Page 21

James

I wasn’t the type of man to say sorry. Perhaps I needed to learn somehumility, and Willow was the one to teach me, because as she lay on the bed whimpering, her body shivering as I ran cubes of ice over her scarred skin, every single one of my nerves screamed at me to apologize and beg for her forgiveness for what I’d put her through.

Once again, I lost control, just like I had the morning in my bedroomwhen I nearly fucked her ass. Only this time, I didn’t stop when she told me to. The desperate need to find out what secrets my father was harboring pushed me to the brink, and instead of walking away and composing myself, I’d forced Willow to relive her nightmares.

And I hated myself for it.

She’d been sleeping soundly next to me, but the conversation I’doverheard had played in my head like a broken record until I realized the only way I could keep Willow safe was to find out what secrets my father was hiding.

If I found out, I’d have ammunition to use against him.

“Mouse,”I said softly, but stopped short of muttering my apologywhen her watery eyes found mine and held me captive.

She looked broken.

Despite everything she’d been through, everything I’d put her through, she never broke.

Until now.

Getting to my feet, I gently placed one hand on Willow’s shoulderand the other on her hip, rolling her onto her back. There was no resistance in her body as I scooped her into my arms and lifted her into my lap, her head lolling before resting against my bare chest.

For a few minutes, neither of us moved. I held her against me,counting the beats of her racing heart as I recalled what I’d witnessed. I’d never seen anything like it.

Her eyes had glazed over as she began thrashing on the bed,screaming and begging for the figment of her imagination to not hurt her. Milligan had trained her to be the goddamn human version of Pavlov’s dogs. Instead of salivating at the sound of a bell, all she felt was pain whenever there was mention of her past.

When Willow had begun clawing at her back, I’d sprinted to thekitchen to grab a champagne bucket and filled it with ice and water, hoping the cold would soothe the pain ripping her apart.

Thankfully, it had.

I wasn’t sure what I would have done to bring her back to me if ithadn’t worked, and I had no intention of ever putting Willow through that again.

It almost broke me to see her that way.

When Willow’s pulse evened out, and her soft whimpers ceased, Ishifted her slightly so I could look at her, finding her eyes still glazed over as she stared at the wall.

“Look at me, Mouse,”I instructed, my tone firm. Her watery gaze metmine instantly, brimming with unshed tears.“I can’t take away what they did to you at Peartree House, but I promise you, Milligan and Welch, and any other fucker who has had a hand in hurting you will pay.”

It was the closest I would get to apologizing for what I’d put herthrough, and with the slightest hint of relief that filtered into Willow’s eyes, she knew it too.

“I wish I could remember,”she said quietly, her petite fingers clingingto my arms. There was a time I didn’t want her touching me, but now, the need to wrench her fingers from my body was non-existent. “I wish I could remember everything from before. ”

“Maybe you will. One day,”I replied, swiping a stray tear away.

“Can I ask you something?”she whispered, her bottom lip tremblingas she added,“I know I’m not supposed to ask for anything, but just this once?”

I tightened my arms around her.“Ask, Mouse.”

“Can you make me forget about the bad memories? Just for tonight.Just for now.”

She held my gaze, a rare determination shining in her blue and greeneyes.

“You know what you’re asking me, right? I’ve told you before, I don’tdo soft and gentle. I won’t make love to you. I’ll make you hurt-”

“I know,”she replied, and if she hadn’t added her next words, then Iwould have punished her for interrupting me.“I need to feel something other than this emptiness that’s trying to swallow me whole.”She paused, sucking in a breath, her next words barely audible.“I can tolerate the pain you give me.”

My cock twitched underneath her ass. Who’d have thought Willowwould have asked me to be rough with her? Certainly not me.

Abruptly standing, I released her from my arms and towered overher. Her eyes were still filled with tears, but now they were glowing with something else.

“You know what to do,”I growled as more blood rushed to my cock.

She swallowed before lowering her gaze to my growing erection.Slowly, she climbed onto the bed and positioned herself on all fours with her ass up in the air and her face buried into the bed sheets. For a few seconds, I didn’t move, mesmerized by the sight beforeme, her perfect pussy and ass on full display, mine for the taking.

And fuck, was I going to take.

Before I followed her onto the bed, I crossed the room to my set ofdrawers. Willow’s eyes tracked me, but I kept my back to her, making sure she couldn’t see the objects I gathered.

