Purchased for My Sins のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

Sebastian’s POVThe board meeting ends at 5:47 p.m.. Forty-three minutes past close of business. The room still carries the faint scent of expensive cologne and leather portfolios. The board members file out quickly, nodding at me with practiced deference. They always do. No one lingers when I’m in this mood.Vanessa stays.She hovers by the door, tablet in hand, skirt already riding higher than it should be for office hours.“Vanessa.” My voice is low, casual. “You can go. I’ll finish the rest here.”She smiles that small, practiced curve she thinks I don’t see through.“I don’t mind staying. There are still a few action items from the meeting I can clear before tomorrow.”I glance up. Just long enough to meet her eyes.“Suit yourself.”I don’t argue. I don’t need to.I moved back to my suiteShe walks back to her office, heels clicking too loudly in the empty corridor. Then she returns to my office with her things and closes my door. Locks it.I don't comment.I keep my eyes on th

(Mara’s POV)I wake slowly, sunlight impossible in this windowless room, but the clock on my phone says 9:38 a.m. My body feels… lighter. Not healed because the welts still burn across my back and thighs, nipples tender, inner muscles sore from the previous day's punishment but no summons came last night. No keypad beep. No cold voice ordering me to the chamber. No hands, no ropes, no tools.For the first time in days, I slept through the night.I lie still, listening. Only the soft hum of the ventilation system. No footsteps in the hallway. No keypad beeping.He didn’t send for me.Relief floods me so hard my eyes sting. I press my palms to my face and breathe.Thank you.I don’t know who I’m thanking, him for leaving me alone, or some higher power for one night without breaking. Maybe both. Maybe neither.I sit up carefully, wincing as fabric drags over fresh marks. Every movement reminds me: ass bruised from the flogger, clit still hypersensitive from the clamps and wand, throat fa

Sebastian’s POVThe boardroom battles had dragged on longer than necessary with endless projections, egos clashing like dull blades, and the sour aftertaste of too much coffee. By the time I stepped through the penthouse doors, exhaustion clung to me like damp fabric. My shoulders ached, my mind still buzzed with numbers and negotiations.I loosened my tie as I crossed the marble foyer, letting it fall to the floor without a second thought. The staff knew the drill: fresh towels, chilled Macallan, and silence.I showered quickly, scalding water pounding against my skin until the tension bled away in rivulets. I poured two fingers of whisky into a crystal tumbler and let the amber liquid burn down my throat. It settled like liquid fire in my chest just exactly what I needed.The private room waited at the end of the hall, soundproofed and shadowed, lit only by the low amber glow of recessed lights. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, glass in hand.Mara was already there, delive

Vanessa’s POVThe message arrived at 9:42 p.m., sharp and clinical, the way only a private investigator could deliver bad news without apology.Subject has not exited the residence in 72 hours. No visible movement on perimeter cameras. Interior access limited. Awaiting further instructions.I read it twice, then I locked the phone and set it face-down on the marble vanity with deliberate care.The lights were too bright tonight, unforgiving halogens that carved deep shadows under my eyes and along the hollows of my cheeks. No amount of concealer could hide the exhaustion that had settled there like permanent bruising. I leaned closer to the mirror until my breath fogged the glass, studying the woman staring back at me, she looked tired yet dangerous like someone who had finally stopped pretending the game was still fair.Seventy-two hours. Three full days since anyone outside these walls had laid eyes on Mara.I’d been slipping into Sebastian’s private suite every morning at dawn, lon

Mara’s POVThe bedroom door closed behind him with that same soft, final click that always lingered in the silence longer than it should. I remained on my knees for several heartbeats after he left, my lips still tingling, throat raw and aching, the salty-bitter taste of him coating my tongue and the back of my mouth. My cheeks burned from the dried tracks of tears; my chin felt sticky where his thumb had smeared the last traces of my surrender. A faint tremor still ran through my thighs, my jaw sore in the best-worst way. The command echoed in my head like a pulse.You’re going out with me tonight.Out.With him.The words refused to settle. In all the time I’d been here, I was kept in shadowed rooms, dressed only in silk and lace meant for his eyes alone, never allowed beyond these walls with or without him. I was his private indulgence, his secret possession, taken and released in darkness. Public? Never.So why now?I rose slowly, legs unsteady, and crossed to the en-suite bathroo