Page 44 of Owning Nicci

And what is that, exactly? Do you even know any longer?

“I want your submission,pet,” I growl, sliding my hand along my oversensitive length before cracking the flogger over her ass again. Her skin gleams in the light, and she lets out a soft, sobbing moan.

“Iamsubmitting,” she breathes. “What else can I do?”

“You’re going through the motions.”Crack. I bring the leather down again, stepping forward as I fist my aching cock, rubbing myself against her slick skin. “I want more. I want?—”

Nicci lets out a breathy noise that’s almost a sob. “I’m doing what you want,” she gasps, as I angle myself between her thighs, rubbing along her slick folds before I step back, lashing her again as I stroke myself. “You bought me. You demanded I obey you. I’m keeping my part of the deal.” Her shoulders sag as the flogger strikes her again. She lets out a pained whimper that ends on a moan—a sure sign that her pain and pleasure have blurred.

I groan with frustration, dropping the flogger as I step forward, thrusting between her thighs. She’s right. She’s giving me all she can, and it’s not enough.Why isn’t it enough?

The feeling of her wrapped around me, even after two orgasms, is fucking heaven. I thrust into her, savoring the sensation of her skin against mine, slick and sticky with my cum, the scent of her skin, the heat of her body, the sound of her moans. But even as I feel her tighten around me, her body give in to the pleasure I’ve been teasing her with for hours, it all seems hollow, just like before.

None of this is real. If I opened the door to her cage, she’d fly away. All I’ve done is clip her wings and lock her up, to ensure that she can’t. With every day that passes, it makes me feel more and more like a monster.

Just like my brother.

16

NICCI

Iwake up in the morning sore and aching, my skin still stinging and welted from last night despite the cream that I rubbed into every spot that I could reach. Savio punished me for hours, then fucked me twice, finally letting me come at the end. I feel wrung out, exhausted, and unsure of how to feel.

I don’t have the same roiling emotions about it that I had the night he fucked me in the car. That night was raw, unbridled need, and I hated myself for how much I wanted it. Last night felt clinical, planned, and strangely, it felt as if Savio’s heart wasn’t in it. Like he was going through the motions, demanding what he thought he was supposed to want instead of what heactuallywanted from me. Like he was playing a part.

The man who held a gun to my head while he kissed me, the man who fucked me in the backseat of his car like he was moments away from breathing his last and needed me to be the last thing on earth he felt… That, I think, was the real Savio. The core of him, the part that he tries to keep hidden away. But I saw it—for a moment—and something in me responded to it in a way that I never have with anyone else.

It’s best for us both, though, if that never happens again. Not like that. Last night was better. It felt transactional, almost—even my orgasm.

I hear the sound of the door unlocking, and sit up. Savio comes in with my breakfast tray, and I barely pay attention until I see the movement of someone out in the hall. A masculine figure wearing dark fatigues walks past the door, and my heart leaps into my throat.

Instinctively, I jump up, huddling closer to the wall as I try to cover myself. Savio looks confused for a moment, then shuts the door quickly, setting down the tray of food.

“I hired security,” he explains. “It took a few days to arrange, or they would have been here sooner.”

“Security?” The word comes out weakly, and I feel a shiver of fear run down my spine at the thought of strange men in the house while I’m locked in this room—naked and vulnerable. Just the thought makes my hands feel shaky, and my eyes start to burn at the corners. Savio frowns.

“They’re here for your protection,principessa,” he says calmly. “I can’t be here all of the time, and if Gallo attacks again, he’ll send more men next time. I told you I’d keep you safe.” His frown deepens as my teeth sink into my lip, and I twist my fingers together to try to stop my hands from shaking so badly. “What’s the problem, Nicci?”

It’s his use of my actual name—I think—coupled with the fact that he asked the question at all, that gives me the courage to actually speak up. “I don’t like it,” I whisper. “Not like this.” My knuckles whiten as I twist my fingers tighter together, wondering how Savio will react to me resisting something he’s decided on.

“You don’t want protection from another attack?” His eyes narrow. “Or are you just hoping that Gallo will take me out next time and free you from all this?” He takes a step closer,his expression dangerously sharp. “You wouldn’t like belonging to him any more than you like belonging to me,principessa. I promise you that.”

“No.” I shake my head quickly, and I find that I actually mean it. There are plenty of moments when I want Savio dead, when I still fantasize about how this will all end with his blood and my freedom—but I want it to be me who does it, if so. I don’t want someone else to kill him and take me away. I don’t want to trade one set of chains for another. “It’s just—those are strange men.” My chest tightens at the thought of explaining myself to Savio, making myself more vulnerable than I already am, but it’s the only chance I have of getting him to listen. “After all those nights at the Gilded Lily, the things those men did…having strange men in the house while I’m up here naked and defenseless feels… bad.” My throat tightens, the last word coming out choked, and Savio’s expression suddenly, unexpectedly softens.

“Having them here is a necessity right now,principessa,” he says, and his voice is gentler than I expected. It gives me another jolt of courage.

“Let me have clothes, then.” I give him a pleading look. “I’ve been as good as I know how to be. Let me go shopping and get things to wear. I’ll feel more comfortable then. Please.”

Savio hesitates, his gaze sweeping over me, and I wish I could read him better. I see him thinking, warring with something in his mind, and I wish I knew what it was. My stomach clenches, and when I hear footsteps on the stairs, I have to bite my lip to keep from pleading again. Knowing they’re out there while I’m in here like this feels terrifying.

“I’ll think about it,” Savio says finally. “We’re leaving for the range in just a little while. You’ll have clothes then.” He turns and then pauses halfway to the door. “You belong to me, pet. No one will hurt you. They’d answer to me if they did.”

His answer feels final, and my stomach drops. I have to fight back tears as the door closes and locks behind him, viscerally aware of my nudity in a way that I haven’t been in days. I’d almost gotten used to it, but with this change, I feel like I did the first day I was here—vulnerable, exposed, and utterly alone.

I know I need to eat before our training session, but I can’t do more than just pick at the food. I force down what I can, but most of it is still left when Savio comes back with clothing for me.

He gives the tray—and then me—a disapproving look, and I don’t dare broach the subject of clothes again. Instead, I take what he hands me and get ready to leave.

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