Page 22 of The Mob Boss' Pet

He collects my juices on the tip of his middle finger and brings it between us. We both look at the glistening moisture.

With a victorious grin, he licks his finger clean.

“Time for bed, pet,” he says and drops his hand.

I look to the massive bed in the middle of the room. There’s little to no chance he’ll let me go back to the other room. I reach for the buckle on the stiff collar around my neck, but he shakes his head.

“That stays, Stephania.” He pulls my hands down.

“It’s stiff.”

He huffs a laugh. “Problems we both have at the moment.” He walks over to the crate he’d put me in earlier and crooks his finger. “I’ll get you a pillow and blanket so you’re more comfortable tonight.”

“You don’t expect me to stay in a cage all night?”

“This kennel is yours until you’ve earned the privilege of sleeping in my bed.” He goes to a closet and brings back a thick purple comforter and a pillow.

“I’m taking care of your brother; that doesn’t earn me the right to a bed?” I ask, annoyance back in my voice. I can’t believe the day I’ve had, or the night I’ve endured.

“That earns you the privilege of not staying in the cells downstairs. You had your own room with a comfortable bed, but you decided against it.”

“You already punished me,” I pointed out.

“Yes.” He nods, looking unconvinced. “Stephania, my pets never sleep in my bed until they’ve earned it. And so far, you haven’t.” He holds out the blanket and pillow to me.

He’s kept women as pets here, making them sleep in cages and be at his beck and call. But I’m not one of those women.

“I don’t want to be your pet, Vincenzo. I want to go home,” I say, taking the blanket. I’m not holding out any hope he’ll let me go home, but it should be clear this isn’t what I want.

“Sometimes what we want and what we need aren’t the same thing,” he says then hooks a finger at the crate. “Bedtime.”

I lower myself to the floor and crawl inside. It takes some maneuvering, but I get the blanket and pillow set up, so I have something resembling a bed. The metal door closes, and the small padlock clicks in place. I’m not free to get out even with him in the room.

He crouches down next to the crate, level with my face, and slips his fingers through the bars. “I’ll wake you in a few hours and walk you down to Roberto’s room. Sleep while you can.” His fingertip grazes the length of my nose. “And don’t forget, no touching your pretty pussy. If you’re good tonight, maybe I’ll help you with your little problem tomorrow.”

I open my mouth, sure a reproach will form as soon as I take a breath, but nothing comes out. I’m lost in the darkness of his gaze, and the sweet promise of his lips.

“Good night, pet.” He removes his fingers and disappears into the attached bathroom.

Water runs as I get as comfortable in my bedding as I can. Tomorrow will be a better day. If Roberto’s fever is down and the wounds look good, I can teach Vincenzo how to do the infusions. Patients do them at home if they don’t need round the clock medical care in the hospital. I need to make him see that I’m not needed here. Maybe then, he’ll be more reasonable.

I slip my hand between my legs. The heat from my sex calls to me. I haven’t been this aroused in a long time. If I can just take the edge off, I could probably fall asleep.

But then I remember what he promised. If he finds out—and I have no doubt he will—I could end up hugging that post again. Maybe I can follow his directions, just this once and see what he does.

Just this one time.

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