Page 6 of The Vixen

“Sorry,” he grinds out. So reluctant and bitter, it sags my lips. After all the times he’s perplexed me with his lies… He can’t bother to fake an apology.

Not brave.

Stupid.

A sigh rushes out of me as I lower my hand. Aiden approaches with the baton and waits only long enough for me to rise and back away from Sawyer’s reach. He dips the baton into the water and lights it up.

Sawyer’s eyes pop as his limbs straighten with tension, his body jolting with shock that reverberates every nerve. Far more agonizing than the concentrated shock of a whip.

He gasps as Aiden pulls the baton away, but he’s only given a moment’s reprieve before Aiden torments his body with another round of skull-rattling electricity. He repeats this twice more. Sawyer’s body slips further after each round until his head dips beneath the water.

I hold up a hand to signal its end.

Wet gasps echo off the walls as Sawyer scrambles to sit up. He slams his hands on the side of the tub and squeezes tight. As if that could be enough to fend off the electric current.

“Would you like to try that again, Mr. Hansley?”

His wild eyes find mine, and I watch as his brain comes back on line. A moment of inverted déjà vu passes—-a belt around my neck, my body writhing,panickingat the lack of oxygen. A sort of static cupping my brain. So much static, it took at least ten seconds to remember what Sawyer wanted. For me to beg for his cock.

All I want him to say is sorry.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace,” he gasps. He tries to collect himself but sputters a breath. “I’m s-sorry, Your Grace. Please. Forgive me.”

I can’t help myself. I smile—tight, my lips unused.

It’s gone as quickly as it came.

Aiden backs away as I step within Sawyer’s reach and perch myself back on the stool. My lips twitch as I push Sawyer’s hair back. He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t move.

“It’s all right, pet,” I whisper. Sawyer tenses beneath my touch. His jaw clenches, but he’s smart enough not to pull away. Again, I’m transported back to that dirty house and the words he said before fucking me for the first time. “You were overconfident… People do silly things when they’re overconfident.”

He points his fiery eyes into mine like he remembers too.

Good.

He should be thankful I haven’t forgotten the mercy he showed.

My hand caresses down his face until I’m lightly gripping his jaw. “Stand up.”

For a moment, he just stares. Not long enough for Aiden to move but long enough to communicate his hatred. He must’vewitnessed this same look from me a hundred times. And helovedit.

I understand him now. This part of him, at least.

His knees bend as he drags his heels along the bottom of the tub. His eyes never leave mine as he stands and turns so his genitalia are in my face.

Charming.

“Aiden.” I turn toward my friend. There’s no gasp, but the air feels noticeably thin as Aiden starts my way. I hold out my hand. “Could I?”

“Of course, Your Grace.” Water sloshes as Sawyer shifts. Aiden hands over the baton, but when I look up, Sawyer watches the wall. The trace of a smirk has disappeared so thoroughly, I can’t say it was ever there to begin with.

“Thank you, friend.”

I tap my index finger to the stick’s teeth—sharp—then gently prod Sawyer’s penis. He stiffens. Backs up an inch. More water sloshes. But his mouth stays shut, and he doesn’t attempt to escape.

An admirable amount of self-control.

The side of my lip curves as I shift the baton beneath his balls and gently lift, massaging the tight bundles, blue and wrinkled and noticeably hairy. For the briefest moment, my amusement slips, but it’s ridiculous. Thorne is not groomed.Iam not groomed.