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Topher, who tricked and betrayed me, wouldn’t have given me this sense of strange peace. The buyers in the auction room wouldn’t have given two fucks whether I ate or drank or starved to death.

James is here to make sure I’m okay.

I’m not alone. Not whipped or ignored or left here to lose my mind until I’m nothing but a vessel. A bag of skin and bones to be tortured.

But surviving this hell comes with a price.

Doing what he says will humiliate me. Demean me. My soul will crack some more after tonight.

It’ll be okay, my mind sends the signal to my worn-out, defeated body.You might even like it. Being his.

No, I won’t.

I’ll do it anyway so I can live to fight another day.

Tears gather in the corners of my eyes. I’m already on my hands and knees.

Deep breath.

“I’ll crawl.”

“Not so fast.” He raises his hand to stop me. “You’ve made me wait.”

I look at him from beneath my lashes. He’s quiet. Expecting another thing of me. I don’t know what, and my helplessness almost pushes tears out my eyes. I will them to stay there while I try to figure out what it is he wants.

I have to try.

“I’m…” A sick part of me wants to please him. All of me wants to kill him for putting me through this. “Sorry?”

“Cute, but no.” His hands flex on his thighs. Physically, we’re about six feet apart since he sits at the foot of the bed, staring at me. Emotionally, he’s right here, towering over me. “After you crawl, and before you get to touch your food, you’ll suck me.”

Fire flares across my body. My neck heats. My muscles lock up. I thought it couldn’t get any worse. That the humiliation would end when I crawl to him.

Not when I have his cock in my mouth.

My panties are soaked at the idea. That, too, makes me want to weep.

“You can’t be serious. No.” I press my lips into a flat line. It’s either that or I’ll tell him to go to hell. Or I’ll cry again. I don’t want it. To be on my knees for him. For him to take my mouth, whether I consent to it or not.

“What’s this? You’re making me wait again?” The air in the room shifts. It grows hotter. Headier. James sits up straighter. The outline of his erection is evident. “You saw what happens when you do that. How bad I can get. I’m your owner. Nothing is off-limits for me. Not your mouth. Not your pussy. Not your ass. Is that what you’re asking for? For me to take them all tonight?”

Words won’t come out. My heart is in my throat, my lungs twisting painfully.

All I can do is shake my head, silently begging him to forgive me.

“Thought so.” He spreads his legs, just a little, patting his knees. “For the last time tonight, Ophelia. Crawl. To. Me.”

He’s offering cruelty. He’s offering mercy.

I breathe easier at that. Shamefully, I do. I’m drawn to it, to him.

Crawling feels like floating. Like I’m doing the right thing. My knees scrape against the floor. His glare is as cold as it’s always been, and yet…

Arousal soaks my inner thighs. I’m panting with desire by the time I get to him. My skin lights up when I stop in the space between his legs. When I wait for his approval.

He cups my jaw. It’s such a comfort to be held after everything I’ve been through. I almost break down and cry. “Good girl.”

I whimper at the praise. At his touch. I hate myself for it.