach Seth even if I try.

I’m completely under his control, at his mercy. He can use me however he wants, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Nobody in this household would lift a finger to help me, not if they have to go against Seth to do that.

“How does it feel, having my cock jammed down your throat?” Seth asks, his eyes wild and primal, so different from how cool and controlled he usually is. “Do you like it?”

I nod, even as his cock stays inside my throat.

I should be terrified, but instead I’m unbelievably aroused. My pussy is throbbing, even though Seth has barely touched me. My muscles clench at nothing, and I want Seth’s cock in there, more than anything.

But if he wants to fuck my throat instead, then I’ll let him. He’s the one who calls the shots here, and obeying him drives me crazy with desire.

Suddenly, Seth pulls his cock out of my mouth. He reaches back and runs one long finger along my wet folds.

“You’re so wet, my angel,” he says as he fixes his penetrating gaze on me.

Without warning, he slaps my pussy, sending a shock through my system, making me gasp. After the initial shock subsides, heat spreads through my tingling pussy. I moan, not expecting the pleasure that comes with the pain.

“Remember that punishment I mentioned earlier? This is the time for it.” His voice is low and raspy. It’s wild with primal lust, yet still controlled.

He gets between my legs and continues to torture my pussy. He slaps my pussy until it stings, then he runs his long, graceful finger over the oversensitive skin, over and over and over again, until I’m panting and wiggling on the bed, my sweat drenching the sheets. I feel so close to coming, but this won’t send me over the edge. In fact, it’s just enough to keep me right on the brink.

“You like that, don’t you?” Seth watches me until I nod. He smirks and says, “Dirty girl. So much for punishment.”

Seth slaps my tits with his hand, the smacking sound filling my bedroom. I cry out in pain, but it only makes him hit harder and faster. I pull my hands down from over my head and place them over my torso, covering my tits.

Seth raises an eyebrow. “You think that’s going to stop me?” He slaps my pussy, making me scream in shock and jerk my whole body. He takes the opportunity to grab my wrists and force them back over my head like before.

“Fuck, you’re such a sexy little thing,” he says, looking at me like he’s ready to devour me whole.

The head of his cock pokes against my wet opening, and I moan in anticipation. All the torture he’s put me through has only made me want him more. I wiggle my hips, trying to get him in, but Seth remains still.

“You want it?”

I bite my lower lip and look up at him through half-lidded eyes. I nod.

“Say it.”

“I want it,” I say with a heavy sigh.

“What do you want?” Seth strikes my tits again, turning them red. “Say it clearly.”

“I want you inside me.”

“Say please.” His sharp gaze pierces through my defences, and I forget about how I’m supposed to fight this, or at least not beg for this to happen. I want Seth, and all I can focus on is the cock pushing right at my opening. It feels like I’d die if he stops and walks away now.

“Please, Seth. I want you inside me,” I hear myself say in a hoarse voice.

With a smirk on his face, Seth slides in easily, aided by my natural lubrication. He’s rock-hard from the throat-fucking, and I’m drenched from all the teasing.

He’s not gentle. There’s no build-up this time. He just plunges all the way inside me, and starts slamming in and out of me.

All I can do is spread my legs wide and take it, let him fuck me however he wants. I throw my head back as he zeroes in on my sweet spot, hitting me there again and again, driving my arousal up, sending me into overdrive. My breaths come in gasping hitches. My tits rock with the rhythm of Seth fucking me.

Just as I’m about to explode, Seth slaps my tits, grabs them roughly, and use them as his handles as he gets on his knees, pushing and pulling me against him. I cry out and squeeze my eyes shut, my body shuddering as my pussy muscles clench around Seth’s cock.

He plunges every inch of his big, hard cock inside me, fucking me hard and deep. I cling to the waves of my orgasm as he uses my body until he reaches his own climax. On his last hard slam, he pinches my nipples painfully. With a loud growl, he unleashes, coming deep inside my soaked pussy.

Seth keeps his hands possessively on me as I draw air into my compressed lungs. He strokes my tortured tits, my abdomen, and my hips before he pulls his cock out of me.

He lies down on the bed beside me as he continues to run his hands all over my body, even as his eyes remain shut. He pulls me tight against him until my back is resting right against his hard chest, both of us panting as his warm come drips out of my abused pussy.

“You’re all mine now.” He sniffs my hair and kisses the back of my neck.

I don’t know what it is, but the way he says it makes my hairs raise on end. Seth’s hunger for me thrills me, but I still can’t shake off the feeling of being trapped.