“No!” I protest, but it’s too late. I hear the click of a lock. It’s thick and heavy and digs into my skin.
“Mmmm. Perfect fit.” Then he grabs my wrists, even though I try to struggle. His strength is Herculean compared to mine. He cuffs them and binds my hands to the hook on the front of the collar.
I’m completely helpless, totally naked, and close to crying. This is a nightmare.
Just when I think it can’t get any worse, he attaches a leash.
“Come, kitten.”
The tears start to roll.
“I hate you,” I expel, my voice thick with emotion.
“I know. But you’ll get over that.” He yanks the chain and we start walking. He totes me like a puppy through a hallway of cells. What is this place? Then up a dark winding staircase with sconces on the wall. When we emerge, I squint at the bright light. We’re in a house. An opulent, spacious mansion.
If my fear and humiliation were on red alert before, they’re at DEFCON 1 now. The house is eerily quiet but has a sexual undercurrent running through it that shocks you like electricity. There are nude statues everywhere depicting sexual acts and large portraits of naked women in compromising positions hanging on the walls. Dispersed throughout the large hall are curved gold leaf couches and oversized wingback chairs.
As I walk past one of the chairs, I notice hooks sticking out of the folds. What the fuck? We leave the large banquet hall and enter an open, spacious foyer with a grand staircase that has three tiers, pink and cream colored marble stairs, and an intricate black iron railing. The decor is magnificent; a dream home with a stark European flare. The arched doorways and humongous hand-blown glass chandelier reminds me of an expensive hotel or elegant casino.
I try to cover myself with my elbows as I walk stark naked through the enormous house. It’s wrong. It’s weird. And I know I’m in so much trouble. Kayne ascends the stairs with me in tow, never looking back. It feels like we are climbing forever, my naked skin hyperaware of every subtle draft. When we make it to the top of the never-ending staircase, Kayne leads me right, down a long hallway scattered with doors. It’s dimmer than the rest of the house with a dark purple carpet and smaller chandeliers exactly like the one in the immense foyer. The corridor is mysterious with a sense of seductiveness. As we walk I hear muttered noises becoming louder and louder. My skin prickles. One of the doors is cracked open and I sneak a peek inside. I wish I hadn’t. What I see shocks me. A woman chained with her hands above her head is being—I don’t even know the right word to use—ravished, assaulted, violated by three men at one time. One is sucking her nipple, another has his head between her legs. The third is having sex with her from behind. My insides spin.
“What is this place?!” I cry, pulling at the restraints.
Kayne jerks me forward by the chain. “Your new home.”
A daunting sense of dread takes over.
He finally stops at the last door on the end. He unlocks it with a set of keys and ushers me inside. If it were under any other circumstance, I would be in awe. The room is imperial. It looks like a queen’s master suite. There’s an enormous bed turned down with shiny gold sheets and a headboard made out of vining white iron and pink tufted satin. Decorative molding covers the walls and high vaulted ceilings, giving the decor a very Parisian feel. A large flat screen hangs directly in front of the bed and the armoire right next to it is impossible to ignore. It’s stark white with huge ornately decorated doors.
But as magnificent as the space is, it’s the semicircular adjoining room with large bay windows that’s giving me palpitations. If this was a normal suite, I’d take it for a sitting room. But trust me when I tell you it’s not. In its center is a table with thick leather straps and stirrups. A horror movie version of a gynecologist’s exam table. Underneath it are several metal drawers. I stop myself from imagining what could be in them. A crop, a flogger, and a wooden paddle are hanging between each window on the wall. My stomach tightens. He’s going to hurt me. I know it. I can feel it.
“This way.” Kayne flicks the leash, leading me through another doorway into the bathroom. It’s a large space with off-white marble floors, matching counters, and a large stone shower. There’s also a clawed soaking tub so big you could swim in it. Kayne opens the glass door of the shower and turns a knob, spurring several shower fixtures to spring to life.
Then he strips down to nothing. “Look at me, Ellie.”
I keep my eyes closed and my head turned as much as the collar will allow.
“I said look.” He tugs the chain hard. “You need to start learning to obey commands.”
