by Finley Blake
“Let me think about it. When we met last night, you called me ‘Icky,’ then proceeded to throw my own drink in my face, kick me in the shin, and run out on the meeting like your ass was on fire.” I sensed him moving around me, assessing me. “When I asked Miss Eden for a mistress, I didn’t expect her to set me up with someone who behaves like she still belongs in primary school. My tastes might be a bit specialized, but let me assure you I do not get off on the idea of fucking a little school girl.”
“Perhaps the headmistress made a mistake. You can let her know you meant one of the classically-trained submissives, instead of a special,” I suggested.
“No, I think not.” He stopped in front of me. All I saw were black pants from the knees down, black slippers on his feet. Clearly, he was ready to go. No need to unlace shoes – just kick off the slippers and drop the pants.
Oh, baby.
I ignored my sarcastic inner voice as he spoke once again.
“Miss Eden knows what I need and she knows how to match her students well. You wouldn’t be here if she didn’t think you were the right choice. Now, why don’t you stop acting like a child and look at me?”
“Or what?” I asked.
“I’m told you like punishment and humiliation, and that it takes some creative thinking to persuade you to see your master’s point of view. Let me assure you, Miss Johnstone, I am nothing if not creative.”
I finally looked up at him, meeting his dark gaze. He did resemble Mr. Breckinridge in coloring, as I told Azure, but that was the extent of their similarities. The man before me was quite a bit taller than I was. If he took another step closer, I would have to crane my neck to look up at him. He had a jaw that clenched visibly when he was frustrated, as well as what I had to admit was a rather adorable nose, which almost balanced the harshness of his features. But the flinty eyes above that nose offset its softening effect and made me feel like prey under his unwavering gaze.
“You don’t like me,” he said again. “Why is that?”
“I don’t dislike you,” I answered.
“Really?” He folded his arms across his chest. “Elaborate, then.”
I shrugged. “I hate you.”
To my surprise, he took a step back, his eyebrows raised. “What did I ever do to you?”
“It’s what you did to Delilah Johnstone that pisses me off.” I knew I was crossing a line, but I decided the headmistress had only herself to blame if I assaulted or even murdered one of her vile Regime patrons.
His eyes searched my face until he finally said, “I’ve heard that name, but I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“She was a who, not a what, and how could you not know? Beautiful woman – brown hair and brown eyes like mine, nice to everyone… even to the one person who killed her.”
He turned away from me then, and I realized he was not at all concerned about what I was saying. Hell, he wasn’t even nervous. “Miss Johnstone,” he said. “I remember your mother, of course. When she died, a brilliant flame in our world was snuffed out. But I certainly had no hand in it.”
“It was only three years ago. Do you forget so quickly? Did she matter so little to you that you could turn in your lover to the Regime government for her illicit suffragist activities?”
When he turned back to face me, he was holding a folded-up piece of paper in his hand. Almost hesitantly, he extended it toward me. “I am not the one your mother was sleeping with, Adette.”
Hearing him say my given name made me want to take a swing at him. But I just looked down at the paper he held, waiting for his next move.
“Read it,” he said, jiggling his hand in front of my face.
I reached out and took the paper from him, holding it by the corner so our fingers would not touch. With a glare at him, I unfolded and read it.
By the time I was done, my rage burned even hotter.
“She was my father’s mistress for several years. He couldn’t resist the idea of claiming the most beautiful and sought-after courtesan in Los Angeles. My father is the type of person who has to have something everyone else wants, you see.”
“Why would Headmistress Eden send me here, then?” I asked, clenching the letter in my fist. Even though I was well aware that St. Eden graduates comprised a vast network of spies and informants who kept the headmistress in the know about society and politics, I couldn’t imagine why she would want to plant me of all people in the DeVille household. “I don’t want to read these love letters my mother sent your father, especially if what you say is true. I don’t want to have anything to do with any of you.”
“I’m sorry for what happened to you and your mother,” he said, stepping closer to me once more. “Truly sorry, Adette. I had no idea about you until last year. When I found out Delilah had a daughter, I entered into negotiations with Miss Eden to send you to me. She was skeptical at first, too. She questioned my motives for requesting a meeting with you.”
“I wonder why,” I said coolly. “She and my mother were the very best of friends, until your father murdered here in cold blood.”
“And you never thought to ask the headmistress why she would match you up with a DeVille?”
“Of course I did, but our meeting happened before I had the chance to talk to her and it was made very clear to me that I had no choice but to see you again tonight. My best guess was maybe she had no idea of who ordered my mother’s death, but that seemed naïve to me.”
“Oh, she knew,” he said. “She knew and she has been waiting as long as you to get revenge for it.” He took that final step to close the distance between us, forcing me to look up to meet his eyes.
“Then why am I here?” I whispered, lifting my chin a bit higher to show I wasn’t intimidated – not by his money, his power, or the man himself.
“My father is responsible for many deaths. You’re here because it’s time to make him pay for the terrible things he has done.”
“Meaning?”
