Page 13 of A Royal’s Soul (Soul Match #3)

Persephone Flores

There was a soft knock on the bedroom door.

“Who is it?” I asked, and wondered why any servant would be at the door at this time.

The door handle turned, and I sat up quickly. I had been lying on the bed, flipping between a deep sadness and confused anger, and ultimately sad and angry crying into my pillow that I hugged to my chest.

“I thought you might be asleep,” Selene said as she stepped into the room and closed the door softly behind her. “You have not changed for bed,” she observed.

“I’ve not gotten under the covers,” I defended, a little aggressively, worried that she was upset with me.

“No, you haven’t,” she agreed.

Her expression was neutral. She no longer seemed angry, and I was even more confused. She had dragged me like an animal from the dining room in front of everyone and thrown me on the bed, and now she was here, knocking on doors to check if I was awake and speaking quietly?

“What do you want?” I asked angrily, picking up the pillow beside me to hug tightly.

Her nostrils flared.

“Get up,” she demanded.

I considered refusing, a want within me to fight the command, but remembering how she had handled me earlier, I followed the command and stood from the bed, clutching my pillow like a barrier between us.

“Stand in the corner,” she continued.

“You can’t be serious?” I asked. She simply stared at me. “You’re sending me to the corner like a misbehaved child?”

I looked around. “And we’re in a tower, there is no corner,” I pointed out cheekily.

“Face the wall, pet,” she demanded and pointed to where she wanted me.

“That’s still not a corner,” I whispered, as I marched to the wall.

This was ridiculous. I had done nothing wrong, and here I was, facing the wall.

“I want for this to stop,” she stated coldly.

So chilling was the way she spoke I felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown over me. She wanted this to stop?

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice wavering, uncertainty twisting my stomach.

She couldn’t mean… us? No.

“This.”

She waved her hand between us—I saw as I turned to see her response.

“Face the wall!” she barked, and I spun back around, my heart pounding hard in my chest.

This wasn’t happening. She couldn’t even bare to look at me as she, as she…

“I want this to stop,” she stated again.

The air rushed out of my lungs. I deflated, physically curling around my pillow that I still held to my chest.

She was rejecting me. So easily.

And over one fight. Because I wanted to help people?

It wasn’t like we hadn’t fought before. Was I always so easy for her to throw away? What about all her talk of love and family and marriage and a life together?

Was it all just fantasy?

Did it never mean anything?

I tried to take a breath, but it strangled in my throat. My eyes burned. I tried to lift my head so I could twist to look at her, but my chin was pressed tight against the pillow I clung to at my chest, and it felt like I was frozen stiff.

Overly warm hands gripped both my waist, wrapping around me, her front pressed against my back.

“Look at me,” she commanded, and when I didn’t respond, she forced my head up and towards her, her hand wrapped tight around my jaw. Her eyes glowed liquid-silver, shimmering in the room, which was lit with nothing more than the glow of the fireplace.

“We cannot continue like this. It is not healthy for either of us. It is entirely unsustainable,” she explained.

Was she saying she had tried to give the soul match thing a go but had decided it wasn’t for her?

Was I really that unbearable?

I felt my bottom lip quiver—miserably, pathetically.

“I’m sorry,” I managed to whisper out. “Please don’t—” I tried to ask her not to leave me, not to abandon us, but the words were strangled in my throat, and it was hard enough to rasp a single breath.

“Percy, you need to calm down. We can’t discuss how to move forward if you are unable to participate in the conversation,” she told me.

I wailed then, large teardrops rolling down my cheeks, but she didn’t release my jaw from her hold. I worried of my tears soaking the cuff of her blazer, and how ugly I looked crying at such an angle, as she towered over me.

“What is there to talk about?” I asked. “You don’t want me anymore,” I stuttered out, gasping for breath.

“Percy,” she said, and released my jaw. I was folding in on myself instantly.

“That is not what I said. I am not leaving you,” she told me, but it was like I couldn’t make sense of her words. I was breathing so hard and fast, crying into my pillow.

The pillow was ripped from my arms, tossed to the ground, and my jaw was once again being raised from my chest.

“Percy, pet, please stop this and calm down,” she said, her free hand wiping my tear-stained cheeks. “Breathe for me, with me,” she said, and began taking deep breaths through her nose and out through her mouth.

“With me, Percy. Breathe in,” she commanded, and I tried to follow the instruction.

“And out,” she continued, instructing me as such for what felt like a long time.

Eventually, my tears stopped, and my throat didn’t feel like I was being strangled from the inside.

“Can you talk?” she asked.

I tried to speak, paused to clear my throat, and answered with a raspy, “Yes.”

“Good girl,” she replied, and released my jaw.

