Chapter 33

-Jared-

I immediately realized why Astrid had been smiling, and I reached for her, but she scrambled off me before I could react, pulling a second pair of cuffs from the drawer by the nightstand. I tried to grab her, but she moved quickly, laughing as she retreated further down the bed, attempting to grab my ankle.

"You fucking cunt," I snarled.

"Oh, come on, honey. You know you love me," she taunted.

I kicked out, refusing to let her gain control of my leg, but I found myself trapped in bed now, with her effortlessly holding my leg in place by placing her weight on top of it. I tried to twist away, but I heard the click of the cuffs before she landed on the floor.

"Shit!" I yelled, realizing only one side was now free.

She chuckled, a wicked smile on her face as she prowled around the bed like a predator, stalking me. She then walked over to the other nightstand, the side I usually occupied, and retrieved more cuffs and my gun. Placing the gun on the nightstand, she made it clear it was a threat to me.

"You lied about being pregnant, didn't you?" I snarled.

"No, the test came back negative. I'm just tired of you going in almost dry," she retorted. "Now, I want to have some fun and actually climax this time."

"Go find one of your other subs for that. We had an agreement about what this was," I insisted.

"It gets boring after a while," she remarked, moving to secure my other ankle. I kicked out and even tried to pull my leg toward me before she reached for the gun, pointing it at me.

"You promised you wouldn't kill me," I reminded her.

"I don't have to aim for anything vital," she countered.

"You wouldn't dare."

She cocked the gun, calmly aiming at my leg, and I cursed myself. I had grown too accustomed to how things were, my focus not where it should be. I thought Astrid felt fine about our arrangement, at least until she got pregnant, but it seemed my wife was tired of being denied orgasms.

"Foot," she ordered, indicating where she wanted me to be positioned.

"I thought we were trying to conceive," I pointed out.

"We are."

"Fucking my ass won't achieve that."

"I didn't say I was going to do that tonight."

"Then why am I being cuffed and laid out on the bed like this?"

"It's about being in control," she explained, waving the gun. "Foot."

"Have you ever learned to use that thing?" I challenged.

"Do you want to find out? I think you're forgetting the glaring difference between me and my brother. While he lost his mind to drugs, I kept mine sharp, always staying in control. Jared, I'm not a fool. Don't treat me like one."

"No, you're just a bitch."

"Bitches aren't usually idiots," she countered. "Now, iron around your leg or in your leg?"

"Is there a third option?"

"I could also shove this end up your ass," she taunted, holding up the gun.

I groaned, extending my leg, and she swiftly cuffed it before gesturing for me to offer her my wrist, but I hesitated.

"Jared, we've been through this before," she reminded me. "Do you really want me to shoot you?"

"Astrid, we can't play tonight. I have work tomorrow," I explained.

"Well, I needed the element of surprise. I won't have that tomorrow."

"Then let's make a little deal."

"I don't trust you to uphold your end," she pointed out.

I glared at her but made my offer anyway. "I'll make you come tomorrow if you release me now and leave my room before I strangle you."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "But you're already in a vulnerable position."

"Yes, but we both know you won't get close to my teeth with your pussy if you keep me like this," I reminded her.

"You're right. I'm not going to. Now give me your wrist."

"Release me, and I will take care of your needs tomorrow. I'm not in the mood to play tonight," I insisted.

"You're never in the mood. Only with your slave," she countered.

"Yes, well, my slave doesn't tie me up."

"Never?"

I hesitated for a moment, recalling a vulnerable moment.

"Never," I quickly replied, not wanting to reveal the little game between me and Alison that I had come to enjoy.

"Too bad. Because with your slave, you would still hold all the control. With me, you have none. No safe words between us, Jared," she reminded me.

"I wasn't expecting it. Just take the deal, Astrid," I demanded.

She shook her head. "This is more fun."

"I'm growing soft from this conversation," I informed her, gesturing to my only half-erect cock now.

She glanced at it, a cruel smile forming on her lips, which I did not appreciate.

"Don't worry. I have just the thing for that," she teased me.

"If you say drugs, I can promise you—"

"Not drugs," she assured me, then produced something else from the drawer, and I vowed to never have nightstands in here again.

"Fuck…" I murmured, seeing the vibrating butt plug.

