Page 26 of Sweet Torture (Torture Games #1)

TWENTY-ONE

CHAOS

B lood drains from her face, and her body doubles over as if I have delivered a debilitating blow.

“Naz, untie me.”

She sags down from the couch, and the thud of her knees on the floor echoes into the studio. Her hand is on her heaving chest as if reminding herself to breathe.

“Naz, get up and untie me right now, or I swear, I will tear this fucking thing apart.” My voice is booming, and it seems to work because she pushes herself up and unties one cuff before I take over.

With wobbly legs, she makes her way to the huge bed in the room, crawls to the top, and curls up with a pillow before staring out into the void.

As soon as I am free, I rush to her and carefully lie beside her. I try to touch her, but she pulls away with a sobbing wince .

I try to lighten the mood by flicking the cock cage and adding, “This would be my first piece of jewelry. I really don’t like it.”

I am engulfed in silence.

I don’t know what to do. I have never wanted to comfort someone, and I am certainly not good with emotions and shit. Since that night, I vowed never to feel anything again.

The best thing to do is to find the key, get this thing off me, and leave.

But I want to stay. I want to comfort her, especially since I feel like this is all my fault.

With a heavy sigh, I rise and round the bed on her side to sit next to her.

Her face is blank, and she hardly recognizes that I have invaded her space. I push the unruly hair away from her face with gentle fingers.

“Love, tell me what is wrong. I can fix it. I promise.” I try to get her talking.

She snorts but still says nothing.

I am just relieved that she is listening. I continue without pause. “You say that now, but I am a very powerful man. And there are few men who would dare to cross me. You have never been as safe as when you are with me.”

She looks up, and quiet tears run down her cheeks.

I wipe them away with my thumb, and then I find myself doing something strange.

I lick the tears off my thumb. It is as if I can’t bear the thought of her tears being wasted.

I yearn to absorb the pain and take it away from her.

This strange feeling that consumes me forces me to ask, “Please tell me something, anything. I need to fix this.”

She shakes her head vehemently, “This is not for you to fix. You are not the one who broke me. Besides, I doubt there is anything left to fix. I am too damaged.”

There is that word again. Damaged.

That is what he said as well. I swear if I find that fucker again, I will make him beg her for mercy. Mercy that he will never receive.

I say the only other thing I can think of to say, “Do you want me to take care of you?”

She charges upright and slaps me. Hard across the face. “Sex can’t solve everything. In fact, that is what made me so fucked up in the first place.”

Stunned, I sit and rub my stinging cheek before I can comprehend enough to reply.

“I didn’t mean I want to give you an orgasm right now. I want to take care of you like you always do with me. What do you call it, aftercare, I think?”

She looks down at her wriggling fingers, clearly remorseful, and when she looks back at me, her eyes are filled with even more tears. “I am sorry, I should have known you weren’t like that.”

She tries to touch my burning cheek, and I wave her hand off. “This isn’t about me, but I need some help. Do you feel up to it?”

The slight pull of the corner of her mouth is enough for me.

I stand up and kneel by the side of the bed, hands on my thighs.

“What are you doing?”

“I am putting my jewels on display. What do you think I am doing?” She giggles, and I get serious.

“Tell me how to take care of you, Queen.”

She shuffles to the side of the bed to get up and kneels next to me. Her touch is featherlight on my arm. “This is not how it is supposed to work. I need to take care of you. And give you pleasure.”

I cup her face and wipe away the last remnants of tears. “I need to do this for you. I want to make you happy.”

“But it isn’t your responsibility.”

“But I want it to be.” Like a lightning strike, the truth in my words illuminates the decayed dark corners of my decrepit heart.

I want to make this woman happy. I need to protect and care for her.

I want to be everything she needs and more.

I tuck this notion away for later. I need to focus on her.

I wait patiently for her to make up her mind, and I see some of her sparkle return when she decides.

“Go run us a bath, Chaos. We need lots of bubbles. ”

Dutifully, I rise and cross over to where I presume the bathroom is.

I plug the bath and open the hot water. Searching the room, I am pleasantly surprised when I find a cabinet full of goodies I could use.

