Page 101 of Servitude to Serpents

Tears burst in her doe eyes, her chin wobbling as she nods. My men quickly disperse as I get to my feet, straightening the cuffs of my suit before helping her into the car. I don’t breathe until I slip into the other side, pulling her onto my lap.

Chapter thirty-nine

To own to is to… Salvage

Close by Nick Jonas

Chloe

I’m not okay, not by a long shot, but I feel like something in this estate, surrounded by its rolling hills and stained glass, might fix me. We weren’t in the jet heading back here for a few minutes before I told him about what Mistress cooed in her buzzed state. He sat quietly for only a moment, but that explosion of rage never came. He only nodded, assuring me it didn’t matter. None of it had, but I could see the turbulent waters that lingered underneath the air of calm. I opened my mouth to press before his lips slammed against mine, taking my breath. We stayed like that for the rest of the ride, barely coming up for air.

I gasp as he hauls me into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist, tugging at every slash on my flesh, but I don’t mind. I could never mind. Because I’m here. I’mhome.My core grinds against his as he climbs the stairs, and I want to tell him to stop, to beg him to let me take it all in, but his eyes catch mine, and again, I’m in technicolor.

Seen.

Perhaps for the very first time.

Chloe, but also Pup.

A woman and my master’s dog.

He doesn’t break that magnetic tension until my back meets the wall of his bathroom. I don’t miss the messy, untouched state of his room, but he doesn’t give me a moment to take it in. Whatever damage he caused himself after he sent me away needles at my heart, making my breath thin. My stomach and mind swirl, because it does that easily these days. Everything is pounding until it’s not, until my master drags me back to Earth with him. That desperate, hungry look in his eyes drowns everything else out the way only he can, making the world quiet and deafening all at the same time.

He’s reverent as he lifts the dress he gave me on the plane over my head, the one from Bloom shredded on the floor. I watch him count every mark, every slash, the way he did on the plane. The look, the shame in his eyes…the fire burning there, it makes me wonder how I ever thought him indifferent.

“Master…”

He shakes his head, swallowing hard, his eyes mapping every inch of my flesh. “I am…endlessly sorry, Chloe. This house… It was a shell without you to fill it.Iwas a shell. It nearly killed me, and I did it to myself. I will spend every waking moment begging—"

“Shhh,” I whisper, cupping his stubbled face in my hands. “I’m home now.”

His jaw clenches, and I can see the emotion he’s battling. “Chloe…”

I shake my head, giving him a little smile before I lean forward, letting my lips dance over his. “I don’t want to be Chloe right now; I’d rather be Pup. Your Pup.”

Hazel eyes darken as they look up, finding mine. “I will never know what I did to deserve you.”

I laugh, and the sound feels…wrongin my throat, but I know it won’t forever. One day, I’ll laugh, and I won’t feel like I’m betraying the pain festering below my sternum. “I’m not sure you do, not yet.”

He smiles back, and I swear, my heart stops cold in my chest. It’s…devastatingandmine.

“You could start by making me come, though…” I offer.

And if I thought what came before was devastating, his smirk is…so fucking much more. “Anything for you, my precious pet.”

Imelt.

I’m a puddle, malleable puddy in his arms, but that’s okay, because my master knows just what to do with me.

Again, I’m disturbed by how quickly that need to please, that trust in him, comes to me, but like before, I don’t question it. All I want is to be adored, not because I have something to offer, but simply because I’m me. How could I ever not bask in it when it’s so readily given by the terrifying, dangerous man in front of me? I watch his restraint crumble, and suddenly, he’s everywhere…everything. All at once, I’m panting, my body coming alive in ways it hasn’t for anyone but him as his mouth finds my nipple, lapping at the taut mound, testing and rolling his tongue in a way that makes light burst behind my eyes. I grind my soaked core into his hardened length, feeling alive because he thought me worthy of breathing it into me. My master feasts on my nipples, my fingers knotting in auburn hair as my core tightens, needing so badly to be stretched by him again.

“I—” My words cut off in a moan, his hands bruising as he holds me up, rubbing my clit hard over his pants.

“The way I’ve missed those sounds.”

I whimper, canting forward as my orgasm rips through me. He doesn’t let up, grinding me into him with measured strokes until my legs shake. My skin is flushed, my breasts reddened and swollen as he sits me down, leaving me to lean against the wall for support. The cool tile does nothing to quell the heat inside me. I watch him through lidded eyes, a demon in his domain as he turns on the shower, but instead of tugging me into it…he kneels. His fingers and lips run the gentlest path over abused, torn flesh, marks that will turn to more scars, reminders I’ll never be without again. He does it as if he’s taking penance, and when he kisses the first slash, I’m not ready for the wealth of emotion that assaults me. It's heady, and I’m drunk on it, tears pouring down my cheeks as he moves on to the next,licking and kissing the angry, gashed skin.

“Warrick…”

---