CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ANTHONY
She broke apart beneath me. Not in sensual pleasure. Not in response to the way I touched her.
No. She broke apart because I'd torn the first wall down. I'd revealed a secret about her past - a cold, hard fact that she'd hidden from herself from the moment she'd first been sold.
If her monsters had become her nightmares, Aiden had been her first. I knew him well enough to know he hadn't scarred her skin or violated her in ways that threatened her life, but he had been the first knife nonetheless.
After speaking with Rebecca, I took an hour to think over what needed to occur with Sera. My ideas kept leading me to the same conclusion: that I would cause more damage in my attempts to repair the damage that had already been done through force.
Unsure of myself, I contacted a psychologist. After conversing, she hinted to possible remedies, but then, remembering my profession, explained that she would arrive the following morning to assist.
Despite her concern, I refused to wait until morning.
Behind me, Rebecca moaned, a sound that was music to any man's ears, but especially the one who owned her. I could only guess what form of pleasure Aiden forced on her, my eyes focused on Sera, hers on the scene that played out behind my back.
As Rebecca's pleasure built, so did Sera's. Her hips began the subtle dance that belied her body's true response. Hiding behind the walls she'd so hastily constructed could barely protect her mind, but not her body. Never her body. For every stroke of my finger between her legs, another symptom was displayed: the parting of her lips, the heavy lids over her eyes, the clench of her fingers over her palms.
A sensual whisper fell from my lips. A query wrapped in satin. "Who do you watch, Sera? Is it Aiden, or is it the woman he chose to keep by his side?"
Pain flashed across her features, anger washing in to chase away the true response to my question. Aiden chose another woman. Aiden was capable of keeping a courtesan as his own.
It made sense Sera still harbored feelings for Aiden. He was her first Master, after all.
I'd be lying to say a pang of jealousy didn't spark inside my mind, but the emotion was gone as quickly as it came. I wouldn't allow myself to feel anything for this woman, wouldn't allow myself to make the same mistake I made with Elise.
Slipping my finger inside the wet heat of her body, I leaned over to whisper in her ear, blocking the scene at my back. Rebecca's moans grew louder, Aiden's satisfied laughter a burst of perverse pleasure rolling softly through the air.
My lips brushed Sera's ear, a reminder that would force her to fight once again.
"I told you before that the next time I gave pleasure, I'd take some of my own." My thumb applied pressure to a place that made her squirm, my finger reaching deep so that I could slide the pad along her wall. "But you have to make a choice."
Sera's hips bucked against my hand, tears weeping from her eyes as Rebecca reached a climax and moaned out Aiden's name.
"He cast you aside after forcing you to love him. He handed you to the wolves, beautiful girl. He didn't care whether you lived or died. But he can still have you. No matter how much you hate him, he can still do to your body what he does to hers. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it."
Whimpers escaped her throat, pain riding that sound, but for what reason I didn't yet fully know.
"You will have a Master, Sera. Regardless of what you say. Regardless of what you do. Regardless of how tirelessly you fight. But your choice is which man will hold the key to your chains." I paused, my hand moving faster now, pushing her body steadily to a climax she didn't want. "Who will be the man fucking you tonight?"
The room grew silent except for the soft sound of bare feet padding across the floor, becoming silent as they crossed into the hall. Only two Masters were present in the room now.
"He's ready for you. And his hunger is as insatiable as mine. You know better than anyone that neither of us will ever quit."
She came apart over my hand, a deep groan forced out of her throat, her back arching until her breasts pushed up, her fingers clinging desperately to the sheet that lay beneath her.
Not giving her mind enough time to return from whatever euphoria had ensnared it, I demanded, "Choose."
"Or she can have us both," Aiden called out, the heels of his shoes a slow drumbeat across wooden floors, his voice edged with malice and sadistic intent. "How long has it been, Sera?" His hand grabbed and slid along her shin as he reached the bed.
The haze in her eyes sharpened into disgust, her lips pulling back as her teeth clenched shut.
Aiden's fingers tightened over her leg, the tips digging into the muscle of her calf. Sera yelped, her body shooting forward, but my fist was still clenched in her hair. Slammed back down to the pillow, her head rolled as much as it could in my direction. Her lips curled as her jaw opened, and with all the power she could draw forth in her weakened state, she screamed.
The corner of my lips curved up in response. She could scream all she wanted. It wouldn't strip her of the choice she had to make.
Releasing her calf, Aiden slid his hand up higher, his fingertips slipping over her knee, drumming along her inner thigh. I pulled my hand free, my eyes locked to hers, my stare unwavering while I waited for her to decide.
"Sera," Aiden crooned, his voice low and sultry. "Do you remember the day I sold you?"
With each word, his voice deepened, the smooth, velvet tone denoting a man who had found a sore spot and toyed with it to cause pain.
Held down by my hand, her head shook over the pillow, her eyes widening as Aiden watched with pity and amusement behind his eyes. His words poked and prodded, his expression stroking salt into a festering wound.
Thrashing now, her body fought as the chains restrained her. Aiden's fingers slipped between her legs, his eyes set in challenge, his lips curled into a knowing smirk. He enjoyed her pain, enjoyed the agony his presence caused her.
"You weren't worth my time then. And now look at you. All scarred. Your body scraped and bruised." He paused, his fingers pushing inside her as her body trembled with barely restrained violence. "You're hardly worth my time now."
Laughter slipped from his lips. A short burst of sound before silence was abruptly replaced to reveal the way she whimpered. "You're pathetic," he crooned, "but I'll still fuck you."
"No," she screamed. "Stay the fuck away from me."
And there it was. The rage had returned, the anger she felt for the first monster that scarred her. Aiden's mark hadn't marred her skin leaving the raw, jagged evidence of his cruelty. No. His scar ran a deep crevice across her heart - across a soul that was trapped within the body being used against her.
Leaning down, he pulled his hand free to slide up over her hips and along her abdomen. "Make a choice, Pet. Anthony or me. Either way, you will perform as I've taught you. You will bow down and please your Master."