LOGINLucia's POV
His hand swept across my bare flesh with deliberate slowness, caressing each curve as if I were his. I froze, a strangled gasp ripping from my throat.
“I'll be good… please,” I choked out. “I'll behave, I'll do anything, but this.”
A deep rumble echoed in his chest, the sound tickling the shell of my war. “Ahh, Lucia,” he purred, “remember how I taught you the only true and purest testament of love is…”
“... pain,” I finished, the word torn from me in a fragile whisper, perfectly in rhythm with his tutelage.
“Good girl.”
He withdrew his hand; the faint swish of cloth preceded the soft thump of clothing on the concrete as he disrobed.
I flicked at the clicking of my chain with every tremor that ran through me.
“The whip, the knife, I'll accept any of it; I can bear the pain.”
A sharp, brutal slap snapped my head back and to the side, stars erupting behind my eyes. His eyes flared with a burning, primal fury, a warning of far worse to come if I dared say a single syllable.
“You will not tell me what to do.” His voice was ice, deadly calm. “Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The words came out as a tight rasp.
He clambered onto the narrow cot, his naked, heavy form settling upon my prone one, his knee forcing my chained limbs apart. In one devastating thrust, he impaled my pussy, a savage force that buried himself to the hilt.
A piercing scream tore from my lips, my body stretched to the breaking point.
He gave me no grace. Hips snaking with unwavering efficiency, he began to batter into me, the wet sound of his flesh upon mine echoing the frantic beat of my own terrified heart.
“Please,” I sobbed between gasping breaths, “I'll be good! I'll be good!”
He simply leaned in closer, the heat of his exhale hot against my ear as he continued to pummel my cunt with unrelenting force.
“This is love,” he snarled, each word underscored by the savage impacts that made me cry out.
“This is love. This is love.”
Agony bloomed with each violent plunge. His hand gripped my throat, squeezing until the world began to swim, yet still he pounded into me faster now, using my mouth as a vessel, my body as a slave to his own twisted pleasure.
My screams filled the sterile confines of the room, but he neither faltered nor relented, repeating his refrain of love, over and over, the insistent stroking of his cock a constant reminder of his absolute control, a proof of his perverse devotion.
With a violent yank, he pulled out, flipping me over. My chains rattled as he forced my hips up, and without hesitation, drove into my pussy from behind, pinning me with the weight of his body.
Each brutal thrust drove my face into the flimsy mattress, his balls slapping against my clit with every movement. He spit on my asshike and then rammed two fingers in without warning, stretching the already torn ring as he continued to punish my cunt.
“Scream for me,” he grunted, “let me hear just how much you love it.”
I whispered and begged, but the assault intensified, his fingers writhing in my backside as he pounded relentlessly against my cervix.
He withdrew his fingers, wiping the slick wetness on my back before gripping my hair, jerking my head back to force my jaw open and spitting into my mouth.
“Swallow it,” he hissed, his tongue brushing against mine before he rammed his cock deeper, grinding into my cervix, sending searing jolts of pain radiating throughout my belly.
His hand slid underneath to pinch and roll my clit between his rough fingertips, never pausing the rhythmic ravishment of my pussy.
Drops of sweat cascaded from his chest to my back, mingling with the slick discharge of my exploited flesh. He bit my shoulder, the pain a sharp sting, followed by a slow, teasing lick and then another, more savage bite.
His hips continued their relentless pounding, his cock slicked to sliding in and out, the thudding rhythm merging with my fractured pleas.
Releasing my hair, he repeatedly smacked my ass, the impact leaving red handprints on my burning skin.
He then reached for the knife on the bedside table. As he fucked me with sustained, hard thrusts, the cool steel blade pressed firmly against the bare expanse of my back, lightly dragged across my flesh without cutting, yet sending shivers down my spine.
You said you could take the knife,” he whispered. “Perhaps on another occasion.” He tossed the weapon aside and seized my hips, his thrust now short and sharp, jolting my body, unable to do more than register the raw violence of it.
