NICO POV
I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees, clutching my hands together in front of me. "Let me explain to you how this is going to work. Lesson number one, every time you do as you are told, I will reward you."
"Like a fucking pet?" she snapped, her eyes burning holes through my forehead.
I smiled wickedly. "If that's the way you see it, yes. Like a pet. Clean yourself up all nice, and next time I might consider letting you take a shower. Every time you obey me, you will get your reward. Defy me, and you'll be punished."
She shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other. "Punished how?"
"That depends on how creative I feel at that moment. But I would advise you not to chance it since I have the tendency to be very creative when it comes to punishment."
The way her throat moved as she swallowed hard was proof she caught my drift. God, I loved every fucking second of this.
"I'm going to tell you one more time, lila. Clean yourself the fuck up."
For a few seconds we both continued to stare at each other. I could just imagine all the gruesome images of how she'd like to murder me playing inside her head. The way I stared back at her, I made sure she got the message loud and clear that she really shouldn't fuck with me. Although, there was a part of me that wanted her to defy me, to give me a reason to punish her so that I can see just how far her body can go.
Finally she crouched down, reached for the soap in the water, all the while keeping her intense scowl on me.
"That's a good little pet," I taunted.
Slowly, hesitantly she started to move the bar of soap up her arm, and then the other, before dropping the soap back into the bucket and rubbing her hands over the layer of soap on her arms. She moved her hands up to her neck, spreading the bubbles across her skin.
I lifted a brow. "Do not forget those pretty legs of yours, little mouse."
"You're a sick bastard."
"Not the first time I've heard that." I smiled wickedly. "Now clean your legs."
She stood up, and I watched with amusement as she pulled the rag she was wearing up, and up, and up, exposing more and more of her body. Her legs were long, slim, her ivory skin making the discolored rag seem even poorer.
Reaching between her legs, she pulled the back of the rag to the front and clutching it tight, forming a kind of pants. Smart move...since I knew she wasn't wearing any panties under that rag.
While she crouched back down, reaching for the soap, our eyes remained locked on one another. Her blue irises burned, heat waking my every carnal impulse, and I didn't dare take my eyes off her. But when she placed the bar of soap on the inside of her thigh, my gaze fell to the movement. Round and round she circled the soap over her skin, creating a thick layer of bubbles. I'd be lying if I said my cock wasn't starting to react to the sight in front of me. The way her hands touched her skin, and how she stared at me with hatred in her eyes enticed my monster, made him pace behind his cage.
My gaze moved to the inside of her other thigh, and that's when I saw it-lines of white scars decorating her skin. Some thin, some thick, all crossing and twining together, forming proof that little Miss lila Falcone seemed to have demons of her own. And as she washed the soap from her other thigh, I noticed the same marks.
"Are those your handiwork?" I asked, keeping my gaze on her thighs.
Immediately she stood up and dropped the rag to cover her legs. "That's none of your business."
I stood up and slowly walked toward her, those scars pulling me closer. "Tell me how you got them."
"No," she replied sharply.
I continued to move toward her. "Self-inflicted?"
"I told you, it's none of your goddamn business."
I stopped right in front of her, gazing down into the blue pits of her eyes, consumed with both fear and fire.
Those scars on her thighs had me wondering if there was a time in her life that she was utterly broken and wrecked...unless...
Maybe those weren't scars of a damaged soul, but rather a sign of something twisted she carried inside her, a craving for something dark...a release.
Fuck me.The thought alone took my mind to the darkest, most delightful places. If that was in fact true, that she carried around a warped sense of need, then her and me, we had something in common.
I reached out to her hip, but she pulled back. "Don't you fucking touch me."
But I moved forward and grabbed her hip, clutching so tight there was no way she could get out of my hold now. "Lesson number two, if I want something from you, you will give it to me."
Slowly I wound up the fabric, little by little, letting my fingers brush against her skin. "Here, with me, you have no will but mine. The word 'no' does not exist in my world." The hem of her ugly nightgown curled up in my hand and my knuckles grazed against her bare skin.
Abruptly I yanked her leg up, twisting it to the side as I stared down at the prominent scars, depicting something beautifully twisted, and perversely inviting. The hunger those scars awoke inside me burned like acid in my stomach, letting me crave the warped desires that always churned in the deepest part of my soul. It wasn't something I was prepared for. It wasn't a complication I anticipated when I put this entire plan together, but fuck me, it slammed against my chest, shaking my very foundation. Even though my hatred for this woman poisoned the blood running through my veins, my cock pulsed and ached with a need to extract something twisted out of her. A part of me wanted to taste her, sample her-devour her. I wanted to see her succumb to wicked desires that I knew were gnawing inside her, to let her feel what it's really like to be completely and utterly consumed...and owned.
I looked up at her eyes burning like white fire. "You are no longer Lila Falcone."
Her chest was rapidly rising and falling, her breaths coming out shallow and fast, its warmth gently moving across the skin of my neck.
"Who am I?" Her voice was soft, as if she was too afraid to ask, but needed to know.
The need I saw in her eyes was too tempting, too inviting, and it was feeding the lust that festered in my groin.
I let go of her leg, reached up and tore the rag down the front, exposing her breasts. She yelped, then fought to cover herself. But I grabbed her arms in my hands, squeezing tight, pushing her forcefully against the wall. Allowing my gaze to travel down her chest staring at her full, round, naked tits, I licked my lips, the sick fucker inside my head loving the way her body shivered
and trembled.
I lifted my gaze to meet hers. "You're my little pet now."