Page 150 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Alex narrowed his eyes. “I never said you killed her parents.”

“True, but you’re not an idiot. I’m sure you had figured it out already.”

“It was the only thing that made sense. The timing was rather suspect.”

Devin shrugged. “No one noticed at the time.”

“No one knew about her at the time.”

“Really? Well, that was fortunate for me. I thought someone kept tabs on them.”

“They’re supposed to, but something kept her hidden from the rest of us.”

Devin grinned. “I told you I’d been planning all this for a very long time, Alex. I don’t know why you’re bothering to fight me. You won’t win.”

Alex clenched his jaw. Devin’s arrogance was unbelievable. But Alex needed to keep his own plans to himself, otherwise he never would be able to defeat Devin.

The girl kneeled in front of him and washed his legs and cock.

Devin arched a brow and smiled at Alex. “Amber, why don’t you make sure his cock is clean? You too, Holly.”

Alex and the floor were clean. The girls eagerly grasped his cock and began sucking and licking him. He groaned. This was not what he wanted right now. But his body wasn’t listening to his mind and his cock stiffened. They were very good at what they did.

Alex gave in and enjoyed their touch. The faster they were done, the faster he could get back to dealing with Devin and make sure Anna was safe.

He moaned low as one girl sucked on his balls while the other sucked on the head and stroked him. He leaned his head back, not caring that the two men were probably watching. They could watch and envy if they were so inclined. He groaned as he felt his climax approaching and cursed in German as he came in one of their mouths. He allowed himself a moment of peace before lifting his head and smiling at the girls. “Thank you. I enjoyed that immensely.” He spoke in a gentle voice. They giggled and kissed him, and then scurried out of the room under Devin’s frown. He arched his brow at Devin. “Happy?”

“I’m glad you enjoyed that. Because what comes next won’t be as pleasant.” Devin grinned wickedly.

Alex rolled his eyes. “You’re going to torture me? Really?” Alex had been trained to withstand immense amounts of pain. He pushed the thought of the recent punishment to the side. He’d deserved that and had put aside his mental barriers to endure what the Elders had decreed. With this, he wouldn’t show Devin any weakness.

Devin held up a syringe full of a clear liquid. “Yes, Mr. Big Shot Assassin can handle pain. But perhaps not like this.” He walked up to Alex and shoved the needle into his neck.

Alex chuckled. Devin thought he could break him with an injection? A few minutes later, though, his eyes watered and he gasped as an entirely new type of pain erupted in his body. Even breathing hurt. Devin walked around him and the breeze that resulted from his movements felt like razors tearing at his skin. Devin’s finger running down Alex’s chest felt like a jagged knife.

“What the hell did you give me?” Alex asked, choking from the pain and gritting his teeth to keep from crying out.

“Something I’ve been working on. Basically, it amplifies your nerves by a thousand percent and registers everything you feel as pain. Even a breeze...” Devin blew air on his face and Alex flinched. “... feels like needles piercing your skin. Am I right?”

Alex squeezed his eyes shut and then snapped them open again. Even the act of squeezing his eyes shut felt like razor blades in his eyes. What would happen if he used a whip?

Devin seemed to have read his mind and walked across the room to retrieve a bullwhip, cracking it twice as he returned to Alex.

Alex bit back a whimper.

“Poor Duke Alex is afraid of a little whip?” Devin laughed and stepped back, drawing the end of the whip behind him. The leather sliced through the air with a crack and landed right in the center of Alex’s chest.

Alex couldn’t help it. He leaned his head back and screamed in pain. In his mind, he knew he could handle a whip, but this didn’t feel like a normal whip. He would have sworn Devin had lined it with a million tiny razors.

Crack!

He screamed again, straining against the chains, but that just dug invisible razors into his wrists and ankles. Boiling tears streamed down his face as he stared at Devin. What kind of man develops something like this?

Devin cracked the whip several more times against Alex’s chest. The pink welts he could see on his chest mocked the burning pain coursing through his body. How could such minor injuries feel like his skin was being peeled off? He closed his eyes, telling himself the cracking whip was barely hitting him. That he shouldn’t be screaming in agony. But the whip smacked his nipple and he arched his back and screamed the loudest yet.

Over and over, the whip hit his chest and legs. Devin circled around to his back and worked there, then back to the front. When Devin hit his cock, Alex thought he would die from the agony. He braced for another one, but Devin had stopped. Alex opened his eyes and watched as Devin frowned at his phone before shaking his head and tossing it on the table behind him.

“Anna’s calling. I’ll call her back later.”

---