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Chapter Nine

Alex

Tyler gave him two weeks to recover – more, Alex suspected, because he didn’t want his clients to see the ugly bruises on his body than from any great concern for his welfare.

Normal service resumed after that, with a succession of guests he blanked out.

He performed his duties mechanically, going through the motions.

At least none of them wanted to hurt him, and if they were disappointed by his listless performance, they didn’t say anything.

When he wasn’t working he spent a lot of time in his room, staring out of the window at the familiar vista below.

Sometimes, on a bright day, the dull grey waters of the lost zone cleared a little, revealing the swirling shadows of Old London.

The Rising itself had killed fewer people than might have been expected for such a cataclysmic event.

The venerable old city had disappeared slowly, over several months, and people had plenty of time to get out, leaving the city intact behind them to be swallowed whole by the waters.

The crisis caused by all those displaced people had been what almost caused humankind to go under.

Alex spent hours gazing down from his vantage point, trying to make out the lines of the old roads and buildings of that eerie underwater city that had once been a thriving metropolis .

A couple of weeks after he resumed work, Fatso opened his bedroom door and told him his presence was required.

“Now? But Lorenzo hasn’t given me an outfit to wear,” he said sullenly.

“Not in the living room. Upstairs. Tyler wants to see you.”

Alex felt a knot of tension forming in his stomach as he was escorted along the hallway and into the lift to the penthouse suite.

Tyler was sitting on his vast red leather sofa, sipping a glass of wine. He looked up and grinned. “Ah, there’s my sulky whore. I’ve had complaints from my clients. They say you haven’t been giving the most enthusiastic performances of late.”

“Forgive me for not enjoying being raped,” Alex retorted.

“Raped?” Tyler raised an eyebrow. “That’s a strong word. I thought you enjoyed sex, judging by how much you’ve whored yourself out over the years. Who knew you actually had standards?”

“You can force me to fuck people – you can’t force me to enjoy it,” Alex snapped.

“I don’t give a damn whether you enjoy it or not.

All I care about is that my guests think you enjoy it.

Right now, you’re on autopilot, and they don’t like it.

” Tyler gave an order, and the smartwall flared into life, bringing up a recording of one of Alex’s recent sessions; he recognised the occasion from the previous week.

Alex winced at the sight of his own naked arse taking up half the opposite wall.

He was staring into space, disinterestedly sucking on some bloke’s cock – he couldn’t even be bothered to remember the man’s name.

Ever since the incident with Harper, he’d found a way of distancing himself from what was happening to his body.

He’d switch off and pretend it was nothing to do with him.

“Now, I could threaten to hurt Solange again, but we need to find a more permanent solution,” Tyler said.

Alex felt a chill of foreboding. “Such as?”

“I need you to break, Alexander. I need you to break down to the point where you obey every single order I give you, without question. So that even if I send you the ugliest, meanest, sleaziest bastard in the world, you’ll get down on your knees and suck his cock like it’s the tastiest treat you’ve ever had. ”

Alex fought down the bile that rose in his throat.

Tyler fixed him with a stern glare. “I need you obedient and skilled at your work, not sulking and miserable. I need you to give people a good time, not bring them down with your sad-arsed face.” He gestured at the screen just as Alex was bringing his guest to climax, before drawing back listlessly and spitting into a towel.

“You should have thought of that before you gave me to Harper,” Alex retorted.

“Aw, diddums – are you still upset about that?” Tyler rolled his eyes. “Grow up, Alexander. I paid a huge amount for you, and I want my money’s worth.”

“Fuck you,” Alex snapped.

“Hmm.” Tyler surveyed him thoughtfully. “You know, the petulant princeling act gets old really fast. I think we need to work harder on breaking your spirit.” He stood up, and it took all Alex’s courage not to flinch as he walked over to him.

“It won’t be nice – for you, anyway.” Tyler grinned.

“But when it’s done, we shouldn’t have any more trouble with you. ”

“What are you going to do? Beat me? Rape me? No, wait – already happened. What else can you possibly do to me?”

“Oh, I’ve only just started. You’re a privileged brat with an attitude problem – I’m sure we can find more creative ways to break you.”

Tyler barked out another instruction at the smartwall, and the image on the screen instantly changed.

