“Are youfuckingkidding me? Am I not a human being?”
“Not in my eyes,” Connor says tersely, looking back to me again. “To me, you’re a loose end and a liability. Listening to Dorian is the only thing that will make you less of a problem, so I suggest you do so.”
“Connor,” Dorian says. “We discussed this.”
“I won’t hurt your precious girlfriend,” Connor says. “As long as she’s not a problem.”
Seamus casts Connor a nasty look. “Do you ever let shit go? Cut it with the threats. You won’t hurt her, period. You yourself said that she’s Dorian’s problem.”
If Seamus had left it atperiod, I might feel a bit warmer to him. As is, they’re all discussing me as though I’m Dorian’sproperty. It’sdehumanizing, incensing, and makes me all the more desperate to get out of this house.
“Enough,” Dorian says. “Connor, keep your bullshit to yourself.” With that, he tugs me away from the living room. I go willingly at first, but as soon as we reach the staircase, I start struggling.
“Dorian,” I say, panic taking root in me. What I’ve heard about his punishments suggests that they’re extremely intimate, and I don’t want to experience that. I don’t want to give myself to him that way. I nearly trip as he pulls me up the staircase; Dorian steadies me with an arm around my waist, glancing at me before sweeping me into his arms, cradling me to his chest. I start to struggle immediately. “Dorian, please—”
“Hush,” he says. “You’ll beg me in a bit. Not yet.”
“Dorian—”
“Keep talking, sweetheart, and I’ll only add to your punishment. So far you’re up to twelve.”
What?
“No, Dorian—”
“Thirteen.”
“You can’t just—”
“Fourteen.”
I finally seal my lips. I feel his low chuckle rumble through his chest and vibrate into me as he carries me down the hallway leading to his room, opens his door, and slams it shut behind us.
He sets me down on the bed, folding his arms as he stares at me. “Strip.”
There’s no deterring him. He’s going to punish me regardless of if I cooperate, and there’s nothing I can do to stop him. Fear shoots through my veins, accompanied by a crushing sense of resignation. Since I can’t sway him, I need to find a way to get through tonight.
Despite my unease, I can’t deny the sliver of interest that prickles at me. I’m mostly horrified, but there’s a small part of me that’s curious. I know I shouldn’t be, but I can’t help myself. Despite my better sense, I can’t deny that he’s attractive, and everything he’s told me about his kinks is extremely titillating.
“Dorian, I—I don’t know how this works…” I try to remember the countless stories Cara’s told me about her kinky exploits and even her experience at BDSM parties. “Don’t I get a safety word?”
Dorian’s lips quirk. “Safeword? Sure. I’ll even give you an out. Convince me that you’re sorry for misleading me with your intentions of going out tonight. And for all your offenses last night.Begfor forgiveness, be very earnest about it, and I won’t do what I’ve beenachingto do to you.”
I rear back. “You want me toapologizewhen I’ve donenothingwrong?”
“You have a one-minute window,” Dorian says. “Begin.”
For a moment, I consider it. While some part of me is intrigued, I’m not entirely comfortable with Dorian touching me, but I’m far moreuncomfortable implying I did something wrong when I didn’t.
“No,” I say after a long moment of silence. “Absolutely not. You want me to apologize when you’re the one who’s crashed into my life like a wrecking ball?Youshould be apologizing tome,notthe other way around. I amnotsorry for going out with my roommates. I amnotsorry for refusing to help you with your shoulder last night. Actually—” I cut off with a sardonic laugh. “I am. Then, I could’ve nicked your artery, and your death would’ve looked like an accident.”
“And that’s fifteen,” Dorian says with a subtle nod. “Usually, five is quite the punishment. Adding on an additional ten?” He gives a mock wince of sympathy. “Well. You’re in for a long night, and I’m in for averyenjoyable night. Let’s hope you don’t have many plans tomorrow; there’s little guarantee you’ll be able to walk.”
He places a knee on the bed, causing the mattress to dip under his weight. I scurry backwards, a mixture of genuine fear and something that might be…arousal?Mixing with it. I can feel Dorian’s anger, but I can also feel his aching desire. What intrigues me is that his desire is unlike any I’ve felt from a man before. The other guys I’ve been with were all selfish, wanting to fuck me to get their own release without caring if I got off. Dorian’s desire is entirely focused on me. He doesn’t want me for the sake of himself, he wants me forme, and that… is a heady sensation.
Dorian tilts his head to the side as he watches me grab a pillow and hold it in front of me as if it’s a weapon, trying to wade through the muddled mess of my thoughts and emotions.
“You have an option,” Dorian says. “You’ll almost always get options with me, Mira, which is a courtesy the others in this house wouldn’t give you. Take off your clothes, or I will tie your hands and perhaps even your feet to the bedposts, and rip them off you. You will remain like that, spread eagle and open to me, until I’ve extracted my punishment.” My breath hitches; his lips quirk. “You have thirty seconds.”