“Now, we need to speak about so much I hardly know where to start,” she rubbed her temple.

“Let’s start with your most recent outburst. Why would you so easily misconstrue my intentions to think that I want to leave you? Do you not feel secure in our relationship?” she asked.

I thought about her words and sagged in relief as my mind finally understood that she didn’t intend to end our relationship. But I shrugged at her answer. I expected her to leave me. I expected her to choose someone more suitable, eventually.

“That’s not a good enough answer,” she warned.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “I think—I think, I mean, I’m always messing up, you’re unhappy with me, I’m not a noble, we don’t care about the same things, I’m not good enough,” I said, and I felt my inadequacy like a punch to the stomach—painfully.

Selene was silent for a moment before sighing heavily.

“This is part of the problem we need to fix. You are everything to me, Percy, but we are different natures. We have not been working well together since the Summer. I believe that to be my doing, and I apologise, sincerely. I have wanted you to be happy, but in doing so I have not been true to myself—or you,” she said, and I was simply confused.

“You are my soul match. But you are also my pet. My nature demands control, and yours, I believe, craves the security of being controlled,” she explained.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

But I understood. As much as I found Selene overbearing at times, part of me calmed—a little loud, anxious part of my mind fell silent when she took charge.

She gave me a look that said I knew what she meant, and I ducked my head and turned back to the wall, embarrassed.

“It helps me feel calm, safe,” I admitted. “But not always,” I added, remembering the evening. “Sometimes you drive me mad, Selene. The way you spoke to me, handled me—tonight—I didn’t like it,” I told her.

“We will discuss tonight shortly,” she told me. “Back to the subject at hand first,” she continued.

“I have been lax. Lenient with you. I have wanted to show that I care for you. I spent so long trying to suppress and deny my feelings that I felt I had to make up for it. I have allowed behaviour that I shouldn’t have, and I have not responded appropriately—and now your behaviour has, on a number of occasions, been dangerous as a result.”

“What are you talking about?” I questioned her. I hadn’t done anything dangerous. She’s the one who sent the Academy guard after me to force me to use my magic, and tonight she was the one who refused to let me help people who needed it.

“I haven’t done anything that could harm anyone—unlike you.”

“Backtalking and taking such a tone to question me is part of the problem,” she growled low—a warning. “At the Academy, you were so upset, instead of trusting me and speaking with me in private, you almost announced our soul match. Which would have put you—and me—in terrible danger.

Tonight, in front of one of Ardens councillors, you questioned me disrespectfully. Addressed me like a peer, refused to follow instructions and attempted to make demands of me.”

I felt her breath, harsh and warm, against the back of my neck—a shiver down my spine,

“You clearly have no idea the issue that my pet , behaving in such a way—like it had sway and influence over me, whether true or not—could create.”

Her hands landed on the wall either side of me, caging me in.

“If others thought I bent to your whim, it would result in challenges to my authority—and danger—as others tried to use you, both directly and indirectly, to influence me or force my hand,” Selene explained angrily, another hot puff of air against the back of my neck—and the slightest brush lips.

“You need discipline. And I require respect and trust,” she said accusatorily, like I didn’t trust her.

“I do respect and trust you,” I told her, feeling small—and trying not to become aroused by her presence, powerful and all around me.

She laughed, mockingly.

“Your actions show that you clearly do not,” she challenged.

I went to reply but stopped. Was she right?

I was upset in both situations that she used as examples—but that didn’t mean I didn’t respect and trust her.

I did.

But… but if I did, I should have shown her. Should have let her explain herself in private. I shouldn’t have lashed out verbally.

I hung my head. Shame made me feel ill.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I know you will be shortly,” she replied, her tone softer—so soft I almost missed the threat in her words.

“Now we have acknowledged the problem, we can take steps to rectifying it,” she told me.

“How?” I asked, licking my lips, nerves wriggling in my tummy.

“What I expect of you is simple, Pet—behave.”

She hissed the word.

“Address me formally when company and the situation calls for it. Do not question me publically. Do not make demands of me.

And in return, I will provide you with structure, guidance, and punishment to correct behaviour that may lead to harm for yourself.”

“Punishment?” I asked, nervousness building greater within me.

“Yes. Let’s discuss what happened tonight and decide upon a suitable lesson together,” she suggested, so calmly, like we weren’t discussing punishments, a topic that simultaneously made me feel nervous, fearful, small, and a little humiliated.

“I was upset,” I started.

“Do you understand what you did wrong tonight?” she asked.

“Yes,” I nodded, “I was rude, insulting even. I wanted my way,” I confessed. I had wanted my way like a spoiled brat, unable to see or uncaring to consider any reason why I shouldn’t have been allowed what I wanted.