That gets my attention. I open my eyes and gape at him. Not because he is gloriously naked in front of me. Because the words obey and command rattle my soul. I want to scream, I want to yell. But my emotions are choking me worse than the collar.
Kayne unhooks my wrists, and then unclasps the uncomfortable leather. I rub my sore skin. He then removes my new neck jewelry.
“In,” he orders. But I don’t move. I can’t move. My head is spinning. He slaps me on the ass and I jump. “In.”
“You hit me!” My eyes water from the sting.
“I’ll do it again if you don’t listen to me.”
I escape immediately into the shower. Not that it’s really an escape because Kayne steps in right behind me. I cower into the corner, trying to get as far away from him as possible. Only a world of wrong can happen now, with both of us naked and him looking at me with carnivorous want in his eyes.
“Turn around, put your hands against the wall.” I never thought I would wish to be back in that cell. But cold and hungry is way better than being raped.
“Kayne. Don’t,” I beg, sounding pathetic. Where is my fight?
It’s stinging your ass! Resist him, and he’ll beat you!
“Now, Ellie.” He grabs my arm and faces me away from him, shoving me against the wall. My palms smack against the light colored stone.
Then he juts my hips out and I fray at the seams. My breathing is heavy and my head is light all at the same time. I brace myself against the wall, trying to put my mind anywhere but here.
“I love your ass, Ellie.” He smacks me again and I yelp. That smarts. Then he rubs my throbbing cheek. It feels wrong; him touching me.
The warm water rains down on my prickly skin as Kayne runs his hands up my back and over my shoulders. I shudder. Then I hear the pop of a cap. My insides jolt. I’m worse than a spooked cat.
The smell of eucalyptus fills the shower as Kayne begins to wash me, lathering my breasts, my stomach, my arms, and my backside. I hold my breath. I once would have killed for this man to touch me. Now that he is, all I do is cringe. He works his way between my thighs, and I instinctively squeeze them together.
“That’s not going to keep me out. You need to get used to me touching you,” he murmurs lasciviously into my ear.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask disgusted.
“I have my reasons.”
“Want to share them with me?”
“All you need to know is that I want you, Ellie. I want your obedience, I want your submission, and I want your body.” He skims my clit with one of his fingers and I jump.
“What the fuck are you waiting for then? Why are you fucking with my head?” I erupt, fear dragging me under.
Kayne chuckles. “Hot for me baby? Want me to take you right here? Think you can handle it?” He presses his body against mine.
I tremble from the inside out. My fright and rage getting the best of me.
“You’re a bastard!”
“Name calling doesn’t really do it for me.” He smacks me again. That fucking hurts! “And I’m not in the business of raping women. That doesn’t do it for me either. I want you to hand yourself over willingly. Submit. Until then, we’ll just play.”
“Play?”
“Mmmm hmmm.” He goes back to rubbing my clit. “This is mine.” He slips one finger inside me and I gasp, digging my fingernails into the tile.
“Who do you belong to, Ellie?”
“No one!”
“Wrong answer.” He withdraws his finger. Half of me wants to scream, half wants to cry. “Stay,” he commands. I’m not a fucking dog!
Kayne turns off the shower, steps out, and towel dries himself, all while I stand there naked and emotionally exposed. Then he opens a towel to me. “Come.”
I scowl at him.
“Come, or I’ll spank you again. And this time I won’t stop.” His eyes narrow.
I take a deep breath, trying to control the tears. This can’t be happening. Reluctantly, I step out of the shower and into his waiting arms. He dries me off, not missing one part of my body. He touches it like he has license. Like he owns it.
Once I’m dry, Kayne lifts the collar from the floor.
“No.” I instinctively step back, but Kayne catches my wrist.
“Yes.” He pulls me forward with a dangerous look.
He fastens the collar around my neck and locks it. It’s tight and uncomfortable. The chain that’s still attached dangles between my naked breasts. I hate it. I hate the way it feels and what it signifies.
Kayne walks me back into the bedroom. There’s a plate of food sitting on the modest-size round table underneath the large wagon wheel window that only has one chair.