Chapter 20

Chapter

Twenty

DAPHNE

Apollo’s been away for hours. My emotions have gone from claustrophobia, fear, rage, sorrow, impatience, and a million others during the isolated period. Time seems to trickle by as I sit in my prison behind the bars. This teaching me a lesson of his is successfully driving me mad. I can barely focus, definitely can’t come up with a plan, and because of my good nights’ rest, I can’t sleep the time in this cage away. When he left, I had no choice but to follow his orders. I have to think of how I will behave and not act out again. I can’t risk Apollo getting my sister involved in this mess because of my outbursts.

Oddly enough, I’m happy when Apollo returns. Anything but this agonizing wait in the cage with nothing but my thoughts of what has happened and what is still to come.

“Have you had some time to cool down?” Apollo asks as he walks straight toward the cage. He has a large box with a red ribbon tied nicely in a bow on top of it. “I’ve brought you a present.”

He unlocks the cage and then walks over to the bed and places the package on the bed. I remain still, unsure of what he wants me to say or do.

“You can come out,” he says over his shoulder.

Wanting Apollo to see how serious I am on “behaving”, I climb out of the cage as quickly as I can and stand with my arms at my side, awaiting his next command.

“Come open the present,” he says .

I walk over toward the bed, unsure why he feels the need to buy me a present. I’m his captive. Nothing but a woman in a cage. A gift doesn’t fit this picture at all.

With shaky hands, I take hold of the ribbon and untie it. I feel Apollo’s eyes on me watching my every move. Once the ribbon is undone, I lift the lid of the box and look inside, confused.

Really confused.

I’m not exactly sure what I’m staring at, though I have a pretty good idea that this gift of his is anything but.

“It’s time we get ready for a party we’re attending this evening.” He takes me by the arm and leads me to the door. “I’m going to allow you to go to the restroom one last time before we get you dressed.” He pauses and turns me so I can stare directly into his eyes filled with intense warning. “If you even so much as flinch against my touch or act out, you won’t be happy with the consequences. Are we clear?”

I nod.

“I asked a direct question. I expect a direct answer. An answer of respect.”

I nod again. “Yes…sir.”

My mind is blank. There isn’t the slightest act of defiance inside of me. Not after having hours to think through every action I can make, only to realize it will end with me pissing off Apollo and getting my sister involved. Hours of plotting and strategizing only to have the result always come back to the word “behave”.

Once we return to the bedroom, I’m still unclear of what the items in the box are for. I have a pretty good idea, but surely my thoughts are far too wicked and filthy for what Apollo really has in store. I seriously doubt he would go to the extreme thoughts my abused and battered mind goes to.

“Let’s get you dressed.” He leads me back to the box.

“Where are my clothes?”

“Gone.”

“How am I to get dressed then?”

He points to the box. “We have everything we’ll need in there.”

I don’t need to look inside the box again because Apollo pulls out the first item for me to see. It’s a furry, white bunny tail attached to a metal butt plug. I have seen pictures of sex toys, but never had any experience with them. I led a pretty vanilla life until now and really can’t process what Apollo plans to do with the tail.

Or maybe I’m in denial. Maybe I don’t want to comprehend .

Or maybe… I do.

“We’re attending a special event tonight at The Vault. Tonight, we get to bring our pets,” Apollo says.

The word “pets” has my eyes go wide and mouth open. I’ve heard stories of The Vault on Heathens Hollow but have never been. An old nineteenth century bank in the town's center is rumored to be the place that hosts sex parties of all kinds. Not just anyone can get in the door. It’s believed in order to enter, every guest must reveal a deep secret to The Vault Keeper to be used as collateral. No one is allowed to speak of what truly happens in The Vault, and if you do, well… The Vault Keeper has your secrets that could be used to destroy you.

Apollo and I have only attended charity events, boring art shows, or mundane social gatherings that I always struggle not to yawn through. Going to a place like The Vault is not what we’d ever do. We are Godwins… Godwins attend fancy balls and expensive dinners. We don’t go to secret, dark, sex parties that torrid tales are whispered about.

How could my betrayal have changed this man so much? I feel like I’m staring at a stranger right now.