“What about the interaction upset you most?” she questioned.

“Other than not getting my way?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered, a whisper against my ear. I couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran down my spine.

“The way you spoke to me, and dragged me from the room, in front of everyone, I was embarrassed,” I admitted.

Selene was silent for a moment. I couldn’t stand the tension.

“What do you want to do?” I asked slowly, trying to control my breaths, hoping that my scent wasn’t giving away the current state of my wet underwear.

She took a loud inhale. “This isn’t meant to be enjoyable,” she stated.

I cringed. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it,” I tried weakly.

She pressed herself more firmly against my back, pushing me against the wall. I turned my head, my cheek against the wall.

“So often you cannot help yourself. I will teach you control,” she told me, her hot breath against the shell of my ear, and I watched her hand leave the wall. She tugged me by the hips towards her, my backside pressed into her, and she pushed her hand down my trousers and into my panties.

There was no warm-up necessary. I could hear the quiet wetness of my pussy as she gathered it to rub against my clit. I was so wet I had become uncomfortable. It was a relief to be touched.

“Kiss me,” I demanded and tried to turn my head to reach her lips.

“No,” she snapped. “Face the wall,” she commanded, and I turned my head, pressing my forehead against the cold wall as my body became more and more heated. I was sweating, my hips grinding against Selene. My climax building.

“Kiss me, please,” I begged. I wanted to taste her, wanted to cum with her tongue inside my mouth.

“You’re close,” she said instead of kissing me. And I was, so very close, but I wanted her lips.

“Selene, please,” I tried again and twisted my head away from the wall.

Her hand, that had been placed against the wall, wrapped around my neck, a dangerous fist of a necklace.

“No,” she huffed into my hair as her efforts against my clit doubled.

I moaned, low and guttural, and as the first wave of bliss threatened to crash upon me, she stopped.

“W-w-what?” I asked, and tried to grind against her, but the momentum was lost, the climax no longer at the edge of fruition.

“We’ve got all night, pet, and I promised to teach you control.” She laughed as she removed her hand from my panties.

“You taste so sweet, darling,” she commented, and I knew she was tasting me on her fingers.

She stepped away from me. I felt the loss of her warmth and the press of her body like a physical loss.

“Strip,” she commanded.

Aroused and with shaky hands, I undid the buttons of my cardigan and removed it, allowing it to fall to the floor at my feet.

The white shirt was next. I hadn’t been wearing a bra.

Trousers, then soaked-through panties, lastly socks.

“Good girl. Turn around, keep your head lowered, no eye contact.”

I did as she instructed, naked and vulnerable, I watched my toes.

“Lay on the bed, face down,” she continued, and I walked to the bed, climbing onto it and making myself comfortable on my front, folding my arms in front of me to rest my head.

I could hear Selene walking into the dressing room. All our belongings had been unpacked and put away. I didn’t know what she was doing or looking for, and even when I turned my head to face the dressing room door, it was half closed, and I couldn’t see what Selene was up to. The more noise she made by moving things around, the more curious I became.

“What are you doing?” I called.

“Patience, pet,” she called back and continued with whatever it was she was doing.

Was she getting changed? It didn’t sound like it—it sounded like she was moving something.

I watched as she entered the room. At first, I noticed she had removed her blazer and wore only the flared trousers, heels, and white crop top, and while admiring her toned arms, I took notices of the wooden chest she was carrying—dark in colour, leather straps and bronze buckles.

“Is that your hidden treasure?” I asked playfully.

Selene smiled. “It could be,” she replied.

She continued walking to the foot of the bed to where I could no longer see her.

I heard the buckles of the chest be undone and began to sit up so I could see what was within the mysterious box. I flinched and produced a little noise of fright when, the next moment, Selene’s hand was pushing down between my shoulder blades.

“Do not move,” she warned.

“Okay,” I replied, disappointed I hadn’t even got a glimpse of the chest.

Selene took hold of my ankles, her grip firm, and quickly, without warning, yanked me further down the bed.

“Selene,” I whined in fright, caught off guard.

“Yes, pet?” she replied, and I could hear the amusement in her voice.

“You gave me a fright,” I complained.

“Did I?” She asked, and despite not being able to see her face, I knew she would be grinning smugly.

Her hands left my ankles momentarily before returning and wrapping something soft and silky around one ankle. A knot was tied.

“Too tight?” she questioned as she massaged my foot.

“No,” I hummed. The massaging was pleasant.

Carefully she continued for a few minutes and then gave the same treatment to my other ankle and foot.

“Too tight?” she asked again, and I shook my head.

“Words,” she corrected.

“Not too tight, Ma’am,” I answered.

