A large black cloud rolled over my head, forecasting an approaching storm. It matched my mood, the thunder inside my head loud and angry, the roll of electricity surging through my veins and constricting the oxygen racing into my organs. How dare he trap me like this? How dare he be the one to choose where I went?
I spun round. Dante watched me from the base of the crooked stone steps that had brought me to the beach. His eyes were narrow but the slight incline to his head alerted me to the fact that he was also furious. Why, I had no idea.
Storming up the sand, my feet slid into the shingle as my angry steps powered me forward; Dante remained still but intrigued when he sensed my temper.
“Where are we?” I demanded, my tone hot and vile. His brow lifted but he just stared at me. “Tell me, Dante. Where the hell are we? And how do I get off this… this mass of nothing?”
His teeth clenched, his jaw hardening but I observed him trying to control his own anger. “You are home.”
“Home? Home? Then why doesn’t it feel like home? Why does it feel like a prison?” I struggled to keep the tears at bay, battling with myself not to show any weakness in front of such a controlling, dominant man. “I don’t want to be here. Please take me onto land. I’ll find a hotel there.”
The corner of his lips twitched, amusement now overtaking his rage. “A hotel?” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, resting against a stone wall.
“Yes!” I glared at him. “What the hell is your problem?”
I saw the red mist slithering across his face but I didn’t care. I needed some space, time to figure out who I was before I could characterize our relationship.
“My problem,” he sighed as he pushed off the wall and took a step towards me. “Is that you are punishing me for giving you everything you ever wanted.” I blinked at him as hurt and fury ruled him. “What do you want from me, Star? You begged me, pleaded with me to give in to your fantasy, your sordid side. You threatened to leave me, damn it!”
My eyes widened and my mouth fell open, shock rendering me speechless as I watched him finally let free his anger with me. “I…”
“You?” he barked as he stepped into me. “You! It’s always fucking you isn’t it, Star? You’re so selfish. Fuck! I gave up everything for you, even my damn dignity. You forced me to degrade you in front of others. Have you any idea how that made me feel?”
I shook my head, my neck bent backwards as I looked up at him. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
He screwed up his face, running his fingers through his hair in agitation. “Christ, Star. I don’t know what to do to help you, to help us anymore. I feel like I’ve lost you. You aren’t mine anymore, you’re… you’re this empty shell, this beautiful fucking woman who has slipped into the sea and drowned, leaving behind an echo of what she was.”
My heart beat frantically. I had no idea he felt that way. I had put my own selfish feelings first, disregarding how he would feel about all this. And if it had really been me that had asked for this… fantasy, then there was no one to blame but myself.
Reaching out with my hand, I slid my fingers through his, linking our palms together. “I’m sorry, Dante. I… I’m being selfish. I have no idea how I’m supposed to feel. I don’t even remember my emotions. It’s so hard and… and I need you to help me through this.”
I did need him because he was all I had. He was the only memory that had been granted to me, albeit a small flash of memory but it was definitely him, the only thing locking me to myself.
He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, worry tightening his face. “I know, Star.” He leaned down, resting his forehead against mine. “I know you remember nothing about yourself. But believe me, I’m your past.” His soft lips ventured down the bridge of my nose, his warm breath seeping into my skin and warming me inside. “Let me be your future.”
I released my hands from his and brought them to cup his face. “Show me. Make me feel you again.”
He moaned, a choked sound rippling from his chest before he gently pressed his lips to mine. His tender kiss was full of emotion, almost suffocating me as he controlled me and begged me with connection to let him in. Sliding my hands into his thick hair, I grasped at him, pulling him hard against me. My body ignited, roared for him. The heat he fired in me was always unbearable, difficult to breathe through. His strong arms wrapped me up, drawing me closer to him.
“Star,” he breathed as his lips dampened a trail down the edge of my neck, his tongue tasting me as his parted lips led the way. “You’ve always been mine, baby. Always. I’ll never set you free.”
