Better yet, how could four sadists live in one house and not completely destroy each other with their sick games? How could I survive them, when my mind and body were betraying me at every turn, making me ache for their cruelty? All my fake struggles didn’t change reality — I wanted this, I longed for it.

“Sshh, sshh, Jess.” He kept the wand terrifyingly close to my clit as he leaned forward, bracing himself on the hood with one hand beside me. “You deserve this, you know. For being a bad girl. Bad girls need to be punished, don’t they?” He nodded as he said it, and I managed a tiny nod in return. My tongue kept forming the word “please,” over and over, but it didn’t come out right with my mouth full. “I’m going to count to three and then I’m going to do it. Ready?” I shook my head, and he laughed. “I think you are. As ready as you’ll ever be. One…”

I almost tapped. Almost. But I was curious. I wanted to push myself. Wanted more. My legs were shaking, and I whimpered as two more drops of wax fell onto me.

“Two.”

My entire body clenched. I didn’t know whether to look away or watch him do it.

“Three.”

He tapped the wand against my clit. I screamed, dissolving into sobs as I struggled to hold the candle in place. A cocktail of adrenaline and dopamine rushed through me in response to the pain — the perfect high.

“Good girl.” He leaned over to kiss my forehead, and I absolutely melted. I wanted him inside me; I wanted his body on mine.

Why did the pain make me feel so alive? It was the same kind of thrill I’d felt strapped into the passenger seat as he sped down the road, skirting the edge of danger. My hips bucked up eagerly, thoughtlessly. They were met with the wand again.

Vincent gave my face a little slap as I whined through the sting. “Such a slut, moving your hips around like that. You just want to get fucked, don’t you?” He pouted at me mockingly as I tried my best to keep still. No wiggling, no struggling, no frantically grinding my hips in search of any stimulation for my swollen, stinging clit.

He straightened up as he regarded me, twirling the wand in his hand. “Tell you what. I’ll fuck you. I’ll even take the candle out of your mouth. But I’m still going to use the wand the whole time.” He ran the wand up my leg, but he didn’t press the button. I shivered under its metallic touch, expecting a shock at any second. “So, are you going to keep yourself quiet, or are you going to be screaming your lungs out the entire time?”