by Kitty Thomas
He pressed the bottle of water into her hand. “Good girl. When I come up here, I want you to kneel and wait for me to decide what to do with you.”
Her breath hitched in her throat.
“Yes, Master,” she whispered.
“I'm sorry, pizza is all we have. I need to go to the store.”
She looked up suddenly, panic straining her features. “Please don't leave me alone!” Then the tears came.
Ari took a deep breath, reminding himself she wasn't Holly. She couldn't be a brat because he had all the power. He placed the plate on the bed and sat on the floor beside Claire and brushed the tears off her face.
“Shhh.” The panic over being left was obviously linked to her former captivity. Ari bit back the curse that almost slipped past his lips. How could he keep her locked up like this, given her history?
He should give her free reign of the house at least. But he wasn't ready. He had to be firm with her. It was the only way to keep this rare thing he'd acquired. He wouldn't half-ass this no matter how much he wanted to.
He was finally willing to admit that part of the reason he always ended up with brat subs was his own too-lenient training methods. He wouldn't keep making the same mistake. The desperation Claire had to please him would fade away if he was too soft too soon. She had to earn time out of the nook.
“I won't be gone long,” Ari said stroking her hair. It was still in the low pigtails he'd put it in to get it out of the way down in the dungeon. And he had a thing for the schoolgirl look.
He had too much work to do to be out running domestic errands. But he'd have to go out anyway when he went to get her collar from the jeweler. Holly had left hers behind, but he wouldn't give it to Claire. It was bad luck. His previous pet had picked out her own collar, and Ari had never liked what she'd chosen. It was too ornate and tacky for his taste. He wanted a gold band for Claire. Classy and elegant, but simple.
Ari took a slice of pizza and held it out to her. She opened her mouth and took the food from his hand. Neither of them said a word. He just hand fed her like a bird until the plate was clean.
“Claire,” he finally said.
“Yes, Master?”
She still knelt on the floor where he'd ordered her, even though he was on the ground beside her.
“Tell me about the scar.”
She tensed. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. The scar on my chest. What does this scar mean to you? Or what did you think it meant?” He was surprised he hadn't already pulled this answer out of her. After all, it was the one question that had taunted him for weeks in the cell.
She looked as though she might shut down again but he gave her a stern look. Her gaze went down to her hands, and she took a deep breath.
“That last night, he was going to kill me. He had a big knife. When I escaped, I grabbed it and slashed him in a big diagonal motion. I know I got him. I felt the knife go into him. So when I saw your chest, I thought it was more evidence you were the guy. He would have had a scar exactly like that. And it seemed too crazy to me that there would be multiple men running around in the world with your build and hair and that same scar.”
Ari sighed. Claire cringed when he stroked her hair.
“I'm not going to hurt you,” he said.
“You're really never letting me go, are you?” she asked, tears still moving down her cheeks.
“No,” Ari said. “Never.”
“How is that going to work? You'll get bored eventually. When you do, what does that mean for me?”
“Look at me.”
Scared green eyes rose to his.
“You are mine, little one. It doesn't matter how we got here. We're here. Can you honestly say you don't want the things I can give you?”
She remained silent, but they both knew he was right. The way she responded... the fantasies she'd admitted to. The things she needed. The things he could provide. At this point with all both of them had gone through, it was foolish to deny the alchemy that had taken place between them.
“What would you do if I let you go back out into the world? What are you losing out there?”
“Nothing,” she whispered.
That single word confirmed everything he'd suspected since he'd first laid eyes on her. That stark, hollow loneliness. He'd wanted to take her out of that loneliness from the moment their eyes had first locked. Maybe he'd always known. Even when it seemed impossible, and she'd been the one in control. She was always supposed to be his.
“So you will obey me, and I will take care of you and give you pleasure. It's very simple.”
“And when you get tired of me?”
“Oh Claire, I will never get tired of you.”
She remained silent, likely doubting the promise in his words. Eventually she would know it was true. Fate had given him this girl, and he wasn't about to reject the generous gift.
Claire woke the next morning in her bed in the nook, the chain secure around her ankle. Ari had slept downstairs in his own bed. He hadn't fucked her yet. He'd allowed her an entire day free of that intrusion, even though they both knew she wanted him inside her. She couldn't deny it even to herself. The possibility of their joining and the anticipation of it hung on the air, a palpable pleasure.
Even as she wanted him, she was afraid. What if she had a flashback? What if she couldn't handle it? Even though they hadn't had sex, everything he did with her was somehow sexual and promised dark carnality which she both wanted and was afraid to taste at the same time.
The way he'd started feeding her from his hand. The kneeling. Her nudity. The obedience. The way he'd bathed her the day before. The way his fingertips had gently caressed her old, faded scars from a more violent captivity.
While his bedroom was a bright white windowless cave, she'd found when the blindfold was removed that his bathroom had huge floor-to-ceiling windows. It seemed so strange to have no privacy in the bathroom. But the enormity of his property and the protected gates around it ensured no one could peep inside. Still, it had been both nice and strange to sit in a tub and be able to see the trees next to the bathroom while red birds twittered away in the snow-covered branches.
