Chapter 129: Master

Fire.

…Void. Where’s the fire? There’s pain, but… I’m alone.

*I’m lonely.*



I snapped awake with a startled gasp as if my conscious had been battling this whole time to wake me up. A headache pulsed in the front of my skull and my nausea had returned. The world around me was still blurry as I groggily looked around at my surroundings. What the hell? Where am I? Memory hit me like a gunshot and at the same time I felt my thigh begin to throb with blazing pain.

“Jul–UGH!!” I tried to sit up, but something tight around my wrists prevented me from doing so. It took me a second to realize that I was still on Julian’s bed, but this time, my wrists and ankles were tied to the ends of the bed. The shackles had long ropes to make up for my small size. I could feel something wrapped around my neck, but I couldn’t tell what it was. And I was butt-ass naked. “What the fuck??” I felt panic set as I looked around rapidly. “JULIAN!” I screamed his name when I couldn’t find him within my field of vision. “JULIAN!!”

The click and twist of a doorknob made me look between the bedroom and the bathroom doors, but neither moved. My confusion turned into anxiety when I realized it had come from the closet. “Beautiful!” He smiled down at me with that charming grin of his while walking over. “You’re awake. I was worried.”

*Oh, fuck.* I tried to keep my composure even though my heart was pounding at the speed of light.

“What the hell is going on? Did you do this to me?? Did you drug me?!”

“I wanted the full view of you,” He murmured without answering the rest of my questions. His voice was the same as always, and that’s what freaked me out. His fingertips glided from between my breasts, down my ribcage, and toward my belly button. “And I wanted you to be comfortable, so I put you on my bed.”

“I am NOT comfortable!” I angrily barked. “Get this shit off of me NOW! I want out!”

“Beautiful,” He sat down at my side while rubbing my abdomen where the baby would be growing. “You’ve been straying too far from home. I think it’s about time…” he reached up and tugged at what was around my neck. “Your leash gets shorter and you’re reminded of who your master is.”

It finally dawned on me that the thing I felt around my neck was that freaky dog collar he put on me the first night we fucked. “Get this shit off of me!” I defiantly jerked my head away from him.

“Bea–”

“STOP fucking calling me that! I’ve told you!” The volume of my shouts raised. I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but I know it’s been long enough for his meds to completely leave his system. I struggled to rip my hands free from the shackles, but they were too tight and I knew my ankles were a loss cause, not to mention my wounded leg would be too weak to do anything at all.

*I’m seriously fucked! Where’s Grace? How long have I been out? What did you do to me?* I had a barrage of questions, but I knew my demands would get no answer.

I opened my mouth to curse another shout, but Julian stopped me with a finger pressed to my lips. “Shhh.” His voice was calm, like trying to soothe a baby to sleep. “Everything will be fine.” Julian twirled my curly hair around his finger again. “I can see you’re upset. But there’s no reason to be.” His finger slid from my lips to my chin and grazed my collarbone. “I always told you I’d take care of you, didn’t I?” His hand glided further down till he was able to fondle my breast. My legs stiffened, and I closed my eyes when he leaned down toward my face. “You believe me, don’t you?”

I gave him no response.

This didn’t please him, and he gave my breast a rough squeeze. “Don’t you?”

I still gave no response. I didn’t even look in his direction. *Fuck him.*

There was an unnerving silence between us before he sighed and released my breast. “It’s alright, I know you’re upset with me.” His sweet smile returned as he leaned down and began to kiss the sensitive part of my neck. “I’ll be better for you. Better than any man has ever treated you.” He wiped my hair out of my face. “Better than that bastard Jack. Or that nosy–shit Elena.”

I finally looked back up at him, the light of a hateful fire sparking within. “You keep Jack’s name out of your fucking mouth! You hear me?!” I coughed when he grabbed my jawline and dove to kiss me roughly, something he didn’t do often. I flinched when he bit to the point I thought it would split. “Mmf!” the shackles clanged loudly when I tried to fight back, with two movements he was between my legs. It wasn’t often that I felt vulnerable, even when I was naked.

“Nobody will ever love you as much as I love you.” He breathed into my ear. I could feel his lips stretch into a smile against my skin. “Nobody will ever love someone like *you* as much as I do.”

I winced. His words stabbed the most sensitive part of my being. Of course, he knew how much I doubted myself… he knew me better than my mother. *Right…?* My body felt paralyzed just by simple words as he unzipped his pants and pulled down his boxers.

*He’s wrong, right? Mom loves me the way I am, right? Amy loves me despite my flaws too, right? Mason and Alex too, right? Liam barely knows me but…! They care, right?? Is Julian really the only one who does? Have they all been lying to my face? Am I really not worth it? I know I’m a burden, I know I’m a piece of shit, I know I’m–*

“AH!!” I gave a pained cry when he roughly thrust into me. I had been drowned so deep in my thoughts that I almost forgot where I was and what was happening. “Basta–” I screamed again when he pushed in another powerful thrust. He’s never fucked me like this before. Is this his version of putting me in my place?

*No. I’m not as weak as you think I am!* I burned away my doubts with my inner flame. *What would Jack say? What would Dad say??* I fought back, trying my hardest to free my hands from their cuffs. C’MON!! Right as Julian began to passionately kiss me, one of my hands cracked a popping sound as my thumb dislocated. With one swift movement, I hooked my arm around his neck to hold him in place and bit his tongue harshly. He yelped in pain when we both tasted his blood and my hooked arm prevented his escape. “You wanted me, now you’ve got me, asshole.”