Chapter 4

4

Aurora

How many identical orders have I been issued over the years? Quiet commands. Loud ones. Sweet. Cutting. None of them affected me the way Malone’s idle sentence does. Take off your panties, Aurora. She sounds almost disinterested, as if commenting on the weather. In the darkness of the back of the car, I can’t quite see her expression. Not that it would matter; I’ve never seen anything but ice in Malone’s eyes. Even the single time she brought me to orgasm, she didn’t thaw in the least.

I try to hold on to my anger, my hate, but it feels so fucking good to submit. To set aside all the messy emotions that have been clinging to me like spiderwebs for the past two days. When I submit, it all ceases to exist.

I have to obey if I want her to let her guard down.

The plan feels flimsy at best, but I refuse to admit that Allecto might have been right. She wasn’t. I have this under control. Truly, I do.

I lift my hips and slide my panties down my legs. The temptation rises to do more, to spread my legs or let a strap of my teddy fall, but I manage to restrain myself. To give perfect obedience. There will be a time to press Malone later. Right now, I can be a good little submissive.

“Make yourself come.” Again, a cold command in a disinterested tone.

I’m almost ashamed by how wet I am. That this woman, this enemy manages to turn me on despite the hate burning strong in my chest. I pull my teddy up and stroke my pussy. Malone doesn’t even watch. She’s looking out the window as if this is a normal car ride and I’m not fingering myself less than a foot from her.

Even in the shadows of the backseat, lit only by the lights of buildings we pass, she’s gorgeous enough to steal my breath. Malone is a white woman with the kind of pale skin that makes me think she’s never seen the sun. I know she’s forty-one from the file Meg keeps on her in the Underworld, but looking at her, she could easily be a decade younger. Her short white-blond hair is styled back from her face as always, and she’s wearing one of my favorite outfits of hers. Red-bottom black heels, black cigarette pants with a white blouse that’s left unbuttoned halfway down her chest. I have the most unacceptable desire to drag my mouth over that V of exposed skin. To unbutton the shirt farther until I’m kneeling between her thighs.

Will she still act as unaffected once I get my tongue in her pussy?

Part of me hopes so.

There are as many flavors of submissive as there are of Dominants. Everyone has the thing that twists them up in knots in the most delicious way possible. I like a little bit of everything, but this? This disinterest mixed up with lust and my desire for approval? I thrive off attention, and being deprived it is the most delicious of cuts. I have to bite down a moan of sheer lust. I hate how easily she cranks me up while appearing to do absolutely nothing at all. It feels particularly dirty to circle my clit like this in the backseat while her driver is witnessing the whole thing.

For all my kink experience, I haven’t played outside the Underworld until now. Or at least not in anything resembling public. Even the few relationships I’ve had were ones where they came to me. Partly because Allecto is paranoid as hell. Partly because the draw of the Underworld as almost as intense as the draw I provided; something I didn’t realize in each of the relationships until far too late. These days, I barely leave the building unless I’m going to visit my mom…

Except I’ll never be able to do that again.

The reminder of why I’m here is a bucket of cold water in the face of my desire. I slow my movements, loathing myself for the small part of me that keeps enjoying this moment despite everything the woman beside me has done.

“Is there a problem?” Malone’s icy voice sends chills down my spine that are entirely too pleasant.

Yes, but I’m not about to admit the extent of it. I close my eyes and strive to keep my mask in place. How can I want to attack her and also beg for more pleasure? Those two feelings shouldn’t exist at the same time. It’s wrong for me to want her, isn’t it? I’ve spent so much time believing that there’s nothing that happens between consenting adults that should result in shame, but here I am…feeling shame.

I lift my hand from my clit. “I’m not really in the mood to come.”

She taps her fingers on her knee. “I see.”

She moves so quickly, I barely have a chance to flinch. Malone hooks my leg and yanks. After how she carried me through the parking garage—something I refuse to even think about—I shouldn’t be surprised by how strong she is despite her slim frame. She easily flips me onto my stomach and tows me back onto her lap, shifting slightly to ensure I don’t ram into the door.