“Good girl,” she praised, before she began to separate my legs, widely.

I saw from my peripheral that tied to my ankle was a long piece of silk fabric, that Selene was pulling taut to attach to the post of the bed and keep my legs spread apart.

I jolted as suddenly Selene was straddling my hips and leaning over me.

“Comfortable?” she asked casually next to my ear as she reached in front of me and grabbed two pillows.

“Uh, yeah?” I replied.

She kissed my cheek, and just as suddenly as she was on me, she was off.

Takin my hips in hand, she pulled me away from the bed and placed the two pillows under me, causing my butt to be raised.

“I like this view,” she commented.

I was beginning to feel exposed, my butt in the air and legs spread wide. The position was incredibly vulnerable.

Selene retrieved rope from the chest and returned to the side of the bed, where I could see her. She reached out and took hold of my wrists, quickly and expertly tying them.

“This is a secure double column tie—a fundamental. It will not constrict your wrist. Move your hands for me, twist your wrists,” she explained after she had tied my wrists together.

I did as she asked, and she seemed pleased.

“So, it won’t get tighter if I pull?” I asked as she took the ends of the rope, dragging me forward with the rope until my arms were stretched out in front of me and reached down, retrieving a metal ring from below the mattress.

“No, it will not get tighter, pet. You will be free to pull and struggle as much as you desire,” she answered while tying the rope around the ring.

“How long has that been there? Did you put it there?” I asked incredulously. Before Selene, I would never have imagined that beds had secret attachments for tying people up.

She laughed. “I attached it myself, yes,” she replied.

“When?” I asked. How did she have the time?

“Earlier this morning,” she answered.

“This is the type of thing you get up to when we’re not together, and here I thought you were working, but no, you’re really putting together sneaky devices to help you tie me up.”

“What else is there to do with my free time?” she questioned in return.

“Anything else,” I deadpanned.

She laughed. “And then you would miss out on all the fun,” she said and patted my butt as she walked back to the end of the bed, and I wasn’t sure if it was playful or condescending; so much could be communicated through a butt pat.

Now with my arms outstretched, it was a struggle to lift my head from the bed, and I could only see a little over my arms and directly in front of me to the ‘o’-shaped ring.

“What fun did you have in mind?” I questioned and wriggled in my restraints. I had never been so fully tied down before, and I was a little anxious.

“I would like to introduce toys to our playtime,” she answered, and I heard items being moved about inside the chest.

“Toys?” I questioned and swallowed, giving my wrists a tug to test how much give there was in the rope. There was none.

“Vibrators, plugs, dildos, clamps, pinwheels, paddles, floggers, whips, crops—"

“Whips? Crops?” I interrupted and tried—and failed—to lift my head from the bed enough to see what she was doing.

Selene laughed. “Are you just now remembering that this is a lesson?” she asked.

I began to pull harder at the restraints.

“I don’t—Selene, whips!” I said, struggling to put forward a coherent thought, panic rising within me.

“Shh,” she soothed and ran her hand down my spine, softly, “there will be no instruments of pain tonight, I promise, pet,” she told me, and I sagged in relief.

“Oh,” I said, exhaling.

Selene’s hand continued from my back to buttocks. Her hand left me and returned with a sharp, stinging slap.

I cried out at the sting.

“Sorry, dear, I couldn’t resist. With you on display like this, it’s too tempting,” she apologised and rubbed where she had struck me.

“You said no instruments of pain,” I complained.

“There won’t be any,” she promised again.

“Your hands don’t count?” I asked.

“No, my hands, nor my teeth, count as instruments, sweet pet. They are a part of me,” she explained calmly, reasonably.

“That feels like a loophole,” I complained, and received a small humorous hum and another stinging slap on the opposite cheek.

I screamed more in surprise than pain.

“I suppose it is,” she replied, and ran her hand over my stinging cheek and down, running through my folds.

“You’re quite wet,” she commented, and dipped one long finger inside of me.

I moaned in pleasure and pushed down onto her as much as the restrains would allow, which was near nothing. It frustrated me. I could hardly move my hips.

I groaned in displeasure as Selene removed her finger.

“Such a greedy little slut, moaning and grinding so easily for me,” she said, and I felt my face heat from embarrassment.

“Now, I’m going to adjust you slightly, pet,” she said as I felt cold leather drag under my waist and be fastened at my back—a belt of some sorts.

“Is that a belt?” I asked, curiously.

“Yes. It will make sure you don’t manage to wriggle away,” she answered.

“I thought that’s what the rope and ties were for?” I asked.

“They are,” she answered, and I huffed in frustration.