Cum began to seek out between my thighs, tracing paths down my legs, yet he thrust and plunged.
He leaned over my back, chest pressed against my spine, and mumbled into my ear.
“This is life, Lucia. This is how I love you. Every inch of my cock inside you, every scream you give, every bruise I leave, that's love.”
His movement grew nice and frenzied, his balls tightening as he slammed in one final time and held deep, flooding my pussy with hot cum while I sobbed beneath him.
Somebody was shaking me, pulling me from my horrific memory. I gasped, my body arching sharply, violently against its restraint. My skin was swimming in sweat.
My breaths became ragged little gaps as my eyes went up to the person hovering above me.
Damien.
He was standing right over me. For a fraction of a second, I thought I caught a hint of something in his eyes.
Something… human
But it was so quick that I had to question whether I had seen it at all. He instantly released my hand from the rough grip he'd held me in, returning it to the position that seemed most comfortable at his side.
The emotion in his face hardened to the same impassive mask it had held since the wedding day.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs, thudding out a rapid rhythm of doom. I’d imagined it.
There had to be a reason he would suddenly have a flash of humanity.
Without so much as a word, Damien turned away from me.
He walked towards the metal table positioned in the corner of the room, stopping just before reaching out, and turned back to me.
A long metal object was clutched in his hand. A poker-or whatever it was called.
Its tip glowed an intense orange, pulsing with heat.
He approached slowly.
The word stamped into the iron gleamed bright m, sharp in the gloom. My blood ran cold as his face broke into the smallest, coldest smile I had ever seen.
No. Please, no.
“Damien, please don't do this…” I pleaded, yanking frantically at the chains, straining even to move an inch.
The steel chains and their restraining iron dug into my skin as I desperately attempted to shift position.
There was no moving. Nowhere to go, no place to run.
“Please.”
He didn't pause, didn't falter. Damien brought the hot iron down and pressed it hard against the left side of my lower abdomen.
Agony surged through my body.
I screamed, a horrible, torn, scratchy sound. Every nerve ending within me seemed to ignite, and I arched back as much as I could, every inch of my skin burning as the intense heat spread.
Fire beneath flesh — it felt as if my body had been set aflame.
“Ahhh!”
My voice had cracked from the intensity of my wailing. Tears fell freely from my eyes, and the stinging smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
And then, the pressure lessened, and Damien lifted the metal.
My heart skipped a beat as an immense wave of relief swept through me before it died out a moment later, leaving behind a sharp, aching ache beneath the surface of my skin.
My body shuddered violently. I lowered my head, trying to bring my blurry, waterlogged eyes into focus.
There, burned into my skin, was an angry red welt.
It was so swollen that I wasn't even sure there were letters there at first glance.
But as my gaze sharpened slightly through my tears, I could read them clearly.
“Damien's Property.”