The first bottle I open has an ungodly scent that resembles a forest. It’s the same thing my housekeeper uses to clean the toilet.

That one is definitely not the answer. The next bottle produces something floral, and I pour a generous amount of it through the steam rising to fill the whole room.

I might have overdone it because the bubbles become a mountain and fall over the edge. Grabbing the nearest towel, I dab at the mess, only to hear a delightful giggle behind me.

“Oh dear, I might have overestimated your abilities, Chaos, but at least you stay true to your name.”

After closing the water tap, she lowers herself down next to me and assists with another towel. After the foaming abomination has calmed down and the mess is somewhat sorted, I test the water.

“Fuck, that is hot.” I hold my burnt hand, expecting my skin to blister any second.

Calmly, she pulls me closer to the basin and douses my hand in cold water.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

I grab her shoulders and wince when my burnt fingers make contact with her skin. “Please, just teach me. I need to be able to do this. ”

She shrugs, looking away. “I get it. It would make you even more popular if you knew how to spoil your women.”

With my forefinger, I pull her chin back, “You’re my only woman.”

Nervously, she pulls away and busies herself with the wet towels. “I need to make it clear you will be getting no relief tonight.”

I nod and open the cold tap to lower the temperature of the water. When the temperature is tempered, she shimmies out of the last of her getup, and I help her into the tub. I turn to give her some privacy, but she grabs my hand.

“Join me, Chaos. The cage will be fine in the water.”

Quickly, I get behind her, my legs spread, and pull her closer to my chest. My heart is pounding. This is the first time in my life I have found myself in such an intimate situation. I am astonished at the ease with which I immerse myself in this.

I hear the faint thump of the cage on the tub bottom as I scoot to make it more comfortable for her.

“Sit still, Chaos, you are splashing water everywhere. I just cleaned the floor,” she jests.

I wrap my arm around her body, resting it on top of her tits. The best place to be.

“I thought you accepted this already, Queen. Life with me is always messy.”

I swear she purrs when I massage her tight shoulder with my free hand .

“That feels so good. Don’t stop.”

My lips touch her ear when I whisper, “For you, never.”

Both hands are being used to ease the tension in her shoulders, and I imagine her boobs floating on top of the water when I push her forward to massage even lower.

The groans she emits cause me physical pain when I am reminded of the restriction her little toy places on my eager erection.

When her muscles feel looser, I take the soap and lather up the parts of her body above the water, paying particular attention to her rack.

“Fuck, I love your breasts.”

She laughs, “I know. I have seen the drool in your mouth corners when I pull these puppies out.”

“Do you think we could instate a naked Friday rule? On the other hand, it might be better to make it a naked weekend rule. What do you think?” I push.

Her laughter fills the space, and my plan is working. She is a lot more relaxed, and our little incident is almost forgotten.

We chat about her work and how I distract her so much that she has barely painted anything since we met.

I tell her a little about the mess with Carter without giving too much away.

I certainly neglect to mention his crushed hand.

I don’t want her to think about my brutal side right now.

There is still time to ease her into my world; if she chooses to stay out of it, I will respect that, too.

My main concern is keeping her safe. Until she trusts me enough to tell me the truth, I will have to find another way to keep her fears at bay.

I steer the conversation back to the stranger in the bathroom, but she still refuses to give me the name of the man. She assures me he will never be able to get close to her. I guess that must be enough for now, until I can do my own search.

And decide on the best possible way to wipe the fucker from the face of the earth.

When the water turns too cold, I help her out and dry her off gently, not missing a spot.

I then rub lotion I discovered on top of the cabinet all over her whole body.

I hunch down to caress her calves, and I even weave my fingers between her toes to make sure I get in everywhere.

The silkiness of her skin makes me ache to take her in my arms, but I need to remind myself that this is not the time.

I offer to find her some pajamas, but she declines, strolling to the bed to get in without a stitch of clothing.

“Come, spoon with me, Chaos. I need human touch to fall asleep tonight.”

Fuck, she is making it so difficult to stay the course when she is so seductive, and I already know the heaven that exists between her thick thighs.

I cross over to the bed and open the covers to drape myself against her luscious ass before I allow her to place her head on my outstretched arm.