Page 19 of Cruel God

‘Everything went according to plan.’

Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to trust that Colton would do what he was ordered to do, which was why I had someone keep an eye on my latest recruit. But luckily, Hope’s big brother had passed the test. The poor son of a bitch had to be utterly hell-bent on finding his little sister if he would be willing to transport a truckload of illegal immigrant slaves to a rendezvous point and then hand them over to some bastard dealer he didn’t know.

To Colton, his sister’s life was worth more than those thirteen lives he had just helped deliver to a stranger.

I couldn’t say that I blamed him, though. Look at what I was willing to do to keep her—to ensure that no one took her from me? Hope Riggs was one remarkable woman, and I knew that from the very first time I laid eyes on her.

Maybe I should go to her. Without a doubt, I knew she’d be waiting for me all day. I was her entire world. Nothing else but me and that room existed in her world. Maybe if I allowed her to suck my cock, it would help relieve some of the day’s tension. Plus, I could force her to cry for me, shed tears for me instead of over the memory of her brother—a man who failed to find her in years.

Goddammit, was I jealous? Jealous over the tears she cried over Colton, her brother?

Yes, I was, and the only way to rectify that was to shove my dick down her throat while she cried those same fucking tears, only this time it would be for me—my cock.

Fuck, I’m getting so close to losing it, allowing the darkness to consume me. Rex Cain didn’t get jealous. That’s why I had her wearing my collar and had my brand tattooed on her neck. That’s why I came inside her every fucking chance I got, to make sure that she’s filled with nothing but me…and only me.

Yet here I felt like I could rip someone’s head clean off their shoulders—and I knew who I wanted that someone to be.

Fucking Colton Riggs.

Unfortunately, for now, I needed him, which was why Colton still had his ugly fucking head attached to his body.

But it was only a matter of time before I would eliminate every threat, and then I’d have no more use for Colton. Until then, I just had to be patient. If I had learned anything the last few years, it was that patience was a virtue—probably the only virtue I had.

On my way up to the top floor, I wondered what Hope’s life was like before she got dragged down to hell—when her world still had color, and her life still had potential. Was she a happy child? Was she loved? Didshelove?

I punched in the security key code, and the door clicked open. For a few seconds, I remained still staring down the dark hall, the moon casting the only light through the floor-to-ceiling window right across from me.

When was the last time Hope had seen the moon? Or the stars that decorated the night sky?

There were days when I allowed her to come out of her room, but she never left the quarters. And she never roamed around during the night. At night I was too busy fucking her, using her, claiming her in every way possible. It’s in the darkness that my monster loved to play, and it’s in the shadows that Hope became my addiction. Her body was my playground—her pussy, my fucking cocaine.

Just thinking about her gave me the uncontrollable urge to fuck and lose myself inside her.

I took the key from around my neck between my fingers, rubbing it with my thumb before slowly making my way toward her door. It was almost two in the morning. Hope was probably sleeping, but that was the best part of it all. I owned her. If I wanted to wake her up at any hour of the morning, I could. Whether I wanted to fuck her at midnight or midday, I could. I could fuck her from midnight till noon if I wanted to. She belonged to me, and like a goddamn pet, she just had to do whatever I commanded of her. It was as easy as that.

As I turned the lock, I started to feel the burn on the inside of my stomach, like an ulcer eating at the lining of my soul. The wickedness that filled my bones was starting to simmer, slowly working its way up to a boil. The monster inside me needed her, needed to be in control of the woman on the other side of that door.

Sick? Yes.

Depraved? Definitely. But I had passed the point of caring years ago. There was a time when I didn’t want to be the monster my father was turning me into—that was until the day I realized that I wanted her. That was the day I gave up the fight and submitted to my soul's most profound and darkest depravities.

Chapter 7

The door creaked softly as I opened it to find Hope lying on the bed, the black sheets pulled up over her hips. The soft glow of the bed light cast shadows all around the room, shadows that surrounded her—enveloped her. It’s like they, too, wanted to consume her, to reach out and touch her.

She always slept with the bed light on, afraid of the dark. I never understood her fear. For years she’d been surrounded by nothing but darkness, yet still, she was afraid to sleep with the lights off. Maybe it was her way of keeping that sliver of shine in her life. That bed light was to her what she was to me, light among all the darkness that had consumed me so long ago. Or maybe she felt it would save her from monsters that lurked in the dark.

As I walked toward her, the shadows began to dissipate. Everything faded into the background as I stopped at the side of the bed, staring down at her.

Her face was bathed in the dim light, her skin looking radiant under its subtle glow. The rhythmic movement of her chest as she breathed proved that she was sleeping peacefully. But how was that possible? How could she sleep so soundly, so at ease when her life was haunted with all the demons of others? She’s in hell living with the devil, yet her face was serene and angelic, like she had been in Heaven her whole life. God, I envied that.

“Butterfly,” I whispered and brushed her cheek.

She nestled deeper into my touch, brushing her cheek against my fingers while she moaned softly—like a kitten purring getting some welcomed attention from its master.

I leaned down over her, bringing my lips closer to her ear. “Wake up, Butterfly.”

Her back arched as she straightened her legs. “Master?”

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