Page 48 of Joined By Magic

He smiled coldly, then dropped his hands. I drew in desperate breaths as he watched me, as if considering what to do with me next. “I can make a living doll of you if I choose. A puppet.”

He sounded more excited than angry. A thread of victory mingled with my fear. My performance had worked. I’d distracted him from questioning me any further about what happened in the pub. Now I just had to get through whatever he was planning.

He landed a sharp smack on my cheek, stinging my cheekbone. “Open up.”

I opened my mouth. More magic coiled from his fingers, the warmth of it caressed my face, and I gasped as I found my jaw stuck wide, as secure as when a dentist ratcheted it open. A shudder ran through me, muted by the constricting bonds. I’d always hated the dentist.

“That’s better, isn’t it?”

My head moved in a jerky nod, propelled by the magic he’d wrapped me in. He stood and froze me again, face angled upward. I stared up at him with wide eyes. Amusement curled his lip.

No part of me could move. The air rasped against the back of my throat, and saliva began to pool at the base of my mouth. Before long, I’d be dribbling.

As if he’d sensed my thoughts, he pulled my bottom lip down and ran his thumb over my tongue. The tangy salt of his skin zinged against my tastebuds as he leaned down. “You’ll be a messy little slut soon. I know how much you hate that.”

Before I could register what he was doing, he spat into my open mouth.

I tried to recoil but couldn’t. Shock, and a weird sort of disgust, careened through my immobilized body. Why? We kissed, it wasn’t any different. But it felt different. Calculated to demean, as if I were a worthless object. The shame he so rarely managed to make me feel heated my cheeks.

“Didn’t like that?” He rubbed his thumb up my cheek, smearing saliva. “This might be more to your taste.”

He slid his trousers down his hips and his cock sprung free, long and solid. He pressed it against my bottom lip, and my tongue flicked out to taste him, almost of its own accord. His fingers tangled in my hair. “Always my filthy girl, aren’t you? Even when you earn yourself a punishment.”

He pushed deep into me, right to the back of my throat. I gagged, unable to move or breathe. Panic set in at my total vulnerability. Just as my lungs started to burn, he withdrew. He allowed me a single gasping breath before driving in again.

He set a cruel rhythm. A few deep, slow thrusts, a ragged breath, then back to work. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry. My throat burned from the punishment, and an ache took root in my jaw. My eyes streamed. Saliva poured from the sides of my mouth as I gagged, and I couldn’t do anything to control it.

I’d never felt more like a thing. Used, unable to participate in any way. I let my eyes drift closed and tried to relax, to give myself over to his total control. My thoughts drifted until a hard slap stung my cheek. My eyelids snapped open.

“No you don’t. Eyes on me, Talia. You’re going to feel every second of this.”

His voice was rough, filled with excited malice. I looked at him through a watery veil as he sped up his assault. The wet noises coming from my raw throat mocked me as I choked on his pounding cock. An eternity later, his body tensed, his grip tightened, and he lodged himself deep inside me. His release shot to the back of my throat, and I spasmed around him, desperate for air.

He pulled out, leaving me free to breathe but not swallow. My throat worked and my body twitched, an instinctual reaction, but I couldn’t do anything about the salty liquid filling my mouth. I blinked away the last of my tears and met the prince’s satisfied gaze.

“You can stay like this for a while. I hope I’ve made my point. You only have the freedom I allow you, girl. Abuse it, and I take it away.”

He disappeared and left me alone.

My knees, back, and jaw ached horribly, and liquid spilled from the sides of my mouth in disgusting rivulets. I couldn’t stop it. My nose ran, and I couldn’t stop that either. I couldn’t do anything at all but wait for him to free me.

Girl.

I hated when he called me that, a reminder that I was, in truth, just a Collection girl. Someone he could discard if he tired of me. He knew that. He knew I hated to be messy as well and used it to full advantage. My thoughts fell into a dark pattern as I waited for him to take pity on me. The constraints of life as a prized possession lay heavier on me every day. I wanted to go to the damn pub if I saw fit. To play rough bedroom games with the prince because they excited both of us, not as a method to put me in my place.

What if Katrin’s offer was genuine? Could I really escape and bring Pia with me? Would I want to?

Right then, yes. I fucking would. No more bending over backward to please a man who cared about me but didn’t respect me. Who’d never see me as anything close to his equal. The freedom of life in Alaria called to me like a shining beacon in a dark forest. True freedom. To do whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like it. I could hardly imagine it, and that needled me too. How conditioned I’d become to servitude.

After an indeterminate, miserable stretch of time, the prince reappeared. He looked me over, then freed my body all at once. The surprise had me swallowing by reflex and launching into a coughing fit. I doubled over as my knees and back screamed in pain at the sudden movement. He crouched beside me and patted my back until I got myself under control, then helped me to my feet. Silence lay between us, awkward. I was stiff and wary. I didn’t want the comfort he offered.

He took my arm and led me to the shower. We undressed together and climbed into the scalding stream of water. As I scrubbed the mess from my face and my bones heated, I felt a little better. The prince squeezed some of the tangy soap I favored onto his hands and rubbed it into my back.

Was this his way of trying to ease the sting of what he’d done? Of how brutally he’d used me? I didn’t push him away—I didn’t dare—but I couldn’t relax into his touch either. So what if he realized I was angry? Screw him.

Dry, I threw myself into bed with a sigh. This day, and everything about it, could go and fuck itself. I needed it to be over. The prince fastened my restraints, and I held myself back from tugging against them. They’d be immovable, of course. They always were. Tonight they felt more restrictive than usual. I wanted to claw at the collar and pull it off. To sleep free again.

His hand came around my stomach, and I stiffened. He didn’t relax either. His body stayed tense until he spoke. “Don’t risk exposing us again. I know you enjoy the lifestyle here and think the people are your friends, but any one of them would betray us to my father in an instant if they discovered us. They’re commoners. Poor. The reward would be too much of a temptation.”

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