Selene continued back to the chest, and I heard a clicking and brief motor-like sound. I felt the bed dip behind me as Selene climbed onto the bed. She pulled at the belt around my waist, and I felt a part of the belt be pulled down between my parted legs.

“Try and lift your hips a little bit.”

I did as she asked and felt something circular and firm press tightly between my folds and against my clit.

“There, like that, such a good girl.”

She kissed my butt cheek, and I wriggled and laughed, enjoying the praise and affection and the way whatever Selene had locked in place between my legs gave relief to my growing arousal.

“We’ll start slow,” she said, and the there was a click.

I flinched in surprise as a soft buzzing started between my legs. The sensation was pleasant, and my hips sank into the pillows that elevated them.

“That’s the first setting of this vibrator. How does it feel?” she asked.

“Good,” I moaned and tried to press myself harder against the vibrator.

“Would you like some more?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” I answered and nodded.

Another click and more buzzing. I groaned loudly—it was intense but blissful.

Another click. The buzzing was considerably louder, far more intense against my clit. I tried to pull away, for just a moments relief, but couldn’t.

Another click.

“It’s too much,” I cried out, my hips trying to pull away and failing as any small movement I could make, the vibrator followed.

Another click, and the vibrations lessened a notch.

“Better?” Selene asked as she leaned over my body and began to kiss the back of my neck and shoulders.

“Yeah,” I replied, settled. “So good,” I said happily.

“Tell me when you’re close, pet,” she demanded, and she must have felt the tension in my body. I didn’t want to tell her, for fear she’d stop again, like before.

“You’ll tell me when you’re close, pet, or I will make you wait so long before I allow you to cum again, you will forget what it feels like,” she warned.

I didn’t doubt her warning. The threat heated me further, as did her lips against my shoulders, followed closely by her teeth, biting just enough to create a dull, pleasant ache in my heated flesh.

“O-okay,” I agreed, “I’m close,” I admitted.

“How close?” she asked.

“Nearly there,” I answered, just as I felt the first wave of pleasure approaching.

A click, from somewhere near her hand and the buzzing stopped.

I cried out, “Please, Selene.”

She laughed and continued to kiss her way down my back until I could feel her kneeling between my legs again.

The vibrator was pushed slightly to the side and Selene, dipped her finger inside me.

“You’re pulsating,” she told me. “Like your little hole is begging to be filled,” she said crudely.

Removing herself from me, I hid my face against the bed, unable to suppress the desperate little whine that escaped me.

“You would like if I filled you, wouldn’t you?” she asked.

I didn’t answer and received a hard pinch to my backside in return.

“Ah, yes,” I answered.

A couple of clicks, and the buzzing started again. I sighed in pleasure, leaning back into the sensation.

As I tried to buck desperately against the vibrator, is switched off again.

I cried in frustration. “Selene!” —saying her name like a reprimand. “Stop playing with me.”

“You don’t want me to stop playing with you, pet,” she replied, and once again moved her hand between the vibrator and me to push inside of me.

“Two fingers, easily,” she commented, matter-of-factly, as if she was measuring. “You’re doing well, and so wet. Once more should do it,” she said, while removing her fingers. Another click and the buzzing the started again.

I cried—a mixture of pleasure and frustration and desperation—knowing when I was close to release, it would once again be ripped from me.

“Selene, please,” I begged.

“Are you close, pet?” she asked, and I heard the amusement in her voice.

“Y-yeah,” I cried, actually cried, tears dampening the bed sheets. “Please, let me cum, please, Selene,” I begged again.

The vibration continued, right up until I felt myself begin to tense with pleasure and then—click—it stopped.

I screamed into the bed, my cries muffled by the sheets.

Again, Selene slid her hand between the vibrator and myself, sinking deep into me. I felt the stretch of my pussy and groaned, desperate to chase the orgasm that had just fallen out of reach.

“You’re ready,” she said as she pulled her fingers free from me.

I cried harder at the loss, but managed to ask, “Ready for what?”

“Let’s get you unbuckled, eh?” she said softly and began to remove the belt around my waist.

“Wait, please,” I argued, afraid that the removal of the vibrator meant everything was over and I wasn’t going to get to cum at all. I wasn’t thinking clearly—painfully turned on—I could feel myself clenching around nothing.

All I wanted was to cum. I had lost count of how many times I was so close only to be denied at the last possible moment.

I felt the bed move as Selene stood. And I cried quietly as I listened to her moving around.

“Aww, my poor pet, are you very upset?” she asked in a saccharine, mocking tone.

“Yeah,” I answered, truthfully. I couldn’t hide it. “Why, won’t you let me cum?” I blubbered.

In any other situation, I would be beyond embarrassed by my behaviour, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Being so high, so close and never falling over the edge was at once frustrating and demoralising.

