Page 65 of Sin & Sapphire

He was semi-hard. I slipped his length between my lips, my tongue stroking his velvet skin and the not unpleasant salty taste of him, sliding against the metal of his piercing.

“Relax” he instructed. When I moved my hand to fist him, he gently entwined our fingers together and moved my hand to his thigh. “Sit there, sweet girl, with my cock in your mouth and breathe through your nose.”

My mind reeled as I shuffled, trying to find a comfortable position to suck on him like a pacifier. Eventually, I settled on leaning on his calve, my cheek pressed against his thigh, lolling to the side.

Angelo gently stroked my hair, his long fingers scratching my scalp, lulling me into complacency as he worked on his phone, and Valentin cooked dinner.

“Ça y est,” Valentin called from the dining area, and I shook myself awake. Dinner was ready. I’d dozed off, kneeling between his legs, with his hand on my head and his cock in my mouth. To my shock, I felt more at peace than I had since?—

Grief lurched through me. I felt more at peace than I had since before I finished graduate school, before Nico Lombardi shot my father, before Angelo sent me off to Europe and kicked this whole disaster off. I missed Luca and the easy comfort I found in his arms, but I’d never felt safer than on my knees before Angelo.

“Angel?” Angelo asked. He tangled his fingers in my hair and tilted my head upward. “You okay?”

I didn’t know what to do with a man like Angelo, a terrifying, violent man, who shed the blood of his enemies with pride, so in tune with my moods after only a few days together. He might hurt me, but I couldn’t shake my confidence that he would never do meharm.

I pulled my head back and let his cock fall from my mouth. “I’m fine.” Shit. “I’m fine,sir,” I corrected myself.

“I’m so proud of you, angel, you’re doing so well tonight,” he crooned, as if I had any choice in this. “Crawl to me at the table.”

Moments later, I knelt between the two men, trying to find my equanimity again. They fed me delicious wine-soaked meat that exploded on my tongue, buttery vegetables, and bread that filled my belly, talking of nothing of consequence.

Finally, the meal ended, and Valentin shoved back from the table. He pinched my chin and lifted until I stood beside him, looking down at his handsome face.

“Princess, why are you behaving so well?”

Words escaped me. How had he known? Had I given myself away? Did he know I thought all of this was bullshit and was still contemplating escape?

He smiled, and for once, his expression wasn’t laced with cruelty. “You have my permission to ask for whatever it is that’s so important to you that you submitted to Angelo, willingly, tonight.”

Angelo reached around me and settled an arm around my waist, his fingers tracing soft circles on my bare hip. “What do you need, angel?”

“Can I please—May I please—” I stopped, terrified to express myself, worried they’d punish me.

“Ask,” Valentin snapped, his amusement vanishing. “And stop wasting our time.”

“May I please have a stack of books to read while I’m locked up during the day?” The words spilled from me in a rush. “Sir!Maître!” I gasped when I realized I’d forgotten their titles.

Valentin’s sharp laugh startled me out of my fear. “Books? You’re asking for books? Yes, princess. We’ll get you a stack of books.” He stood, inching me backward so he could maneuver around me, then returned a few minutes later with a few well-worn novels in French.

I clutched them to my chest.Books. The idea of spending the following day locked in my room, alone, with only the sandwiches they left me for company, still made me sick to my stomach. But at least I wouldn’t be climbing the walls with boredom.

“Thank you,maître,” I whispered, furious that hot tears of gratitude pressed behind my eyes. My captors, who refused to clothe me, who locked me in a fucking room all day long, who indulged their kinks with me whether I liked it or not, didn’t deserve gratitude for the bare minimum of decency.

Valentin tugged at my wrist, pulling me away from the table. “Leave the books there,” he commanded. I set them down and followed him over to the couch. Was that all it took? Submission, and they’d give me what I asked for?

“Kneel,” he commanded, and I immediately dropped to my knees, lowering my eyes and placing my hands behind my back, careful not to let them see the thoughts turning in my head.

“Such a good fucking girl,” he said. “And all it took was a few days of boredom.”

My eyes snapped to his, furious, only to catch amusement in his gaze. He wanted me to act out so he could punish me, so he could hurt me. He’d hurt me anyway. And I’d love it, a quiet voice whispered in the back of my mind, before I shushed it.

Angelo wanted my submission, and I would give it to him, right up to the moment I escaped from this trap.

I lowered my gaze, saying nothing.

“Angelo,” Valentin purred, the sound hot and low. “Do you think our toy deserves a reward for being so sweet tonight?”

Angelo’s soft laughter echoed from the kitchen, where he washed the dishes from our meal. “Is she truly submitting, or is she pretending so that we’ll be lulled into complacency?”

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