The Marriage Debt: Chapter 5

I run as fast as I can through the corridors of this massive building, but there’s not an emergency exit in sight. All the doors I try to open are locked. I bang on one, but it doesn’t open.

Does no one live here?

Panic floods my veins as I run as fast as I can, but this stupid mermaid dress is holding me back, and I can’t take it off. Because when I glance over my shoulder, Luca is right there, following my every footstep with a wicked smile on his face. His stride is casual like he isn’t afraid I’ll ever outrun him, and that brings a chill to my bones.

How can a guy as fucked up as him be so aloof and arrogant at the same time?

Every step he takes is faster than the one before, and his smile only grows deeper, like he’s enjoying the chase, and it makes me want to scream.

But would anyone care to open their door and take me in?

“Help!” I yell in the hopes that someone, anyone, would hear.

Luca laughs. “Yell as loud as you like, bunny.”

Bunny.

I still hate the name as much as I hate him.

The way his eyes glint makes goose bumps scatter across my skin, and I kick off my shoes and run harder. But my long, bejeweled dress makes me stumble and fall to the floor.

Before I can get up, he’s pounced on me.

“No, get off me!” I roll to my back, but he pins me down by my wrists and sits on top of me.

“No, I don’t think I will,” he muses, smiling like the asshole he’s always been. “You shouldn’t have run from me, Jill.”

Anger gets the best of me, and I spit in his face again.

His lip twitches, rage spilling from his eyes when he looks at me, but he doesn’t even wipe it off his cheek.

Instead, he leans in so close I can feel his breath on my skin as his dick pokes me in the belly. “Next time, I will make you lick that off.”

“You’re a monster,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Monster … or husband you don’t know how to handle?” he retorts, winking.

Fuck, if I didn’t know just how bad he can get, I’d almost say it was hot.

“Fuck you,” I hiss. “I’ll just keep on running and alerting the neighbors until someone takes me in and calls the police.”

He grins and shakes his head. “Oh, Jill, you really think lowly of me.” He smiles wickedly at my confusion. He lowers himself so we’re eye to eye, his veiny hands still pressed firmly on my wrists so I can’t try anything. “I don’t just own the penthouse. I own the entire. Fucking. Building.”

Jesus. The entire building? How rich is this fucker?

“Yeah, right,” I scoff. “Your daddy bought it for you.”

His dark hair swipes across my forehead like a curtain. “My father bought a lot for his family, but this building isn’t one of them.”

He gets up, and I finally feel like I can breathe again. But the feeling doesn’t last long as he grabs my wrist and drags me through the corridor.

“In case you haven’t noticed, my father has no control over what I do.”

He shoves me toward the only door in the back. With walls all around, I have nowhere else to go. And I’m trapped between a closed door and him as he stalks toward me.

“Or over what I crave …” Luca adds, every one of his steps making me much more aware of just how little power I have left and how much of it is in his hands.

“Don’t hurt me,” I say, shaking my head.

A lopsided grin forms on his face. “You think I want to hurt you?” His tongue darts out to wet his top lip. “No, Jill, I want to devour you.”

For a second there, I can’t stop focusing on his tongue, reminding me of the way he kissed me the first time he came into my room. But then I remember this is the same guy who married me out of spite.

I can’t ever want him like I did back then. Not ever.

I hold my breath and close my eyes, expecting to be punished for running away and defying him. He inches closer and closer until his breath is right underneath my ear, and those same delectable lips are hovering over my skin.

“You know I’ve dreamed of this day,” he whispers. “Of seeing you with my ring on your finger … of ripping this beautiful dress off your body.”

When his lips graze my skin, electricity courses through my body.

“You are mine now. You belong to me and me alone. And I will use your body in every way I desire until you beg me for mercy.”

I swallow hard.

Especially when he smiles against my ear, expecting a kiss.

My heart beats in my throat as the seconds feel like an eternity.

CLICK!

The door holding me captive between his arms parts ways, and I stumble backward. A key dangles in his hand, the familiar smirk on his face making me want to punch him.

“Welcome to my penthouse,” he says as he closes the door behind me and the lock clicks back into place. “Your home for the rest of your life.”

I step backward, away from him, my eyes searching the room for an exit. But I’m stupefied and completely overwhelmed by the extravagance all around me. Pristine white couches that seem untouched, a fireplace in the corner, a marble countertop in the kitchen, a giant amount of space, and walls covered with expensive-looking paintings. Everywhere I look are nouveau-art collections, statues in the middle of the room, and there’s even a giant bonsai in the corner. But my eyes are completely drawn to the giant paneled windows to the right with a grand view of Rotterdam.

My heart releases a sigh from the beauty.

A long time ago, I dreamed of a place like this.

