Page 45 of Servitude to Serpents

To own is to… Attend

Warrick

Pup’s ass is hugged sinfully by the insulated athletic leggings I picked out for her, my hands death-gripping the handlebars of my bike as we walk out of the garage. Two months I’ve had her, and where my attentions typically last a week at best, I still can’t get enough. I want to drink her down, spend every waking moment figuring out all the little things she does and why she does them. I want to know her every thought, and then I want to consume them. I want to punish her if every single one isn’t about me.

She swallows hard, glancing behind at me as I straddle my bike, waiting for her to do the same. We’ll take the shorter gravel path; it goes around my lake versus the one I typically take that spans the entire front half of the property. Her blonde hair is braided down her back, sticking out from underneath the helmet I made her wear. I smirk as she bends down, fussing over the knee pads she has on.

“I-I don’t want to wear these, Sir. They’re uncomfortable.”

I roll my eyes, engaging my kickstand before walking over to her. Her pale pinklips part as I wind her braid around my fist, steering her attention back to me. “I take all matters of your safety seriously, Pup. Enough complaining.” I tighten my grip, making her suck in a sharp breath. “I’ve got a meeting today.”

She meets my eyes, pursing her lips.

Fucking brat.

And I love it.

She doesn’t even try to be one.

Her complaints and whining make my fucking cock throb because it’s all done so innocently.

Fucking hell, you’re an idiot. Warrick.

She’s apet.

No different from the ones I left behind for Andres and his wife. Well, theonewho lived. I debated on telling Pup I got rid of the other women, but it wouldn’t serve me well to feed into her jealousy, no matter how big of a thrill I get out of it.

I release her head with a tiny shove. “Come on. If you’re a good girl, maybe I’ll reward you once you get to the lake.”

I watch her as she steels herself, determination shining in her pretty, wide eyes. To be honest, I’d paid no attention to her bad eye at first. It simply didn’t matter to me one way or another, but the more I see it, the more I adore—

Adore?

Not even remotely.

I’m distracted again by her ass, so much so that I almost don’t notice the awkward way she mounts the bike, staring down at the pedals like they’re about to relinquish their secrets. My smile widens as she places one foot on the pedal, testing it with enough of a push to make the bike creep forward a little, her other foot still firmly planted in the gravel. Mounting my own bike, I bite down on my inner cheek, fighting to keep a neutral expression. It seems my little pet is being dishonest again.

I sigh, curious to know how far she’ll take it. “Ready, Pup?”

“Yes, Sir.” She looks over her shoulder, giving me a smile that wipes mine frommy face. My chest constricts like a boa around my heart. It’s an ungodly feeling, an irrational one. I push off, riding past and ahead of her. She kicks off too, so I keep going waiting for—

Slipping gravel and a yelp followed by a hiss make me apply my hand break a little too hard, a little too quick. My bike skids as I turn to check on her. She’s fucking stunning, sprawled out in the gravel. I resist the urge to go to her as she gets up, pretty tears budding in her eyes. It’s a wonder she has any left at all. “Master….”

“Yes, pet?”

She stares down at the bike. The defeated look on her face makes my chest squeeze again, forcing air through my lungs as I turn and ride the short distance back to her. “I don’t know how to do it.”

I kick my stand down, the lightly chilled morning breeze making my breath a puff of smoke as I near her. She’s tiny compared to me, and she looks even more so in moments like this, moments when she’s lost to thoughts I’m not included in, ones when her sadness doesn’t end in tears but detached silence. For someone who smiles so much, she’s remarkably broken. It’s those smiles I think bother me the most. What fucking reason does she have to smile in a place like this? I’ve heard it all: begging, screaming, sobs, and even the silence that follows it all, when whatever human parts inside that makethemfinally snap. They’d smile because they were meant to, but it was a tool just as much as their bodies were. Pup smiles because she wants to. She smiles because somehow, she found a reason to.

I’m desperate to know what it is.

“I’m sorry for lying.” Her voice cracks as I stand in front of her, still holding onto my bike despite the kickstand being down. I hold it because if I let go right now, I’ll holdher,and that’s the last thing I want to do.

“You really don’t know how to ride a bike?”

She shakes her head, still not meeting my eyes, and fuck, if it doesn’t irritate the hell out of me. “I wasn’t allowed.” She flexes her gloved hands, and I can see all thirty-two scars on the left and all twenty-eight on the right. I can see their layout, the patterns they make on her pale flesh, and the wounds they stand for,the invisible ones.

Fuck me.

---