I crouched down behind Scarlett and unlocked her cuffs, my eyes locked on Red’s. “Lean forward and place your hands on the ground, palms up.”
She did as she was told, her eyes still locked on Red’s as well, broken only when I crouched down in front of her.
Her tangled hair was falling on either side of her face, her eyes filled with fire, drool dripping from the corners of her mouth, her nose running. “Don’t worry, little sinner, she can’t touch a hair on my head,” I hummed to her.
Her eyes found mine, softening.
I opened a panel in front of her, revealing two shackles inset into the floor.
She had quickly learned that I had these loops everywhere. In the floors, in the walls, on the ceiling. They were hidden behind invisible to the eye panels and only the Blackheart’s and I knew where they were.
I shackled each wrist in tightly, making sure she had almost no room to wiggle, before I leaned back on my heels. “I have to put you in the dark,” I told her, reaching for my tie. “Instinct will have you fighting, and you can’t fight with this.”
She gave me an imperceptible nod and sat patiently as I tied my tie around her eyes.
“Why did you do that?” Red asked as I stood. “You don’t want her seeing the brand before you scar her for life?”
“She’s already scarred for life,” I explained, walking over to the basin. “I’m giving her a scar she can wear with pride just like the others.”
“This is not like the others, Az, and you know that. They used knives, they cared about their women, you want nothing but to own and destroy her.”
“My language has never been enough for any of you,” I replied, picking up one of the smaller ones. “The way I speak, the way I walk, the way I dress, the way I show my emotions—”
“What emotions? You’re just sick and twisted. You don’tfeellove. You aren’t capable of normal joy, normal anything. You’re a monster.”
I heard the shackles shake.
“Just because it’s not the way you feel things doesn’t mean it isn’t as valid.” I found her eyes on my way back to Scarlett. “Although, I suppose in a world like this where everyone is told their feelings matter, I can understand why you are so… disillusioned in your importance. TheNew York Posthas a new headline, dearest sister: You’re Feelings Mean Nothing. Read it,study it, embrace it. Not everyone has a feeling or opinion that adds anything to the narrative. Especially to mine.”
She snarled. “Do you love her?” she asked, raising a brow, her hands fisted. “Are you doing this because you valueher?”
I turned from her to Scarlett, taking in the way she was hunched, her breathing labored, her body as still as it could be in this pose. “I value what she can give me,” I answered. I pressed a button on the remote in my pocket, watching her jerk, her knees spreading, a low moan falling from her lips. She tried to grind her hips, but the way I had her seated prevented her from moving too much.
Red’s eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she looked from Scar to me and back to Scar and finally to me again. “Did you put a vibrator in her?”
My cock throbbed as I watched her writhe. There was a small one in her panties, just long enough to tease, and it was set on the lowest setting. Inside her bra were suction cups. They sucked and twisted gently, adding just enough pressure to cause the sensations to build but offer her no relief.
I stepped up to her hands as she fought to keep them flat. “We’re doing this three times, little sinner, so prepare for it.” Without another second of hesitation, I placed the first brand in the center of her palm.
Her entire body went rigid, but not a single sound escaped her mouth.
The smell of burning flesh drifted up with the smoke, the sizzling music to my ears.
I watched her face for a count of five before I pulled the brand away and returned with the second.
Tears streamed down her face as she trembled, her hand shaking and bright red, already swelling. I placed the second brand on her left palm, a shudder drifting down her spine. Moretears flooded down her cheeks, her hips grinding, her breathing labored.
“She’s not even screaming,” Red breathed out as I pulled the brand away and returned to the basin. “Why isn’t she screaming?”
Because she liked it. She craved it. She was a whore for it just like me.
I grabbed the third brand, the largest of them, and stepped up behind her, Alaric joining just to push her hair to the front of her body so that her back was clear.
I stared at those scars, feeling the anger drift through me. Thomas and that whip of his. I wanted nothing more than to shove the handle up his ass and wrap the end of it around his neck. Let him fuck himself while he strangled to death.
“This is the last one, Scarlett,” I said, watching her body shake. “This one is meant only for you and I.” I pressed it against the center of her back, her body going rigid, a whimper finally escaping her throat as she shook in absolute pain.
Yet she was still trying to grind her hips, trying to find relief.
