It’s been a week since I took Paige. I shouldn’t have taken her the way I did. I should have been gentle, loving, but when she begged, I couldn’t hold back. I turned into the monster I always feared I would be. Since then, she hasn’t left my mind, and I haven’t been back to train her because I don’t know if I can restrain myself.

Something happened when I fucked her innocence away. It hit me deep in the gut. My heart ached, but I knew it would, because she captured me the first time I laid my eyes on her. She crawled inside me, shattered the dark soul, burning it to ash. Against my father’s wishes and rules, I’ve made things very personal with this girl, and she’ll ruin me.

Stalking down the hallway, my sister Theia comes bounding up to me in her usual cheerful way. “Kael, have you seen Sam? I wanted to say goodbye. I’m heading out today, and I guess I should see him before I go.”

“No, I think he’s at the warehouse.”

She pouts. “He’s avoiding me.”

“Is it because of Dax? Did he find out about you two?” My sister, who plays the innocent with my father, has been fucking our head of security for about a year now. She’s twenty-one and he’s thirty-four. As much as I hate their relationship, I’ve never seen my sister happier, and I know Dax is a good man. There’s something about him I trust. If my sister had to be with any one of the assholes in here, I’d prefer for it to be him.

“No, well, I don’t know. I think Sammy saw us in one of the rooms the other day,” she confesses, biting her lip and peering up at me under dark lashes.

“Jesus, Theia, you need to be careful.”

“I can’t help it if he’s got cameras in the rooms,” she retorts petulantly, and I can’t help chuckling. I’m sure my brother is scarred for life, seeing his little sister bound and whipped.

“Is he good to you? Do you love him?” I stare at her, and she nods. I know she wouldn’t lie to me. And if Dax ever hurts her, I’ll fucking kill him. “You tell me if he ever does wrong by you, okay?”

“Yes, Kael. You know I will.” She reaches up on tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek before disappearing down the long hallway, leaving me to face my firebird alone.

I left a note under her door, which I hope she found. It had an order for her to wear something I’ve been dying to see her in, and I hope she obeys.

As the door swings open, I find her on the floor. She’s kneeling in her presentation pose, her head lowered and her eyes focused on the carpet before her. Delicate hands on each thigh, flat, palms down. Flowing red hair cascades down her back like flames licking at her body, attempting to consume her. That’s my job. My ache and need. I covet this girl more than I want to admit. More than I should.

She’s perfect. In every way.

The black corset that hugs her curves shimmers. Seeing her kneel for me tugs at my restraint not to fuck her senseless, but it also fills me with pride that she’s mine. I ache with a pain so deep in my gut to take her again, to make her scream and beg for me not to stop, but to fuck her harder. There’s something beautiful about a woman begging for savagery.

“Eyes up. Sit on your heels and place your hands behind your back.” She obeys, straightening her spine, which in turn juts her breasts out of the low-cut material. Her rose-colored nipples are hard peaks, ready for my mouth, and my clamps. She twines her hands behind her, and meets my gaze with fire dancing in those emerald pools. “Good girl,” I growl and she purrs, just like I knew she would.

“Are we training today?” she asks with a small smile, and I nod.

Perhaps I can talk to Dax about helping me break Paige out of here. He’s always said he’d do anything for me, my sister, and Sam, but to ask him to go against my father not only puts him in danger, but everyone involved as well.

“We are. Today will be difficult for you because you’ll get a taste of what is expected of you when you reach those doors,” I inform her, knowing it’s going to not only hurt her, but rip me apart to have to whip her until I draw blood. I’ve been gentle and caring, but today I need to be the brutal thug, just like those who come in here to live out their sickest fantasies.

“I know they’ll hurt me. I’ve seen the scars on Scarlett when she’s come to bring in my breakfast.” Her confident words gut me. I don’t want her to hurt.

“This place is dangerous. Don’t get tangled up in friendships. Don’t show affection or emotion.” My words are the truth, but deep down I know I’m a hypocrite, because I’ve already done everything I just warned her against.

“Is that what you’re doing here? Not showing emotion?” Her words ring true, so true that they scare me. Glancing at her, I crook my finger, summoning her closer. She rises gracefully, padding over to me.

“We’re going to the training room. Hand me your leash.” She obeys by lifting the leather strap, which in turn clinks the chain attached to her collar. Her obedience lights up her face, and when she glances at me, I don’t admonish her because when her eyes meet mine, I want them there. I can’t bring myself to not have her look at me. Because, in her anger, in her fear, and trepidation I see it, so clearly it guts me.

