Page 41 of Cruel God

‘They need to be ruled, controlled.’

‘Punish them, break them, carve your dominance into their flesh.’

Hope’s cries penetrated my thoughts, and I looked at her still bent over on the bed. The way her pert ass curved up was perfect for a harsh lashing of leather against flesh. It taunted me, provoked the most malicious part of my being.

‘If you want her complete devotion, you need to show her who is in control.’

Memories of the day I entered my father’s dungeon with Hope flashed through my mind, painful reminders of what we both had to endure for me to lay claim over her.

That day I pushed Hope’s body to the limit and hardened myself to be as ruthless as Victor expected me to be.

Chapter 15

Past

Iknew this day would come. I just chose to bury my face in the sand, hoping like fuck it never would. But this night had been coming since the day I begged my father to give Hope to me. A single request from his only son. My father had his suspicions as to why Hope specifically, and he raised the stakes and upped the price forgrantingme my request. But that didn’t stop me from using my position as his son and heir of the Cain legacy to my advantage. I slithered my way into his good graces, and soon my father agreed, but not without his own list of conditions.

You will only get full access to her when I think you are ready. Until then, the girl will remain in captivity and undergo the necessary training along with the rest of the girls. After all, I have to make sure the woman who gets to be my son’s first is worth it. Once I deem you ready, you will have her to do with as you please.

He went on to warn me that if I gave him so much as half a reason to doubt my true intentions toward the family business, I’d lose Hope, along with his respect and my place as his son. I didn’t mind the latter. In fact, the only other thing I wanted as much as I wanted Hope was to be stripped from Victor Cain’s bloodline.

Now, as I walked down the hall, my Italian leather shoes hardly made a sound on the tiled floor as warning had my blood curdling inside my veins. My father demanded I see him upstairs in his personal quarters. No one was ever allowed up there besides his whores and the clean-up crew who removed the bodies after Victor had fucked and killed them. Not necessarily in that order.

I walked up the spiral staircase and found my dad waiting for me by the open door with a huge-ass smile on his face. There was no need for him to tell me why he had me come up here. I already knew, which was why I took a detour via the bar, hoping the bourbon would give me the courage to do what needed to be done. Because if I didn’t, I’d lose her…which was not an option.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “You ready to finally claim what you’ve always wanted?”

A shudder wracked through me, and I simply nodded.

“Good. Come.” He stood to the side and allowed me to walk past before he closed and locked the door behind us. Every step I took had my legs feeling heavier, my feet moving forward, while every instinct I had demanded I turn around and run. The war inside my head was fucking brutal, my heart pleading for me to stop this while my head reminded me that this was what I needed to do if I wanted to keep her.

My father walked up to the only door with a golden doorknob and removed a key from around his neck. I held my breath as I watched him unlock the dark mahogany door, my heart about to rip from my throat. The sound of the lock clicking open resounded like a gunshot around me, my ears ringing and lungs no longer expanding. I knew what waited for me on the other side of that door, but the tiniest part of my humanity hoped I was wrong.

My father turned to face me. “Now remember, son, the first time is the most important. These girls need to know who is in control. They need to know that you own them, that they aren’t allowed to fucking breathe without your permission. It’s the only way to ensure their complete submission.” He squeezed my shoulder, staring at me pointedly. “What happens tonight, your actions here tonight will be what defines your authority over this girl.”

He didn’t wait for me to respond or even to nod as he opened the door, revealing my worst nightmare. A naked sixteen-year-old Hope gagged and bound, her arms stretched wide with chains, and a spreader-bar keeping her legs apart.

She lifted her head, and her teary gaze immediately found mine. Her fear was right there in her eyes, eyes that had lost their spark.

I sucked in a breath as I struggled to contain this overwhelming instinct to help her. To free her and wrap my arms around her while I carried her out of here, far away from my father. But life just wasn’t that simple for us. To up and leave wasn’t an option for us. Victor would hunt us, and he’d make Hope his target simply because he’d know she meant something to me. As he had said so many times, the best way to break a man was to take away the woman he loved. Did I love Hope? I wasn’t sure. Did I feelsomethingfor her? Fuck, yes. I just wasn’t sure what that something was.

Victor stepped up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders like a proud father would when his son was about to accomplish something great. But his touch only added more weight to this unbearably heavy reality I found myself in.

“After tonight,” Victor started. “She’s yours.”

I snapped my gaze to him, frowning in question. “What?”

“If you can prove to me tonight that you are ready to own your first submissive, this pretty girl will be yours.” He glanced at Hope. “You and you alone will have the key to her cell, and no one else will have access to her.”

My stomach flipped inside my gut, my mind struggling to believe what he had just said. “But you…you said—”

“I know what I said, Rex. I promised that once I thought you were ready, I would gift her to you. Well, son…I think you’re ready.”

I swallowed hard. “If you think I’m ready, then what are we doing here now?”

He took his hands off my shoulders and crossed them in front of his chest. “Throughout the years, I’ve put you through countless tests, making sure you were ready to work alongside your old man. This,” he pointed at Hope, “is your last test.”

I cocked a brow. “What? To fuck her?”

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