36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Lucian

Before I could even process what was going on, I was completely naked in my own dining room, mostly bound to a wooden chair.

“Quit fuckin’ moving,” Cameron grunted as he tightened the peach-colored ropes around my chest, pulling my back against the wood.

I bucked against the chair, causing it to rock, but Cameron steadied all the legs onto the ground.

“You’re gonna get hurt. Quit fussing,” he scolded.

“Fuck you.” I spat. “Let me go, or I’m beating your ass.”

The room was dark, save for the ambient orange glow of a million twinkle lights spilling through the spacious archway between the foyer and the dining room, setting both spaces ablaze. The glow kissed Cameron’s angular cheeks as he moved to kneel before me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I saw pity in his eyes.

“Cameron. Let. Me. Go.”

My fingers drummed against the leg of the chair as if I’d be able to free myself if I just tapped fast enough.

“All you had to do was apologize.”

“And all you have to do is untie me,” I growled through my teeth.

It was one thing to have minimal control, or to submit because I wanted to. But being literally tied to a fucking chair was something completely different.

“If you really wanted to be let go, all you’d have to say is trust. ” Cameron wiggled his fingertips through my hair, which was pulled loosely into a low bun. With a quick motion, Cam snapped the elastic in my hair tie, causing chilly strands to tumble onto my shoulders.

His touch left goosebumps on my scalp, and my breath caught in my throat. I considered calling trust, not because I didn’t want whatever Sophia had in store for me, but because I was pissed off.

Sophia liked to taunt me when I was in trouble. To that end, she’d been sending me cryptic messages all day. The first had been a picture of a chair, the second had been lingerie, and the third was a strand of Christmas lights. When I received them, I assumed she was going to force me to cross-dress... but that seemed unlikely right now.

What the fuck was she going to do to me?

Cameron’s hand dropped to my cock, and I hardened in his palm. He smirked as I shot him a scowl.

“This ain’t all bad, right?” His voice was a husky murmur.

A spring of arousal coiled in my stomach as he bent down, his lips meeting my tip before he opened his mouth. Slowly, Cameron’s tongue danced along my shaft, and I exhaled a ragged breath. I closed my eyes, trying to relax and just enjoy the feeling of Cameron sucking my dick rather than thinking about the fact that I was, again, literally tied to a fucking chair.

I bit back a moan as he picked up speed, caressing my entire shaft with his tongue.

“Hey!” Sophia called. “You stop that. This is supposed to be punishment.”

Immediately, Cameron complied. His lips were wet as he stared back at me.

What, he wasn’t even going to fight for the honor of sucking my dick?

After a moment, Sophia came into view. The sunset-colored lights on the tree illuminated only half of her body, but half was all I needed to see the wicked grin on her lips.

The sadism in her smile was an unfamiliar sight on Sophia, and I would have been lying if I said it didn’t make me a little nervous. She had a length of something in her hands—more rope, I assumed.

“You’re too late—your lap dog already tied me up,” I barked.

Sophia turned to face me. Her full frame blocked the light directly in front of me, casting me in the shadow of her domination.

“This isn’t for you. Maybe if you weren’t so busy mouthing off, you’d know that.” Her tone was unusually cold. “Cameron, come here.”

What remained of the glow sparkled in Cameron’s eyes before he stood. His back turned to me as he walked away, joining Sophia in front of the tree.

“Go get Mason.” Her voice was sweeter as she spoke to Cam.

It wasn’t the shift in Sophia’s tone that caused me to shiver. It was the mention of her. My fall for Mason wasn’t an easy one, nor was it one I took without a fight. Sophia knew this. Even if I knew Mason was a pawn in whatever ridiculous punishment Sophia had planned, the idea of her had my body short-circuiting.

My head was light, my pulse was racing, and my chest was filled with those godforsaken wasps, their wings tickling my lungs as I tried to catch my breath. I had called for her to help me, but she hadn’t come… So, where was she?

Sophia’s silhouette danced across the floor as she wandered toward the outlet and lowered herself into a crouch, winding her fingers in the cord before yanking it out. The world went completely dark, and I held my breath.