I tense, expecting her to spank me or something harsh, but she just wraps her fingers around my upper thigh, gripping me tightly and holding me in place. Her knuckles are barely an inch away from my pussy, and somehow that distance is just as hot as if she shoved two fingers into me. She smooths her free hand over my ass, pushing my lace teddy up and baring me from the waist down.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding of how this works.” She traces a single finger down my spine, stopping at the small of my back. “Your flouncing and bratty attitude will not provoke the response you want. It’s best you learn that now. If you don’t obey my commands, you will be punished.” She taps my spine lightly with her nail. “Punishments are not to be enjoyed, Aurora.”

I should keep my mouth shut, but this woman manages to rile me like no other. I squeeze my eyes shut and fist my hands against the leather seat. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have contracted a submissive who gets off on being punished, Malone.”

Her quiet laugh raises the small hairs on the back of my neck. “I am not like your regular playmates.” She lifts her voice. “Sara, I need to make a stop on the way home. I feel like a drink.”

“Will do.”

The car slows and turns. Malone doesn’t release me, doesn’t touch me more, just holds me in place with my bare ass on display. Humiliation and shame heat my cheeks. She slapped me down as easily as she would a fly. I hate that it turns me on. This would be so much easier if she didn’t affect me, if I could just endure this without wanting to rub against her leg like a horny teenager.

We finally stop, and she gives my ass a light slap. “Up.”

This time, I obey without arguing. She nudges me back into my seat and reaches over my chest to pull my seat belt on. The click feels obscenely loud in the quiet of the car. Malone’s breath brushes my ear. “Sit here silently and wait for me. Sara will remain in the car with you. Don’t try to talk to them; they won’t indulge any of your disobedience.” She lifts her voice. “Isn’t that right, Sara?”

“Yes, boss.” Sara sounds amused, but it’s hard to tell for sure because I can only see the back of their dark hair on the other side of the headrest.

Malone opens the car door and climbs out. I sit there in shock and watch her walk into the building we’re parking in front of. She…left me? I glance at Sara, but they don’t seem interested in counteracting the command to not talk to each other. It’s just as well. What would I even say? That doesn’t stop me from wanting to do it out of spite. “How long am I supposed to wait?”

No answer.

I huff out a breath and slump back against the seat. My pussy is throbbing in time with my heartbeat, and I have the imprint of Malone’s hand wrapped around my upper thigh. Lust and anger create a heady mix inside me, and I reach down to stroke myself. Fuck her if she thinks she can leave me on the edge like that.

“Wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

I glare at the back of Sara’s head. “Or what? She left me in here.”

They laugh lightly. “Do what you want, kid. Just saying it won’t work out like you’re hoping.”

I manage to wait another five minutes. My desire and fury increase with each second that ticks by. She left me in the car like a dog so she could go have a drink. Maybe I’ll appreciate the simplicity of this punishment later, but right now all I can do is clench my fists and glare out the window.

Punishments are not to be enjoyed, Aurora. Her cool voice filters through my flurry of thoughts, which only twines me tighter. Being bratty never results in something like this with other Dominants. Scenes follow a predictable pattern; they let me rile them up, and then they punish me, and we all enjoy ourselves immensely. I have never been set aside like a child in time out and left for… I check the clock in the dashboard I can see around Sara’s broad shoulders. Twenty fucking minutes.

I almost ignore Sara’s warning and masturbate out of spite. Almost. But just when my frayed patience has worn itself away completely, I catch sight of Malone walking out of the bar. She strides like she’s on a runway, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think she was putting on a show for me. But that’s not how this woman works. She strides everywhere she goes, a predator that send people scurrying out of her wake even in the Underworld, where power is the rule rather than the exception.

It only makes her more breathtakingly attractive, and that unwelcome feeling of awe reaches me even through my irritation. She opens the door and slides easily into the backseat. She doesn’t even look at me. “That was refreshing. Let’s go.”

“Mmhmm.” Sara sounds like they’re fighting down a laugh.