She said she could tolerate the pain I gave her, and I didn’t doubt itfor one second. She’d handled everything else I’d given her until this point.What I had planned would make her hurt, but I was also going to make her come until she couldn’t think of anything but the way I owned her body.

“Open your mouth,”I said when I rejoined her at the bed. Her browsrose, but she did as I asked, hesitation flashing in her eyes when I produced the ball gag from behind my back.“There are no safe words, and you won’t be able to tap out if this gets too much, Willow. You asked for this, there’s no going back.”

She didn’t reply because I didn’t give her a chance. I shoved the ballinto her mouth, quickly fastening the ties around the back of her head.

Panicked eyes met mine, and I couldn’t stop the menacing smile fromtaking over my face.“I promised myself that the next time I fucked your ass, I’d make sure your mouth and cunt were stuffed at the same time.”

She tried to reply, but her response was a garbled mess thanks to therubber ball in her mouth, and all she achieved was dribbling saliva down her chin.

Chuckling darkly, I pushed her head down into the bed sheets againbefore I positioned myself behind her and stared down at her glistening pink pussy.

Glistening .

Because even though Willow was scared of what I was about to do toher, she was also excited.

Without warning, I drove a finger into her wet heat, right to myknuckle, and eliciting a small moan from her. Swirling it around inside her to gather her juices, I pulled it out and sucked my finger into my mouth, tasting her.

“Mmm,”I moaned, my lids closing briefly as my mouth watered,desperate for more of a taste of her delicious cunt.

I knew that once I’d embraced my addiction to Willow, there wouldbe no limit to it. She’d become my drug of choice, and I had no intention of quitting.

Needing more, I lowered myself down and swiped my tongue throughher folds, finding her clit and flicking it several times before returning to her entrance and plunging my tongue inside.

“Stay still, Mouse,”I growled when she lurched forward.“Don’t moveor I won’t let you come, you hear?”

She muttered something that sounded like acceptance beforeholding her body perfectly still. I pushed my tongue back inside her, her juices hitting my taste buds, and heading south to my already hard cock.

Pulling back, I spread her ass cheeks, her puckered holevying for my attention. Swiping my tongue through her folds again, I trailed it up until I reached her back hole and forced my tongue in, pushing past the slight resistance.

Willow gasped, but she didn’t move, taking my threat to not let hercome seriously.

I thrust my tongue into her ass several times before returning mymouth to her pussy and sucking her clit between my lips, my hands squeezing the globes of her ass cheeks.

My cock throbbed as I got to work, alternating between devouringher tight little pussy, and tongue fucking her asshole.

Willow’s groans grew louder, and ordinarily, I wouldn’t have wantedher to make a noise, not when we were in the house, and my staff could hear her coming, but with the ball gag preventing her from making too much noise, I didn’t stop her.

Her entire body began to tense as she drew nearer to her climax,and as I continued to flick my tongue over her clit, I moved one hand over her back, trailing my fingers lightly over her scars.

“I swear to fucking god, Mouse. The only person to put their markson you from now on is me, and they’ll be marks to show the whole fucking world you belong to me.”

I brutally shoved two fingers into her back hole at the same time Idrove my tongue into her pussy, and she squealed behind her ball gag as her orgasm hit. I held her hips steady, otherwise, she would have collapsed on the bed from the intensity of her release.

Needing to taste every drop of her, I lashed my tongue against herpussy, lapping up her juices, and doing my best to not let myself follow her and blow my load all over her ass.

But I was far from done.

I grabbed the toy I’d abandoned on the bed and rammed the thickdildo into her tight cunt, my gaze fixed on how her entrance stretched to accommodate the toy as she tried her hardest not to buck against it.

Keeping the dildo buried inside her, I used my other handto line my cock up with her asshole. Not giving her a chance to prepare, I thrust into her all the way to the hilt, a guttural groan rumbling from my chest and mingling with her cries of pain.

Fuck, with her cunt full as well as her ass, she felt tighter than before.Her ass squeezed my cock in a deadly grip as I slowly pulled it almost to the tip before driving back into her, throwing my head back in ecstasy.

Willow screamed, looking over her shoulder at me, her cheeksstained with tears, and her eyes pleading.

“Remember, you asked for this, Mouse. Now you’ll take me like my good littlewhore.”

Pulling the dildo out at the same time I pulled my cock out, I thrustboth back inside her at the same time, eliciting another garbled scream, my free hand gripping her hip and leaving bruises in the shape of my fingerprints.

