Spiked Roses: The Complete Top Shelf Series

by Alta Hensley

  “Please…” I begged like so many times before, but this time I felt like my pleas may actually be answered.

  My heart skipped a beat when Roman quickly shed himself of his clothing. His actions were smooth and graceful, but not nearly fast enough for my need. I thought about sitting up and assisting him in getting undressed but remained frozen. I didn’t want to do a single thing to have Roman change his mind or decide I needed another punishment instead.

  When the weight of the bed shifted as he straddled my body, my heart hitched. This was it. I glanced down at his cock and a tiny twinge of fear set in when I wondered if others would be watching as he fucked me.

  Roman lowered his weight upon me and positioned his cock at my pussy. The meaty head stretched my hole wide as he entered, and I moaned with the biting pain. He didn’t give me any time to get used to his girth but rather began thrusting in and out at a steady pace. There were no kisses. No caresses. No loving words of affection. The actions were cold yet the heat between us blazed to the epic proportion of an inferno. My body exploded almost instantly, finally free to release the long overdue energy that had been pent up since the beginning of my captivity. Roman hadn’t given me permission to come, but I didn’t care. I would accept whatever punishment he would deliver for my actions later. It would be worth it. So fucking worth it.

  As I cried out his name and my pussy contracted around his cock, he pulled his face back enough so he could look into my eyes. Maybe it was the sexual energy flowing through me, or maybe it was simply wishful thinking, but I saw something in his eyes.

  Softness.

  Emotion beyond what normally only belonged to a sadist.

  Connection.

  For a brief moment, he had allowed us to be the Roman and Cherise of before. Before the initiation.

  Roman continued to push and pull inside of me as his eyes never left mine. In and out, I saw him. In and out, I felt him. In and out, Roman seemed to merge with not just my body, but my soul. I was his… I had been his for a long time. But at this very moment, I truly believed he was…

  He was mine.

  He was my dark prince, and I was never going to let him go.

  I never wanted this moment to end. Never. But eventually, my body exploded again, and it was all that Roman needed to groan loudly and give one final thrust as he came inside of me. Taking a few minutes to gather his senses as he breathed against the pillow beside my head, he eventually pulled his face back and stared at me again. He didn’t say anything, nor did I. But something was different at that moment.

  He was not a monster.

  He was a man.

  Nothing but a man.

  I was not the prey.

  I was a woman.

  Nothing but a woman.

  But we were together. We were as one. We were in this nightmare together, and we both knew it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cheri

  The days continued on, as did the regular and routine punishments. Roman had only fucked me one more time, and it was not the same as before. He had simply pushed me against a wall and quickly took me from behind in an animalistic way before he tanned my ass with a strap. I had longed for even a quick glimpse of that connection we had when we first had sex. I hungered for it as I had once hungered for his cock to be inside of me. I wanted all of Roman.

  I had seen small glimpses of the old Roman I knew before the manor. He was still strict as ever, but I also received tender touches. He would carry me to bed after a session, and he had even held me as I fell asleep several evenings. He had bathed me, brushed my hair, and had started taking every meal with me in the dining room. He wasn’t as cold as he had been when we first arrived. Yes, he was still a severe disciplinarian, but when I was his perfect dirty kitty and had purred in submission like the good kitty he wanted me to be, he usually rewarded me with kindness, even if it was just in small doses. Because I hungered to see and to feel more of that connection, I constantly searched for it in his eyes and in his actions, and I knew without a doubt that I could see it. I most certainly could feel it. Not all the time… but the times did exist.

  Yes, I was still earning my diamonds.

  But there was something different in the way Roman watched me. In the way he touched me. And even in the way he punished me.

  There were still constant reminders of my reality, however. The Iron Colt Brotherhood had requested other enema sessions, which Gage always recorded for them. The Iron Colt Brotherhood also demanded often to have a close-up recording of many spankings where I had to hold my butt cheeks spread wide so they could see my anus as it too would be spanked and prodded for their viewing. Roman was always far harsher with me when the camera was rolling close up, and I knew that it was expected for me to have the tears flow. Even if I didn’t particularly feel like crying, I knew it would please Roman. I think he knew it was what The Iron Colt Brotherhood wanted to see—my pain, my suffering, my miserable initiation to prove I was worthy. And whenever I performed for The Iron Colt Brotherhood as I knew Roman wanted, he would reward me with a caress, or a touch that made my heart soar. But Roman wanted The Iron Colt Brotherhood to see me as a captive hating every single minute of her stay in the manor, and I played the part perfectly.

  If The Iron Colt Brotherhood only knew.

  If they only knew just how much my body craved the darkness. Roman wasn’t the monster. I was the fucking monster. I wanted and actually liked every single lick of pain. I ached for the next fix. I absolutely writhed in agony when I was without Roman and his touch. I was an addict, and Roman was the only one who could deliver the drug I craved.

  “You only have five more diamonds to earn,” he said after my evening belting. “Five more until you are free to go.”

  It was as if ice cold water had been thrown on my quivering body. My heart froze as my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor. I looked up into Roman’s stunned face with wide eyes and shook my head in denial.