A far-off creaking grew closer, and my jaw tensed. After another beat of darkness, a bright white glow filled the room. What I had assumed to be rope was actually a length of clear Christmas lights. Shadows danced on the walls as Sophia stood, tossing the strand in front of the tree and turning her attention to me. She tenderly cupped my jaw like I was the most valuable thing in the world.

“This is your last chance to tell me what you did wrong.” She massaged the side of my neck as she spoke.

I leaned into her touch. If I were a smarter man, I would’ve just apologized for my earlier comments and moved on with the night... but I didn’t do anything wrong. I voiced my opinion, and that wasn’t a crime.

“Sophia White.”

She perked up as I said her name, her usual kind smile winding across her lips.

“You’re my bitch. And I mean it.”

Her brow hardened, and her nostrils flared as she stood. She was too nice; there wasn’t a single fucking thing she could do to put me back in line, and she knew it.

“You’re going to be sorry.” Her whispered warning meant nothing to me.

“Just add it to my list of writing assignments.”

“You’re asking for it.”

I smirked at Sophia and fought the urge to laugh. “You bet your ass I am, bitch .”

The times I had seen Sophia roll her eyes were few and far between, but it always caused a sick feeling of satisfaction to wash over me. She was one of the sweetest people I had ever met, and I had the power to turn her sour.

She stood up, walking behind the chair and pressing a palm to either side of my chin, removing the control from the one area of my body I could move.

“I’m going to enjoy watching you suffer, bad boy.” Her lips grazed my ear as she spoke.

I groaned in response. At least she was getting the hang of talking dirty.

“Unless you’re going to pull my hair and spit in my face, I’m not suffering.”

“We’ll see.”

As if on cue, Cameron walked in, pushing Mason’s tiny silhouette through the darkness. When they stopped in front of the mound of lights, I noticed that one of them had wrapped my fucktoy in a pretty little package. From what I could see, the babydoll lingerie she wore was mostly white mesh with a thin fuzzy trim along the bottom. Her hair was down, the inky color standing stark against the pure white garment.

She looked like an angel, and my dick hardened as I imagined all the ways I could make her cry my name. I wanted her on this chair, wrapping her legs around the back while she bounced on my dick… My attention shot to her stomach. Would that even work right now?

Oh, fuck it. My fantasies didn’t need to be realistic.

“Do you have the thing?” Sophia called.

My rampant sexual ideation immediately halted at Sophia’s question.

“Yup.”

Cameron reached into his back pocket. I froze, my mind racing once more. What could the thing be? Maybe a whip? That’d be exciting, but there was no way Sophia had something fun planned. God, if she made me wear that fucking dog collar again, I was going to throw a fit.

Cameron’s hand slowly emerged, holding a long, cylindrical object. At first I was confused, but as the glow from the twinkle lights began to illuminate the translucent silicone, I wanted to stomp my foot and groan.

The only thing worse than not having sex was finishing in a loose pocket pussy. But, if I acted like I wasn’t excited about using the literal bane of my sexual existence, that would show Sophia her half-assed attempt at punishment was actually getting to me. My goal was to get her to smack my ass one day—no one in this house had the balls to leave me black and blue. Maybe if they did, I’d stop running my mouth.

He tossed the torture device to Sophia, who caught it with ease. Up close, I could see a small bottle of lube poking out of the pussy’s mouth. Sophia pulled up a chair and sat next to me, crossing her ankles underneath her as if she were in a goddamn business meeting. A chill ran down my spine as she flipped open the lube and squeezed the sides of the pussy, dripping frigid goo onto my tip. I closed my eyes, reminding myself that this was fine. At least she was going to let me finish this time, and not just make me watch.

I only opened my eyes when the feeling of cool, slick silicone enveloped my dick. Cameron’s earlier teasing had left me sensitive, but I hadn’t even noticed until Sophia slowly began stroking my cock. A low hiss escaped my chest as she found her rhythm.

Across the room, Mason’s eyes were pinned directly on me, and her full lips were quirked into a half smile. If my fucktoy was enjoying this, I could put on a fucking show for her. At least it’d give me a way to entertain myself.

I forced myself to choke on a deep breath.

“S-stop,” I sputtered, “I don’t want to cum because of that thing.”

