His face moved in close to hers. He practically growled when he spoke. “I’m not playing into your manipulation again, Caprice. We are not getting back together. If you can’t handle that, I will pack up my things and leave now. I want to hear you say it, say you understand me and you accept the terms of what we’re doing here.”

She glared up at him. “What are we doing here, Leo?”

He released her and picked up the cane again. With one hand, he covered her mouth, and with the other, he raised the implement. A blur of silver sliced through the air and connected with her flesh. She let out a muffled howl against his hand. When she’d composed herself again, he released her.

“You can’t follow the simplest rules. I said while I’m here you will call me Master. If that’s too complicated for you and too much for you to remember, I’ll leave.”

Panic filled her eyes. “No, wait. I’ll be good. I’m sorry, Master. I’ll do what you want. I promise.”

“Say you understand and accept my terms. I have to know that you understand you won’t gain a relationship out of this. If that’s what you think your goal is, lose the delusion.”

“I understand, Master.” Her head dropped to the bed and a single tear slid down her cheek.

Leo had a moment’s hesitation where everything paused and went quiet. Inside the stillness of that moment, he knew the truth. She loved him. Or what passed as love in her world, anyway. She felt for him as much as she was capable of feeling for another human being, and he didn’t return that affection. It was wrong to keep going here, to play with her. No matter what she said, deep down he knew she believed if she pleased him enough, he might keep her and send Faith away. She didn’t know how to be honest, and that was a deal breaker for him.

And yet, here she was all tied up, begging him to use her. Faced with a long stretch of celibacy and no outlets for his sadism in sight, Caprice was too much temptation. She was a last meal on death row.

But like before, being here with her was weak satisfaction, like masturbation that results in a bad orgasm, where you go through the motions only to find the resulting pleasure is such a dim shadow as to have been a complete waste of time.

That was how Leo felt standing in the deluxe courtyard room on the ninth floor of The Plaza hotel. Having driven half an hour from his estate to get to the edge of the city and then another forty-five minutes fighting traffic, and here was a willing woman tied down, waiting for him to use her in whatever way appealed to him.

But when he looked at her, in his mind’s eye, he saw Faith there, pushing past her fears to submit. It would mean more because it was a sacrifice for her. As much as Caprice wanted to do anything to be with him, once she had him, her tune would change. Her resolve would melt like snow to reveal the dead grass underneath. Her willingness to do anything would drift away and he’d be left with yet another sham.