I circle behind her, paddle in hand, savoring her desperation. My cock aches, but this is not about my release. It’s about her and about reminding her who decides when it happens.
“You beg prettily, but the goddesses are not yet convinced. Answer one last question. Answer it well, and perhaps you will be granted mercy.”
Her whole body tightens, caught between hope and dread.
“What does it mean,” I whisper in her ear, “when a human kneels naked in the arena with a collar around their throat?”
Silent tears spill down her cheeks when she realizes she won’t say what I require of her. “It means… it means they are slaves.”
“Wrong.”
The paddle cracks across her ass, sharp and unforgiving. She cries out, jerking forward, and with the movement she buries her fingers inside herself.
“Get your fingers away from your clit.” I paddle her ass again, harder now, and red rises to the surface. “It means they have found their purpose,” I say to gauge her reaction.
“Please, Sovereign—please, let me come.”
“You chose not to answer the question honestly, Eve. You must do better.” I grip her wrist and yank her hand away from her cunt again.
She screams in frustration and her whole body convulses from the denied climax. “Becoming a human pet is the opposite of finding purpose. It is slavery!” she screams. “And you not only condone it. You profit from it. And I,” a shudder runs through her body, “I, now, profit from it too as your employee.”
Yes, my broken angel from Earth.This is what I wanted to hear.
I circle her. “You’re not all together correct. I don’t like the Championships, but it’s a means to an end. It’s exposure. If the galaxy must gorge itself on human suffering, I want it watching while it eats and I want it to fucking choke on what it enjoys.” I take a step closer. “You don’t dismantle monsters by starving them. Now, we aren’t done here, not even close. Count,” I command, raising the paddle again.
“One!” she sobs as it lands across her thigh.
“Two!” when I strike her breast.
“Three!” I smack her ass hard then I drop the paddle, grip her chin, and force her tear-streaked face up to mine. “You will learn that suffering is sacred. That denial is devotion. And when you finally do come, it will be because I command it, not because you beg for it.”
Her whole body shakes with unsatisfied need. “Yes, Sovereign.”
I release her, watching her slump to the cold floor of the shrine.
“Tomorrow you will have a session with both of us together. The goddesses are finished intervening today,” I tell her as I retrieve the Venus Lock and snap it back into place between her wet thighs; the device seals with a hiss that makes her shudder. “Restraints only matter when they’re needed. Get dressed and return to your rooms,” I say, as I walk away wondering if she’s going to figure out that I left the Venus Lock open, meaning she thinks she’ll be able to orgasm with the companion interface in her room.
Will she still obey us or give in to her human desires?
29
GHOST MODE, EVE
As I puton my clothing, I feel like my body belongs to someone else and I’m just watching. I’m completely numb, mind, body, and soul. And I’m physically raw from the paddle and from orgasmic denial. I would give anything for release, and it’s the only thing I can think about, like an unbearable migraine headache, but located between my thighs.
The words: the Watching, shimmer across my room’s display as the door seals shut behind me. This is the Spire’s night, when rules soften, robes fall, and no one pretends to be civilized.
I press my back against the door, sliding down until I’m crouched on the floor. My thighs are still wet, and my fingers ache to finish what Lorian allowed me to start in the shrine. I was right to think my training with Lorian would be worse than with Rafe. With Rafe, I never believed I could come, but with Lorian, I believed him. I thought, just for a minute, that he would let me have an orgasm.
It just goes to show hope is the cruelest thing of all.
My computer awakens, and the walls pulse faintly with silver script.
“Welcome back, Eve. It is the Fourth Chime. Would you like a relaxation protocol initiated?”
“No.”
“Would you like a companion simulation?”
