Page 14 of The Taker

“Yes I can—I already did. What did you think would happen?” my wicked laughter booms around my study, startling him. “That I’d let you put your little white chef’s outfit on and go back to your mundane life? You’d take Lucy to dance lessons on Thursdays, Julia to her favorite taco truck to bribe her to spend time with you, and have happy family dinners on Sundays?”

His entire body stiffens as the fight leaves his eyes completely. He didn’t expect me to know everything about them.Gotcha.

I round the desk and stand closer to him, crowding his space until his back is against the wall so he’s forced to look up at me. Without space between us, I can feel his fear pouring off him in waves. It’s heavenly to have him strung up, right where I want him.

I cage him in with my forearms, trapping him like a rabbit caught in a snare—helpless, totally at my mercy. His light blue eyes are so beautiful when they’re wet with tears and wide with fear. I want to slide inside him, mark him from the inside so everyone knows he’s mine.

“You’re a monster. You’ve been watching me… following our every move.” His face pales, most likely because he’s envisioning the worst case scenario. “You can’t hurt them. I don’t care what you do to me, but you can’t hurt my sisters. They’re all I have…”

“I would never hurt a child, contrary to what you may think of me, ” I muse aloud. “But if you had accepted the job I gave you, they’d have a nicer place to live, a private school education, a better quality of life… But you turned it down. Seems you’re the one hurting your sisters. The streets aren’t a great place to raise your siblings, Leo.”

I see the moment he breaks. He stops crying, and the fire in his eyes extinguishes. Running his hand through his hair, he twists the longer top section in his grasp. He takes a deep breath, and utters the words I’ve been waiting to hear since he walked out of our lunch date.

“I’ll take the job,” he sighs in resignation.

But that’s not enough for me. I want to see him begging on his knees for me. Everything–from the roof over his head to the air he breathes—is mine to give or take away, his dignity included.

“Unfortunately, the job is closed.”

“What?”he breathes in disbelief. His face pinches, his brows drawing together as he twines his fingers together. Nervous energy radiates off him in waves.

“The. Job. Is. Closed.” I enunciate each word so he can understand me.

“Please,” he begs. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get another job in a kitchen without my degree. I need this job.”

“You won’t be able to. I already had you blacklisted from every major restaurant in the city.” I can’t help but laugh at his distress. It’s comical he thought he could in the first place. “Maybe I can be persuaded.”

“I’ll do anything,please.”

I meander to the far side of the room, rubbing my stubble in faux-thought as I pretend to think about what I want. When I sit in my leather arm chair, I motion for him to come over.

“Get on your knees and plead. Make mewantto give you a job.”

I point to a spot between my open legs. He drops to his knees a few feet in front of me and I catch a faint whiff of his cologne. It’s woodsy, yet sweet. As he peers up at me, I realize how innocent my little toy appears on the outside.

“Please give me the job,” he begs. He’s barely keeping himself together at this point.

“You seem so pure when you’re kneeling for me. It’s hard to believe you’re the dirty, needy whore who was about to let a stranger fuck him in a hallway…” I run my fingers through his curly hair before giving the longer strands on top a firm tug.

Instead of flinching, he lets out a light, breathy moan, leaning into it.Hmmm, my toy likes pain.Ideas of all the ways I can bend, bruise, and mark his body rush through my head. The depraved, ugly monster inside me rears its ugly head at the image of me tying him up and littering his body with red welts, making him moan so loud his voice goes hoarse.

I cup his face with my other hand, stroking his cheek with my thumb.

“Please,” he pleads. “I can’t let my sisters down. I’m all they have.”

“Kiss my ring,” I order him. It’s my favorite one, gleaming onyx set in yellow gold on my middle finger.

He hesitantly leans in, pressing his lips to it quickly before pulling away.

Peering up at me, he looks so hopeful, as if that was enough.

“Hmmm, you’re not doing a lot to convince me…”

A mischievous light gleams in his eyes as he turns his head, slipping my thumb between his plush lips. His tongue runs up the side as he sucks on it. My little toy is playing with fire, and he has no clue how bad the burn will be.

He lets it pop free of his mouth before whispering “I want it.Please.”

“Do you understand what taking this job means? You’re mine, Leo. My toy to use however and whenever I see fit. I’ll gut any man who touches you like a fucking fish, and make you watch them die this time.”

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