She’s falling. If only she knew I’d fallen a long time ago. The first time I laid my eyes on her. I tug her leash and she follows on her knees. Once we get to the hallway, all I want to do is tell her to walk beside me, but my father is in the mansion today, so I need to play it safe and let her crawl two steps behind me.

“Kael.” Speak of the devil. Glancing up, I find my father dressed in a dark pair of slacks and a black shirt. He’s not masked, which is a new development, but I don’t say anything.

Instead, I nod in greeting, “Father.” The hate I have for this man isn’t unfounded. It’s not a secret either. He crouches, reaching for Paige, and my body goes rigid with tension. He’s brutal, he’s ruthless, and he takes no prisoners when it comes to the submissives.

“Father?!” Paige’s voice is incredulous, and I cringe at her knowing I’m Harlan’s son. Tugging the leash, I pin her with a warning glare.

He grips her long, flowing, red hair and tugs her head back. “How is this little one doing?” he asks, his cold stare pinned on Paige. The way he looks at her makes me sick. It’s a hungry desire, dark and sinful. Something in his eyes tells me he wants her.

“Don’t touch me!” she spits in his face, and he chuckles darkly. Her fire is beautiful, but he’ll hurt her. I pull on her leash, bringing her face to mine.

“Shut. Up.” My hiss is filled with venom, and all I can do is hope she obeys me this time. The tension that seeps through my veins burns, reinforcing my need to protect her.

Mine.

The word is unbidden. One glance at the predatory gaze on my father’s face tells me that he covets her as much as I do, because she’s not ours. She’s here to work, to please the clients. Not us. But that’s never stopped my father before.

“Fuck you both!” Jesus, this woman. Without thinking, I drag her down the hallway.

“As you can see, Father, I have work to do.” I steel my gaze when he glances up. My father is someone not to be deceived. It is an impossible feat to accomplish. Because he’s a master at picking the pieces of the soul from just a mere glance into someone’s eyes. Knowing a person’s innermost desires and using them against them.

“She does need a lot of work,” he agrees with an evil glint in his eyes, his gaze roaming all over her entire body. Once, and then again. “I want to see you after you’re done. There’s something important I’d like to discuss”—he drops his eyes to my girl, to Paige, and reaches down, taking her chin in his hand and forcefully pulling her face up to meet his—“and you, little one, better behave. I’d love a taste of your sweet flesh before you turn twenty. So young, so beautiful. Redheads are supposed to be delicious.” He chuckles. Rising to full height, he gives me one last glance and stalks down the corridor.

Releasing a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, I cast a quick glance at Paige, only to find her looking up at me with curiosity and confusion. Tugging her leash, we head into the room and once the door is shut, I close my eyes, trying to calm myself.

“You’re afraid of him,” she states.

“If you don’t shut your mouth, I’m going to make sure you don’t forget you’re here to be a fuck toy, not a goddamn opinionated woman!” I bite out angrily, so harsh I hear her gasp in shock at my outburst. With her little display out there we could have both been reprimanded.

A second later, I feel it. Warm hands on my shoulders. I realize she stood up, and her body is cocooned against mine. Like a kitten nestling in someone’s arms, she’s contentedly holding on to me as if I’m her lifeline. Only, as much as I know we’re tethered to one another right now, something will snap the line, and I won’t be able to keep her safe.

“On your knees!” I growl and she immediately drops. Obeying me like she’s meant to, she keeps her eyes on the floor. “We can’t… You can’t…”

“But what if we found a way?” Her question is valid. We could possibly find a way.

“Paige. Stop. Just fucking stop.” I turn to regard her, leaning in close to her face. Glistening emeralds pierce my soul. They practically rip my heart from its chest because I want her to see me. My face. To see the man who is breaking every damn rule for her. But I can’t. So I take a deep breath and shut down. “Kneel on the sofa, grip the back and hold on. This time there will be no gentle spanks, there will be no soothing. Today I’m going to hurt you. I’m going to make you cry. And I’m going to make you bleed.”

Her gasp fans over the half of my face that isn’t covered. The clean-shaven flesh is warm with her sweet breath. “But—”

“Now.” The stern tone of my voice is evident. She doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she pads over to the sofa in question and settles on her knees, her hands on the smooth leather and her body trembling. She’s scared. I’ve never hurt her before. Over the last month I’ve been gentle, but today, I need to be someone else. This time I’m going to take on the confidence of a man I’ve looked up to all my life. One that I refused to mimic, but I know I must. If she’s ever to survive this, she’ll need to experience me unleashed.

Today, I’ll be like my brother.

But I’ll be a better version. Because once I make her cry, after I make her bleed, I’ll soothe her so she knows who she truly belongs to.

