The hope dies out, followed rapidly by dejection. I know better than to refuse now. I leave the blade I stole from Tobias on the couch and sink to my knees reluctantly. Max doesn’t need to tell me what position he wants me in this time; I flatten my hands on my thighs, square my shoulders, and lower my head.
“Good girl.” Max sounds genuinely pleased at my ready compliance, not realizing that I’m fantasizing about ways to murder him. I’m not a submissive woman, and while I can’t deny that Max has inspired some strange sensations in me, this isn’t me. I’m not someone who willyield to another,especiallywhen my submission hasn’t been earned. Max may be an impressive specimen, but he’s done jack shit to truly earn my submission.
“You remembered.” He sounds infuriatingly pleased at the prospect.
“Hard to forget when someone humiliates you,” I quip.
“Ah, but Ember, this isn’t humiliation. I’m not degrading or devaluing you—I think you know that.”
I don’t respond. He can tell himself whatever he wants, he can makemedo whatever he wants, so long as he protects Alina.
“Okay, stand,” he says, switching gears. I straighten and stand, watching as he gazes at the broken laptop with amusement. “I see you weren’t interested in doing some shopping.”
“I was far more interested in putting Toby in his place,” I agree with a nod.
“Well, then.” Max looks like he stifles a laugh. “Those moves you pulled were pretty impressive. Too bad they didn’t work when you tried them on me.”
When I open my mouth to retort, he yanks me onto his lap and presses his thumb to my lips—then pops itbetweenmy lips. His eyes grow hooded. “Suck,” he says softly.
Fucking asshole.I wrap my lips around his thumb and run my tongue under the pad, hollowing my cheeks as I suck. If he wants a preview of what my service will look like, I might as well make it good, especially considering what he’ll be doing for my sister.
He pushes his thumb farther into my mouth, until it’s nearing the back of my throat. I nearly gag around it but manage to hold back—my delicate gag reflex is one of the first things I learned to control. Difficult to do when I was trapped in small spaces with rottingcorpses, but once I learned to ignore the urge to vomit from that, my stomach—and gag reflex—became far stronger and more reliable.
“Fuck,” Max groans quietly. I almost smile. “You are a dangerous woman, Ember.”
I nip his thumb before pulling back. “You have no fucking clue, Maximus.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ember
The rest of the day is underwhelming. After lunch, Max leaves me to go to his office. He emerges a few hours later, takes a seat beside me, and pulls me onto his lap. My instinct is to bite out his jugular, but I remind myself that he now has leverage over me—and he might actually refrain from abusing it the way Dagon did,ifI play my cards right and don’t push him.
He runs his hands up and down my back, clutching a handful of my ass, watching my expression closely as if he’s analyzing me. “Stand,” he requests.
My lips purse, but I stand up.
“Leggings off, please,” he says, overly cordial and polite.Is this another test?Or does he actually want to have sex this time? Whatever the case, I’m in no position to refuse him. I slide my leggings down my legs, lifting my feet to step out of them. Max leans forward, taking hold of my waist, and abruptly sinks his teeth straight over my hipbone. I gasp, eyes widening, and clutch his shoulders. The pain is pain, but there’s another, greater sensation—sheerdominion.Like he’s an animal whomarking his mate in a primal way, and for some reason, it gets to me. I sink my fingers into his hair, arching my back.
Max pulls back and look up at me with glittering eyes. “You liked that?”
No point in lying. “More than I should.”
“There are noshouldsorshouldn’tsbetween us, Flame. You can like what you like, free of shame or embarrassment. I guarantee I’ll like it too.” He presses a kiss to my belly button, swirling his tongue around it.
I frown. “You know how many bacteria can be found—”
“Ember.” His voice is so exasperated, I have to force myself to hide a smile. Instead, I arch an imperious eyebrow.
“What, you don’t want me to give you fair warnings that could save your life? If you succeed, you’re about to purchase my indentured servitude.” My muscles tense as the words leave my lips, and it serves as a welcome reminder. I may occasionallynotdespise what happens when I share a room with Maximus, but tolerating him is the minority, and keeping myself from murdering him takes up the bulk of my attention. I donotlook forward to belonging to another man… but better Max than Dagon.
“I haven’t purchased shit, aside from a chance to earn your loyalty.” Before I can ask what the hell he means, Max scrapes his teeth down my navel, and then teasingly tugs at my panties with his lips. My fingers sink into his shoulders when he lowers his head and swirls his tongue over my clitthroughthe fabric of my panties.
“Think I could make you come like this?” Max whispers, doing it again. And again, until a soft moan escapes my lips and my head falls back. I must still have my blood pumping from my fight with Tobias, because I already feel frighteningly close to combusting, as if I’m hovering on the very edge of an orgasm.
“N-no,” I stutter, teeth nearly chattering.Fuck, it’s already right there.
“N-no?” Max mocks lightly. “You sure about that, Flame?” he gentlybitesmy clit, and that nearly undoes me. My channel clenches around nothing, I’m a heartbeat away from abandoning my pride and just begging Max to go down on me… but then he stops. Pulls back, and helps me back into my leggings. It takes my mind a minute to catch up with my body, and then, I gape at him. “What the f—”