My heart speeds up at the thoughts of what Apollo will say next—of what he will do next. I keep expecting him to say he’s just kidding, or maybe that he’s only pretending we’re going to a place like The Vault as another threat to continue teaching me the lesson. Surely, he doesn’t expect us—Mr. and Mrs. Godwin—to lower ourselves to such debauchery.

Apollo chuckles with a mischievous smirk. His brown eyes twinkle with little lines around them. He has an almost boyish charm. If I didn’t know what a ruthless man he is behind that charismatic face. “You look surprised.” He pauses and studies my expression. All I can do is stand and focus on breathing enough so I won’t pass out. “I’ll be bringing you as my pet, so we need to make sure you’re the prettiest one there. I’m a Godwin, so my pet needs to be the best one at the party.”

He reaches in the box, pulls out a small bottle of lubrication, and opens it. Without pause, he squeezes some liquid onto the silver plug and coats every inch.

Oh Jesus. What is he doing? Why?

“This one’s large. Much larger than I’m sure your tight ass can take comfortably.” He pauses and looks at me with questioning eyes. “I’m assuming you have a virgin ass. Am I right? My memory is shot, but I’m sure I’d remember if I had fucked you in the ass during our marriage before the accident.”

I nod at his vulgar question. Of course we never had anal sex. It’s not like he ever showed an interest in it anyway.

“I figured as much,” he says. “But that’s about to change.”

“What are you going to do?” I swallow hard and feel stupid for asking. Clearly, I know what he plans on doing with that tail. Or at least I think I do. Though the size of that plug looks far too big. There is no way it will fit inside of me. Virgin ass or not.

Is he doing this to scare me? Maybe he wants me to beg and plead. Maybe this is a form of punishment—to make me think he’s going to shove that tail into my ass and take me to a public place. A sick mind game.

“As I was saying. I can’t give you a small or simple tail. You have to be the most impressive. In our world, bigger is better, princess.” He motions for me to lie down on the bed. “And after your actions this morning, I’m not really going to feel sorry for you. Consider it a consequence.”

I don’t move. This is not a bluff or a threat. This is really going to happen, but I freeze rather than doing what I know he wants me to do. Not out of defiance, but because the shock of what is happening paralyzes me.

“Lay down on your stomach. I’ll be gentle unless you test my patience.”

Imagining Apollo being anything but gentle with that tail, has me quickly complying as he asked. I position my body just as I had the night before when he took his belt to me.

“Every pet tonight will have a tail of some sort. Though all the pets are different, which makes it even more interesting. You’ll be the most elegant of them all by the time we’re done.”

I hear the lube squeeze out again and then feel Apollo’s finger touch the seam of my ass. He doesn’t stop there but continues on until his finger presses against my anus. I tighten up and try to squeeze my ass cheeks closed.

“Trust me. You’re going to thank me for this when the tail gets inserted. I advise you to allow me to lube you up.”

Is this man fucking serious? I’ll thank him?

“Spread your legs wider,” he says as he nudges them apart with his legs. The action makes it easier for his slick fingertip to reach my anus .

I gasp at the invasive touch and close my eyes tightly. I need for this to just get over with, and I make a mental decision not to fight it.

He applies some pressure on my hole, which sends an electric shiver up and then back down my spine. I expect to hate every second of this, and yet my throbbing pussy once again betrays me. I hate that my legs are spread wide because I’m almost positive that Apollo has a full view of my sex that is getting wetter with every swirl of his finger on my anus.

“It’s a shame this ass of yours hasn’t been fucked before. You’re truly missing out,” Apollo says as he presses his finger a little harder on my puckered flesh.

“Last time I checked, you weren’t interested in fucking my ass,” I counter back, trying hard not to focus on my growing desire. “I can’t exactly fuck it by myself.”

Apollo laughs loudly. “That’s the worst shame of all. We need to rectify that, wife.”

I’m rewarded for my snarky retort by having the metal plug placed on my asshole and pressed in without giving me enough time to prepare. It slides in but spreads me the entire way.

“Oh my God,” I moan as I cling to the bedding on the mattress. “It’s too big. I can’t. I can’t.” Sweat beads on my skin and my breath hitches as the tail burrows deeper inside of me.