Malone ignores me the remaining fifteen minutes it takes to get to her building. I’m familiar with the location even if I’ve never been here before. Meg has files on every single power player in Carver City, and extra detailed information on the territory leaders in particular. I’ve spent more time studying Malone’s file than anyone else’s. I know she has a staff of fifty security people, though she keeps a smaller team in charge of her personal residence. She’s CEO of a company that employs hundreds of people. The company has great healthcare, and all full-time workers get paid vacation as well as paid parental leave for up to three months. The employee turnover rate is practically nonexistent, from the mail room to the COO. As irritating as it is to acknowledge, she seems like a good boss. And the same policies are enacted with her people for the less than legal parts of her business.

In my darkest moments, I wondered if my mother had anything similar set up for her people when she was in charge. I have next to no information about the years she ruled this territory. My grandmother refused to speak of it, and it wasn’t as if I could go in and ask people who had actually been there. I considered it, of course, but ultimately chose not to. Even Hades’s immaculate records are sparse when it comes to her.

The parking garage looks like every other one I’ve been in. Malone barely waits for the car to stop before she opens the door and motions me to follow with an imperial flick of her fingers. I start to climb out of the car, but Malone once against scoops me into her arms.

I’ve been carried a lot. Some Doms really like this sort of thing, but I didn’t think Malone was one of them. She’s only a few inches taller than me, but her strong arms band around me and I have absolutely no fear that she’s going to drop me.

That doesn’t mean I like this.

“Put me down.”

“You’re speaking out of turn again.” She doesn’t glance down, just eats up the distance between the car and the elevator with that stride of hers, completely unchanged despite the fact that I’m in her arms. She waits for Sara to push the button to call the elevator. “At this rate, I won’t let you come the entire two weeks you’re with me.”

I want to pretend she’s bluffing, but I’m not that naive. Malone is more than capable of following through on that mildly delivered threat. For the first time in a very long time, I have to fight to lower my eyes and inject some submission into my tone. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not.” She steps into the elevator.

Sara follows and presses the button for the highest floor and the one below it. We rise in silence. I expect Malone to set me down, but she shows no interest in doing so. The doors open on the second-highest floor, and Sara steps out. They turn back and level a severe look at me. “Don’t try anything. If you do, once she’s done fucking you up, I’ll fuck you up.”

This isn’t an idle threat, either. I press my lips together and nod. As if I’m not planning to do exactly that the first chance I get. As if the very reason I took this assignation wasn’t to get close enough to slip a knife between Malone’s ribs.

It’s not going to be easy. I knew that even before Allecto made her doubts known. Malone is a fucking Amazon from Sabine Valley. The name isn’t the only thing they share with their ancient Greek counterparts. They’re a matriarchal warrior society built of clans, and Malone was part of the ruling family. She’s a formidable enemy in every sense of the word.

She is a warrior by both the literal and corporate definition. It’s going to take everything I have in order to succeed in taking her out. And patience. Lots and lots of patience.

And then we’re rising again. This time when the doors open, we’re not looking at a corporate-type hallway. There’s a nondescript white room with a single door in it. Malone walks into the room and looks up at the camera positioned against the ceiling. A few seconds later, the lock clicks open, and she pushes through the door.

The apartment is decorated exactly like I imagined it would be. Clean lines. Minimalist decorating. Elegant furniture. Color scheme that leans white and gray with a few pops of silver and crimson to keep things from being soulless.

She sets me on my feet. “Get rid of that hideous thing.”

I look down at my teddy. “I like it.”

“You look like a sorority girl playing dress-up. Take it off.”

I almost argue, but the memory of the car has me reaching for the hem of the teddy and pulling it over my head without complaint. Malone takes it from my hand and strides deeper into the house. “Follow.”

I grit my teeth and obey. I round the corner in time to see her stuff the nightgown in the trash can in the kitchen. She keeps going before I can take a moment to study the room, stalking down the hallway and opening a door.

It leads to a room outfitted in high-end kink gear. There’s a spanking bench, a contraption meant to suspend someone on, and a hook attached to the ceiling in the middle of the room. From the hook dangles a spreader bar with cuffs on either end.

Malone positions me below it and then moves to a ring on the wall where it’s tied off, lowering it until it’s just within reach. Without a word, she walks back and fastens my hands on either side of the bar. It spreads me wide, leaving me unable to cover myself.

Malone steps back. “Now. Let’s see what I’ve claimed.”