She’d tried to prepare herself for the hitting, but when Leo bent her over and fucked her instead while she was too scared to be turned on, it brought everything home. She was his property. She didn’t want this, but he’d been in the grip of something she didn’t feel strong enough to break through. She’d been afraid the Leo that acknowledged her, wouldn’t be the one she thought she’d fallen in love with.

Whatever romantic fantasies she’d had of love between them scattered and faded into the empty air. Why did it have to be like this?

And to allow him to kiss her like that… to return the kiss… to want to after… what was wrong with her? But the moment he’d switched to kindness, as if there could be an apology wrapped inside his kiss, she’d drunk it up like a parched animal at a stream—desperate to hold onto this version of Leo just a little while longer.

Those other women… She’d seen them happy afterward, and Mei Lin was happy to return. Another sob escaped her throat, and Leo swallowed it up in another kiss that felt like flowers blooming after the storm.

She couldn’t stop her body from responding to the careful, yet passionate way he kissed her as he held her in his arms.

“Close your eyes.”

Closing her eyes was a sign of trust. How could she trust him now? But she was still afraid to fight, so she closed her eyes, hoping to go some place safe.

His weight lifted off the bed. A lid opened and closed. The box. Her mind screamed. The music continued to play, filling every space of the room, the notes foreboding. He returned a moment later and slipped a blindfold over her eyes, then he took her wrists in his hands and bound them with rope to the headboard of the bed.

She let out a desperate whimper. “Please, Master…”

“Shhhh. I’m not going to hurt you again.”

Again.

His voice was softer and kinder, and though she knew she was stupid for it, she believed him. He pushed her legs apart, and she tensed. He’d already hurt her down there, and he’d promised that he wouldn’t… but his fingers went to her clit. They were cold and wet with lubricant, and even after everything that had happened, her body opened to him and awakened under his touch.

She was ashamed when she came, moaning and squirming under his hand. It should have taken longer. He should have had to work more for it. He should have had to drag her kicking and screaming to pleasure after hours of endless stimulation. His hand should have cramped. And yet… minutes. Mere minutes for her surrender.

Could he do anything to her, then change course and make her pant for her treat like a well-trained dog? She flinched as his greedy mouth engulfed her nipple, and he ran his hands over her, assessing his property, feeling every curve and contour of what she’d foolishly given him.