I frowned at his need but forced his face back up so I could kiss him again. My back pressed against the wall when he turned us. He palmed my backside, lifting me until I clamped my legs around his waist and used him for support when my body liquefied in his passion. Taking my hands in one of his, he sandwiched them between our chests. His tongue twisted around mine as desire curled around us. His breaths into my mouth were heavy and heated, matching my own as want took control.
Dante suddenly gasped and pulled away then looked down at our hands. His eyes locked onto the ring adorning my finger. He brushed the tip of his finger over it, his face darkening but his eyes moistening.
“Hey.” He blinked at me, pain enveloping him. “What’s wrong? I thought wearing it would please you.”
He gulped and nodded stiffly. “Yeah it does It… It just shocked me to see you wearing it. You didn’t waste any time, did you?”
I frowned at his sudden anger. “I’m sorry.” I snatched my hand back and yanked at the band, pulling it from my finger. “I’m sorry.” He stared at me as I flung it at him. “I can’t figure you out.”
What the hell had I done wrong now? Everything was so confusing. Trying to please him always had the opposite effect and I was tired of trying.
I ran up the steps towards the house, refusing to look back to see if he was following. Fuck him and his crazy moods.
I squealed when I was suddenly lifted high, my body jolting when I was slung over Dante’s shoulder. “Calm your shit, Belle. You need to learn to control that damn temper of yours. You’ve been too spoilt.”
“What?” I scoffed as I pushed against his back, trying to force myself free from him.
“Don’t fight with me, Star. You won’t like who wins the battle.”
Amazement rendered me frozen. What the hell? I couldn’t keep up with him. “Let me go, Dante!”
“Not until you learn a lesson from your behavior.”
“What?” I sounded like a stuck record, repeating the same word over and over but my shocked brain couldn’t figure out what else it wanted to say.
“It’s time to find out who rules this relationship,
Belle
. I don’t put up with hissy fits from you!” His tone was derisive and mocking, making my stomach churn.
“What do you mean?” I struggled in his hold, striving to escape but it was impossible, he was too powerful.
He stormed through the house, his fury at me eating up the atmosphere around us. I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong, apart from wearing our engagement ring, then slinging it back at him when he took offence to me wearing it.
“Dante, please. You’re scaring me.”
He chuckled. “Good, maybe the old you is in there after all.”
What the hell did that mean? Why would the old me have been scared of him?
A chill slithered over me at the tone in his voice. He’d morphed into someone else on our journey through the house. He was relentless in his pursuit to get to where he wanted, his steps never slowing or faltering.
We marched through new corridors I hadn’t seen before, slipping through numerous doors, descending several steps and floors until we came out into a long hallway, stone brickwork the only décor on the walls. A coolness seeped into us, heightening my fear and amplifying Dante’s rage.
“Dante. I’m scared.” He ignored me. Tears burned the back of my eyes as I struggled harder in his grasp. “Let me go, Dante!”
He kicked out at a heavy wooden door; however, it didn’t move but when he stabbed at a keypad beside the door, I realized he had kicked it in temper, not to open it. He stalked forward through the now open doorway, his actions furious and controlled, terrifying and disturbing.
He pulled me away from his body, placing my feet on the floor before spinning me round so I could view the room we had ended our journey in.
My knees buckled. My breath left my body in a single forceful rush. My skin prickled, each tiny hair rising in horror as my heart threatened to hammer out of my chest.
Hell greeted me. Emptiness apart from what looked like a table against the back wall, stone walls and nothing in between. A cell. Oh God, another cell. He was going to lock me up!
I raced for the door but he grabbed my arm, stopping my departure. “Calm down.”
I was shaking all over. “Please don’t leave me in here.”
Amusement colored his features. “Oh I’m not leaving you, quite the opposite. Take your clothes off, Belle. You need to know who you belong to, who owns every part of you and that you never want to leave.”
My pulse quickened with his words. There was no doubt who owned my body, it awakened and succumbed to his voice, presence, commands. The scared feeling vanished and left pure anticipation.
He moved us further into the room, it was then I noticed the huge stone fireplace with a beautiful gold framed mirror above it. My feet carried me towards it, stopping when I stubbed my toes. “Ouch!” I squeaked, looking down at what I kicked. Iron restraints were bolted to the floor. My eyes grew wide, my head spinning to lock on to Dante. His sinister smirk made my stomach drop.
