I reply with a thanks and walk out of that room, switching out the light and thinking I should put a padlock on the door to be doubly sure Mercedes never gets in here. I head back into the forest, grateful for the fresh air, and return to the house, glancing up at Mercedes’s window. The light is on, and she’s standing there watching me. She wouldn’t know where I was. But I do wonder if she’ll do as she’s told and stay away from that outbuilding. It will force my hand if she doesn’t. The thought of stripping her bare and punishing her has its usual effect on my cock. And this is the very reason I can’t touch her. Can’t have her. It’s not because I’m afraid. It’s to keep her safe from the beast within.

24

Judge

I enter Mercedes’s room on Saturday evening to find her applying the last of her makeup. Her signature crimson lipstick. The makeup is just for tonight. It will be removed from her room once we’re gone.

Her back is to me, and I see how the dress drapes to just the right length to hide any scars. Only the unblemished skin of her back is exposed. Her hair is pulled up, and I can see the IVI tattoo, and the empty space above it where her eventual husband’s mark will be placed.

I can’t think about that, though.

Mercedes’s eyes are on me in the reflection. She knew I was watching and waited, letting me. “Too much?” she asks, standing to her full height.

She’s stunning. Black hair swept high, one tendril left to be tucked flirtatiously behind her ear. Skin glowing. Eyes lined heavily. The scarlet dress hugs her the way it was made to. She has brushed gold dust on her shoulders and at the deep V between her breasts that allows for a glimpse of their fullness, but it’s unnecessary. She’s already too beautiful. Too alluring.

“My eyes are up here, Judge.”

I look up to find her grinning like she’s amused. The old Mercedes De La Rosa will make an appearance tonight. All her armor is in place. I had worried about her going back to a Society event, but I know now I don’t need to be. She will dominate.

“Not too much, no,” I start, taking her arm and tucking it into mine. “Stunning. But you already know that.”

“I do, but I love hearing it.” She smiles wide, and I walk her out of the room.

“Vanity is not an attractive trait.”

“Neither is cowardice.”

I help her into the back of the Rolls, and Raul drives toward the compound. “Are we back to that?”

She turns to me, eyes calculating, and I remember what she’d said in the beginning. How she could have any man she wanted. Any time.