Page 41 of Ruthless Bonds

I tried to maintain my pose, but every muscle screamed to turn and face him. His casual tone as he spoke sent chills up my spine. It was like he was talking about the weather, and not murder.

“Weakness was a sin, as was vulnerability. His solution was to beat me until I was molded into his perfect monster. He gave me my first kill at fifteen, then I was shipped off to the States a few years after.”

The room was completely silent, his words hanging in the air. There was an uncomfortable feeling in my chest that made its way down to the pit of my stomach. “I’m sorry, Kreos.”

Steely blue eyes locked onto mine. His voice waslow and intense when he spoke. “Don’t waste your pity on me. We’re all forged in fire. We don’t have to let the past define us.” He stood, wiped his hands on a towel and grabbed a bottle of water.

“My father wanted me to be a mindless beast, bound to him because of our blood. But I’m not what he thought he created. I’m something else. I’m a monster with a purpose. With a code of honor. I’m the devil that keeps the demons away. So I don’t need your sad eyes,kotic. I just want your absolute submission.”

He unscrewed the cap from the bottle, never taking his eyes off me. “Open.” It was a command, not a request, and I tilted my head back, opening my mouth for him. The cold water trickled across my tongue and down my throat. He chugged the rest of the bottle and went back to his seat.

“You can turn your head forward now and drop your arm.”

Thank God, because the sun was like a laser beam in my eyes.

The tension in the room seemed to dissipate as we settled into a comfortable silence. I didn’t know how long I sat in the same position without moving, but it felt like hours. I was turned toward him now, able to watch as he painted. Well, not his face—that was hidden behind the canvas—but the rest of him was on full display.

Muscular thighs were spread, little drops of paint on his pants. I bet that suit had cost over ten thousand dollars. It was ruined now. He’d probably just throw it away. One strong hand lay between his thighs as he painted with the other.

I remembered those hands. What they’d felt likeon my body. The masterful way they’d made me moan out his name. He’d played my body like an instrument. A master at his craft.

Suddenly it seemed like a thousand degrees. I exhaled slowly, trying to focus on anything else except the beautiful beast in front of me.

“Stop squirming or you’ll make me ruin my painting.”

His voice caught me by surprise, and I glanced up from his open thighs to see him watching me intently.

“I wasn’t squirming.” I hated how soft my voice came out. It sounded needy, even to my own ears.

“No?” He quirked his eyebrow and came toward me. “Do you need something from me,kotic?”

I bit my bottom lip and shook my head no. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” A smirk played at the corners of his mouth, as if he knew that I was one hundred percent lying. “So, if I spread that pretty little cunt open right now, I wouldn’t find you glistening with need?”

It was like an explosion detonated inside of me at his words. My mouth fell open, a breathless moan escaping my traitorous mouth. “Don’t,” I whispered.

“As you wish.” He turned back to his painting. “Get dressed. We’re finished for today.”

It was like being doused with a bucket of ice water. The coldness in his voice immediately brought me back to reality. It was my own fault for putting myself in that position.

Never.

Again.

I dressed quickly and grabbed my bag to leave.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” He stoodwith his arms crossed against his chest.

“What?” I snapped, not in the mood for his little games any more.

“Your money.” He pulled out a thick envelope and handed it to me.

Obviously, it was way more than the four hundred dollars I was owed. “What is all this?” He was so confusing. I’d thought he owned me because I’d stolen from him. So why would he give me so much money?

“For your time today.”

“I don’t need this. I don’t want it. I just want what I was promised.”

---