Page 38 of Savage Captor (Deadly Devotion #1)

Grey

“ I t’s time,” Cain says. We’re back in the gym, meeting for our usual morning workout. It’s been nearly a month since I took Scarlett to my room, and we’re just weeks out from mutiny.

“Time for what?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

“Time to start training your chosen in earnest. Max told me she’s better, and her thigh is healing well. She can walk almost normally. Her pneumonia is gone. It’s time for you to do what you told Boyce you’d do—”

“I am not turning her into a doll,” I snap.

Do I want to fuck Scarlett? Very much so.

Do I want to force her into something? Not particularly, but I’ll coax her compliance if I have to.

Do I want to do what Boyce ordered? Absolutely not.

She’s the woman I’m claiming, not a toy I’ll use and abuse to get off.

“Nobody’s asking you to do that. But Boyce asked for an update yesterday, whether or not I’ve stood witness while you fucked her to make sure you do it.

I told him I did, even though I haven’t.

Even though you’ve been taking it easy on her, treating her like a fragile princess.

Enough is enough. And, since I had to lie for you, I’m going to hold up to my end of the deal.

Tonight, you’re fucking her, and I’m watching to make sure you don’t pussy out. ”

The leg machine clatters as I abruptly release it, weights bouncing off of each other.

I stare at Cain, ice and fire flashing through my system at the same time.

No . No, he can’t do this to me—to her. Getting Scarlett to agree to sex is going to be hard enough on its own, and she’ll never agree if someone else has to watch.

She’s only just beginning to grow comfortable with me and fall into a routine.

When I try to hold her at night, she still fights me until her thigh aches, and I eventually give up because I promised I wouldn’t hurt her.

This will hurt her.

This will hurt her badly .

“I’ll do it, but I’m not doing it with you there,” I snap. “You’ll have to take my goddamn word on that.”

“No,” Cain says. “You’ve been stingy with your duties. If you push me, I’ll demand to be there for the rest of her training, as well. I’m giving you an easy out right now, Greyson. One time, I watch. Then, you can do whatever the hell you want, as long as you make her fall in line. Got it?”

“Why?” I snap. “You know I’ll do it. You know I’m good for my word. I told you I’d be taking it easy the first month—and I did just that. I told you I’d do what needs to be done—”

“You care about her, that’s why,” Cain hisses.

“You like her. While that’s good for the long term, it means you’ll falter with the hard parts because you’ll worry about her precious feelings.

I’m not letting that shit fly. Prove to me you can be harsh with her, and I’ll back off.

Or don’t, and maybe I’ll decide to take over—”

“Fine.” I can’t give him room to decide to oversee Scarlett’s training himself. Anything is better than that. Cain is a sadist, through and through—as he’s proven repeatedly. “Fine. Can you just… wait outside? ”

“No, but I can avert my eyes once I see you’ve got your cock in her, if that’ll make you feel better,” he deadpans.

It won’t make either of us feel better. I knew I was gonna claim Scarlett’s pussy this week, and I planned to ease her into it. I expected a fight and argument, but I believed I could get her to resign and accept. Like this, though? With Cain there?

“You need to buckle up and show me you’re cut out for this,” Cain says.

“Treat her like a princess all you want, once you’ve trained her.

Once I’ve put her through trials to assure her loyalty.

Now isn’t the time, Grey. You need to give her structure, rules, and consequences.

Being soft with her won’t do you any favors in the long run. ”

I grind my teeth together. Cain’s an absolute prick for insisting that he stand witness, but he’s not wrong that I need to be stricter.

Scarlett certainly doesn’t walk all over me, but thus far, the harshest consequence I’ve given her when she gets too bold is taking away her clothes.

If she fights me too hard on something, there are times when I’ll give it up, and that’s not good for either of us.

She’s had her time to heal, but she needs to understand who’s in charge. Once I’m sure she gets it, I’ll give her the entire damn world—but not until then.

“How I handle my woman is up to me,” I say harshly.

“It is,” Cain agrees. “But I’m just going to make sure you’re handling her in the first place.”

As always, when things get to be too much, I turn to Max. He’s on his way out of my apartment, done with the daily PT he does, while I’m on my way in. I stop him in the hallway with a hand on his shoulder .

“What’s up?” he asks. “Everything go alright with Cain?”

“Besides the fact that he’s insisting on watching when I fuck Scarlett tonight, things are just goddamn dandy,” I sigh.

Max’s brows furrow. “Fuck. Yeah, that’s… well. That’s shit.”

“Have time for a drink?” I ask.

“I thought you quit the bottle,” Max replies.

“I cut back significantly, but I didn’t quit anything.” If ever there was a time to have some of the hard stuff so I could take the edge off, now would be the time.

“Grey, if you’re planning on having sex with her tonight, getting drunk is not a good start. That’s going to change shit. It’s going to reverse some of the progress you made with her, and you’ll need to have plans in place.”

“So help me make them over a glass of water or something,” I demand. “I… I need help.”

I want Scarlett without a doubt. I do not, however, want to hurt her or break her.

And, as much as it makes me a soppy bastard, I don’t want to disrupt the fragile peace we’ve built in the last few weeks.

We both knew this day was coming. I was very clear with her that there would be sexual expectations of her.

But now that I’m faced with the reality…

Max takes pity on me and lets me follow him into his apartment. It’s tidy to a fault, as always. Since I’m too restless to sit on the couch, we stand over the kitchen counter. He pops two bottles of rootbeer , of all things.

“What are your concerns?” Max asks.

“That she’ll hate me forever. That there’s no coming back from this. ”

“Doesn’t Scarlett already hate you?” Max asks. “Not to be a dick, but… you tortured her pretty badly. She’s still limping around because—”

“I know,” I cut him off. I don’t like to think about that, let alone hear about it. “She doesn’t like me, but her hatred has softened. She doesn’t glare at me or watch me like a threat every minute of every day. She lets me touch her.” Sometimes, and only with great trepidation, but still.

“You’re approaching this from the wrong angle,” Max says.

“Tonight will probably readjust her views of you, yes. It might backpedal some of the progress you’ve made, yes.

But it gives you room to set up a different structure for her.

You’re Scarlett’s owner, Grey. She belongs to you.

You belong to her, too, but that’s not the focal point right now; her submission is.

It’s time to man up and create a genuine training schedule for her.

Teach her to do what you like. Reward her when she does well, punish her when she doesn’t.

You’re trying to be nice right now, but really, you’re being inconsistent and probably confusing her. Stop with the inconsistency.”

“You’re telling me to be her Master,” I say.

“Yes,” Max responds. “Master/Slave dynamic would probably be the easiest way to approach the training. You don’t have to be cruel, but you do have to be strict.

Stop letting her get away with shit unless you’ll always be okay with letting her get away with it.

Cut the nice guy act. We all know you’re not nice. Be who you are.”

“Who I am is an unloveable prick.”

“And she’s a Sharpe. The two of you were made for each other.”