I’m willing to call it love.
But he doesn’t need to know that. Not yet, anyway.
What’s important is that I mean every word about keeping him and not sharing him, or not bringing anyone else into the mix. About caring for him and teaching him what love should be like. Absolutely, those are promises I will keep.
Once we’ve survived the adrenaline-fueled fuckfest of the next few weeks, and complete our mission, I can fully focus on building a solid relationship between us.
For now? I need to jump-start Eddie’s healing so he can fully concentrate on the job ahead and not have to worry about his relationship with me.
Yes, that’s cold and focused. I admit it.
“Ask me.”
“Please mark me, Master!”
I slowly and carefully carve exactly along the old scar so that my mark will obliterate it. I do what he once begged Carter to do, and I completely make him mine.
He fists the sheets and screams into the pillow as I do, but he doesn’t move a fucking muscle.
When I finish, theAwill absolutely cover the old mark. I set the blade aside, douse it with rubbing alcohol, and then drag him up onto his knees to kiss me. While he’s there, I open the bottle of vodka, take a large swig from it, and kiss him again, passing some to him and making him moan.
From that point on my clothes come off and this isn’t just fucking—it’s making love. His blood smears everywhere, painting both of us as we fuck and fuck and fuck, and I drink and pass him vodka from my mouth. And he greedily takes it. I bite him, scratch, punch—not in the face—and he begs for more.
After we’ve both come and can’t get it up again, from my jeans I retrieve the key to the padlock holding the chain onto his collar and unlock it.
It’s the first time he’s been untethered since he woke up in the bathroom.
“I trust you,” I tell him. “Don’t fail me.”
Tears run down his cheeks. “I trust you, too, Sir. I promise, I won’t fail you.”
I snuggle him in my arms and hold him, whispering to him as he cries.
Chapter Fifteen
After fucking ourselves into exhaustion, Eddie cries himself to sleep in my arms, and now we’re both covered in sweat and cum and Eddie’s blood.
And, for the first time in his adult life, I believe Eddie is truly happy.
I know I am.
This is obviously not where I thought my life was heading when I accepted this mission, but I’m not complaining. Because, maybe for the first time in my life, I’m truly happy, too.
Definitely for the first time since Tom and Pete died.
I’m also finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for exacting my revenge on Cunningham. I now have a vested partner, not just in the application of the justice, but in the rationale behind it. There is no moral ambiguity here, no second thoughts, not for either of us.
Killing Cunningham means pure freedom for both of us.
I gently extricate myself from him and climb out of bed. I need to make a phone call and don’t want him overhearing my end of it.
When I said I will make his decisions for him, I meant it. Eventually, I’ll start letting him decide small things, but the big things will always fall under my jurisdiction and I will have complete veto power by default.
My pet will never want for anything from this point forward. I’ll see to that. I’ll be able to give him everything Carter couldn’t, and take from Eddie everything that no longer serves him in a positive way.
Not sure how I’ll break this news to my family—especially to Carter—but we’ll figure that out as we go. It’s the least of my concerns right now.
I suspect between his exhaustion and the vodka that Eddie will sleep for at least a couple of hours. Good, because he needs it. Leaving Eddie’s chain off and the padlock unlocked, I grab my clothes and the knife and quietly let myself out of the bedroom, locking it behind me.