Finding my rhythm, I began moving my cock in and out of herat the same time I plunged the thick dildo inside of her. Tingles shot up my spine, my balls tightening with the need to release.

By now, Willow had planted her face into the sheets, muffledwhimpers escaping her, yet her body remained still just like I’d ordered.

“Such an obedient little slut, aren’t you Willow? Staying so still for mewhile I fuck this perfect ass and pussy,”I gritted out, my jaw clenched as I balanced on the edge of coming in her tight ass.

Behind her ball gag, she screamed, her cunt and asshole tighteningaround me and the toy as her orgasm hit. The way her ass choked my cock was enough to push me over the edge. Come shot from my tip with such force, it took my breath away as I filled up Willow’s ass. As I pulled out of her, come dribbled out of her ass, and as I yanked the dildo out, her juices spilled from her cunt.

I immediately lowered my face to her entrance, lapping up her sweetrelease, my cock twitching as a few more drops of come erupted from me and trickled onto the sheets. As soon as I let go of Willow’s hips, her body turned to jelly, and she collapsedon the bed. I reached forward and unclasped the ball gag, tugging it from her mouth and chuckling at the saliva that coated her chin.

But her eyes were closed, and for once, contentment settled on herface. Deciding that she could sleep for the rest of the night with my come in her ass, I laid down next to her and pulled her into my arms before giving her the smallest kiss on her head.

“Sleep, Mouse. No one will hurt you again. No one but me.”

The following morning, the doctor visited and confirmed Willow hadsprained her ankle and would need to rest it. For the next four days, I ordered her to stay in my bedroom with her foot elevated, and ice packs on it to help the swelling go down.

Edith brought her meals three times a day, along with books to keepher occupied, and journals for her to write in. Journals which I would sneak out of the room when she wasn’t looking, and spend hours reading her stories.

Every morning, I woke to her cuddled into me, and my cock as solidas steel.

I fucked her into oblivion, making her come at least twice beforespending the rest of the day craving to be inside her again. By nightfall, I was insatiable, desperate to crawl into bed next to her, where I fucked her into the early hours until we eventually fell asleep from exhaustion.

After two days of bed rest, Willow spent the next two days sitting bythe open balcony doors, either reading or writing in her journals. But there were a few times I went in to check on her, and found her looking wistfully out into the garden.

Usually, I wouldn’t have given a fuck whether Willow was happy ornot, but nearly a week after the forest incident, I found myself staring at blueprints to a building I needed access to in order to kill my latest target, but my mind was focused on Willow.

Something inside of me wanted to make her happy.

Making a snap decision, I marched through the house before I couldchange my mind. When I burst into the bedroom, she was once again sitting in the chair with the balcony doors open. She twisted in the chair, her worried eyes meeting mine as she held a book in her lap.

“Can you walk?”I asked, not moving from the doorway.

“I think so,”she replied, closing the book.

“Good. Come with me.”

Willow trailed behind me with a slight limp. I threw the occasionalglance over my shoulder, making sure she was keeping up. Each time, I caught the trepidation carved into her face.

I led her through the house, reassuring myself that I was making theright decision, that Willow wouldn’t be able to escape the grounds of my house. When we reached the double doors that led out to the garden, I came to a stop, glaring down at her.

“I promised you’d be rewarded if you behaved,”I said, her eyeswidening with hope as she looked from me to the garden. I snatched her jaw between my thumb and forefinger, making her give me her full attention.“I’m trusting you, Willow. If you dare try to escape or if you speak to any of my staff, I won’t just revoke your access to the garden, but I’ll lock you up in a cage and treat you like a fucking dog. Do you understand?”

She blinked, disbelief shining in her eyes.“You…you’re letting mego outside?”

“As long as you obey my rules. Yes. You can come and go from thehouse and the garden as you please.”I released her chin, my black heart stuttering as a beautiful smile pulled at her lips.

Fuck, I’d never seen her smile before.

She was breathtaking.

She took a step forward, pausing with her hand outstretched to thedoor handle.“I won’t run, James,”she said, her tone full of conviction.

When I bobbed my head in acknowledgment, she pressed thehandle down and opened the door, stepping out onto the veranda before pausing to close her eyes. Tilting her head up to the sky, she inhaled deeply, a look of serenity settling on her face.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again, finding mine withnothing but gratitude filling them.“Thank you,”she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes.

I swallowed the strange lump that had formed in my throat beforewalking away, knowing that if I stayed any longer, I’d do something fucking stupid.

Like telling her how much power she was beginning to have over me.