“You’re doing just fine,” Apollo says as he places one of his large hands on my lower back to ensure I stay in place.

I mewl like an animal as I writhe on the bed.

I have truly become his pet.

The plug is deep inside of me, and I can feel the fur of the tail against my still sensitive ass from the earlier punishment.

Apollo reaches for my upper arm and takes hold. It doesn’t hurt, but his grasp is tight. He forces me to sit on the edge of the bed even though the tail is now being pressed inside of me even deeper. He kneels down and reaches inside the box, pulling a long chain and metal choker from it. The metal is adorned with diamonds all around it. I have no doubt it is by far the most expensive torture device ever made.

“You don’t need to chain me,” I say as panic sets in. “I have no intention of trying to escape.”

He doesn’t reply but grabs me by the back of the neck, pulls my head into him, and clasps the collar around my neck, securely locking it into place. It’s tight enough that when I swallow, I feel my flesh connect with the cool restraint.

Tugging on the collar to make sure it’s locked, Apollo says, “You’ll remain collared and in this tail until I say otherwise.”

I caress the collar with my fingertips as I squeeze my asshole around the plug. “Please tell me you will not make me wear all this in front of other people.”

“Yes.” He stands up, not caring in the slightest. “It’s the theme of the night.”

“Apollo. I know you’re angry with me. Furious. But I’m still your wife. We still have a reputation to uphold. We can’t just arrive at a sex party with me dressed like this.” I take a deep breath, feeling hysteria knocking on my mental stability. “The Godwins own the land of Heathens Hollow. Imagine what people will say if it gets out that we were?—”

“Enough,” he interrupts.

My heart beats so hard against my chest that I’m positive I could die from the hysteria overwhelming me. I can’t believe Apollo is even considering this. He’s always been focused on reputation and the family name until this time. He wouldn’t dare soil our standing in high society. Regardless of how he feels about me, parading his wife in nothing but a bunny tail and a diamond collar is the type of scandal we can’t come back from.

I get up and walk to the mirror to see if my image is as bad as I think it is. The heavy chain of the leash drags behind me, only pulling at the collar more. When I see my reflection in the mirror, the contrast of the dark metal with sparkling diamonds to my skin makes my awful situation even more of a reality. Staring back at me is nothing but a pet, collared, chained, captive.

Spinning to glare at Apollo, I say, “You can’t be serious! I can’t go anywhere dressed like this. If you want to punish me, do it in private. Not for all to see.”

No response.

“Please! I swear to you I’ll be good. I’ll be good and never give you an issue again. I wouldn’t dare betray you or any of the Godwins again. I think you know that or you’d have killed me. But Apollo…” I point to the bunny tail and then the collar. “Please think about what people will say. I’ll never be able to show my face on this island again.” He still says nothing. “I don’t need to be in a collar and tail to be your pet. Can’t we do this… Whatever you have planned in the privacy of Olympus? I’ll fucking crawl on hands and knees all night if that helps. Just keep this…punishment…our secret. ”

No response.

My chest constricts, and I wheeze with all my might to take in some air. I’ll die of embarrassment, mortification, and… No punishment could be worse than this. All eyes will be on me.

Daphne Godwin dressed as a sex bunny. Naked. Vulnerable. Being walked in The Vault by a collar.

This is Apollo’s way of destroying me. Not killing me… destroying me.

Crumpling down to the ground, I pull my knees to my chest and allow the tears to fall. If Apollo’s goal was to break me, then he succeeded. I now know he will not kill me. That was never the plan. His plan was to bring me to my knees and have me submit to his every command. His plan was to break me, not kill me. But maybe I want to die. Maybe I want to die so I don’t have to endure this humiliation any longer.

I’m so lost in my misery that I don’t hear Apollo approach me. For a moment, I actually forgot he’s even in the room.

Looking up at him with tears streaming down my face, I beg, “Please, Apollo. You, out of all people, know. You know how hard I’ve worked to change people’s view of me. It was so hard to be the respected, distinguished, admired Mrs. Godwin that you wanted in a wife. Don’t take that all away by forcing me to attend an event like this.”

“Did you worry about the Godwin name when you tried to have me arrested for murder?” he asks. “Did you care about the Godwin name when my brother was crucified by the media even before his trial began? Did you care about what people were saying about us or thinking about us then? Why care now?”

