19. A Deal

My breathing is shallow, my mind still spinning from the devil's deal I just made, one I can't even really believe, although I think it might be the only way out. I'm sick and tired of those thugs bullying me daily.

My mum's store is all I have left, I'm not losing it to some useless men! It's already hard enough living two lives. Working at the store during the day, and the strip club at night.

Yes, I'm a 'Midnight ballerina'. If involving myself with this... man will keep johnny and his goons away, then sure.

At least my mask stays on.

Because...again...I can see the blackness that lurks under Xade's beautiful, charismatic exterior. I can sense the psychotic beast waiting to lunge from the shadows. His gaze holds mine, his violet eyes burning with cold, cruel satisfaction, like he feels he's won a game I didn't even realize we were playing.

The unspoken hangs in the air between us, each quiet breath a reminder the consequences of my choice are now his to deliver. He takes a step closer, looming over me, a faint smirk on his lips as his eyes slide over me.

He sheathes his knife behind his back before his hand reaches for me.

I shiver as he reaches down, tracing a slow, possessive line along my jaw, his thumb grazing over my lips, pulling them open slightly, his gaze intent as he studies the way my breath catches and sees the subtle tremor I can't suppress.

"You're shaking," he murmurs, his voice like velvet and steel. "Weren't you just negotiating a moment ago? Whatever happened to the clever, wily Kitten?" He lets his thumb press a little harder into my bottom lip, his eyes sparking as I feel my pulse speed up and heat spread through me despite myself.

This isn't like anything I've ever known. It's certainly not anything I should want⁠- I stiffen as the thought bleeds through my psyche.

Do I, in fact, want this? I open my mouth to say words I haven't even put together yet. But something in his gaze and his touch traps me, pinning me in place.

I realize with a mix of horror and dark fascination that I'm responding to him, held under his spell even more powerfully than I am by the ropes binding my wrists.

That's when the second realization hits me: I'm not freaking out about being bound. That's a first since the night of terror.

Before, when Johnny and his gang of thugs were shoving me against a wall and yanking my arms behind my back, I was practically entering a catatonic state. I was spiraling. But I'm not now-now, when I should be spiraling even harder, because suddenly it's not just having my arms tied or my body pinned helplessly. Now there's an overtly sexual element to it as well, which should have me diving into absolute freak-out land. I'm not.

And that's...unexpected. My pulse thrums wildly as I kneel there, bound and exposed, my breath catching as Xade's gaze travels over me, dark and unyielding.

He towers above me, the picture of predatory elegance, his violet eyes gleaming dangerously. His mouth curls into a satisfied smirk, reminding me of the power he wields.

The control I've surrendered. In this moment, I am a woman on her knees, vulnerable to the whims of a man who could take everything from me, up to and including my life.

Xade reaches for his belt buckle, his other hand still tracing my jaw and lip. I watch through the mask, my eyes widening as I see the bulge under his dark jeans throb.

The belt undoes with a cold metallic jangle, the sound bouncing around the empty warehouse. He undoes the button, then draws the zipper down.

My breath catches. He's not wearing underwear, and as the zipper tugs lower, I see him. All of him. It just...keeps going. My pulse thuds as I watch him slide his hand into his jeans and wrap his fingers around his cock. The tattooed muscles of his forearm flex as he strokes himself in time with his thumb across my lip, sending a disturbingly warm pulse through my core. His arm flexes again as he pulls his cock free, and my face pales. Holy. Fuck. I'm hardly a poster girl for experience. But fucking shit. Xade's huge, almost alarmingly so. I stare, my mouth hanging open a little as my gaze fixes on the thick cock in his fist. He strokes himself lazily, making the veins throb and the swollen head pulse barely inches from my face. I shiver as he tugs my bottom lip down with his thumb.

"Let's see that tongue, Kitten." I swallow thickly. Then I obey, almost like I'm in trance. My mouth opens a little wider, and my tongue sticks out past my lips. "Good girl." There's a needy tug at something dark inside of me. I try desperately to shove it back into a quiet little corner. I can't. He strokes himself as he pushes his hips forward.

His thumb drags my lip down again, then cups my jaw, pulling my mouth open as he lets the swollen head of his thick cock slide over my lips. He tastes sweet and a little salty.

He smells like citrus and bergamot and clean linen. Which twists something in my head, because a devil like him should reek of sulfur, brimstone, and captured souls. He looks at me like he wants to devour me whole as he opens my mouth a little more and pushes his swollen dick past my lips and over my tongue. I gag almost instantly.

Xade's lips curl in dark amusement as he draws back a little, letting the head rub over my bottom lip, smearing it with precum. "Let's try that again," he growls before unceremoniously shoving his cock back into my mouth. This time, I somehow manage to suppress the gag reflex when his sheer size invades my mouth.

I shudder as he thrusts, his jaw tight as he slides back out again, rubbing his head over my lips before he sinks back between them. "Now suck, little Kitten," he growls. I nod, letting my lips close around his cock.

