I kneel there, the tobacco ground beneath me, my hands bound and my mouth gagged, but I’m not defeated. Not entirely. My body hums with something raw, something defiant, and I decide to lean into it. I arch my back, pushing my ass up into the air, the ridiculous maid uniform barely covering me. I feel exposed, vulnerable, and it’s terrifying—but there’s a thrill in it too. A power. I can feel Gary’s eyes on me, and I know I’ve got him.

I start to clean, my movements slow and deliberate, the dustpan awkward in my tied hands. I can barely focus on the task, my mind racing, my pulse pounding in my ears. I’m halfway done when I hear it—a low, guttural sound from behind me. I freeze, my breath catching.

Then he’s on me.

Gary drops to his knees beside me, his massive hands grabbing my hips and flipping me onto my back. My skirt bunches up around my waist, and I’m exposed to him completely. His red eyes burn into mine, and for a second, I think he’s going to say something, to mock me, to scold me. But he doesn’t. He buries his face between my legs, and I gasp, the sound muffled by the gag.

His tongue is firm, insistent, and I arch off the floor, my bound hands clutching at nothing. He licks me with a kind of hunger I’ve never felt before, his mouth hot and wet against me. He sucks on my lips, pulling them into his mouth until they pop free, and I moan, the sound vibrating against the fabric inmy mouth. His tongue plunges inside me, and I writhe, my hips jerking uncontrollably.

He shifts his attention to my clit, teasing it with the tip of his tongue, tracing slow, deliberate circles that have me gasping, my body trembling. I’m on the edge, teetering, and I can’t hold back. I nod furiously, my eyes pleading, even though he can’t see them.

“Do you want to cum?” he growls, his voice muffled against my skin.

I nod again, desperate. He doesn’t make me wait. He sucks my clit into his mouth, and I shatter. My body convulses, my back arching off the floor as I scream into the gag. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt—waves of pleasure cresting and breaking over me, leaving me gasping, trembling.

When I finally come down, I’m drenched, and Gary is staring down at me, his eyes wide, almost…awed. He shakes his head, his fingers brushing my cheek gently.

“How?” he whispers, his voice rough. “How do you have so much power over me?”

I want to laugh, to tell him he’s insane. I’m the one tied up, gagged, completely at his mercy. But I don’t. I can’t. My body still thrums with the aftershocks, and I know there’s more to this—more tous—than I understand.

Gary scoops me up effortlessly, cradling me against his chest as he carries me toward the stairs. I should protest, should fight him, but I don’t. I know we’ve crossed a line, but looking up at his face, at the way he’s looking atme, I don’t want to go back. Not yet.

The stairs creak under his weight, and I close my eyes, letting myself sink into the warmth of his arms.

CHAPTER 10

REILY

Ilay on Gary’s bed, my chest heaving, my wrists still bound behind me with those damn apron strings. The lace digs into my skin, but the discomfort is a distant echo compared to the heat pooling between my legs. Gary looms over me, his eyes dark, his jaw clenched. I can see the storm brewing in him—anger, desire, something deeper I can’t quite name.

“I’m still angry with you,” he growls, his voice low and rough, like gravel under a heavy boot. “This changes nothing. You still have much to atone for, and I am going to relish punishing you.”

Don’t threaten me with a good time,I think, biting back a smirk. My body’s already humming, my skin tingling where he touched me earlier. I want to snap something sarcastic, but the gag muffles my words, leaving me with nothing but a muffled grunt.

Gary doesn’t waste time. He pounces, his weight pinning me to the bed, and his lips crash against my neck. His teeth scrape my skin, sharp enough to make me gasp, but his tongue soothes the sting, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. My back arches involuntarily, pressing my chest against his. His hands are everywhere—groping, kneading, possessive. He grabs mybreasts, his thumbs brushing over my nipples, and I let out a strangled moan into the gag.

“You’re mine,” he mutters against my skin, his breath hot. “Every inch of you.”

I can’t argue, even if I wanted to. His mouth moves to my breast, his teeth grazing the sensitive peak before he sucks hard, and I nearly come undone right there. My hips buck against him, desperate for more, and he chuckles darkly, the sound vibrating through me.

“Patience,” he rasps, pinching my other nipple between his fingers, tugging just hard enough to make me whimper. “You’ll take what I give you when I give it to you.”

I don’t know if it’s the roughness in his voice or the way his hands dominate my body, but I’m trembling, every nerve on fire. He shifts, his weight pressing me deeper into the mattress, and then I feel him—thick, hot, and insistent. He slides inside me in one smooth motion, and I scream into the gag, my body convulsing around him.

“That’s right,” he growls, his hand wrapping around my throat, not tight enough to cut off my air but enough to remind me who’s in control. “You’re mine. Take my cock and learn to love it.”

I think I already do,I think, my mind fracturing under the intensity. His shape is different, unexpected, but it’s good—so good. There’s a ridge along his length that presses against me just right with every thrust, sending shockwaves of pleasure through my body. I’m panting, sweating, my hips moving in time with his, chasing that edge.

Gary doesn’t let up. He fucks me with a raw, primal intensity that leaves me breathless. My orgasm builds, coiling tighter and tighter, until it finally breaks, and I shatter beneath him. My body clenches around him, waves of pleasure crashing over me, and I lose myself in it, my mind blank except for the feel of him.

When I finally come back to myself, I’m still trembling, my breath ragged. I open my eyes, blinking up at him—and freeze.

It’s not Gary anymore.

The man above me is gone, replaced by the same scaled monster I saw earlier. His eyes are still red, burning with the same intensity, but his face is different—sharp, angular, covered in dark red scales. His teeth are bared in a snarl, and for a second, I think I’m dreaming, hallucinating from the intensity of what just happened.

My eyes widen as I take him in—his face, his scales, the sharp ridges of his jaw. For a second, I’m not sure if I’m dreaming or if this is real. His eyes, those same burning red eyes, flicker with something I’ve never seen in him before—fear. He’s frozen, his body stiffening above me, and then he starts to pull away, his cock sliding out just enough to make me whimper into the gag.