He took his time drawing on the cigar, letting it burn almost down to his fingers. When he exhaled, the smoke curled in the air and wreathed around my head. He snuffed the cigar out in the ashtray on the bedside table.
“Meaning you’re going to help me kill him, Adette.”
My knees gave way.
Good thing he was there to catch me.
Chapter 4
“If we’re going to work together,” he said, his arms supporting me, hands clasped behind my back, “we’re going to have to establish who is in charge here.”
I think the answer to that is pretty obvious, but amuse me.
“Right,” I finally said, my voice still pitched low as I caught my breath. “You chose me, because if you just order some lackey to kill your father, you’re not the one who will get in trouble for it. You need someone to pin the job on, not that it would matter who did it, considering how tight the DeVille family is with the Regime. Then again, as long as the government gets their funding, they probably don’t care if there’s one less DeVille in the world.”
“True, but let me put it another way,” Icharus said, sitting me on the crisp white comforter on the four-poster bed and reaching out to stroke my hair. “We’re going to establish dominance here. You’re more than just a tool to me, Adette, and I understand why you won’t believe that right away. You’re a very stubborn girl, but I’m going to break you of that and give you what you yearn for most of all.”
The combination of his gentle caresses along the length of my hair and his quiet, but harsh words made me shiver. It was a strange sensation, as if I longed for him to do exactly what he threatened – to break me. I almost shrank away from his touch, but there was no place to go since I was sitting on the edge of the bed.
“First, you will start by calling me Icharus. Say it.”
It.
“Icharus,” I responded, even though my jaw clenched mutinously.
“Good girl.” He stood so his legs were on either side of my knees, keeping me in place on the be
d as he continued to run his hand over my hair. His nearness forced me to lean back and I placed my palms on the comforter behind me to support myself as I looked up at him. “Now, what should I do to make sure you will listen to me?”
Make me do something? At the implied threat beneath that question, I shuddered against his hand in spite of myself. I liked being made to do things. That had never been an issue. It was getting me to obey that was the trick, according to the principal. Either Icharus knew this about me and was acting accordingly, or he enjoyed the challenge of compelling obedience from someone. I was curious to find out if the latter was true…
A moment later, that same hand wrapped around my hair and he tugged so my face tilted upward. “When I ask a question, I expect an answer.” For the next few moments, he watched me while I remained silent. He finally cocked his head to the side and seemed to come to a decision. “They told me you were the willful type, but that’s part of the fun for me. You will learn to obey if you want to be rewarded. As for disobedience, I will never allow it, ever.”
With that, he leaned over me, pulling on my hair so I had to lie back on the bed. His lips found my neck and I bit my lip to keep from gasping. Of course, he would know every little thing that drove me wild, starting with kisses all along my neck. That and having it vulnerable and exposed, like a wolf baring its throat to its alpha. Both the headmistress and Mr. Breckinridge had probably given him a complete dossier on me – Adette the troublemaker, the one who pushed boundaries in hopes that someone would push back.
As he nuzzled my hair out of the way and continued to feather kisses up along my skin, his other hand glided up along the bodice of my dress, over my breast, and then stopped to rest for a brief moment at the base of my throat. Before my mind registered what was happening, he curled his fingers around my neck just below my jaw and gave a firm squeeze. Those hard fingers turned my face toward his. “You will learn to abide by my rules as both my lover and my business associate. Do you understand?”
I tried to choke out the word “Yes,” but only managed a gasp. Instead, I nodded, my eyes wide. This was new to me and I relished the uncertainty of not knowing what he might do next. The teachers at St. Eden’s all had their ways of dealing with a student and I had become very familiar with them over the past few years, like Miss Felicity, who excelled in torturous teasing. Or Miss Gwen, whose kisses left the students dizzy with need. And, of course, Mr. Breckinridge’s spankings, hair pulling, finding different ways to rob me of breath. I knew the teachers and what to expect from them when I was in trouble. It was the unknown that made this all the more exciting.
Not that determined expression on his handsome face or those dark eyes that held my gaze so intently.
No. I could never find this man attractive…
A twinge between my legs disputed this and I accepted it – that inkling of potential attraction. He could be attractive, yes. Furthermore, he could be offering me something I might never get the chance to have otherwise: vengeance. I could stay at the school or accept a lesser patron, or I could allow Icharus to lift me up into his world and make me part of his dangerous conspiracy.
I finally answered his question. It was the one thing I could give him, while my thoughts and emotions warred with one another. “I understand, Icharus.”
“Good. I am glad you realize this is a very serious matter and that I will need you to play your part flawlessly.” His other hand left my hair and traveled down along my side until it came to rest on my thigh. “I’ve always loved the St. Eden’s uniform, but it is particularly fetching on you, Adette. One of the things I’ve dreamed of doing since I was a teenager is finding my way up one of those plaid skirts, and then having one of you on your knees before me, my cock so far down your throat you can’t breathe. Where do I need to begin to ensure your compliance – reward or punishment?”
As he spoke, he slid his hand between my thighs. This time I could not contain the sigh that drifted from my lips. With one hand still pressing against my throat, he lazily brushed the other along the lines of my panties. With the lightest touch, he ran his finger down the very center of the flimsy material. The gentle stroking was at odds with his threatening words and the gaze that pinned me to the bed, along with his other hand. Did I want him? How could I not?