Way back before we moved across the world, back before the world got complicated and I wanted nothing more than to escape. Before I realized all dreams come at a price.

A price I wasn’t willing to pay until today.

I close my eyes and touch the windows, wishing I could push them open and fly away like a bird, but I know that isn’t possible. And if I died now, what would happen to Jasmine? Would he take her as a prize instead? I can’t take that risk.

When he’s right behind me, my eyes burst open. His finger gently twirls around a lock of my hair while his other hand slowly inches closer to caress my cheek and go all the way down my neck, and it sends shivers down my spine.

“Did I tell you yet you look beautiful in this dress?” he murmurs, and he plants a soft, delicate kiss on my shoulder.

I stare back at him through the reflection in the glass as I try to remain unmoved by this sudden show of affection. “It wasn’t made for me,” I hiss. “It’s just a dress you wanted my sister to wear.”

With fiery eyes, he looks up into mine through the glass. “But I never once wanted to marry her as badly as I wanted to marry you.”

I snort, shaking my head a little. “Pathetic.”

His hand snakes around my neck as he pushes me closer to the glass with his body alone. “No. Obsessive,” he replies, planting one hand on my waist while the other coils around my throat. “And if you desire it, I will buy every dress on this earth until I find the one that fits your body,” he says with a low, rumbling voice as he presses up against me until his hard-on grows against my butt. My pussy clenches out of my control. “And when I do, I’ll rip it to shreds and fuck you right here against this window for the world to see.”

He spins me around on my heels, forcing me to look at him.

“Make no mistake, Jill. You are mine.” He leans in so close I can feel his breath on my skin as he plants both hands against the window behind me. “And I will mark your body in every way I know how.” My eyes close, and I suck in a breath, expecting a kiss that never comes. Instead, he hovers close to my ear, teeth bared, and whispers, “Starting right now.”

Suddenly, he picks me up, making me shriek out loud as he throws me over his shoulder like a goddamn caveman.

“Where are you taking me?”

He barges through the giant penthouse and heads into a room in the back, turning on the light. The room is dark with its curtains already shut, but I can clearly make out the red tapestries from where I’m hanging.

“What is this place?” I mutter.

“Your room,” he responds, closing the door behind us and locking us inside. “My bedroom.”

When he puts me down, I can look around a little better. A crystal chandelier lights the room. Kinky pictures hang from the wall—girls being tied up, spanked, or drooling with a ball in their mouth—and it all makes me blush like crazy. In the corner of the room is a strange black and red chair with metal hooks and straps, and in the middle of the room stands a big, raised red and black metal framed bed. And a little farther along near the bed, four thick metal hooks hang from the ceiling, giving me chills.

I gulp.

In shock, my hand slaps against my mouth, but I quickly remove it, hoping Luca didn’t see.

Too late.

The grin on his face is unmistakable. “Spotted my hooks?” he muses, twirling a chain of keys around his finger like it’s all one big joke to him. “Afraid I might hang you there?”

I admit, it terrifies me, and I’d probably do just about anything he’d want me to so I don’t end up in there. And I know he knows. I can see it on his face. Fucker.

His tongue quickly darts out to wet his lips before he saunters to the chair in the back and sits down, facing me with his knees wide, his gaze threatening and dominant.

I swallow down the lump in my throat when he tilts his head.

“Come.”

There’s a certain gravity in his voice that’s hard to ignore.

If I defy him, he might throw me in that hole or worse…

I shiver at the thought.

I don’t think I want to find out if I don’t obey.

So I walk over to him with my head held high.

Luca taps his black pants with two fingers, the fabric straining against his half-hard dick. It doesn’t escape my notice, and I hate that I focus on it.

“Closer,” he says.

I close my eyes and sigh but still step ahead.

I know what I am to him.

A plaything.

A toy he bought in exchange for my family’s silence.

And now it’s my job to oblige.

But when I open my eyes, I want nothing more than to run far away.

“Remember this?” That same knife he used on me all those years ago is still glinting as sharp as ever as the tip pokes against his index finger.

“How could I forget?” I retort with sass. “You took something from me that wasn’t yours to take.”

He smirks in a self-indulgent way. “And I’ll keep on taking everything you have to give.” Suddenly, he jumps forward and slices through the top half of the dress, cutting through the seams far enough to make half of it drop down across my chest.

There goes the expensive wedding dress my sister probably picked by hand.

All that’s left between Luca and my naked chest is my flimsy bra.

“When is it enough?” I ask, making a fist to try to curb my emotions.

He tilts his head, toying with the knife near his cheek. “When I’m satisfied.”

That last word almost comes out in a hungry rumble, and for some reason, it makes me look at the bulge in his pants again.

Fuck.

I quickly look away again, but it’s hard when I know he noticed.