Claire's face flamed as the memory shifted away from the scenery and to the feel of his soapy fingers caressing her breasts and stroking between her thighs. The careful, deliberate way he'd touched and watched her and the helpless way she'd opened herself to that touch. She hadn't offered him the slightest resistance after her punishment in the dungeon, and it wasn't from fear of the whip. She couldn't even pretend she didn't want his hands on her. Even now, she was too aroused by the sharp memory to deny it.
From the moment that first whip lash had fallen across her back, she'd had little room for anything in her mind but Ari. Instead of waking with some awful memory of the basement, she'd woken with the memory of his large hand between her legs making her come, first lying spread open across his bed, and then later in the bath.
“Claire?” Ari called from the main level. His deep, growling voice caused her stomach to flip.
“Y-yes, Master?”
She quickly crawled out of the bed to kneel on the floor as he climbed the stairs. Her gaze dropped to the ground. He hadn't told her to look at the ground. It was just hard to meet his gaze after the things she'd been thinking.
“How long have you been awake?” he asked.
“I-I don't know. Maybe fifteen minutes?”
“Why aren't you touching yourself like I told you to? Every morning. Was I not clear enough?”
She felt herself go rigid under his scrutiny, unable to respond to his demand.
“I want to wake up every morning to the sound of your orgasm,” he said. “I woke to very disappointing silence this morning. Do you want to disappoint me?”
“No, Master.” She felt tears begin to slide down her cheeks.
“Good girl. Start. It's not a wake-up call, but watching a live show is nice, too. I might be moved to forgive you for the
disobedience this time. But don't make it a habit.”
“Master, I can't.”
“Why not?” His ice blue gaze froze her from the inside out. There was a hard challenge in his eyes.
“You know why.” She held her breath. She just couldn't... think those things and bring herself to orgasm. She'd thought she could. She'd rationalized and reasoned and justified. It wasn't as though thinking these forbidden thoughts changed her situation in any way. What harm could it do now?
“Lie back on the bed and spread your legs.”
Claire obeyed the command. This was so much easier. He told her what to do, and she did it. After all, how could she refuse? There was a dungeon downstairs. And whips. And it wasn't as though he needed props to be a threat. He was so tall and broad and muscled.
He owed her so much pain for what she'd given him. They both knew that. It was easier to follow his orders than to initiate these things on her own. She could admit that she wanted him and even the sexual fantasies he promised to fulfill, but she didn't know if she could surrender fully in her own mind. Giving him what he wanted this time meant not just giving him her body, but letting him control what she thought about because the only way to perform the physical act to completion was to let those dark thoughts free from their cage inside her mind.
Her gaze drifted to his chest. He was tall and broad but his muscles weren't bulky. He'd lost some weight in the time she'd had him, but he hadn't had bulky bodybuilder muscles even then. Ari's muscles were all about performance. Strength. He was sleek like a jungle cat. And he had that V that dipped underneath his jeans taunting her. She could see he was hard and ready. Yet he hadn't made her touch him or suck him. He hadn't fucked her yet.
She licked her suddenly dry lips.
“Was there something here you wanted?” Ari asked, a smirk inching up his face. Yeah, he knew how appealing he was. He was just as beautiful and dangerous as the animal he reminded her of.
Claire didn't have an answer to his question. She was afraid to say yes, but she couldn't say no.
Mercifully he didn't push.
“Tomorrow you will do this without my help. But today I will give you the images you need to get off. Put your hand between your legs and start rubbing your clit. And don't take your eyes off mine. If you want even a little privacy for your morning orgasm, you'll do it on your own in the future. I can either just hear it, or I can hear and watch it. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, Master.”
He might think it was harder for her to look in his eyes to do this, but it wasn't. Following his direct orders, convincing herself terrible things would happen if she didn't, all so she could let go and feel pleasure... it was so much easier than dredging up those fantasies she'd kept locked away for so long. But for today at least, Claire could leave that box closed and locked. She didn't need it.
Ari began to paint a picture in her mind. “Let me tell you what will happen between us, little one. I want to be sure you understand it fully. I am going to train your body to obey my every command. I plan to train and use every hole. You will learn to properly offer these things to me for my pleasure.”
A gasp left Claire's throat. Her hips moved with her fingers as she stroked herself. His words made her pussy ache from the need for him to fuck her. And that low growl in his voice. It was as if his voice alone could call forth the wetness that already began to coat her fingers.
“You will kneel and crawl and obey. That is your life now. The only thing you concern yourself with from now on is what will please your master. I'll take your mouth and teach you to suck and swallow like my good and dirty little whore.”
A whimper. “Master, please...”
“I'll take you down to the dungeon, tie you down and paddle your ass. When the wetness is dripping down your thighs from the paddle, I'll fuck your tight little cunt. Once I'm pleased with that, I'll start training your ass to take me...”
Ari couldn't get any further with whatever else he planned to say because Claire couldn't hold back the orgasm any longer. She moaned loudly, not caring about the sound. He wanted to hear it, after all. She writhed and bucked against her fingers giving him everything he'd demanded as she took her own pleasure.