Mason bit her lower lip as Sophia stopped, inching toward my ear again. “If you want me to stop, you’ll call trust. Let Mason see what a wimp you are and tap out.”

Heat coursed through my chest, and I grunted in response. I’d never tap out, not even if she nailed me to a cross.

Sophia called out, “I want you two to play amongst yourselves.”

And that was all it took for Cameron to snatch Mason into his arms.

She looked so small against him, but somehow, she fit perfectly into his arms. Her hair hung free as he cradled her bridal-style. In the low light, her tattooed arms disappeared as she wound them around his neck. Watching their passionate kiss, I wasn’t even sure who to be envious of. On the one hand, I wanted to be the one kissing Mason. But on the other hand, I’d kill to be on the receiving end of Cam’s lips—the sounds escaping Mason’s throat were completely unreal. Soft sighs and borderline moans, all while she tangled her hands in Cameron’s coarse ginger hair.

Was she playing it up to tease me? Or did she actually enjoy Cameron that much? How much did she enjoy me ?

Sophia tightened her grip and slowed her stroke as Cameron sunk to his knees. Mason remained in his arms as her long, silky hair flowed into a dark pool on the floor. He gingerly laid her directly on the hardwood. I wanted to snap at him—the least he could do was lay down a blanket for her.

I choked on hiccup-like breaths as Cameron grabbed the Christmas lights, causing shadows to swirl across his face.

“Sweetpea, can you remind me of our safe word? Just in case.”

It should have been me talking to her like that.

“Trust.” Her breathy murmur was sweet, causing Cameron to smile as he carefully uncoiled the strand of lights like a rope.

Mason bent her knees as Cameron slowly wound the improvised restraints around one of her thighs, tight enough to cause the soft skin to bulge against the strand. Mason and I had been working on her eating habits for three weeks now, and to say she was improving would be a drastic understatement.

She was short, which made her progress that much more evident. Even if the changes were slight, I could tell that her hips were wider, her chest was fuller, and even her cheeks were a little less sunken. Laying just out of reach, wrapped in twinkling stars, she was absolutely stunning.

Mason arched her back as Cameron wrapped the lights around her bump, careful not to place any directly on her stomach. Next, he softly draped them over her shoulders, crossing them over her chest and tightening them beneath her breasts. Once he was finished, Mason basked in a heavenly glow, painting her as the center of our universe. We revolved around her; a fact I had refused to acknowledge since the moment she stepped back into our lives.

Slowly, he pulled the matching panties down, but the lights around her leg stopped him from removing them entirely. He took time placing the head of his cock at her entrance before plunging in.

“Be rough with her,” Sophia coached. “Lucian has a soft spot for Mason—always has.”

I cast her a narrow glare before she tightened her grip, forcing me to squirm and buck into the toy. The heat of embarrassment mingled with my arousal, and I began dreaming up ways to get my revenge on Sophia.

Cameron’s smile was soft as he leaned into her Mason’s. I heard the low rumble of his drawl but failed to make out any words. Mason nodded, and Cameron rolled her over, tits to the floor, ass in the air. Mason locked eyes with me as Cameron adjusted the lights. I wondered how they felt against her skin. Were they too hot? Too tight? I couldn’t determine anything from her shadowy expression.

Cameron slid his hands up her thighs—God, she looked so tiny in his grasp. He pulled the lingerie up, leaving Mason’s ass on full display. Slowly, he rubbed his thumb across her cheeks, almost like he was trying to find the perfect spot for his hand. Mason’s eyes squeezed shut as Cameron drew back.

The whip-crack sound of Cameron’s palm hitting Mason’s ass, mixed with her yelp of pained pleasure, caused my heart to lurch.

“Fuck,” I groaned through my teeth.

“Awe, are you enjoying the only action you’re getting tonight?” Sophia challenged, slowing the rhythm of her stroke.

“Your punishment is shit. Smack my ass or let me dom,” I rasped.

