Page 41 of Servitude to Serpents

“It’s your fault for not coming when I called.”

I’d been so lost in my own head, I hadn’t even heard him.

My cheeks flush despite him making no attempt to speak further or hold me. I’m happy to just sit in his lap as we drive. Soon, my anxiety lessens, and I let myself sink back into him, inch by inch, until my back is melded to his chest, my eyes heavy as the buildings fly past.

Chapter seventeen

To own is to… Have

My gait is sluggish at best as I follow him up the stairs of the house. We’ve only been gone for a night, but the jet rides and party have exhaustion battering my bones. Stuart still hasn’t shown back up with the other women, so for now, I’m content to pretend they don’t exist. When we reach our shared landing, Master turns toward me, making me halt. Suddenly, I’m wide awake. My hands clench so tightly, my nails prick my palms as I drop into my position, hissing when my knees hit the hardwood. Henrietta, one of Master’s primary housemaids, bounds up the stairs. “Sir, would you like a meal prepared before we retire for the night?”

“No, just a stiff bourbon, please,” he states, not looking away from me. I’m again baffled by his alcohol tolerance, considering he’s been drinking since the meeting…when it was dark out the last time. We’d arrived very late, and the day was well underway when we left.

I stare at the scars on my hands, keeping quiet even though I’m still hungry. I slept through the meal offered on the plane.

“Of course, Sir.”

After she leaves, the silence drags on. He’s still as a stone, but he might as well be pacing the landing, gnawing at the banister. His quiet, commanding presence bears down on me, forcing a spew of words from my mouth. “I-I’m very sorry for my behavior tonight. I was not trained in how tonotfeel arousal at Bloom. Quite the opposite. I’ll work hard, and I won’t look at others again. You’re all I need. I-I want to learn to please you better, to behave the way Stuart says I should. I should never have made you feel jealous—”

Her light footsteps on the stairs quiet me as she hits the landing, handing Master his drink. “I’m off to bed then. Goodnight, Sir.”

“I’d considered denying it, you know,” Master murmurs, his hazel eyes boring into mine as he takes a long drink.

“Sir?” she asks before she quickly realizes he is talking to me. Her eyes take me in for maybe one of the first times since I arrived before dipping her head and fleeing.

“Denying what?” I whisper.

He crouches in front of me, his legs spread wide as he balances on the balls of his feet, the drink she brought dangling in the air between us. My breath hitches as he leans in, pressing his lips against my cheek. “How jealous that made me. How badly I wanted to hurt you for wanting her. I wanted to hurt her too, for many things tonight, but notably for brushing your hair. You’remineto comfort, mine to adore.”

The butterflies are back, my heart pounding so hard in my chest, I’m worried he’ll hear it. When he stands, my eyes follow as he takes another long drink before chuckling to himself. The first time he’d done it weeks ago, it was a bizarre sound, one I didn’t think he’d be capable of making. I’d worried he was choking. It’s an easy sound to love, and I swear, my chest warms. His Adam's apple bobs as he takes another long drink. I can’t help but smile. It seems the alcohol is finally catching up to my master. He looks down at me, tilting his head to the side. The deadly handsome smirk on his severe lips makes him even more heart wrenching. “Naivedog. So desperate, so hungry for love and affection. You trulybelieved that, didn’t you?”

Just like that, the pounding in my chest doubles, but it no longer feels like I’m flying. There's no anxious excitement, and the butterflies slowly stop fluttering their wings. His affection is a weapon, and he wields it with lethal efficiency.

“Go wash yourself and present in my office in ten minutes. Understand?”

“Y-yes, Master,” I whisper, willing my tears to stay in place. Something as simple as washing myself feels like salt in the newly inflicted wound.

“Oh, and dog?”

I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Yes, Master?”

“You never answered my question.”

My bottom lip quivers alongside my heart resting somewhere among my kidneys.

He sighs, taking another drink. “You believed me, didn’t you?”

Please stop.

“Answer me, or I’ll wring it out of you. I’m not in the right mindset to do that safely tonight.”

“Yes, I believed you.” I can’t even begin to keep the fracturing from my voice.

“Do you still?”

Tears well in my eyes, my hand finding the emblem on my collar. “Yes, Sir.”

“Tsk. She was right about one thing. You weren’t made for this world.”

---