“You need to learn control, sweetheart. Isn’t that what we agreed?” she questioned as she climbed back on the bed behind me.

“You agreed,” I argued.

“So you have no issues with control?”

I didn’t answer.

“You’re able to deny yourself what you desire?” she continued. “No, you lack self-control. But don’t worry, darling, you’ll learn,” she told me, and though her words were sweet, her tone was condescending.

“You just like torturing me,” I challenged, defeated.

“That too, yes,” she agreed.

I groaned in acknowledgement of her answer and managed to stop my tears.

Her hand was back between my legs, a wet, sloppy sound as she pumped her fingers in and out.

“Such a pretty pussy,” she complimented. “So wet, and tight, and yet desperate to be stretched,” she said, and I was already moaning, enjoying the way she crossed her fingers inside me.

“Would you like to be stretched, and filled, pet?” she asked, and held her hand still inside me as she waited for an answer.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Yes, what?” she asked, spanking my butt cheek.

“Yes, ma’am, please,” I answered.

“That’s better. Your respect never goes unnoticed, darling,” she told me, but then began to slowly pull out of me.

“But I asked nicely,” I whined.

She laughed in response, and I felt something cold and hard press against my entrance.

“You did ask, so very nicely. You’ve done well tonight. I think a reward is in order,” she said, and I felt her naked front—her breasts—press against my back, and her hands press into the bed at either side of my shoulders.

“I’m going to fuck you, pet. Slowly, at first,” she stated, and I felt what I realised was a dildo push past my entrance and slowly into me.

“Can you take it all?” she asked.

I groaned in pleasure as I was slowly filled more and more.

“I’ll try, ma’am,” I answered.

Her breath was hot against the back of my neck, and her teeth scraped across my skin there.

“Try your best, pet. Tell me if it’s too much, yes? And I will stop,” she told me.

“I will,” I agreed, and whined quietly, in slight pain as I felt myself be stretched further and Selene’s hips against my buttocks.

Selene wasted no time pulling back out—what felt like halfway—and pushing in again. She quickly found a rhythm, the wet squelch of my wetness and the slap of skin on skin filled the room. I couldn’t hold back my moans and pleasure.

“Feels, feels, so good,” I whined, as Selene fucked me harder.

“You feel good,” she growled against my ear, and kissed my cheek when I turned my head, “Such a good girl, for me aren’t you?” she continued.

I hummed in agreement.

“My good little pet, taking everything I give you,” she praised, and I was in ecstasy. The toy pressing deliciously inside of me, just where I needed it with each of Selene’s thrusts.

And suddenly, I could feel myself about to come undone—the build-up had been slow and intense, but the end had rushed upon me.

“I’m close again,” I told her, and couldn’t help crying, sure that she would stop.

Her wet tongue ran across my cheek, tasting my tears, but her rhythm did not break.

“My good girl,” she whispered, and I exploded around the dildo, clamping down hard, nearly screaming in pleasure, my body straining against the ties as I came so strongly my vision blackened for a moment.

“I’m not done yet, pet,” she said as she continued to fuck me. “I’m almost there, but not quite. Feel free to cum again, if you can,” she told me, her hot breaths against my neck.

I was exhausted—my shoulders and arms and hips hurt from being tied and pulled. I was also extremely sensitive, bordering on painful, if it wasn’t still so good. I moaned deeply.

“O-okay,” I said.

“Good girl, Percy, good girl,” she husked against my shoulder, as one of her arms slid under me and wrapped around my waist, pulling me tighter against her and pulling on my restraints, causing them to become as taut as possible.

Her breathing became erratic, her rhythm stuttered, and her teeth sank into the meaty part of my shoulder as she moaned with her release and sagged on top of me.

I cried out at the unexpected bite, but it wasn’t painful. A pleasant heat radiated out from where her fangs pierced my flesh, and I felt used and consumed, in the best possible way—wholly owned by my princess.

A purr resonated from her through my back and chest.

“I love you,” she said softly, when she released my flesh from between her teeth.

“I love you too,” I replied.

“I’m sorry,” I told her, “Sorry for not trusting you,” I clarified.

“We will find a balance between our natures,” she told me.

“I’m going to pull out now, pet,” she told me, and released me from her hold around my waist and pulled the dildo out as she sat back on her heels.

I felt sort of hollow and empty, and cold without the press of her above me, or the feel of the toy within me.

For no logical reason at all, I began to cry—not frustrated tears, but hollow, empty, tears, like everything had left me.

Swiftly, I found myself untied and Selene pulling me into her arms and dragging the thick quilt of the bed around my shoulders. I clung to her like a life raft at sea. I felt like I was lost in a storm.