Alex was hit by a wave of nausea as he recognised the inside of the boardroom at Tyler’s HQ and saw himself running towards the door, trying to escape.

Surely Tyler wouldn’t make him relive that awful day again?

But that was exactly what Tyler intended.

Alex’s knees trembled as he watched Harper hold his neck and force him towards the table.

“You know, I generally prefer the charms of the fairer sex, but I found this pretty hot.” Tyler leered at him.

“Sit down beside me, so we can watch it together. Don’t be shy.

” He launched himself back down on the sofa and patted the empty seat next to him.

Alex remained rooted to the spot. Tyler sighed, and Fatso came over and shoved Alex onto the sofa, where Tyler wanted him.

Onscreen, Harper forced his boxer shorts down his legs .

“Do you know which bit is my favourite?” Tyler asked.

“I really don’t give a shit, you sick bastard.”

“We’ll watch it all the way through, and I’ll tell you when we get there.

” Leaning back, he put his arm around Alex, holding him as if they were a couple watching a movie together during a quiet night in.

“You look good like this.” He nodded at the screen.

Harper was pressing his hand into the small of Alex’s back to hold him in place.

“It’s a good thing I thought to order popcorn. ”

He clicked his fingers, and Fatso picked up a tub from a nearby table and handed it to him. Tyler put it on his lap, took a handful, and squeezed Alex’s shoulder with his other hand. “Help yourself, Alexander. Just relax and enjoy.”

He threw the popcorn into his mouth and chuckled as Harper drew back his belt and slammed it down on Alex’s buttocks.

Alex winced at the loud, cracking sound.

In an instant, he was there, back in that room, over that table, being beaten.

Watching it on screen, he realised now how long it had lasted – no wonder he’d been in so much pain afterwards.

Harper was hammering him with the belt while he screamed and desperately tried to squirm away, but Harper had him tied and held him firmly in place.

He swallowed hard, tasting the bitterness rising again to the back of his throat.

“Now we’re coming to my favourite part,” Tyler said, pointing.

Alex saw himself look up and stare directly at them, his eyes full of pain.

Tyler paused the image and then studied it.

“You, looking straight at the camera, knowing I’m watching you suffer…

I love the expression in your eyes: so much rage, helplessness, and anguish.

And then this…” He started the image again.

Now, Alex’s expression had changed to one of resignation, and he slowly put his head back down on the table.

“I like this bit, because it’s where you finally accept your punishment.

You know you’re a shitty little arsehole who deserves it.

That’s why I wanted you to watch this – so you can see yourself as I see you. So you can see what you’ve become.”

Harper finished beating him and asked him if it hurt. Then he unzipped his trousers. Alex closed his eyes, but Tyler wasn’t having that – he pinched his neck hard until he opened them again to see Harper thrusting into him with grunts of pleasure.

“Hmm, now I’m turned on.” Tyler put the bowl of popcorn to one side, took hold of Alex’s hand, and pressed it into his crotch. He was semi-hard.

Alex pulled his hand away in disgust.

“And that, right there, is the problem,” Tyler told him. “Now, I’m giving you a choice. I want you to get on your knees in front of me, right now, and give me the best blow job of your life.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll do something that’ll hurt far more than a few slaps with a belt and a hard arse-fucking.

” Tyler jerked his head at the screen. “See, the way I view it, the day you willingly suck my cock, or get on your hands and knees and hold your arse cheeks open and implore me to fuck you, is the day I’ve tamed you.

I might have bought you, but you’re not really mine until I can shag you every which way ’til Sunday, only for you to crawl to me and beg for more.

That’s what I want, and I’ll wear you down until that’s what I get.

So… what’s it going to be?” He gestured to his crotch again.

“Are you going to suck me off, smile and enjoy it, and let me come down your throat and thank me for the honour after? Or am I going to have to slowly grind you down until you do? I don’t mind, either way. Like I said, it’ll be fun.”

“I will never, ever willingly fuck you,” Alex told him defiantly, ignoring the knot of fear in his belly. “I’ll never beg for it. You can beat me all you like, but I won’t do it.”

“Beatings are one way of controlling people, of course,” Tyler said airily. “But there are others. Okay – you’re on.” He held out his hand. “You and me, a fight to the finish. May the best man win.”

Alex ignored him.