“It was a mistake,” I choke out. “An awful mistake I wish I could take back. But Apollo… I beg you.” I pull at the collar to emphasize my appeal.

He kneels down beside me and looks me straight in the eyes. “Look at me and know that I’ll never let your name get soiled. I may dirty up this body of yours, but I’d let no one say or think anything negative about you. Not as long as you are my wife.” He places his fingertip on my cheek and strokes softly. “It’s called The Vault for a reason. What happens in that bank will never breech the walls. Never. What happens tonight is just as private as what we’ve done in the cloak of this manor.”

I shake my head. “People talk. You and I both know how toxic the talk of Heathens Hollow can be. I don’t want to go back to being that girl from the Eastside of the island. You saved me from that. Please don’t make me go back to being that person.”

He moves his fingertip and gently runs it along the collar where it meets my neck. He dips his finger between the metal and flesh and says, “Tonight, we can be anyone we want. I don’t have to be Apollo, and you don’t have to be Daphne. You are simply my bunny and I your master.”

“No,” I wheeze, continuing to cry. “Please.” I should be in a gown. I should be in expensive heels. Jewels should drip off my ears and hang heavy around my neck. I’m Daphne Godwin and that means something…or at least it did. He’s stripping me down to nothing, and if his intent is to break me by doing this, well then, he wins.

He removes his hand from the collar and places it on my head. Slowly, he strokes his fingers through my hair, never taking his eyes away from mine. “Shhh…just calm down. No more tears.”

“Then don’t make us go to this. Please!” He shakes his head. “We’re expected at The Vault. I can’t arrive without my pet. So dry up those tears and trust that though your dignity may not be protected tonight, your reputation and the privacy of your name will be.”

His gentle touch and petting of my hair eases some of my distress. Apollo has always been a man of his word. If he says my reputation is safe, then I’m leaning toward believing him. Besides, do I really have an option? And the one thing about Apollo and his family is they protect what’s theirs with ferocity. Their name and reputation are everything. If Apollo destroys my reputation by attending this party, he does the same to his.

“That’s a good pet,” he praises when he sees I’m no longer trying to plead my way out of this situation. “Tonight will be a night to remember.” He continues to stroke my hair. “You’re going to handle yourself just fine.”

Would I be? How could I be just fine ever again?

“I hate this,” I cry. “Why are you so cruel? How can you be so cruel to another human being? I may have fucked up, but I’m still your wife. I’m still the woman you married.”

He gives a crisp tilt of his chin. “I know.”

“So, why are you doing this to me?” I point to the cage. “Why?”

“Consequences, princess. You had to know there’d be some.”

“Do I deserve to be treated like an animal?” I ask. My words seem to make a difference, but I also get the sense that there is no use trying to convince Apollo to go against whatever twisted and dark plan he has.

Apollo places both palms on each side of my face and forces me to stare directly into his eyes. “You need to behave. Tonight’s event will start soon. You don’t want to know what happens to pets who disobey, and I promise you that this collar, cage, and butt plug will be minor in comparison. Behave. Do you understand me? You have nothing to prove. You’ll lose.”

“I’ve already lost,” I point out. “I’m wearing a collar and a tail while being held captive. There’s nothing more for me to lose.”

“But there is. I have ways of making my enemies lose so much more. Don’t push me. Just don’t.” He leans in and kisses me gently on the forehead before standing. He extends his hand to assist me up now that I’m no longer crying and having a meltdown. “We’re going to be late.”

Standing, I take a moment to allow the slight dizziness to dissipate. Apollo places his arm around my body to hold me steady while the room swirls around me. It doesn’t take long to feel back to my old self. My old self with an addition of a bunny tail and a collar, that is.

“Are you hungry?” he asks.

I nod, wondering if he’s going to make me eat out of a bowl on the floor of the cage or some other humiliating act.

“Good. There will be food at The Vault.” He stands back a few inches so he can take in my entire appearance. “You look absolutely perfect, my pet. Perfection.”

Apollo picks up the chain, and the removal of the weight hanging helps ease the pressure on the collar a little. He then leads me out of the room.