Finally, her orgasm subsided. She lay on the bed, her breath still coming out in pants, her gaze still locked with his.
He smiled. “Good girl.”
11
Ari went to the closet and grabbed a blindfold and took the key to the chain off his dresser then he went back up the stairs to her. This time, he didn't have to tell her to kneel. She did it easily. He stroked her hair, and she leaned into his approving touch.
Ari unlocked the chain and carried her downstairs to the bathroom.
“Use the bathroom, brush your teeth, and take a shower,” he said before leaving her alone. He'd be glad when she was free to roam the house, but for now, this level of dependence would more tightly forge the bond he wanted between them. He wanted her to remember that every bit of pleasure, every small comfort, every basic need, came from him.
He stepped back into the bathroom when she was in the shower and sat on the edge of the tub to watch her. The shower didn't have the standard mottled glass that blurred the edges of naked bodies. It was clear and smooth, revealing everything to his greedy gaze.
She flushed when she noticed him watching her, but she didn't stop. He wondered when the shy blushing would stop. Ari would miss it when it did. He considered getting in the shower with her, but she was still adjusting to her new situation. He knew he was large and intimidating, and even though it was a big shower, he didn't want to make her feel unnecessarily threatened.
At least he wouldn't have to leave her today. Even though Claire thought he'd gone out to the store and left her alone, he'd decided instead to have groceries for the week delivered so he could focus on getting work done on the project. The combination of isolated captivity and this growing contentment over his new acquisition acted as a catalyst for the creative flow.
It had been shut off for weeks, but instead of slowly creaking back to life, the inspiration had flowed through him like water. He'd worked well into the night and had made a lot of progress on the plans. Creative and structural problems which had plagued him before Claire, had magically seemed to unlock, giving him all the answers he needed to meet his looming deadline.
When Claire shut off the shower, Ari stood ready for her with a large fluffy towel. When she stepped out, he dried her off and wrapped her in it.
“Sit,” he said, indicating the place he'd been sitting, “And enjoy the show.” He winked at her, and she flushed again.
Claire tried not to ogle Ari in the shower. She shouldn't want him so much. Then again, she knew first-hand how terrible captivity could be when you didn't want to be touched by the person who held your life in their hands. Was this the better option? To be held captive by someone who lit all your nerve endings on fire in all the best ways?
She thought about her abandoned apartment in the city. She couldn't imagine ever going back to that place again. She couldn't imagine standing there, alone in her kitchen staring at the front door, willing herself to step outside. And now she couldn't go outside at all. Not unless Ari decided to take her out. And why would he? It would be too much of a risk.
Her supposed freedom in that apartment had felt too open-ended, like it could stretch out forever without another person ever joining her in her life. Such a thought should have given her comfort after the basement, but it didn't. With too many possibilities and options, her world had narrowed and closed in on itself so that the simplest tasks became Herculean. And now? Now everything was so small, except for the larger-than-life presence in the shower. And it somehow felt better than what she'd had.
She should have been happy about her escape from the basement, her freedom. But how could she ever be normal again? Or happy again?
The worst thing had been the loneliness. She had no one she could share her experience with, no one who co
uld understand. But Ari understood. They'd each taken turns playing both roles in this drama. He filled up all the empty spaces. The screaming void of a solitary person with no companion was gone forever now. And even though she knew she shouldn't, a part of her trusted this fucked-up bond between them. It felt strangely structurally sound.
The water shut off, and Ari got out of the shower. She watched the water drip off him as he bent to pick up a towel from the bottom shelf of the towel rack. But when he stood again, she got a view of the marks she'd left on him and winced. It was worse without the bandages hiding her crime.
He dried off and left the bathroom without even glancing her way. She sat there, wondering if she was still supposed to stay here or follow him.
He'd left her a brand new toothbrush still in the package, and there was a little space in the toothbrush holder beside his for hers. It felt so oddly domestic in spite of everything to brush her teeth and put her pink toothbrush in the holder next to his green one. It still seemed impossible that he hadn't locked her in a cell like the one she'd kept him in.
He hadn't drugged her, or made her sleep on the floor or threatened to kill her or made her bleed. Or yelled at her. He'd given her a warm bath and a hot shower. Never cold water out of a bucket with a sponge. And he'd held her when she'd had the nightmare, not fucking her when she knew he wanted to. All these things felt like small kindnesses in light of the evidence of her own violence she'd just seen on his back.
Ari returned wearing a fresh pair of jeans but no shirt.
“Will I ever get clothes again?”
A smirk inched up his cheek. “Eventually. Maybe.”
It was then that she noticed the blindfold he held in one hand.
“Close your eyes.”
Claire closed her eyes and didn't even flinch when he secured the blindfold, though her heart thundered in her chest, wondering what was coming next. She worried her mind might snap out of the way this man seemed to have hypnotized her. She worried she might stop wanting him and this twisted thing growing between them. Ari took the towel off her, but he didn't leave her naked. A few moments later he was helping her into a bathrobe.