“Look at me,” he says, commanding my attention. “Do you think I’m satisfied?”

I don’t know what he wants from me or what he expects from me, but the answer is probably, “No.”

“Exactly.” He lunges forward again, cutting through the last piece of fabric so it peels away between my breasts, leaving only a small piece near the edge, covering half my nipples. And the second they become visible, his hand instantly moves to his package, adjusting it while groaning, the sound hitting me hard.

It’s been so long since I last saw him, since I last heard him speak, let alone groan.

It reminds me of the last time he kissed me when he slid open my towel and touched my freshly showered skin like it always belonged to him.

And I knew back then what I still know now … this boy brings out the worst in me.

The part I never dared to let out.

“Does it make you feel good to degrade me?” I ask, forcing myself not to look at his clearly tented pants.

“Oh, you don’t even know just how hard it makes me.”

I gulp, pushing the blush to stay at bay.

Fuck. It isn’t working.

“Bunny.”

He leans forward, tilting the knife up to meet my gaze. I shudder as he drags it along my chest down to my breasts, circling them to push the fabric aside. “You don’t wanna know how long I’ve fantasized about sucking these nipples until they’re taut.”

When he slides the knife across my peaked nipples, I say a prayer.

“To make you beg for more as I fuck your every hole,” he murmurs, grabbing my waist to pull me closer. “To make you regret you ever said no.”

When the knife punctures my skin, right between both breasts, I bite my lip to stop myself from expressing the pain. I refuse to let him see it as he refuses to take his eyes off mine, desperate to watch me fall apart.

But I won’t break for him.

Not even as he draws blood, sliding the knife around until it’s formed a heart on my chest. Blood drops roll down onto the pretty dress, staining it forever.

And all he can do is smile like the sadistic bastard he is. “Just like I promised … Your heart belongs to me.”

“You may have made me your wife, but my heart will never be yours,” I hiss in a moment of pure bravery.

His eye twitches, and the look on his face darkens. I know it’s dangerous. I can still feel the knife edging into my skin, but he won’t kill me. He wants me too much to ever try.

He grabs my wrist, forcing me closer. “I don’t need your heart if I have your body and soul,” he retorts, and he pulls my arm in such a painful way that I have to follow his lead until I’m down on the floor on my knees. “Good girls know their place.”

I spit in his face. “Fuck you.”

“No … but I will fuck you,” he groans. “And you will say ‘yes, please’ when I do, just like a good fucking wife would. You heard your father. Make me happy.”

I frown as he fists the knife while clutching the chair in a subtle threat. But I already feel the pain on my chest. I know what he’s capable of, and I’m not afraid.

“So what, you’re just gonna force your way in if I don’t?”

He tilts his head, grinding his teeth. “Would you prefer it that way, bunny?” He leans in and grabs my chin. “Because I can be rough with you if you want.” His thumb grazes my bottom lip, dragging it down, his voice lowering with every sentence he speaks. “If that’s what you need.”

What I need? It’s too late for that.

I sold my soul to the devil to save my sister, and this is the price I pay.

He wants my pussy … the one thing I’ve never given to any man.

And I don’t want to give that to him.

“Now, are you going to straddle me, or do you want me to come and fuck you while you’re on all fours?” he growls, his grip suddenly coarse against my skin.

I swat him away, but it only makes him laugh.

“You shouldn’t have shown up to that wedding, Jill, if you didn’t want me to make you mine.” He leans back in the chair again and slowly unzips his pants. “Because now I will never be satisfied with anything but your aching pussy around my throbbing cock.”

And when he pulls it out, I am not prepared.

Oh, my God.

The size of it catches me off guard. Not just the length but the girth too.

But most of all… the two piercings in his cock.

One at the base, near his pubic bone, a circular ring, and another bigger ring through the top of his head.

And the sight makes me so dizzy I almost faint.

But the arrogant smirk on his face keeps me in the present. “What … never seen a Prince Albert?”

My eyes widen as I’m a bit stupefied. “A what?”

He laughs and grabs my face, tipping up my chin. “You really do your nickname justice, bunny.”

Bunny. A small, innocent, fuzzy creature.

Everything I don’t want to be, but it’s everything he wished for.

And when I look up into his eyes, I know I have no other choice. Do this or risk giving my sister this fate.

No.

I’d rather die than let that happen.

But Luca … Luca would see it as a personal victory if he found out I’m…

Don’t think like that. You’re in control. You’ve got this. You chose this, now stick with it and do what you gotta do.

I swallow back my nerves and ignore the rage boiling to the surface as he lowers my bottom lip enough to make an o-shape of my mouth.

A smile spreads on his lips, one so wicked it could stop hearts without effort. “I’m going to have a lot of fun with you. Now be a good little bunny and open your mouth wide.”