Picking up the leather belt I’ve been avoiding, I unravel it while I step up behind her. “Pull your panties down. I want to see your creamy ass,” I order. She pushes her panties down to her thighs and I’m met with her bare flesh. So beautiful. My breathing comes out ragged and labored at the effect she’s having on me. “Keep your back arched. I’m going to mark you. I want you to count each swat, no screaming. Be a good girl.” She nods. “Words, Firebird.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Jesus, every time she says that, I want to save her. I want to claim her. Make her mine. Lifting the belt, I bring it down with a soft swish through the air. The crack is loud as it hits her skin. A whimper. A barely audible sound falls from her lips, but she doesn’t scream. She obeys.

“One.” Her voice is strong, but I can hear the agony dripping from that one word.

Shutting my eyes, I allow my frustration to take over.

Without warning, I release a second swat. “Two.”

And another.

“Three.”

The reddened skin is luminous. Welts rise on her smooth, porcelain skin.

“Four.”

With each lash, she counts and my throat closes, but I continue.

“Five.” The marks on her pale skin are bright and angry. “Six.” My body trembles, shaking with agony, not physical, but emotional. “Seven.” Her voice breaks. Tears are streaming down her face. I can see them glisten from my viewpoint as they leak from her pretty eyes. “Eight.”

The buckle bites into my hand, but it’s the globes of her ass that break and I notice the blood trickling from the lashes. Crimson agony taunts me. Confirming what I am. A monster.

“Nine.” She continues. Her fire still burns. I need her to break for me. To give me the one thing I know she’ll never gift anyone. My teeth grind in anger, and I see red. Nothing else. I see violence. I see agony. I see the woman I want to love devastated before me. “Ten.” That tenth one cuts into the already reddened skin. My lungs give out. My heart breaks through my chest. A thick lump forms in my throat.

Emotion so profound chokes me, and I know I can’t continue. Dropping my hand, I watch her body shake. I know she’s trying to be quiet after I’ve obliterated all the trust we’ve built around us. The walls that shielded us have crumbled. And so have we.

Her ass is bright red. A beautiful color, and I want to kneel behind her and soothe her. Before I can say anything, she shocks me when she turns, her gaze meeting mine, and she offers me a watery smile. “Do it. I can take it, for you.” Then she faces forward and arches her back so beautifully, so fucking perfectly, all I want to do is fuck her.

I’m panting now. “Spread your legs.” My order is clear in the silence of the room. Her thighs open, showing me her pussy. Her glistening, slick sex. “You’re wet.” My tone is filled with astonishment.

“Yes, Sir,” she breathes. My hand opens, and the belt falls to the ground with a loud clang, which echoes around us. It’s a warning. Don’t get personal. But I no longer adhere to it. Pulling my shirt from the waistband of my slacks, I drop it to the floor. Her body is inviting, enticing, calling to me like a siren’s song. Shoving my dress pants down my legs, I step out of my shoes, and I’m left in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and sporting a thick erection.

“I want you, Paige. I want every inch of you. To claim you.” Lifting my hands, I gently place them on her reddened cheeks and massage them. Her moans and whimpers fuel me to continue my ministrations. “Is this what you want? To be my submissive?” She nods, and I know it’s what she wants, but I need her words. I want to hear her voice those words gifting me her submission. “Tell me, please.”

“I want you, my Wolfe. I’m yours. I’ve been yours. Don’t you see it?” I do. But I don’t tell her. Instead, I push my briefs to my thighs. Gripping my steel shaft, I tease it along her lips. We moan in unison at the contact. She’s drenched, and I slowly push into her. Entering her body is like coming home. It’s as if I’ve been wandering the world with no sustenance, but as soon as I’m connected to her, I’ve found my purpose. My value.

“Paige, I can’t hold back.” It’s the second time I’ve been inside her, but this time, there are no barriers. Skin on skin. Heat against heat. And I’m a man lost in oblivion. In heaven. In the most euphoric emotion, which I should have never let myself dive into. But it’s too late. We’re past the point of no return.

“I love you, Wolfe.” Her words echo the ones in my head, and my gaze snaps open.

“What?” I grunt, as I fully seat myself inside her body.

“I love you.” Without responding, I grip her hips and pull out to the tip before slamming back in. Deep and fast, stealing the breath from her lungs because it belongs to me. Again and again. I fuck her. Mercilessly.

I’m brutal with hunger.

I’m violent with need.

I’m rough with desire.

Her body tenses, pulsing around me. “I’m going to—”

“Wait, hold it,” I bite out through clenched teeth. I want us together. Another two thrusts. I reach around her, pinching her clit. “Now.” And she unravels. She flies, then soars for me.

Like a firebird.

Like the Phoenix.

And it’s in that moment when I tell her.

“I love you too, Paige.”