Page 272 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

Don’t be silly,I told myself before I felt my mood start to plummet.He doesn’t hate me. He just proved that.“Can I come?”

“Of course you’re coming!” He sounded almost insulted at the idea of me not coming with him. “Do you know how depressed I’d be if I spent three months with you all to myself, and then had to come up here by myself for a week without you? Besides, you’re mine. I need you.”

Euphoria flooded my body and my brain, and I got all tingly. I wanted to laugh and cry and jump up and down and squeeze him.

You’re mine. I need you.The sound of those words in his voice echoed through my brain and I seared them into my memory.

He’s really going to keep me... he won’t abandon me. He won’t let me go.

Iwas on cloud ninefor the greater part of the next week. Every time I thought about Reuben I got all bubbly and happy. Since we were going back to Cullowhee soon, I was helping him around the house with laundry, some cleaning, and bringing over the food that would expire to The Weston House so we wouldn’t have to throw it all away when we got back.

My ass and breasts were sore, and the bruises that had bloomed on my backside were a stunning painting of blues, purples, and yellow. There was also a mark on my thigh that looked distinctly like a bite mark, though I honestly couldn’t remember getting it. Still, I loved it, and I spent most of my time around the house wearing nothing but a sexy bra or a harness, my chastity belt, and some jewelry.

Sir relished watching me walk around mostly naked, my skin decorated by his hunger. I’d catch him staring at me, and he’d grin and lick his lips. It took four days before I remembered the video clip I’d attempted to record.

He was off at some meeting that afternoon. I’d been an absolute princess all week and was entering my completed tasks in our app and trying to decide what reward I was going to cash them in for, when I got a notification from TikTok that I had unread messages.

I logged on and scrolled through my newest comments. Several people had taken to arguing with my video about Woodrow, saying that I was a liar about my abuse. Luckily for me and the other few girls who had come forward, I had a lot of support. My friends from The Underground, the local Mexican cartel who liked me, and a lot of Reuben’s connections had defended me.

I had stopped reading the comments altogether because I didn’t want to read something that depressed me. I didn’t watch replies, or answer messages. I just made my videos, checked my likes, and followed a few other brats and astronomy lovers who did the same kinds of things I did.No need to stress myself out over something I could control by simply not reading mean shit.

Today, though, there were a bunch of comments I couldn’t ignore. The day before my spontaneous scene with Sir, I’d posted my plan for calling him a soft dom and had mentioned him by name. Now that video was full of comments asking if I was still alive.

What had happened with that video I’d been recording? Had the camera caught the scene? Had it not been saved because it sat there for hours and ran out of power?

And what happened with me, anyway? How did I end up in the dungeon? I tried to remember. Looking back through my phone, I pulled up the clip. I remembered him saying something, and then I got all soft...

My jaw slackened and dropped as I watched the video.

Sweetheart.

My brain got all fuzzy. I felt my nipples tingle and I had that weird rushing sensation of blood flowing through my ears.

Sweetheart. Good girl.

He had done it. He had warned me he would, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t believed him, but... seeing it was different. This wasn’t the slow, gentle coaxing of my mind into trance like he did in the evenings. This was an instantaneous drop into subspace. With one word, he took complete control over me, and I melted right into it.

In the video, I watched myself practically beg and fawn over him, begging and pleading like a good girl until he sent me off. And I remember distinctly how desperately I wanted to do exactly as he’d told me to.Because it felt so good to do what he asked...

Where did that thought come from?

In the video, Reuben slowly approached the camera and looked directly into the lens. My breath caught. It felt like he was looking right at me.

“Who do you belong to?” he asked.

“I belong to Reuben Weston.” The words just popped out of my mouth. With them, the warmth and security that came with his ownership pulled at my heart. My hand flew over my mouth in surprise.

“Good girl.” He smirked and ended the recording.

I dropped my phone on the bed and stared out at the wall in shock.

It took me twenty minutes, but I finally found it in me to sit down at my desk and write. I couldn’t tell what I felt, and I was confused more than anything. Was I excited, or upset? Did I like it, or not?

I trust him. He’s good to me. He takes care of me. He likes me. He’s not going to hurt me. So why am I freaking out?

He’s never ignored my safeword. Actually he checked in with me often, even when I didn’t need it or use it. He cares. He doesn’t just want to hurt me; he likes me as a person. He laughs at my jokes and he looks happy when he gets home. He cares about me, and he’s been trying to help me work through my shit. I know he’s paying Becca for my sessions. I know he’s setting money aside for me; I see his bank transfers on his laptop. And I know he’s trying not to scare me by not getting too emotionally involved because...

Because heIS.

---