My cheeks hollow slightly as I suck, swirling my tongue over his crown. Xade tilts his head, regarding me with a mixture of curiosity and dark hunger. His hand tangles in my hair and he pulls just hard enough to make my heart stumble. A quiet gasp escapes me, and his mouth curves, his amusement deepening at my reaction.

"Good," he murmurs. "Just like that." The next moment, he thrusts inside again, not bothering to let me figure out the right rhythm, just doing it himself. His hips roll as he starts to pump in and out, literally fucking my mouth as I sit there on my knees with my hands bound to the pole behind my back.

He uses me exactly as he pleases, every movement controlled and deliberate, a reminder of who holds the power. The hand in my hair tightens, guiding me, pulling me against him as he pushes against the back of my throat, gagging me again. Spit dribbles down my chin and my pulse roars as an unbidden and maybe a little unhinged feeling tickles in my core. Forbidden heat pools between my thighs.

Xade groans deeply, thrusting again in a rhythm that's at once commanding and impossibly intimate. I can feel his heat, sense the tension coiling in his muscles, the way he lets himself slowly savor every reaction he wrings from me. It's as if he's testing me, pushing me, and with each passing second my pulse beats faster, my body caught in the grip of a dark thrill that feels impossible to deny.

Xade is relentless, his grip on me growing more demanding and his movements more intense as he explores every scrap of control he holds over me. I'm trapped in this strange, twisted intimacy, each passing moment blurring the line between submission and resistance further, and I can feel myself slipping deeper into the darkness between us. His hand slides from my hair and drifts along my jaw, his fingers tracing a slow path over my cheek and down my throat.

His grip turns firmer as he wraps his fingers around my windpipe. It's as if every touch is intended to test my resolve and see how far I'll go to keep our agreement. There's a heat and a satisfaction in his gaze that sends a tremor through me, and though my face is hidden by the mask, I can feel myself totally exposed and laid bare under his scrutiny. "There's a good, obedient girl," he growls. "Such a pretty little cocksucker I've found." I want to hate the crude, filthy words that tumble from his lips. Instead, I just feel that same forbidden tug inside of me. That same confusing sense of need, swirling with the bewildering feeling of not losing control from being tied right now.

He lets the fingers of his other hand wander, reaching down to cup one of my breasts. Part of me wants to scream that this wasn't part of our deal. Another part of me just shivers and finds herself squeezing her thighs together as his fingers mercilessly pinch and twist a sensitive nipple. He does it again and again, alternating between my breasts, keeping my nipples electrified and throbbing as he fucks my mouth. He pinches down hard on one, pulling it up toward him and wringing a small, strangled sound from my throat. He growls, thrusting harder, faster, deeper.

"When I come, kitten," he murmurs darkly, "you're going to be a good girl and swallow every drop." I nod, my eyes locked with his through the mask as I look up at him, letting him use my mouth in this insanely demeaning way that somehow has me incredibly turned on. He thrusts harder, ramming his cock into the back of my mouth with an urgency that's both terrifying and thrilling, like he literally can't control himself anymore.

My core throbs as he brutalizes my nipples, sending electric currents zapping through my body as he stretches my jaw to its limit around his thick cock. There's no warning when he comes. One second, he's thrusting into my mouth.

The next, he buries himself and goes still, his jaw clenched tight as his cock swells to iron between my lips. It pulses and jerks, and I mewl in surprise as the thick ropes of salty cum spill across my tongue.

He's still exploding into my mouth as his thumb slips up to run along my jawline and the edge of my mask. I don't realize it's happening until it's too late. I try to pull back, but his other hand winds into my hair, holding me in place with undeniable force, my lips still wrapped around his cock. Slowly, almost lazily, he tugs at the edge of the mask, lifting it just enough to make me aware of the loss of my last defense.

"No more games, Kitten," he whispers. "Let's see who you really are." With a single, decisive motion, he tears the mask from my face, letting it fall to the floor, my identity exposed in the dim light of the warehouse. The chilly air hits my skin, stark and unforgiving.

Xade groans, his cock throbbing against my tongue as one last pulse of cum spills into my mouth, and his eyes widen. Everything stops cold. He stares down at me, and I look up at him. He makes no move to pull his still-hard cock from between my lips, or even to let go of my face or my hair. The silence stretches out taut and heavy as he studies me, examining every reaction, every trace of shock and fear that flickers across my face. There's a shift in his expression, a faint smile that appears on his lips as he realizes just how much power he now holds, how deeply he's unraveled me.

His fingers brush against my cheek as if to confirm that I'm real. I can see the spark of delight in his gaze, the dark satisfaction that sends a shiver down my spine. "Well, Quen," he murmurs, my name rolling off his tongue with a quiet intimacy that's both exhilarating and terrifying. "Isn't this an interesting surprise."

And I realize in this moment that I've been caught, and I'm not sure if I'll ever escape. This isn't going how I envisioned.