Page 60 of Consequences
I go to open my mouth, to deny, to justify my actions, but he holds up a hand, silencing me. I force myself to stand quietly as he dissects me with his cold eyes while his lips twist into a bitter smile. I don’t have to wait long, as he opens the door to the playroom and gestures for me to enter.
With trepidation, I move into the room, only to stumble to a stop. “Fuck.”
Il Padrone chuckles behind me, pressing his hand between my shoulder blades. “Keep going in. Don’t you want to see the enjoyment you get to have? You made your choice, now you live with the consequences.”
I manage to make it further into the room, staring desperately at the sight in front of me. My best friend is strung up, hanging from the ceiling in manacles, while his ankles are locked in place. And Ignacio? Fuck. He’s locked down on the spanking bench, with no room to move.
Gulping, I whirl on Il Padrone, my eyes wide. “What? Why?”
“Well, they both deserve punishment as well. And since you think you should be allowed to make decisions that can make or break this family, I’m letting you administer it. After all, you are a very special case.”
I stare at him, furrowing my brow. With a deep sigh, he shakes his head.
“Think, Benjamin. For fuck’s sake. I gave you the right to leave this Family. You choose not to do that. You wanted to be married to Ignacio. To have the Martelli name. I let you be a Second. I even allow you to call me by my first name occasionally, which none of my Boys are allowed to do. Yet, you tossed it away.”
“But—”
“No,” he snaps out. “I have no interest in your justification. So your relationship had issues? Then you come to me. That’s the right thing to do. You do not cheat on one of my Boys. Which is what you did. You do not try to give your life for a fucking Amato when your Family is suffering. Putting your needs above everyone else.
“Hell, you were supposed to be the Second. The one Emilio could count on, but there you were, happy to throw your life away for someone who is not even part of this Family. You think I didn’t hear about that? You think I don’t know what happened while I was gone? Maybe you assumed I wouldn’t. That my Boys would cover for you…that you could manipulate me. After all, you seem to want to take after Jax.”
The reminders of Jax hit me over and over again, burrowing into my heart like jagged splinters. I swallow it down, my hands shaking as I desperately want to refute his argument.
When he pauses, I decide to chance the repercussions. “I…I fell in love.”
“Love,” he scoffs. “The same way you loved Ignacio? Or are you telling me you never loved him? Do you want to look him in the eyes and tell him you didn’t love him?”
“That’s not true! I did! It… We just got off track after Jax.” I clench my hands into fists, wanting to rail against the injustice. Even if I deserve punishment…this? This is cruel.
“Right,” Il Padrone says sarcastically. “And now you love Tennant. You’ll do anything for him. Give your life. Turn yourback on your best friend. On the man you were going to marry. And you think I can trust you to be loyal?”
Breathing in, I hold it before letting go. “I… Yes, I went about it wrong.”
“You did. And you can’t tell me you’d do anything differently.”
His nostrils flair in anger as he stares me down, and I’m left with nothing to say, because he’s right. I wouldn’t go back and redo things. At least, not completely.
I’d owe Ignacio my honesty. Maybe find a way when we were both struggling, if not to find each other again, then to part before everything burned down. I lit that match, though. And this is where I pay for that. Where I set myself on fire and burn to ashes, because Il Padrone won’t let me do anything except look in the mirror.
“Very well. Let’s go ahead with your punishments. Since Lio and Ignacio also need to be punished, I thought it would be fitting for you to handle it. And it won’t be easy, because I specifically want you to think about how Jax’s selfishness almost broke you, broke Ignacio, and broke this Family.”
I shake my head, even though I can’t deny his rule. A tear slips down my cheek, but it doesn’t move him. Instead, he gestures for me to come forward. He stops at Lio, and the table next to him. Grabbing a pair of gloves, he tosses them to me, while he puts on another pair. Next, he douses a prostate massager in a liquid, handling it carefully.
“Now this…this is a special lube. It’s ginger and chili. It’ll burn like hell. And you get to put it inside Emilio. If you remember, he’s faced this before, with Peter. Is this sadistic enough for you?”
Air freezes in my lungs as I stare in horror at the massager. He holds it closer to me, demanding that I take part in this grotesque punishment. With a sinking feeling, I realize thateverything Lio and Ignacio are facing today has been made worse because of me. Swiping at a tear, I nod the best I can as I take the toy, walking closer to my best friend.
I stroke his back in comfort, knowing this won’t be easy. I quietly murmur, “Sorry.”
“Y—” Lio tries to speak, but Il Padrone grabs him by the throat, stopping him.
“Enough, Emilio. You know the rules.” Il Padrone lets him go before turning back to me. I’m frozen in shock, but Il Padrone merely folds his arms and quirks an eyebrow. “Go ahead. Put it in him. And no stretching.”
Biting back vile curses, I focus on the task, wishing I could look away, but not wanting to smear the lube any more than it already will. Thankfully, the massager is not too large, and it doesn’t take much to put it inside him. But given the way his ass immediately contracts, it’s obvious that shit doesn’t take any time to start working.
“Good. You can lose the gloves.” He nods to the mini trash can where he’s already disposed of his. With a couple clicks, he turns the massager on, and Lio lets out a keening noise. Somehow, Padrone manages to ignore it. “As you can see, I have a couple choices for you on the table. My Caro enjoys floggers, so I took those off. However, he hates the cane. I also gave you the option of a studded paddle, and one with holes cut out. Which one do you want?”
From the way he’s watching me carefully, I know I’m fucked if I make the wrong decision. Breathing deeply, I try to find some courage, especially when Lio’s back contracts from the pain already hitting him. I want this over with as soon as possible. “I’ll take the cane.”
