I feel weird talking about this so casually, but I aim for steady and in control of myself, instead of a blushing, somewhat irritated, slightly insecure girl.
Damien’s lips stay quirked up on one side, as he adds, “It’ll only feel like punishment for a little while, sweet monster. By the end, it’ll feel like a rather fine reward. Promise.”
“I think I just came,” Anna says from somewhere in the room. “I guess that’s insensitive to say, since you can’t do the same. Hey! That rhymed!”
I’m going to kill her.
“Ever notice how Anna does that any time Violet’s faced with any sort of decision that takes her some serious thought,” Damien notes, making me feel even more vulnerable, since I knew they’d do this.
They’ll overthink and overanalyze every single thing Anna, my deranged, mildly sociopathic monster, says. They’ll inspect the words and actions down to the smallest detail.
I force my thoughts to Vance, and what they just said. I feel the weight of the ring on my finger—the one he gave me when he was offering forever.
I didn’t know then what I’d done. I also didn’t know about it when I planned my big romantic gesture for the Monster Olympics. I was going to enjoy the day, and tell Arion I’d be his, while also wearing Vance’s ring so that no one had to be left out.
I know Vance doesn’t care about things like that, but still…
Not that it matters. All the romance went down the drain when the theme flipped from wholesome monster fun into more of a “Carrie’s Prom” sort of night.
After a host of jarring confessions, bloodshed en masse, and some inventive torture techniques my monster used on an ancient alpha, it’s weird that I can even feel romantic now.
Keeping all my secrets from Jerome was miserable.
Keeping all my secrets from them was worse than miserable. Miserable feels depressed when it thinks of how hard this has been for me to keep this to myself.
They know so much.
They judge so harshly.
They make fickle promises and tend to be casually cruel.
They’re monsters, but I love them so much I just want them to accept me the way I am—along with my endless baggage. It’s…really…pipe-dreamish, but I’m stupid enough to shamelessly hope.
“It really will help Vance trust me? I know my monster duped him the worst,” I confess, my heart hurting a little, since I know he’s alone and dealing with this.
“It will,” Damien assures me, kissing my neck, subtly turning the heat on. “Especially since your monster is still lurking dangerously near the surface. That’s something that always happens after an alpha fight, and that was certainly the most intense one I’ve seen in ages. If you break these chains, we learn something. If you keep control, we learn something. If you lose control…you get the idea. Regardless, it’ll show you’re truly willing to play ball.”
Delayed gratification and some mild sexual torture to understand more about my limits? I can deal with that. Especially if it’ll help Vance start trusting me again.
“Fine. Get on with my punishment,” I say with true resolve.
Emit stands, yanks Arion out from between my legs, and then wolf takes over the torture for that spot of my body. Roughly, he grips both of my thighs, and then he’s on me, mercilessly driving me to that edge I know I won’t be reaching any time soon.
A whimper comes out of me, now that I know the game, as Damien aides Emit in teasing the hell out of me. I can feel my deviant’s touch ghosting here and there, eliciting tiny pulses of torturous, unsatisfying pleasure.
The music cranks up, as the vampire puts on the hand-clapping song. As he starts dancing, reveling in my punishment, the wolf ravages me, and the Morpheous plays all my senses like the masterful wizard of sex he is.
“Let me play, Violet. Put me in, coach! I won’t fail you,” Anna goads from somewhere in the room.
After the fourth almost-orgasm escapes me, I feel a small bit of pressure in my temple. The pressure I now recognize as Anna trying to force her way to the front.
I hear salt spray the air as I force her out, and I feel Damien’s smile against my neck through the spray.
“You really are tougher than you seem,” Damien tells me in a clear tone of approval.
This is miserable.
It’s going to be harder than I thought. I think I’d rather be struck by lightning some more.
Chapter 55
VANCE
“She hasn’t moved or batted an eye,” Avery tells me, his eyes still glued to his phone, the same as the last few hours. “I mean, I trusted you when you say she wasn’t going anywhere, during your broadcast, sir. But—”
“But it’s surreal to see it and impossible to fully trust what you see, based on all you know,” I cut in, assuring him that I completely understand.
“Yes, sir,” he says as though he’s relieved that I get it.
I do fucking get it, but Idun made no move the entire time I read the lie I scripted. She allowed me to belittle her, talk as though I had some right to find her inferior, and take credit for something I didn’t do.
Idun doesn’t have that sort of personal restraint. She can’t handle embarrassing degradation on that level. If she could have stopped me, she would have.
More than anything, I hate taking credit for something I didn’t do—especially something of this magnitude. But it bothers me less in this instance, because of how important it seemed to Violet.
I smile to myself, taking my time to sign the last few documents.
“I’m sorry to keep you working so long, especially after all the fighting you had to do,” I tell Avery, electing to shift the subject, as I hand him over the last of the paperwork.
Avery smiles tightly.
“I forget how breezy this all is to you, Sir Van Helsing. I wish I had that fortitude. Last night, I was reminded why I was ready to retire, because I couldn’t endure the hardship of eternal war. I feared very deeply for a lot of my men, who refused Sanctuary. I couldn’t sit and hide, so I joined the battle alongside Demetria, and they stubbornly followed. By the way, sir…I fought alongside Demetria tonight.”
He stares at me as though he needs my help sorting through that fact, since it makes no sense to him at all.
Jasper makes a cooing sound, as if he hears us speaking his mother’s true name. Avery’s eyes move to the humming swing that is gently rocking Jasper right now.
I was so distracted by the Neoprys during that battle, that I can’t even remember seeing Avery.
In fact, most of the night is already a blur, given the magnitude of all the more severe elements going on all at once. Just thinking about it is exhausting.
“Yes…I can’t seem to locate her,” I confess, my eyes darting a look to the drawer that conceals the letter I found. “I’m not even sure I can explain her appearance tonight,” I add, both lying and telling the truth.
Arion said he’d ensure Shera kept quiet about what she saw, in regards to Jasper’s mother turning into Demetria. For one, that’s an embarrassing oversight. For two, I don’t want anyone knowing Jasper’s heritage.
It’d make him a target.
While Avery’s earned more than enough of my trust, I still find myself protecting Jasper’s secret.