In the faint white glow, I could barely make out the raised crimson outline of Cameron’s hand on Mason’s ass. I was sure Cameron would feel bad about it once the heat of the moment wore off. But, for now, he sunk his fingers into her hips, the soft flesh bulging against him as he slowly pressed into her again. Mason groaned as she diligently took every inch of him, and the coil of arousal that had been tightening in my stomach snapped. A burst of hot cum exited me, pouring directly out of the back hole in the pocket pussy. Most of it caught on Sophia’s hand, and I figured that would be the end—Sophia hated being covered in semen. But her grip tightened, and she continued to stroke. I whined as heat once again pooled in my abdomen. I wasn’t hard yet, but she was certainly working toward that.

“Oh, you thought we were stopping?” She let out a dark chuckle. “No, dog, you’re not done. You’re going to cum until there’s not a single drop left in your body. Maybe then you’ll understand that I’m serious about punishing you.”

I wriggled in the chair, trying to give myself a moment to catch my breath. But Sophia knew me too well. Every move I made, she was ahead of.

Maybe Sophia isn’t a shitty dom.

My heart lurched as Cameron reached forward, his large hand engulfing Mason’s throat. My pulse roared in my ears.

“Don’t choke her!” I blurted.

The movement in the room came to a standstill, all eyes falling on me.

“She’s pregnant.” I took the opportunity to catch my breath. “It’s bad for the baby.”

Cameron and Sophia exchanged a look.

“Rip Mason’s panties and throw them to me,” Sophia commanded.

Cam didn’t hesitate, tearing through the silk like it was wet tissue paper. Sophia caught the fabric with the same ease as the pocket pussy before slipping out of her chair and kneeling in front of me.

“Open that smart mouth of yours,” she ordered.

I sealed my lips tight and shook my head. Sophia’s expression hardened into a look of Seriously ? With a deep, almost sarcastic sigh, she cupped my cheeks, squeezing them until I had no choice but to part my lips. She took that opportunity to slam the silk into my mouth. This shouldn’t have been a pleasant experience, but... they tasted like Mason. I groaned against the fabric as the heat in my cock finally ignited into the fire Sophia was after.

She started to stroke me again, and Cameron and Mason resumed their part of my punishment. God, I loved the faces she made when taking him. When she was really enjoying it, her eyes would cross slightly.

“Oh, God,” she whined.

“Sweetpea, don’t talk about him,” Cameron commanded. “The only name on your lips should be mine.”

This vicious torment continued for what felt like hours. I’d cum, each time with less to show for it, and Cameron would ravage Mason. He went down on her, fucked her mouth, treated her like nothing more than a sex toy, and she was fucking living for it. By the time Sophia was finished, my dick was raw from stimulation, and my abdomen hurt from the ridiculous amount of orgasms she’d forced me to endure.

When the overhead light finally flicked back on, Mason lay on the floor, heavily breathing, hiding her face as she came down from the high that only rough sex could provide. I wasn’t much better—I was so caked in sweat that Cameron was able to slip my wrists out of the ropes without even untying them.

Sophia looked back at me as she slowly untangled Mason.

“You’re in charge of her aftercare.”

My knees were so shaky that I wasn’t sure I could stand, let alone walk.

“ Her aftercare? What about me ?”

I was literally fucked within an inch of my life, and now I was supposed to take care of Mason? How did Sophia even expect me to do that?

... How did she know I’d want to do that?

A month ago, if you asked me to describe my personal hell, I would have told you it was eating snacks in my bed and watching videos on my phone with Mason Albright. But, as she offered me a bite of fruit salad and nestled into my chest, I wasn’t in hell at all.

Mason reached forward, swiping up on the screen as I used my teeth to slide the chunk of melon off her fork. She had coated the entire salad in a mix of Greek yogurt and sunflower butter. My nose wrinkled as I chewed—it didn’t taste bad, but it was definitely weird.

I used my free hand to pull her fingers closer, squinting so I could examine her nails. They were mostly iridescent, with black constellations in the middle.

“Did Jade do these?” A full mouth muffled my words.

“No,” Mason sighed as she looked at her hand like she had never seen it in her life. “I shared a photo of my last set on social media, and now she’s booked out until December… but she still makes time for Sophia.”

Mason smiled at the end of her sentence, but I knew it wasn’t real. Usually, I had a pretty good read on how she was feeling. More so than anyone else in the house, at least. Apparently, I was the expert on Mason-fucking-Albright. That fact was once mortifying, but now I wore it like a silent badge of honor.

