Aleksandr no longer had any need to torture Lena, for Renz would undoubtedly do so himself. Renz had theappetite, just as he did, and their father before them. It was only a matter of time before it consumed him. Aleksandr had already destroyed his brother in the most clever way possible, by allowing him to destroy himself and all he loved. Therefore, he no longer had any use for Lena. "Why can't we just forget about them? You really shouldn't have brought Lena here today," Aleksandr muttered eventually. Ilise finished her second glass, and a youthful rouge began to blossom in her cheeks. "I humbly disagree, my love. Tell me, aren't you a little curious about your dear wife Ava? About your new baby?" Ilise asked. Aleksandr immediately looked downward, not wanting to reveal to Ilise just how much he longed to hear about the child he'd never get to hold. "So she gave birth, I take it?" Aleksandr asked noncommittally. He could hear Ilise pouring another glass of sherry. "Oh yes.

"Hopefully it pleases you to know that I've made that decision on my own. I agree that I've imbibed far too heavily of late, and I do intend to cleanse my body. I only wish cleansing the soul were as simple," Renz replied.Lena exhaled fully then, releasing the tension in her shoulders, but the gesture seemed to target a hidden, sharp soreness at the back of her neck she hadn't yet noticed.Renz made a motion to step towards her, to comfort her, but he soon decided against it. Lena felt both relieved and guilty that he felt compelled to keep his distance."Are you badly hurt?" Renz asked. Lena swallowed her pain, not wanting to reveal to Renz just how severely her insides ached from his rough coupling.But to her horror, her abused flesh automatically pulsed at the memory, and the resulting soreness seemed to inspire and equally powerful pleasure, insistently teasing her tender clit, despite the night prior of overstimulation.The sensation was so strong, and so sudden, that Lena had

"I'm fine. Truly. It was only a brief spell. I took rest in Frau Wolfenbarger's suite. I didn't want to, but she was quite...persistent with her offer. I fear I was not feeling strong enough to resist," Lena confessed."What did she say to you?" Renz asked. Lena lowered her eyes, trying her hardest to summon courage."She...she warned me against having children right away," Lena whispered.Renz's hold on her wrist suddenly released, and he took two steps away from her.Even though she'd been physically released, Lena still felt trapped against the wall."And how do you feel about that?" Renz asked. Lena weakly shrugged her shoulders."I'd always thought I'd become a mother one day. Just perhaps...not very soon. I'd hoped I'd be married first," Lena said carefully.Renz's jaw twitched as his expression hardened."Of course. To a nice, fair lad like Erich, or whoever that fool was who broke your heart the day that we met. I'm sur

His fingers dug into the sore, reddened globes of flesh on her rear, as if teasing her pain, before roughly pulling them apart and exposing her with the same, gross indecency as the night before."No, sir, please not that aga—"It wasn't his hand against her backside this time.It was the cold, uncaring strike of his suspender, so sharp it seemed to slice through her very flesh.And Lena's exhausted eyes immediately flooded with fresh, stinging tears.She clenched her fists and helplessly screamed as one strike quickly grew to three, then five, and eventually seven, the tie around her arms seeming to torture her just as strongly as the suspender colliding with her buttocks. Her exhale was pained and fearful when she heard him pause his whipping, dropping the loathsome instrument to the floor, but as he reached for her hips again, pulling her sore globes apart, Lena knew her humiliation

For his entire life, he'd been known as "peculiar."A painfully sickly child, his father had found him peculiar for his fondness for biology books, and apparent disdain for business. The only activity they'd shared as father as son had been the occasional hunting trip.But the peculiar boy had found most enjoyment not in his kills, but in their subsequent dissection.His father had tried his best to steer his odd son in the direction of family business. He'd tried to teach him the secrets of banking and industry, and the value of competitive enterprise.But by age seven, the peculiar boy had instead used his father's lessons to produce his first taxidermy exhibition.To his father's minor relief, all tickets were sold, and the show at least closed profitable.His mother had found him peculiar for the kinds of books he'd asked her to read him before bed each night. Instead of tales of adventure and fantasy, or mysterious folklore, her strange