“Clothes, Belle. Fucking lose them.”
Swallowing, I began to strip away the layers, the cold air nipping across my flesh and pebbling my nipples. I startled from the loud hiss and crackle of the fire Dante had switched on. The flames cast shadows over the walls, cloaking over his form and making him look even more devastatingly beautiful and dangerous.
I slipped my panties down my legs to join the pile at my feet. He kicked them aside, dropping down in front of me, guiding my foot into the iron cuff and locking it around my ankle before repeating with the other foot. I attempted to shift my feet that were now restrained with only a small gap between them but there was no give. I was bound to the spot.
My breath became heavy, my chest lifting and falling to the rhythm of my thundering heartbeat. Licking the pads of two fingers, Dante traced them up my inner thigh, the heat from the fire making his path tickle and excite. In almost a whisper of a touch, he stroked them up my slit then blew against my pussy, its delicate but precise wisp making my insides ignite. His palms splayed on my navel, skimming over my skin and up to my heavy breasts. Cupping them, he lifted slowly, his mouth opened, inhaling my scent, the bristles from his growth of stubble pricked at my sensitive flesh.
My hands reached into his thick hair, tugging to lift him to my needy nipples. I needed to feel his mouth there. He allowed me to guide him, his lips closing over one puckered bud. His urgent strokes from his tongue and sharp suck nearly made my legs give out. His teeth bit down, the harsh sting, then the smooth laps contradicting each other.
My moans echoed around us, hitting the empty air and rebounding from the walls to make a chorus of pleasure cries. His mouth sucked my nipple harder before abandoning me with a loud pop. I mourned the loss of his warm, strong body and teasing lips. A palm coming down hard on my ass made me whimper. His chuckle followed him around the room as he stalked over to the table. Lifting it effortlessly, he brought it over to me, placing it in front of me a few feet from my body.
My brow lifted with curiosity when he gestured to the table. “Lean forward, Belle. Place your hands on the table.”
Biting my lip to try and instill some calm into my raging body, I did as he asked, leaving my ass prone, the cooler air gaining access to my now exposed pussy lips. Once my hands were placed firmly on the cool surface, he began to pull the table further away, forcing my body to bend further forward with every inch he moved it. My arms outstretched fully, so much so that I would have struggled to right myself. He grinned when he saw that conclusion flitter across my face.
Walking away from me, I heard a chain rattle behind me. I tilted my head to try and steal a glimpse of what he is doing. Two huge ringed iron hoops hung from the ceiling about six feet apart with a length of dark red material looped through one, dipping in the empty space between before looping through the other. How had I not noticed them before? The chain noise was him pulling a chain attached to another ring on the wall. With each pull the material lowered.
“You need to learn that your body, your soul, your life is all mine for taking if I so wish it. But you also need to learn to trust me.” My neck hurt from craning to look at him, his hand reaching for the gaping fabric. He began walking back towards me. “You gave me your soul a long time ago, Star. You’ll learn who you belong to again. You’ll learn that this isn’t a prison, it’s your freedom. You give yourself to me completely and trust me when I say I take it!” With that he lifted the red silk over my head, resting it against my throat, the cool smooth feel caressed my skin.
He moved away again, the sound of the chain clanking once more filling the quietness. The silk lost its slackness with every toll of the chain, pulling tight against my throat, forcing me to hold my head looking straight ahead. There was a small amount of give but not much. If I was to step forward I would choke and stepping anywhere was impossible anyway. I was completely at the mercy of the table holding my weight and the silk wrap encasing my throat, my life.
My eyes found my own reflection in the mirror. I could see Dante standing behind me. I should have remembered the mirror was there but my brain was a mass of mush. I couldn’t think straight, endorphins flooding my system.
His clothes joined mine on the floor and I took a few moments to soak in the glorious body he boasted. His impressive chest was strong and wide, defined abs rippled down to the indentations of his V, like an arrow pointing me to the hard smooth velvet of his cock. I could feel my excitement dampen my pussy lips. The heat from the fire licked over my face and chest.