I fought the urge to move toward that finger, but my entire body quivered. It was already a losing battle. Even though I now knew my desire for revenge had been misplaced – that he had nothing to do with my mother’s death – I still had to decide if I wanted to participate in his scheme.
What he offered was almost too good to be true: the chance to destroy the man who had taken the most important person in my life away from me. In doing so, however, I would have to bind myself to a murderer’s son. It seemed I would only exchange one type of servitude for another.
Was this the headmistress’s idea of helping me? Did she know of his plan? Icharus had made the most startling proposition and I needed time to consider it. Once again, my mind drifted from the sensations he aroused in me, to the dilemma this match presented.
“You aren’t paying any attention to me now, are you?” he asked, and I turned my thoughts back to what was happening in the room, back to the man lying atop me with one hand at my throat and the other stroking my crotch through my panties. “Your eyes went very far away there and I could tell you weren’t with me. I don’t want to see that happen ever again. When we are together, your attention will be on me.”
The fingers moved along my throat and then squeezed at the base, leaving me unable to take in air. As I gasped, his other hand slid into my panties and his fingers curled against my opening.
“You are very wet,” he whispered into my ear. “I want to fuck you right now like this, in your uniform, your panties shoved to one side so I can just ram my cock into you, and choking you the entire time so you know your life now depends on me. Then you won’t forget what’s happening here and now. You won’t be able to slip away from me. That’s what you want too, isn’t it?”
I thrashed my head from side to side, even though my cunt was pulsing in response to his words. Yes, I want it.
When he thrust two fingers inside me without warning, my hips lifted off the bed and I made a strangled noise of pleasure. He already seemed to know this is what he needed to do – assert his dominance without mercy, and I would be helpless to do anything but accept his mastery.
After a few thrusts, he removed his hands from my body, pushed away from me, and rose up from the bed. Through the sensual haze that had begun to permeate my mind, I thought, That’s it. I blew it again, simply by over-analyzing the entire situation.
“Get on your knees,” he commanded, still quiet, still so very sure of himself.
“I… What? No!” I cried, sitting up and glaring at him. I realized how belligerent I sounded and looked, but I didn’t care. He had thrown too much at me in the past few minutes, given me a huge question to answer, and then turned me on, only to leave me wanting. What kind of game was he playing?
“Now!” He reached forward, took me by the shoulders, pulled me off the bed, and shoved me down to the floor. My knees sank into the carpet and my view dropped just below waist-level.
Every single moment of this night had been one surprise after another. He needed to let me work through it. I felt so off-kilter, I didn’t know how to respond, except with anger. “What the fuck do you expect of me?” I blurted out.
“You do not talk to me like that.” He gripped my chin and turned my face up to his scorching glare. “I deserve a hell of a lot more respect than that, Adette, and you will give it to me. Do you understand?”
Choosing not to answer, I continued struggling to get back to my feet.
One of Icharus’s hands pushed down on my shoulder, while the one that held my chin moved swiftly behind my head. He pulled me against him, my face pressed to the crotch of his pants. The fabric was warm against my nose and mouth, and it smelled freshly laundered. The harder he held
me against himself, the sweeter he smelled to me.
And the more difficult it became to breathe, the more turned on I was. That mood descended over me once more, leaving me wondering what he would do next. My hands clasped his hips and I stilled, leaning into him for support. His cock moved beneath the fabric, twitching against my face.
“Now,” he said, pulling my head back so I had a little fresh air, “let’s try this again, shall we? Are you ready to listen to me?”
With a nod, I looked up at him and waited to see what would happen.
“You can be a good girl when you want to be,” he said, helping me to my feet. “Now, get on the bed.”
This time I did as he said, perching on the edge of the bed and clasping my hands in my lap. The prim pose seemed at odds with the thoughts racing through my mind, but my interest in assuaging the ache between my thighs was the overriding need at the moment. Submitting to his demands might just get me the pleasure he had promised. The back-and-forth was confusing. The only thing clear to me was what my body wanted.
“Perfect.” Icharus nodded his approval and said, “Spread those legs so I can get back to what I was doing.”
Once again I complied, moving my legs so that I was open and available for whatever he wanted to do with me. He approached and sat next to me on the bed. I felt like a teenager as he draped his arm around my shoulders and reached beneath my skirt with his other hand. When his fingers brushed along my panties, I sighed.
“Of course they told me how to handle you. You enjoy breath play and humiliation. Those make you so horny, you’ll do anything anyone tells you to do at that point.” His fingers slid beneath my panties and I gasped at the feel of them trailing across on my bare, slick cunt. This time he didn’t ram his fingers deep inside me, but instead used one to swirl the wetness around my clit, causing me to dig my own fingers into the bedclothes. My hips lifted just a bit in response to the sensation.
With his other hand wrapped around my neck, he held me in place. Not that I wanted to go anywhere, as my body and mind were both more than ready to comply with his demands.