Page 48

She leans in, and I feel her breath before her words. “And your shoulder?”

I turn, letting her see the left one fully–where lines of code form an incomplete ring, a halo broken in two. “That’s a segment of the first program I ever wrote that didn’t crash. It modeled chaos theory. Unstable systems.” I pause. “I didn’t understand it fully then. I just knew it worked. Kind of like me.”

She brushes a fingertip near the ink, feather-light. “And the other side?”

“Blank.” I meet her gaze. “I haven’t earned it yet.”

The cube melts, and I pick up another, continuing to run it over the tape until the ends begin to curl. Pinching the edge with my fingertips, I slowly lift, removing the tape.

“It worked,” she says in relief.

“Between the wet and cold, the adhesive shrinks up and turns brittle,” I explain, moving to her other nipple and pulling its tape off too. The tips are raised, peaked from the stimulation. I don’t notice any infection. “I brought you something else.”

I reach for the container on the bedside table. It’s small with a screw top and I quickly open it. “This is a numbing cream.”

Arianette rises up on her elbows. The move makes her tits bounce and jiggle, settling slightly to the side. “What do I do with it?”

“Rub it on.” There’s an edge to my tone. She notices.

Her fingers dip into the cream and I watch as she glides it over the dark nipples. “Promise me something.” Our eyes meet. “The next time he comes to do something like this to you, make sure you call me.”

“You’ll stop him?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I want to watch.”

“Oh.” I can tell the cream is having the desired effect as she rubs circles around the metal bar, working it into her skin.

Her shoulders loosen and she falls back against the headboard. “It’s tingly.”

“In a bad way?” I ask.

“No, not bad.” She shakes her head. “Can I ask you something?”

I give her a curt nod.

“When DK touches me… why does he stop?”

“What do you mean?”

“On the altar, and today in the class. He touches me, makes my heart beat and my skin feel like it’s on fire. I feel… excited, like I’m chasing something instead of being chased. Like I’m on the edge of a tall building, ready to jump off, but then he stops and it’s just…”

I push the words through the lump in my throat. “Just what?”

“I want to say gone, but that’s not right either. It hurts. I feel desperate. Like I’m out of breath without taking a step.”

“Show me.”

She frowns but it’s lazy, the chemicals in the cream having started to take effect. “What?”

“Show me what he did to you. Today, the other day. What does he do?”

She shakes her head. “I shouldn’t.”

I pause, letting my response roll about my head for a moment, before asking. “Are you disobeying me, sister?”

“I, I–” She’s caught. Her role is to obey her Barons, and I’ve been nice. Providing her with something to ease her pain. But I also know that she sees me as the man that chased her through the woods, carved her skin with my knife. I’m dangerous, and she just slipped into my trap. “I’m not disobeying you.” She couldn’t even if she wanted to, the amount of mandrake I used isn’t enough to knock her out entirely, but it is enough to make her compliant. I’m not prepared when she adds, “Good girls don’t touch themselves.”

My eyebrow shoots up. “Says who?”