Page 35 of Empress of Ruin
“Make you happy,” he finishes. “I think I can—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoff. “The only thing you’veeverbeen capable is delivering misery.”
I’m alone, isolated from my former life. Scared of public places because of the tape that leaked, scared ingeneralbecause I’m being held captive by a tyrant. I don’t even want to rekindle my friendship with Annalise, who I’ve always treasured, because I know anyone I get close to will turn into leverage.
“Not true. I’m also capable of making you comereallyhard.”
“I’ve said this once before, and I’ll say it again. That isnotthe same thing, atall.”
“Maybe not, but it’s a start.” His fingers move to the zipper of the dress, and I jerk away, stumbling a few steps back from him.
“Not tonight,” I say harshly. “You’ve put me through enough for one night. If you don’t give me space forone night, I will never speak to you again.”
He glares at me for several endlessly long moments. Finally, he nods. “You get one night off. Tomorrow morning, you willmake it up to me. Then, you will go out in the world and do some shopping.”
That hits me out of left field. “What?”
“We have a dinner with associates of mine in a few days, and you’ll need a dress for it. You’ll also need to pick up a few other things for yourself—Locke will give you the details.”
I blink. “You don’t think I have enough ball gowns and clothes already here?”
“Nowhere near,” he confirms. “It’ll be a private booking, so your contact with the public will be fairly limited. Locke will be with you the whole time. Oh.” He snaps his fingers. “And you’ll wear exactly what I tell you to wear tomorrow. Got it?”
I fucking hate him, but I sense I’ve pushed him as far as I can for one night. “Fine.”
Chapter Fourteen
Lyra
Killian doesn’t allow me to go to the guest bedroom, but he also doesn’t touch me. For once, we sleep on opposite sides of the bed, and strangely… I don’t like it. Some warped part of me wants his arms wrapped around me. They’re a cage, yes, but somehow they also seem to represent… safety. Security. Some odd modicum of comfort.
In the morning, he doesn’t spank me or fuck me. Instead, he lays out my clothes for the day on the bed… and that’s when I freeze.
The panties are…wrong. They’re not panties, they’re some sort of sadistic game. First of all, they’re not made from cotton, silk, or lace; they’re made from leather.
And second of all, there are two…protrusionsfrom the gusset. One slim, the other bulbous. It takes me several blinks forrealization to dawn, and once it does… “I’m not fucking wearing those.”
“You are,” Killian says calmly. “We’re going to play a game. Today, you will go out and about in these. If at any point, you want them to come off, all you have to do is beg me to fuck you. Otherwise, you’ll be in them until tonight. If you win, I don’t fill you up with my cum. If I win, I do.”
“I don’t want to play.” I’m not keen to have anything up my ass. Aside fromthatnot-so-little obstacle, walking around all day with a dildo inside me does not sound appealingwhatsoever.
“I’m not asking. Since I’m feeling slightly generous after the difficult night you’ve had, I’ll offer your lube. If you refuse or try to fight me, I’m going to hold you down and put the panties on you dry. That’ll be the sort of pain even you probably won’t like.”
I gape at him. “I fucking hate you.”
“Fine line,” he murmurs. “Make your choice. You have five seconds.”
He can’t do this to me. Hecan’t. It’s too obscene. It’s too… lewd. Except, his expression is unbending. I’m still seated on the bed, wearing nothing but a thin camisole and short sleep-shorts, and he’s in only boxers, cutting an imposing figure. I can see his erection pressing forward, and shit, it makes my mouth water.
“Three seconds,” he says helpfully.
I look back at the panties. It really will hurt if he puts them on without lube, and I’ve never known Killian to make idle threats. I don’t have much of a say in the matter.
“One—”
“Lube.” The word escapes me on a horrified whisper. Killian smiles, rounds the bed, opens his night stand drawer, and withdraws a bottle of lube. Has he had that in there the entire time? How long has he been planning on taking my ass?
“If you orgasm at any point today, I’m going to fuck your ass dry tonight,” he warns. “Get on all fours.”
