I lift up the covering and skim my eyes down her body. The King’s claim circles her throat, the tight collar. It’s visible, made for the world to see. Just below is the scarred flesh where Hunter made the Barons’ mark, a pentagram surrounded by a circle. Mine are more discreet, and I take them in while she’s still asleep. The first, the bars in her nipples, look spectacular against her warm brown skin. I gaze down past her belly to the fresh piercing I gave her last night, the metal catching the weak morning light.
She stirs when I move, those deep brown eyes fluttering open, still glassy from pain and whatever fucked-up peace we forced into her last night. Damn, she’s gorgeous.
“Morning,” I say, voice low so I don’t startle her too bad. She still flinches when she realizes I’m so close.
There’s a shift behind me, and I’m aware that Hunter is in the doorway, arms crossed, watching like he’s been standing there for hours. Possibly. I know he sleeps like shit, except he was gone when I got up. I snap on nitrile gloves and pick up the saline bowl I prepared ten minutes ago.
“Spread your legs for me, Arianette.”
She does it without hesitation, a good sign that the ritual worked, and I see it better now: the silver hoop nestled under her hood. A little swollen but not red. I knew I did it clean.
I soak the gauze, part her gently with two fingers, and start cleaning. She hisses when the salt hits raw tissue.
“Breathe through it,” I tell her, dabbing carefully around the ring. “You took the needle better than this.” Her hips jerk; I pin them with one hand. “Settle down.”
Hunter shifts behind me, the floor creaking under his weight as he comes closer. I feel his eyes on the piercing, on my fingers holding her open. “Looks good,” he says.
“Yeah, it’ll heal nicely.”
When I smooth the antiseptic ointment over the hood, she makes this soft, broken sound that goes straight to my cock. I ignore it. Barely.
“No panties today,” I remind her. “Nothing tight. You’ll feel every step, and you’ll remember who you belong to.”
“I won’t forget,” she whispers.
My cock throbs at her submission.
“That ritual puts us back in our roles, Barons and Baroness. You’ll be available to us. You’ll follow directions. You’ll meet our needs, understood?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“Good girl.”
I peel the gloves off, lean down, and press my mouth just above the piercing. A kiss that brands more than the metal does. Mine.
I don’t miss the rise of her hips after I pull away.
Hunter finally moves, dropping the garment bag at the foot of the bed. He unzips it with one hand, revealing an outfit. Ah, so that’s where he was. The dress is black velvet. Corset lacing. Slit high enough that if she bends even slightly, everyone on campus will see what I did to her.
Perfect.
“First day back,” Hunter says, voice flat and dangerous. “You stay within arm’s reach of one of us. You don’t talk about the fire. You don’t talk about the punishment or the cage. You don’t talk about the ritual or anything else that happened since the wedding. You were on your honeymoon. That’s all anyone gets.”
She nods, shifting to a sitting position. Her throat works as she swallows. “Can I still go to dance?”
Hunter steps closer, crouches so they’re eye level. She watches him carefully. “You think you’re ready to go back?”
“Yes,” she says, voice cracking. “Please.”
“Fine,” he says. “But I sit front row. I watch every fucking move you make. And if you so much as speak to another dancer, another teacher, another living soul without my permission, I drag you out by this pretty new jewelry, and we start your punishment all over again. Understood?”
She nods so hard the headboard taps the wall.
I stand. “Get dressed, Arianette. Clock’s ticking.”
“I’ll hurry.” As she slides out of Armand’s bed on shaky legs, the morning light catches the silver between her thighs again, and I give Hunter a smug grin.
No one can see the stains from the ritual, or the markings under her clothes, but I sense the difference. We both do. Arianette looks like she finally understands there’s no version of her future that doesn’t have us in it.
