Page 69 of Sinfully His

“Are you okay, angel?” I asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

Her eyes shifted to me, and she nodded. “Just tired.”

She was probably exhausted. I forced her to feel so much, broke her under the sting of my belt and the power of my cock. She needed to rest, but first I needed to see to her. If I didn’t, in the morning she would be too sore, her head would throb and she wouldn’t know what to trust, what to think.

I needed her to see what had happened here as a good thing, a life-altering experience that would bring us closer together.

“Come, get up. We have one more thing to do, and then you may sleep.”

“Please,” she said, her face pressed into the pillow. “I’m so tired, I just want to?—”

“You promised to be good,” I reminded her.

It looked like tears were about to fall down her cheeks when she nodded and sat up, wincing as she put weight on her no doubt sore backside.

Rose went to stand and instead I picked her up, cradling her against my chest as I took her to the bathroom. Gently, I sat her down at the edge of the tub as I filled it with warm water. With the tub filling and a bath bomb full of soothing ointments dropped in, I tended to her.

First, by having her stand in front of the mirror so I could better examine the welts I had left on her with the belt. It was about gaining control, not losing it. I knew I hadn’t broken the skin, but I needed to be sure.

She would be bruised, probably sore for the next few days, but that just meant she would remember her lesson every single time she sat down.

When the tub finished filling, I pulled her back into my arms and stepped into the tub. I sat with my back to the warm porcelain and positioned her on my lap but lying against my chest. Her front to my front, to give the oils a chance to sink into her tender flesh.

We were quiet. I was lost in thought about what had happened and what I had allowed myself to feel the last few weeks, while the warm water soothed her, and her body against mine soothed me. I thought she had fallen asleep.

“Why?” she asked.

“You know why. Because you were a bad girl. Bad girls are punished.”

“No, why me? Out of all the women in the congregation, all the daughters of wealthy families, why did you single me out?”

I thought about that for a moment, considering my options. I could tell her a lie, something about her beauty catching my attention or the way she dressed. She always looked so softly feminine, it made my fingers ache to slip into her hair or pull the soft layers of her clothes back.

Technically, those weren’t lies. I felt those things. I knew she was looking for validation. She wanted to know that I didn’t choose her at random, that I was falling for her and she was falling for me. She wanted to know if there was a happily ever after for us.

There wasn’t, and I couldn’t let her know the depth of my feelings.

I couldn’t give her that power. She already had far too much control over the situation, even if she didn’t know how to use it. Rose didn’t realize how much she didn’t want the truth, but that was what I was going to give her. Maybe it would force her to realize how helpless she was in the situation, or maybe it would help her harden her heart, so when my plan was complete, she would survive.

“Your mother,” I answered honestly.

“What?” She tried to sit up to look at me, but I held her shoulders down, not letting her move.

“Your mother is the reason I was sent to become a priest. She stole my life from me, so I’m taking hers. You, little Astrid angel, are nothing more than a means to an end. Once I finish destroying your mother’s reputation, stripping her of the power she holds over people, I’m going to make sure that the world knows not a single one of her children is free of scandal.”

My thumb caressed the wet skin of her shoulder as I held her firm.

“Harrison will always be the bastard who proves your mother is a whore, and who then married his secretary. Amelia and Luc may be happily married now, but people still whisper about howshe cheated on Marksen with him, how she is just as much of a whore as her mother. You, little angel, will be the final nail in that coffin, as the slut who seduced a priest. When I am done, no one will ever associate with your mother again. She will not survive this last blow.”

“I won’t do it. I won’t be a pawn in your little game,” she said as she tried to sit up.

“You don’t have a choice, little angel,” I laughed. “You already admitted it. I own you. Body and soul, you are mine, and you will be obedient.”

She struggled harder, water splashing all over the tile floor. I didn’t let her go. I tangled my hand in her hair, gripping at the nape and holding her still until she calmed down.

“I hate you,” she seethed, her green eyes alight with fire.

“No, you don’t,” I said, intentionally twisting the knife a little deeper. “I know enough about human nature to know how you really feel. There are dozens of paintings downstairs that tell me you don’t hate me at all. I believe you want to hate me. Deep down, you wish you could hate me, but you can’t. Because deep in your heart, you know the truth. You love me.”

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