Page 17 of The Mob Boss' Pet

“Let him get some sleep, Stephania. It’s time to go.” I get up from the chair and open the door. She won’t be making any attempt to run for the door this time. I’ve seen that it won’t be possible.

She drops her shoulders.

“I’ll try to let you sleep through the next dose,” she promises Roberto before leaving his bedside.

Roberto gives me a hard stare.Go easy with her, he’s trying to tell me. But I don’t do easy, and she’s earned this.

Once we’re outside and the doors closed, I pick up the collar and leash I left on the hallway table.

“Do you really need that?” she asks, eyeing the leather collar. She didn’t fight with me when I put it on to take her out of the crate. But it was probably because she’d do anything to be let out.

I lift my hands to her throat. She draws up her hair and turns around.

“You do, yes,” I answer her while slipping it around her neck and buckling it behind her. The leash isn’t short, but it doesn’t give her much slack to get too far from me either. I snap it into place. “If you’d rather, I could have you walk appropriately back to my room.”

Her eyes light up. Poor girl, she’s misunderstanding me.

“A pet crawls while on her leash,” I finish explaining.

“I’ll walk,” she says quietly. I don’t mistake her meekness at this moment as a victory. She’s not broken. Her will is still strong and she will fight me again. She’s smart and is biding her time.

Which is fine with me. You can’t rush training.

“Good choice,” I say with a smile, wrapping the extra lead around my fist and walking her down the hall, back to my room.

Once we’re back inside, I lock the door and unravel the leash.

“We need to talk, Stephania,” I say, unhooking the leash but leaving the collar in place. “It’s best if you understand what’s expected of you. That way you can try to be a good girl and not break the rules. And if you do disobey, you won’t have anyone to blame but yourself when you feel the burn of my belt across your ass.”

She takes a small step back from me.

“There’s nowhere for you to hide in here, and I have one of my men positioned at the front door. If you do somehow get away from me, and they catch you, they’ll be allowed to watch your punishment.” It’s partially an empty threat. I don’t like the idea of anyone’s eyes on her naked flesh, but she can’t know that.

“I said I would help your brother. And I am. He needs seven days of the medicine to be sure the infection heals and stays gone, then I won’t be needed anymore.” She pauses. “I’m not even needed now.”

I stare at her. Her hair is wild around her face. What little makeup she’d worn that morning is gone; mascara has smudged around her eyes. It’s been a long day for her.

“I’m not concerned about Roberto. I’m sure you have his injury cared for. What I’m concerned about is how you’ll behave while you’re taking care of him. You’ve already shown me you can’t be trusted to walk about on your own, so I’ll be walking you to and from his room.”

“This is ridiculous!” she cries out, fresh tears building in her eyes. “I don’t need to be here. If you would just be reasonable and let me go—”

“That’s not going to happen, Stephania. Not until I say so, and if you ask again, if you mention it again, you’ll be punished.” I trail a finger along the collar. “After you’ve received your punishment for trying to run away, I’m sure you’ll think twice before disobeying me again.”

She pinches her lips together while staring at me. I’m sure she wants to scream at me, to demand I let her leave. But she’s too smart to defy me this close to getting her punishment. She doesn’t even know what it is, but she’s figured out it’s not going to be pleasant.

“The rules are simple, my pet. I make them, you follow them. If I say you can do something, then you’re free to do it. If I say no, then you’d better not.”

“And how do I know what I can and can’t do?” she asks with a little more snark than I think she intended, but she can’t hold back who she really is.

It’s charming.

“You’ll know because you’ll ask. But I will give you a short list of what you can’t do.” I hold up my fingers and tick off the five nots. “No using the furniture in this room without permission. No trying to leave this room. No getting dressed in anything other than what I give you. No denying me anything at any time.” I pause to take a step closer to her. “And no touching yourself, no matter how wet and hungry your pussy gets.”

Her mouth drops open, like she can’t believe I would say something so crass. But it’s not her mouth I’m interested in, at the moment. Her pupils dilate.

I had a feeling, and she’s proving me right.

“It’s time for your punishment. Then you can get some sleep. If you have to be up in six hours to administer the next dose, we should get started.” I grab my belt and work the buckle open. She stares at my hands, her cheeks reddening as I yank on the end, pulling it from my pants.

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