Page 25 of Owning Nicci

“I want to hearyes, sir,” I growl, my gaze locked onto hers, and to my surprise, she doesn’t shrink. She doesn’t tremble. She matches my gaze, and I watch her tongue flick out, licking a drop of blood off of the edge of her lip as the corners curve up into a small, pleased smile.

“Yes, sir,” she murmurs sweetly, and I grit my teeth, the urge to rip the dress off of her and remind her who she belongs to surging up in my chest, pressing behind my ribs.

Instead, I let her go, striding briskly toward the back door with the expectation that she’ll follow.

9

SAVIO

“Make sure you’re thoroughly cleaned up,” I tell Nicci the moment we’re back in the penthouse, leading her up to her room. “Scrub until there are no flecks of blood left. I’ll be back up here in thirty minutes to check.”

She nods, reaching for the zipper of her dress without question. Her movements are rote, routine, as if she’s gotten used to this, and for a reason I can’t begin to pin down, that bothers me a little. She steps out of the bloodied silk, wadding it in one hand as she hands it to me, and slips the earrings out of her ears before handing them over, too.

“Can I go shower now,sir?” she asks, almost too sweetly, and my jaw tenses. I can’t stop thinking about how she looked on Lucas’ lap, about the sound of her moan, how she arched her back before leaning in to kiss him. How he touched what was mine.

I want to throw her onto the bed and touch every place that his hands slid over before she trapped them. I want to hear her moan again, this time for me. Desire crashes inside of me like a wave, unrelenting and fierce, and I have to battle it back.

She needs to clean up. She needs to shower, to wash away any trace of what just happened. We need to stick to the plan.

I clear my throat, taking a step back. “Yes. I’ll be back in half an hour.”

That half an hour feels like an eternity. I go and clean up, too, trying not to think about Nicci naked in the shower, water and soap gliding over the angles of her body, her blonde hair dark with it, clinging to her scalp and skin. My hands itch with the need to touch her, and I grit my teeth, ignoring my swollen cock as I scrub myself clean and get out, toweling off before changing into a pair of chinos and a t-shirt. It’s the most dressed-down I’ve ever allowed Nicci to see me, and I question the wisdom of it before shaking my head and walking back out into the hall.

She has too much power over me. She controls my thoughts too easily, brings my emotions up to a boiling point that I thought I’d cooled off years ago. I don’t know why she has this effect on me—trapping her was meant to makeherthe vulnerable one. But instead, I feel lashed open after seeing Lucas touch her, raw and needy.

I stride to her room, unlocking the door and stepping inside. Nicci is sitting at the desk, her hair damp against her shoulders, a deep, rich gold when it’s wet. She’s naked, of course, her skin still flushed pink from the heat of the water, and I let my gaze slide over her, every inch of silky skin and angled bone.

She’s mine. My trophy, my prize, my pet. I look at her, and her blue eyes meet mine, cool and calm. There’s none of the bright, feral satisfaction that was there earlier.

“Go lie on the bed,” I tell her, and my cock jerks, twitching against my fly with anticipation.

No. Not tonight.I need to control my lust, just as I need to harness my jealousy and my rage. I need to remind myself thatIrule my body, and I need to remind Nicci that I rule hers. And I know exactly how I’ll accomplish that.

She rises from the chair with that same fluid grace as earlier, gliding towards the bed. Without a word, she lies back on it, her wet hair clinging to the pillow as she rests her hands on the covers, her thighs pressed close together. I follow her, straddling her legs as I join her on the bed, looking down at her.

“Raise your hands over your head,” I instruct. She hesitates for only a second before obeying, her gaze flicking down to the thick line of my cock before she does as I ask. I reach for the locked nightstand drawer, unlocking it and taking out a pair of leather handcuffs, before quickly binding her wrists to the headboard. “You can struggle if you want now,principessa. But you won’t be going anywhere.”

“CanI struggle?” She raises an eyebrow. “Or would that be proof that I’m notsubmittingwell enough? Would that end our deal?”

She looks at me like I’m a devil she’s bargaining with, like every word has to be carefully looked at, examined, to make sure that I won’t use it to slip out of our arrangement. I chuckle, not touching her yet, just looking at her.

“You’re right,principessa. A good submissive would lie still and take whatever I have planned for her. But you’re not really a good submissive, are you, pet? You’re pretending, to get what you want. You’d fight back if you could. It’s only that you’re getting your reward, so you play along.”

“That was the deal,” Nicci murmurs, her mouth tense. “Or am I wrong?”

“You’re not.” I let my gaze slide over her, taking in every inch of her upper body. Her sharp collarbones, her small breasts topped with tight, pink nipples that remind me of rosebuds, her creamy flesh tight and stretched over muscle and bone, slender and delicate. “That was the deal we made.”

Silence stretches out between us for a moment. I hear her soft, indrawn breaths, quicker than before—with either fear oranticipation. I feel sure that I know which one it is, and I find myself wishing that it was anticipation, instead.

“You did well tonight,” I murmur. “You followed my instructions exactly. You did just as we’d planned.”

Nicci’s eyebrow rises again. “Did you think I’d go off-script?” Her voice sounds tight, slightly breathless.

“I wondered.” I trail the lines of her body again with my eyes. “I wondered if you’d try something.”

“Then I wouldn’t get what I want.” Her eyes meet mine, and I feel a throb ripple through my entire body, a near-painful awareness of how easily I could take pleasure from her. How I could sink myself into her and ease the ache pulsing through my body. How I could give in and give myself what I feel like I need.

Which is exactly why I’m not doing that.

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