Chapter Twenty-nineLucia's POV Tears ran hot down my cheeks as I stared at Damien. How could he do this to me? How could he bring an innocent ten-year-old into this?The gun was pushed forward towards Lucian's forehead; he didn't have to say anything for me to get the message he was trying to pass.‘Time is running out before I decide for you’I opened my mouth, even though I knew no sound would pass my lips; my throat burned, but somehow I forced the words out.“I pick the fifteen men.” The words croaked in my raspy throat. A smirk played on Damien's thin lips as he lowered the gun.“Take him away.” Primo immediately stepped forward and took Lucian by the arm.“No!” Lucian struggled against him.“Aunt Lucia!” My heart gave a vicious lurch in my chest.I gave him a weak smile. “I'll be fine.” My voice was too weak.“Aunt Lucia! I don't want to go!” His cries echoed through the room.“Where's Daddy?” He looked at me with innocent and confused eyes. The last question, it absolutely br
Lucia's POV I walked closer and closer to the main road. The passing cars’ horns blared, cutting through the sound of the heavy rain.I stopped, then stood unmoving.I stared at the road directly before me, and in the corner of my mind–a small sliver of hope–I wished that someone wouldn't see me, and still a part of me hoped that someone would.I simply didn't have the energy to care any longer. Then I heard a truck horn, and it was loud, and it was getting closer and closer.I looked up, and the truck was heading directly towards me, and I smiled.Finally, I closed my eyes and stood still and waited for my death to come. However, before anything happened, a hand gripped mine violently, pulling me back. I staggered and stumbled, landing with my entire weight against a body of muscle.I gasped, my eyes flying open. Damien. He was soaked from the rain, his chest rising and falling heavily. His face was twisted with anger.“Have you fucking lost your mind?” he roared, and I stared at h
Lucia's POV I ran, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me after escaping the Midnight Claim Auction.I had no destination and no care as long as it was far away from that place. I burst out onto the road, stumbling as my bare feet hit the cold pavement. It was already dark, and the streets were almost empty.The sky then opened and released its furious rain upon me. At first it was a spattering, but then it turned into a downpour, and within minutes I was drenched.I kept going, though my feet were screaming at each step and an ache spread through me with every forward stride, but I forced myself forward.I had nowhere to go and no one to call, not even a friend. I never had one growing up because I was always within the mansion.The rain poured over me, washing away the blood off my hands. It trickled down my skin and washed the crimson color right off the flesh of my palms. I shivered from the cold. My clothes clung to my skin, and the cold pierced into my bones. My eyes were bu
Lucia's POV I hid the piece of glass in my hand behind my back as I pressed myself against the wall, watching as the handle was pressed, then the door opened.A man stepped inside and shut the door behind him. His gaze went all over me. There was something in his eyes that made my stomach clench up.“Seems like we'll be stuck here together tonight.” He smirked. My fingers tightened around the glass.He began walking towards me, and I backed away. One step forward, two steps backMy lips parted; I wanted to scream, and I wanted him to get far away from me. I wanted someone–anyone–to hear me, but my voice was gone.“Come here, darling.” I shook my head, and he kept walking towards me.“I said come here, you slut.” He yelled, and my back hit the wall. There was nowhere left to go.My whole body froze, and the room began to blur. His eyes became Giovanni's, his face, Giovanni's, his footsteps, Giovanni's, his voice, Giovanni's.I couldn't see the man in front of me. All I could see was G
Lucia's POV Damien froze, and so did I. For a few moments, silence hung between the two of us.I stared at him, a sudden wave of realization washing over me.What have I done?I just corrected him exactly the way I used to. Before everything turned sour, before eight years of bitterness.Before the man I once loved became someone I barely recognized. Damien's jaw tightened, then all of a sudden he swept his hand over the table.The plate flew first.CRASH!The food scattered across the floor, the hot rice splashing against my legs. I gasped as the heat burned my skin.Then the glass followed.SHATTER!Splinters and bits of glass flew everywhere.Some landed on my arm, and some landed inches away from my bare feet, landing on the carpet. I backed away, taking sharp and fast breaths. My heart pounded violently against my ribs.This wasn't the Damien I remembered. The man I had known eight years ago would have rolled his eyes when I corrected him.He would have complained, maybe even la
Lucia's POV I shot up from the bed in a sweat, my chest heaving. The only thing I heard beating wildly against my chest wasn't my heart. A few seconds, and frankly the rest of the minutes, were lost to me until the words.The dream- I hadn't dreamed about the past in a very long time.What was so special about tonight that I had to remember my past?I looked down at my stomach and unconsciously placed my hand and rubbed it as if expecting something to pop out.My eyes closed, and I took a breath, making sure it didn't shatter through my chest.I never want to dream of my past ever again, and I hope this comes true.I always start with confidence, but I never once believe in myself. I pushed the blanket back and slid out of bed onto the cold marble floor.I flipped the light on and looked at the clock that was sitting above my vanity: 7:00 pm.My eyes shot open; dinner.I needed to start cooking. Thankfully, I had woken up in time.I quickly ran into the bathroom and took a very fast