  With furrowed brow, he kneeled down and took my hand in his. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?” The look of concern on his face was foreign, and I took a moment to absorb an element of the man I barely remembered.

  “I’m not sick.” Although I couldn’t breathe normally, and my body grew clammy.

  Roman wiped a loose strand of hair from my face and placed his palm on my forehead. “What’s going on, Cheri? Do you need a doctor or something?” He pulled my shivering body against his and cradled me.

  “What happens then?” I asked in a whisper. “When I earn the final five diamonds?”

  “I told you. You will be free. The Iron Colt Brotherhood are men of their word.”

  “What about the wedding? Do we still get married when this is all done?”

  Roman surprised me when he kissed the top of my head and still held me securely in his arms. “Is that what has you like this?” He kissed my head again. “Yes, we can leave and start our lives together. I told The Iron Colt Brotherhood to expect your release tomorrow.”

  “But what if I don’t want that?” I said as I tilted my head so I could look up at him.

  “Don’t want what?” His eyes darkened.

  “What if I don’t want to leave here?” I swallowed hard. “To leave what you and I have… what we have here.”

  Roman recoiled as if I had just slapped his face. “What are you talking about? Of course you want to leave here.”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t.”

  Roman shot to his feet, and his look of concern was quickly replaced by one of fury. “Have you lost your mind? You are about to be free. No more diamonds. No more punishments.”

  “But also”—I sniffed as the tears finally fell from my eyes—“no more you. I have you all to myself. We are in a little bubble, regardless how dark it is. I don’t want to lose the connection that we have formed.”

  “You don’t know what you are talking about,” he snapped. He shook his head. “Of course you want to leave here. What person in their right mind would wan
t to stay?”

  “Me. I want to stay. To stay here with you.”

  “Cheri.”

  “Is that so wrong?” I moved myself into the kneeling position I knew Roman liked me to assume. “I don’t want to leave you. Here. I feel safe with you and comforted in your hands, no matter how firm they are. You called me a pain slut, and maybe you are correct in that as well. I do like it. I love it. You know more about me than anyone ever has before. The real me. You have stripped me naked from the inside out. You said I was yours. I am! I truly am.”

  “It doesn’t have to stop once we leave,” Roman said with a wicked glimmer in his eye. “Trust me. It doesn’t have to stop, nor do I intend for that to happen.”

  “But it will. We will go back to the flashing lights, the wedding planning, the proper behavior of a princess and a prince. The thought of that life damn near suffocates me. It’s why I ran away so long ago to Costa Rica. Being here… as sick as this is going to sound, is the first time I have felt… secure. Comfortable with who I am and with my desires. I’ve changed being here. I feel like I have figured out a dark secret. I have figured out what it is I want. And I one hundred percent know I want you.”

  “I agree. Which in many ways is why the initiation happens. It’s meant to break the old you in order for you to truly embrace who you really are. But that doesn’t mean we are staying.”

  “So when we leave—”

  “We figure it out,” he interrupted. “But right now, Cheri, you have five more diamonds left.”

  He once again grabbed a fistful of my hair. I hissed as the sting intensified, but as I was about to beg for more, Roman brought his lips down upon mine. Passion erupted as he pressed his tongue inside my mouth and danced it within. A kiss from my prince. His breath merged with mine as our bodies pressed together and our kiss intensified.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” he said between his claiming of my mouth.

  I held onto his shoulders hoping to never let go. I hoped desperately Roman would not force me to let go of the only thing—the only person—I wanted.

  Breaking the kiss but still holding me close, he said, “You have five diamonds to still earn.”

  Fresh tears built and clouded my vision as I stared into his stern expression. He brought his lips to mine again. He then swooped me into his arms like the first time we connected and carried me to the bed. “Five diamonds will be rewarded when you milk my cock dry with that tight pussy of yours.”

  I looped my arms around his neck, nuzzled my head into his shoulder, and sighed as a wave of euphoria washed over me. I pulled back and looked into his eyes as we neared the bed. “And I will earn my diamonds like a dirty girl, Master.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Roman

  We sat in the car driving back to Cheri’s mother’s house in silence. I watched a woman I loved more than ever stare blankly out the window. I understood she had been through a lot and wasn’t exactly sure how to handle her. She was dressed for the first time in weeks, and I’m sure the sensation of clothing as well as seeing something other than the interior of the manor had to feel foreign.

  “The media shouldn’t be there when we arrive. They’ll still be trying to find us in Monaco. It’s where Silas tipped them off that we are at.”

  Cheri nodded but didn’t say anything. Her eyes still locked on the passing scenery.

  “I’m proud of you,” I said as I reached for her hand. Her soft, delicate palm rested limply in mine, though she didn’t pull it away. “I know returning to the real world is going to be an adjustment.”

  Silence. She wouldn’t even look at me, but I didn’t feel as if she were angry—more like lost in thought.

  “I have already notified your mother of our arrival, so she will be expecting you. Both she and my parents have already started wedding planning, which isn’t surprising. I know that may not be the first thing you want to deal with when you return home, but it’s inevitable. Plus, the sooner we are married, the sooner we can be together all the time. I hate the thought of dropping you off, but it’s only temporary.”