“Shh, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? You’re shaking,” she said, pushing damp hair away from my sweaty forehead.

“I feel like I’m lost in a storm,” I told her and buried my head in the space between her shoulder and neck.

She hummed low and held me tighter.

“You’re cold,” she stated, and I took notice of my shaking form.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“I’ll heat you up,” she promised.

“O-okay,” I stuttered out.

“Are you thirsty, hungry?” she asked. I didn’t know—I just felt empty.

“Hmmm?” she prompted softly when I didn’t answer.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

“Well, let’s assume you’re a little of both,” she said. “You didn’t eat this evening, that was my doing. In a little while, after some cuddling, when you’re feeling better, I will get you something from the kitchen,” she told me.

“Don’t leave me,” I begged.

“Never, pet, I would only be gone minutes, I promise, and I’m not leaving right this moment,” she explained, and her hands began to work my shoulder blades in a gentle massage.

“You’re all tense and tight, darling,” she commented. “Let’s loosen you up,” she said, and began to peel my hold from her.

I protested weakly as she untangled me from around her and turned me so that I was sat in front of her, between her legs. Her hands worked my shoulders and neck, soft, light kisses fell against me, adoringly. Silently, she worked down my arms to my wrists, pausing and inspecting the movement.

“Did you experience any numbness or other sensations in your hands, wrists of shoulders tonight?” she asked.

“No,” I answered, and she raised my hand up to the side of my head to kiss it too.

“Arms up,” she commanded and guided my arms straight up and above my head. “Turn your head side to side,” she continued. “Well done,” she praised as she guided my arms back down.

“Twist your upper body towards me on your right,” she instructed, and her hands moved to my waist, “and now your left. Perfect, pet,” she pecked my lips when I turned my head to face her.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Some light stretching. It will help to loosen up your joints again,” she explained and stole another innocent kiss.

Her hand tapped my hip and she moved out from behind me.

“Lie flat on your back,” she instructed and pushed my shoulder back to encourage me.

“Okay, now bring your right knee up to your chest,” I did as she asked, “and now extend your leg upwards, that’s it. Bring the knee back to your body, now twist your right leg over your left, rotating at your waist, keep your shoulders on the bed,” she said, and her hands helped guide the motion.

“Wonderful. Same with your left leg now,” she instructed, and I performed the same stretching.

“Now heels together so your legs are bent and let your legs fall open.”

She guided the movement, and I was suddenly very conscious of my nakedness. I had been naked the entire time, as was Selene, but it was only on my back with legs in such an exhibitionist position that I became aware of my nakedness.

Selene’s hands were wrapped around my ankles, and she smiled softly at me.

“I feel vulnerable,” I blurted out, worried that she would sense my change in emotion.

She grinned—it was playful and a little teasing.

“You are in a very vulnerable position, pet,” she agreed, “Completely open to me.”

Her eyes travelled down my body and to my pussy. I was painfully aware of how wet and sticky I felt, and how Selene was seeing it all. I closed my legs.

“Why are you hiding yourself from my view?” she questioned, and she sounded almost hurt.

“I don’t want you to see,” I answered, shyly.

Her hands moved up my calves to my knees and applied the gentlest of pressure. It wasn’t a demand. I knew I could have kept my knees tight together, but it was a silent request. The look in Selene’s eyes was a strange combination of pleading and hunger I hadn’t seen before.

I let my knees fall open.

Selene’s nostrils flared.

“Thank you, pet,” she said, and her eyes left mine and returned to my pussy. I felt the cool air of the room against my opening and shivered.

“You’re still open, just a little,” she commented.

I gripped my thighs tighter at her words, hating the way I felt myself clench. Why was the humiliation of being viewed so openly, so clinically, a turn-on? And why was I so upset by it?

“Shh, pet,” Selene soothed and ran her hands from my knees to over my hands at my thighs. She squeezed my hands.

“It’s okay. I know you don’t desire anything more tonight. I know that you cannot control your reaction. I smell your arousal and your anxiety,” she reassured and took my hands, pulling me into a sitting position.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I told her.

“You’re dropping, pet. It can happen if what we do has perhaps been particularly intense. I’ll take care of you,” she reassured and opened her arms in a welcoming gesture.

I gladly crawled back into her arms and let her hold me.

“This sucks,” I said, and tried not to cry again.

“I know, pet. It will pass.”

“When?” I asked, pathetically.

“A couple of hours, maybe a day or two,” she said.

“Two days!” I whined.

She laughed quietly and squeezed me tightly.

“I doubt it, pet. Once I get you in some warm pyjamas, and you have something to eat and drink, and a restful sleep, I believe you will feel much better. So let’s get to it, hmm?” she said and tapped my butt, indicating for me to get up.

