Page 16 of Madness

“We’re going to play a game.” I said.

Her chest rose with a deep breath. “What kind of game?”

“A game of information. I’m going to ask you a question, and if you lie, you earn a punishment.”

I told myself I was doing this to find her weaknesses. But another part of me was curious about her. Curious about this woman who’d caught my attention when so few did. I hadn’t even found someone interesting enough to fuck lately. Just like everything else, it had become routine. Even the pain didn’t sedate me.

“What do I get if I tell the truth?” Her soft voice worked its way under my skin. Pumping in my blood.

“What do you want?” I asked. “More money?”

She ground her teeth together and crossed her arms over her chest. “I get to ask a question.”

Was this little dove interested in me? That would be a mistake. For her. It worked to my advantage. If I could charm her, it would be easier to get her to do what I wanted. Women who believed themselves to be in love or infatuated with someone could be manipulated.

Love was the greatest weakness. And I was glad I couldn’t feel it. Sure, I felt something for my family. There was a special softness for my sister Alessandra. But, to my understanding, true love meant sacrificing yourself for the other person. And I would never do that.

“Deal, little dove.”

I let our agreement drift in the air for a moment. Let her feel the weight of what she was doing. Her breath was shallow as she waited for me to start.

“Have you always enjoyed pain?” I went right for the kill. I could’ve started slow and lulled her into a sense of security, but I was short on patience tonight. And with her.

“I don’t.” Kincaid’s cheeks blushed again as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“That’s one. Your mouth can lie, but your body can’t. Your pussy clenched on my fingers so tight I thought you were going to break them.”

I smiled as her face flushed. I was going to keep reminding her of her body’s response to me. She was ashamed of it, and her embarrassment would be what broke her. I’d make her face this part of herself until it ate her alive from the inside. This would be her undoing.

“And you lost your chance to ask a question. How many people have fucked that sweet pussy of yours?”

That wasn’t what I planned to ask next. I wasn’t even sure why I asked it at all. I’d never cared about that with anyone else. I didn’t care with her.

Except the longer it took her to answer, the tighter my skin felt. Like my body was trying to crawl out of it. Kincaid rubbed her lips together like she was contemplating whether or not to answer. I decided to give her a little incentive.

“If you fail to answer a question, it’s two punishments.”

Her mouth dropped open, and her brow furrowed. “That wasn’t part of the rules. You can’t just change them.”

“Yes, I can. It’s my game.” I smiled as I poured two glasses of whiskey from the bottle on the table. I passed one to her, but she left it where it was.

“I’ve had three boyfriends.”

Three soon-to-be dead men. I was going to enjoy watching the life leave their eyes. I kept my face neutral, like her answer didn’t matter. And it shouldn’t because they were boys insignificant to what I could do for her.

“Now I get to ask you something.” I gestured with my hand for her to go ahead. “When did you realize you liked inflicting pain?”

I was surprised by her question. I expected her to want to know about what I did. How I was able to get her back into this room. Or how I knew who she was.

It was foolish of her to waste her question. She should’ve been trying to gain information that could hurt me, stop me from taking her. Not that there was anything she could find that would stop me.

“Sexually? Since I hit puberty.”

“And not sexually?” She whispered.

“Technically, it’s not your turn to ask a question, but I’ll consider it an extension of your first one and answer.”

“How gracious of you.” She mumbled.

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