  I watched Cheri’s lip quiver and her eyes glassed over with tears.

  “Cheri,” I said, squeezing her hand. “Everything is going to be all right. I promise you that I will try to make this entire wedding process painless. But I want you to fight for what you want. Don’t let my parents or your mother bully you. If you need me to unleash my wrath on them all to give you your dream wedding, you tell me so.”

  “It’s not just the wedding planning,” she said softly. “I’m sad.”

  “Because we left the manor?” I still couldn’t believe her fascination with the place and the desire to remain.

  “Everything just felt right there.”

  “And it will feel right again.” I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled herself into me as if her life depended on it. Her delicate hands clung to my back as if she were never going to let me go.

  “Promise me,” she said. “Promise me we won’t lose ourselves in the madness still to come.”

  “I promise.”

  Roman

  “It’s about time you graced us with your presence,” Kenneth teased as all the managing members of Spiked Roses took their seats around the table. “We were about to send a search party after you.”

  “Good to be back,” I said. “Thank you all for holding down the fort while I was away. What I did needed to be done.”

  “And is everything fine now?” Harley asked, no doubt curious if he needed to step in to help matters his way.

  “Everything’s fine now. Cheri handled the situation far better than I ever could have imagined. Because of her, I seriously doubt I’m going to have to deal with The Iron Colt Brotherhood again.”

  “We can always hope,” Alec added. “Best to lay low with those fuckers.”

  “Can we all try to not have any dealings with them in the future?” Matthew asked. “I’m getting sick of their shit.”

  “Agreed,” Lennon added. “I’ve never been a member or had any interaction. Well unless you count the wealthy as fuck men I have stolen from. Guilty as charged in that regards.”

  “I’ve had my fill of them as well,” Victor added. “Let’s move on and not bring up that archaic group again.”

  Kenneth began the meeting by going over our numbers. We all brainstormed for different themes for the next Tasting. He discussed some future repairs that needed to be done, and informed us that we had passed all the inspections that had come in. I tried to focus on the business, but my mind kept going back to Cheri. It had been a day since I dropped her off, and it felt like a lifetime. I was so used to seeing her every single day and having her body at my beck and call. I fucking missed it. I fucking missed her.

  After the meeting was over, I was the first to leave the room, anxious to see my fiancée. We had been apart for long enough.

  “Roman,” I heard being called out from behind me.

  I turned to see Tennessee approaching. “You better get your royal butt over to that house of crazy. I agreed to help with the wedding planning when Cheri’s mother asked, but I did not agree to be the psychologist and babysitter. That girl hasn’t gotten out of bed since she returned, and her mother is about to lose her damn mind.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “Is she sick?”

  “Who the fuck knows. But I can’t get her out of bed, and we have a shit load of wedding planning to do. I need her help. Oh and while I have you,” Tennessee reached into his man bag he was carrying and pulled out a manila folder, “I need to know what style of tux you want. What picture calls to you?” He opened the folder to a stack of photos.

  I wanted to say I couldn’t care less, but I had learned a long time ago that me acting like I didn’t care, minimized the feelings of the person asking. So scanning through the photos, I pointed to one and said, “This one unless Cheri wants something else. She’s the boss.”

  “Cheri can’t even brush her
own damn teeth let alone be a boss. You better get over there and knock some sense into her. Give her mother an elephant tranquilizer while you’re at it.”

  Tennessee didn’t have to ask me twice. I expected Cheri to have an odd transition back into her normal day life, but I hadn’t expected it to hit her so hard. She was not one to wallow or be depressed, so to hear this troubling news had me rushing out of Spiked Roses without even saying goodbye.

  It didn’t take me long to reach Cheri’s mother’s house. I was going to just enter the house and charge up to her room, but decided to give her mother the courtesy of asking permission to enter. I was surprised when it was her mother answering the door.

  “Oh thank goodness you are here, Roman. I am beside myself.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Ever since you dropped her off from your vacation, she hasn’t gotten out of bed or eaten a thing. I understand that jet lag can be awful sometimes, but I’ve explained to her that we have her dress fitting tomorrow, and we have nail appointments and hair before that. There is no time for her to be sleeping. I even offered to have a nurse come to the house with an IV if she felt dehydrated or thought it would help fight the lag.”

  I knew there was no jet lag since we hadn’t even left Louisiana, but it was best to have her mother think what she did.

  “I’ll go check on her and see what I can do,” I said calmly while giving her mother a reassuring pat on the upper arm. “Keep the appointments tomorrow. I’m sure she will be fine by then.”

  “Thank you. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

  Oh, she’ll listen to me.

  “Go ahead and do whatever you had planned for the afternoon. I’ll stay with her and make sure she gets something to eat.”

  Her face lit up with glee as if I had just freed her of a jail sentence. “You are going to be such a wonderful son-in-law. I couldn’t ask for a better one.” She turned on her heels and left me quickly. Maybe she was afraid I would change my mind.