Page 52 of Cruel God

This time her smile reached her eyes, and it made my heart swell. It was the most beautiful sight ever—but only if the smile was meant for me.

Just me.

Only me.

Always.

We slowly descended the stairs, and I focused on her, trying my best to stay tuned into her emotions. God knows I’ve had her long enough to know all the tell-tale signs of her different kinds of emotions.

Like, she would suck in the side of her upper lip whenever she felt threatened or scared, and her nose would twitch whenever she was confused or unsure. Knowing whether she was sad or turned on was the real challenge. She would bite into her lower lip whenever she was turned on or about to cry. But after a while, I realized what distinguished one from the other—her eyes. When her body was all riled up, ready and primed for me, her eyes would gleam with desire—mischief.And whenever her orgasm threatened to detonate inside her core, her mouth would form the perfect ‘O’ as she tilted her head back. And whenever she wasn’t tied up, she would lift her arms above her head as she laid on her back in complete. Fucking. Surrender. It was the best form of an aphrodisiac, seeing the look of pleasure plastered all over her beautiful face. There was no amount of porn or a strong enough fantasy that could come close to that.

The one truth that would never be disputed was the fact that I knew everything about this woman. I knew her inside and fucking out. And I’d burn cities to the motherfucking ground to make sure I’d be the only man who will.

As we rounded down the spiral staircase, Piper stood there waiting for us, wearing the mask I had ordered her to.

Now imagine Piper’s surprise when I came walking down that staircase with a masked woman on my arm. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as her entire face fell flat to the fucking floor. The bastard in me loved the shocked expression on her face, and I relished the look of jealousy that beamed with rays of green from her eyes.

Poor Piper. She was always the pretty one everyone wanted to fuck, but no one wanted to keep. I was willing to bet that there were a thousand thoughts running through that tiny little mind of hers. She knew that up these stairs were my chambers, a place she was never permitted to go. She had never even so much as caught a glimpse of what my room and living space looked like. And here I was, escorting a woman who had stayed there with me for a very, very long time.

The second we took the last step, Piper fell to her knees, her head bowed down in submission. “Master.”

Now what I didn’t expect was Hope’s reaction to Piper. When Hope saw Piper fall to the floor, hearing her call me master, she stiffened. Immediately I felt the tension that suddenly leached from her, filling the air around us with its weight. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was so in tune with this woman, I might have missed it. But I didn’t.

When I glanced at her, I saw that the corner of her upper lip sucked into her mouth—the tell-tale sign that she was wary, watchful…threatened. The selfish, greedy man in me hoped that somewhere in that pretty head of hers loomed the suspicious sentiment of obsession. The idea that Hope could be jealous of Piper pleased me immensely. It made me ecstatic, even though there was no reason whatsoever for Hope to be jealous. Piper would never be able to take her place. Ever.

I glanced at Piper. “Is everything in place?”

“Yes, master.” Hope squeezed my hand, and I knew it was her way of telling me she didn’t like this one bit, but without saying it out loud and disrespecting me.

I gave her a reassuring smile before letting go of her hand, then pulled Piper to the side so Hope couldn’t hear.

“Is he there?”

She nodded.

“And he knows the one rule?”

“I informed him of your instruction, yes.”

“Which are?” I tested her.

“To remain silent the entire time.”

“Good. Now, go take your place. We’ll be there shortly.”

“We?” Her eyebrows raised in question, and abruptly I wrapped a hand around her throat, pulling her closer.

“Do. As you’re. Fucking. Told.”

Her eyes grew wide, and the second I let go of her, she scrambled off into the other direction.

“Come on,” I said to Hope, reaching for her elbow as I ushered her across the tiled foyer and down a flight of stairs leading to a long hallway that had a selection of playrooms to choose from. It smelled like ammonia instead of sex as we no longer used this part of the house.

During Victor’s famous sex parties, these halls were abuzz with life, the sounds of whips and chains, grunts and moans, cries and screams echoing across the white walls. But ever since I buried my father, these halls remained dormant and empty as I had no desire to host such parties simply to kiss the asses of the world’s sickest fuckers. Granted, I was one of them, but that didn’t mean I’d tolerate them.

Reaching for Hope’s wrist, I pulled her to the side, swinging her around before pinning her against the wall. I slipped my thigh between her legs and pressed it against her pussy. She gasped, and I forced her head to the side, dragging my tongue up the side of her neck, licking a glistening trail all the way to her ear. “We’re going to play now. But you will not speak a single word. Understood?”

“Yes,” she whimpered, and I rewarded her by pushing my knee harder between her legs, almost lifting her feet from the ground. Her lips parted with a moan, and I smiled, loving to witness the effect I had on her.

---