I whined in protest. I was so very tired, and my body felt heavy as I moved out of her lap and stood beside the messed- up bed. I just wanted to crawl under the covers and sleep, but Selene had other plans.

She was up and gone, the light of the dressing room on, quicker than my tired mind could keep up. She returned in an open dressing gown, revealing the simple shorts and strap top she wore beneath.

She carried a bundle of clothing in her arms and sat them down on the bed as she stood before me.

“I’m convinced you never feel the cold,” I told her.

She grinned down at me as she held up the long-sleeved checkered button-up top for me.

I dutifully complied, allowing her to dress me. She didn’t do the buttons before she had me stepping into the matching trousers.

She knelt down before me and lifted my heel to put on a thick pair of socks before standing.

“Cute. Pink suits you,” she said as she pulled me closer to her by my open shirt and began to carefully do each button.

I smiled at the compliment.

“Slippers, and we will make our way to the kitchen together,” she stated and turned from me, back to the dressing room to retrieve slippers for me.

When she was satisfied with my clothing and had draped a blanket over my shoulders we left for the kitchen.

The kitchen was empty when we entered, and Selene pulled a stool out at a little wooden table that sat against the wall under a window for me. I sat down and watched, unable to hide my amusement as Selene sniffed the air.

“What are you laughing at?” she asked, as she closed a cupboard and opened another.

“You,” I answered, and she turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re sniffing out food like an animal,” I explained. “Not that you’re an animal but, you know, ugh,” I tried, regretting my choice of words.

“Do I amuse you,” she asked innocently.

“Sometimes,” I replied.

She tilted her head back and smelled the air dramatically.

“The only source of nourishment I smell is you,” she said and turned to me with a predatory gaze, but the quirk or her grin told me it was a game.

“Oh, no, am I in danger?” I asked just as dramatically.

And promptly produced a loud squeal of surprise and laughter as I found myself lifted from the stool and spun around face to face with Selene, her fangs on full display.

“Would you like to be, in danger, pet?” she asked with a growl.

“What’s going on!”

We were interrupted by someone, and I got such a fright I almost jumped out of Selene’s grip.

Selene’s growl turn from playful to real. In an instant, she had released me and held the intruder by the throat against the open kitchen door frame.

It took me a moment to recognise the person—Katrina.

“Wait!” I called to Selene. But she ignored me.

“What are you doing here?” Selene demanded, her voice low and dripping with danger.

Katrina’s hands scrambled at her throat, desperately trying to loosen Selene’s grip. I watched her take a strangled breath as Selene released her.

“I heard a scream, I’m, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you ma’am, please forgive me,” Katrina said, coughing every other word and rubbing her throat.

The sound of fast-approaching footsteps had Selene’s hand back around Katrina’s throat, and she shoved her violently from the kitchen.

Elise appeared in the doorway just after I had lost sight of Katrina.

“Ma’am, is everything okay?” she asked Selene.

“I would like a meal for my pet,” she replied, and both Selene and Elise ignored the incident with Katrina.

I couldn’t see past the two women and had no idea what was happening with the servant girl—Selene might have thrown her threw a wall, for all I knew.

“Yes, right away. I will wake the chef. How would you like me to handle the servant girl?” Elise replied.

“Leftovers are fine,” I said quietly, feeling anxiety at the thought of another person being woken to come and cook for me. “I can cook for myself too,” I added.

Selene turned to me, and I watched as she exhaled in frustration.

“Do you know where the leftovers would be kept?” Selene asked turning back to Elise. “Forget Katrina, foolish girl,” she continued dismissively.

Elise nodded and entered the kitchen.

“Chef usually leaves any extras in the fridge,” she replied and pointed to the fridge. “You can find dishes and cutlery here,” she continued and opened the cupboards and drawer. “Staples such as bread and spreads can be found in the pantry, here,” she finished and opened the pantry door.

“Is there anything else I may help you with, ma’am?”

“That is all,” Selene replied, and I watched her tense shoulders relax as Elise left the kitchen and shut the door behind her.

I felt awkward for a moment, not sure how to respond to what happened.

“You’re vulnerable,” Selene said. “I didn’t mean to respond, quite so aggressively. It seems my own emotions are currently running high,” she sighed.

“I feel a need to protect you, you understand—to care for you. The instinct is heightened,” she explained.

I understood, then, a clarity in comparison to my own needy state, to the intention or instinct driving her actions.

“It’s okay, I understand,” I told her and approached her, taking hold of her arm.

She reached out to caress my cheek before kissing my forehead and leading me to the fridge.

“Food for my pet, then bed.”