Innocence (Tales of Olympus #1)(60)

Had he really thought she wouldn’t run if given half a chance?

“You’ll never be free. But now you know the boundaries of your cage.” He leaned close, his scent washing over her, a mix of subtle cologne and scotch. “There’s nowhere to run to, Cora. I will hunt you down. You belong here, at my side. Forever.”

Her breath hitched but he wasn’t done. “So why not stop fighting it? Let yourself go. Let yourself be mine.” He backed up and she wobbled. His presence was a force and when it was gone she felt the loss.

“Now, strip.” With that order, he left her.

Submit. Obey. Escape. That still was her ultimate plan.

But that required submission, didn’t it? And Marcus wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than total control of her body and command over her mind. She was losing herself and the scary thing was—she liked it.

It’s okay. A small voice told her. He’s bigger, faster, stronger than you. You may as well enjoy it.

And if she didn’t obey, no doubt he’d strip her himself. So she shucked off the jeans and shirt along with any sense of normalcy. Her skin pebbled in the cool room.

When she was down to her bra and panties, Marcus returned, box in hand. He set it down and put his hands in his pockets, nodding at her to carry on the show. Face tight, she stripped out of the rest. It wasn’t like she had anything to hide. Today was the first time she’d put on clothes since the wedding.

But still, she waited, chest heaving, as he studied her. Eventually he came to her side, running a hand down her back and sides like he was examining a horse he wanted to buy. She couldn’t help a shiver of desire when he cupped her ass. She remembered her last punishment all too well.

“Are you going to punish me?”

Bent halfway through his examination of her quivering thighs, he tilted his head up. “Do you want me to?”

Her answer stuck in her throat. What would she do to ease the weight of anticipation?

His words rang in her ears. Let yourself go. Let yourself be mine.

She didn’t trust him. Couldn’t trust him. At least not with her heart.

But her body? Gods, the thought about what it might be like if he took her back to that perfect, ecstatic place where she could finally, finally escape her own head and all the confusion and noise. Where she could just…be.

“Yes,” she said, suddenly decisive. “I want you to punish me.”

Something flashed in his eyes, gone in an instant. He raised his chin. “I think, wife, I may have underestimated you.”

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Was it possible to surprise him? To challenge him and make him regard her as an equal?

Marcus opened the box he’d brought and lifted out a heavy collar. Metal, silver, stainless steel and linked to a leash. So much for being his equal.

Smirking, he drew her before a giant mirror with a heavy gilt frame. He positioned her in front of it and held her still with hands on her hips.

His lips found her ears. “What do you see?”

“You, me. Us.”

“I see a submissive.”

A ripple went through her body. He held her up with an iron arm around her waist when her legs would buckle.

“Such a shame we have to be enemies. Circling each other, round after round, fight after fight. We were made for each other.”

“Don’t,” she whispered, feeling close to tears. She was raw, wrung dry. His tender words were arrows. She could withstand his cruelty, but not his soft, soothing voice, spinning a story of destiny. After all, who could fight the Fates? Why even try?

It’s just your body. It doesn’t mean you’re giving him your mind. Or your heart. And he can do such lovely things to your body.

“Give yourself to me, Cora.” He raised the stainless-steel collar. She closed her eyes just before the click.

“Mine,” he breathed, then he tugged on the leash, forcing her head back, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

At the same time he dipped a finger inside her. She gasped, her walls clenching in pleasure at the invasion. She was already wet. She had been from the moment she stepped back inside the penthouse.

His strong fingers twisted, probed, and tested her inner walls, the whole time his thumb teasing circles around her clit. Her body sprung to life for him as it always did.

“You’re beautiful.”

His gaze swallowed her whole. Everything was Marcus. His thumbs chafed her nipples lightly. She let her head drop in surrender as he worked her body to the peak.

“That’s it. That’s my good girl. Give yourself over to me and I will give you everything.”

As her hips began to rock and pleasure bloomed, she stood again on the precipice—the devil whispering in her ear and the whole world spread at her feet.

His palm ground into her sex and her orgasm rose, brilliant and devastatingly beautiful, a bright sunset unfurling through each limb, rosy and tinged with gold.

At the last moment, though, he took his hand away. She cried out but didn’t move. It was right there. So close.

“You want to cum?”

“Yes.” More than that, she needed it.

“Then crawl, Cora. Crawl for me.”

He moved to crouch several feet back, holding her leash out of the way. She was a needy knot of limbs.

“Come, Cora,” he beckoned. “Crawl to me.”