“Did she pay you to advertise for her or something?”

Mason’s hair rubbed against my bare chest as she shook her head.

“She’s a good person, and good people deserve good things. She tried to return the tip I gave her, so I wanted to do something she couldn’t make me take back.”

Should I remind Mason that she’s a good person? That she deserves good things too?

My face heated as she studied me, and I had to look away to compose myself. When I looked back, she was sucking on the spoon; gaze laser-focused on mine. Just being this close to her had me feeling the same way I did in high school: that disgusting, saccharine, all-consuming love. The type of feeling you’d risk everything just to keep. I had come to terms with the fact that I’d never get over Mason. But, I wasn’t ready to willingly be in love with her again.

Before I could love her, I needed to know she wouldn’t leave this time.

I turned the butterflies she gave me into anger, focusing on Jade being a bitch rather than my feelings for Mason. If I were in Mason’s position, I’d be pissed. Scratch that, why wasn’t Sophia pissed?

“So, you save her dying business, and she repays you by blowing you off?” I snorted.

“Well… she didn’t exactly do that.” Mason looked away as she spoke.

“Then what did she do?” Because it sure as fuck sounded like she was taking Mason for granted.

“She got excited when I called and told me she’d do my nails after hours, but I wouldn’t be allowed to pay her.” Mason swallowed before taking another bite, seemingly determined to talk with her mouth full.

“I hate getting special treatment.”

“Then why the fuck did you become a celebrity?”

She pursed her lips off to one side in thought, like I had asked her something that actually mattered, rather than a rhetorical question. After a few moments and some obvious inner turmoil, she answered:

“My dad wanted me to.”

I jerked back at her statement. Did she not see how that was a genuinely terrible reason to do anything ?

“If James wanted you to jump off a bridge, would you?”

The way Mason hesitated told me more than she ever could have, and I didn’t want to risk her answering. So, instead of leaving it at that, I fell back into old habits.

“Is that why you never fixed your fucked up teeth?” The question came out as more of an insult.

Mason’s hand went to her mouth, and my heart sank. She rolled her lips in as if that would prevent me from seeing her teeth.

“You think my teeth need to be fixed?” Her voice shook, and I realized if I wanted her to feel better, I’d need to tell her the truth, not disparage her.

“No! I didn’t mean it, I was just being a dick… I really like your smile. I always have.” My admission caused my cheeks to blaze.

Mason’s smile was just one of the many things that made her uniquely, unfairly beautiful.

Her expression softened, and her lips parted—but before she could respond, her phone buzzed.

Mason quickly covered her mouth and grabbed her phone, slowly inching the device closer like she couldn’t read the screen. I tried to peer over her shoulder so I could see who was calling, but her whole screen, including the contact name, was in French.

Once the buzzing stopped, I could see the tremble in Mason’s hand.

“Who was that?”

Mason swallowed hard, her eyes still fixed on the screen. “My dad’s assistant… That’s the second time he’s called me today.”

My heart stilled as a sinking feeling filled my chest. It was weird that Mason’s dad wouldn’t just call her himself, but I also didn’t understand what it was like to be a celebrity. Maybe I was looking too far into it.

“Don’t call them back.” I took Mason’s phone, placing it on my side of the bed before wrapping my arms around her. “James doesn’t get any more of your time; you’re ours now.”

I should have asked Mason what she wanted to do. But I was worried they’d ask her to come back to France, and... I just didn’t know if I could recover from losing her again.

Mason excused herself to go wash up for bed, giving me a quiet moment to look around my room. I liked to keep things nice and organized, but still, I had a lot of stuff packed into the space. Stacks of books, my wall of instruments, my snake shelf…

Wait a minute.

One of my notebooks had somehow ended up in front of Pearl’s terrarium. As I grabbed the book, a red pen clattered to the floor. My brow furrowed as I flipped through the pages, looking for signs of red ink. After a moment, I found a page covered in Mason’s rigid, uniform handwriting.

I sat in my chair as I read through it. By the end, my chest was full, and my breathing shallow. There was no way in hell she ever would have wanted me to read this, but I was glad I did. I glanced at my door to make sure she wasn’t about to walk back in, then I tore out the page.