"This will get you going," she assured me, producing lube as well and holding it up as if I were about to undergo the weirdest sort of examination.

"Take the deal, Astrid," I snarled.

"No."

"Take the deal, and I won't hurt you once I'm free."

"But I like when you're rough, Jared."

"Seriously, you might just experience strange accidents in this house if you do not release me this instant!" I snarled.

"And then my father will be very mad at you," she taunted.

"Astrid…" I began, but she threw the stuff on the bed and put away the gun. Then, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand. She typed away on it before turning it to me, showing me pictures of Alison. I shifted my gaze to Astrid, noticing her dark smile.

"You didn't think I wouldn't keep an eye on her, right?"

"Astrid, she is not part of our world anymore. Leave her be," I ordered.

"You keep going to see her, though."

"Because we have always been part of each other's lives. That is different!" I yelled.

"Actually," she said, putting her phone away, "it's not. Because as I told you, Jared, I'm not a fool. I know where you have been and what you have been up to. I know exactly what is going on."

She climbed onto the bed, seemingly unconcerned that my hand was still free, as she was controlling the power dynamic between us. I averted my gaze, but she reached out, gripping my jaw again and forcing me to focus on her.

"I don't have to shoot you. I don't even have to point a gun at you, because you proved to me that night you cut off Noah's ear that your slave means more to you than you will ever admit to yourself. I just need to use her."

"Astrid!" I growled.

"And the best part is, she does belong in our world. Or her father does, at least, and why shouldn't his daughter pay for his crimes? He is the one messing with OUR family, and we all know how precious a daughter is to her father."

"You don't know her father. He doesn't care about her. If it were that simple, I could simply kidnap her myself, tie her up, and send a video to him," I reminded her.

"I think you might underestimate his willingness to protect her. Because what would it look like if he didn't try to rescue her?"

"He could just pretend to want to. That's the thing, Astrid. He truly doesn't care. I am unsure if he has only protected her from his friends out of obligation and because Alison is the one to carry the family line, or if it is because she is his daughter. He is not a good person," I informed her.

"I never said he was, but is my father a saint? No, but he would still protect me."

"I think your father cares more than Shane does," I revealed. "Some people just shouldn't have children."

"I can agree with that, but does it change anything? You will still protect her, won't you?"

"Don't tamper with anything, Astrid. We are proceeding carefully and deliberately for a reason, and if you target Alison, then you are disrupting everything. How would your father feel about that?" I challenged.

"I don't have to directly harm her," Astrid reminded me. "I can just intimidate her a little. Remind you of who is in charge."

"Astrid, this is an extremely delicate mission. Even intimidating his daughter might alert him to something or make him more cautious. You haven't studied Shane, been in a room with him, but I have. Leave Alison alone, or risk facing your father's wrath. I know you fear him more than me."

Astrid seemed to grow a little uncertain, and that's when I knew I had to make a move.

"I will tend to your needs tonight if you promise not to pursue her," I bargained.

She appeared more intrigued, glancing at her phone, likely pondering whether involving Alison was worth it. I knew it was my mistake for leaving Alison vulnerable to everyone, but I never imagined it would lead to consequences. I wanted to prove she meant nothing to me, but despite my disdain for her, the only one who could punish, touch, or even hurt her was me.

Because no matter how hard I tried to deny it, something tethered us together—hatred, desire, our games. The list was endless, and if others got their hands on her, all of it would vanish. Fuck my abandonment issues, I repeated in my head. I knew everything stemmed from that. If Alison vanished, so did my stability. No, she had to remain, grounding me in a way no one else could.

I truly despised Alison Brown with every fiber of my being, yet I craved her nonetheless, and Astrid sadly forced me to confront even more truths. Hence, I was willing to negotiate with her.

"I'm still going to want to tie your wrist. I don't trust you won't choke me," she said, putting away her phone.

"You leave her for good, and you can tie my wrist," I vowed.

"You make me come every time we are together from now on, and I stay away from her," she continued.

"Deal."

"And I get to place this in your ass." She held up the plug.

"No deal."

She glared at me, but I persisted. "But I will let you ride my face for as long as you want."

Her eyes sparkled with renewed interest, and she put away the plug and the gun as well before gesturing for me to give her my wrist. But before I did, I held her gaze.

"Say you will stay away from her," I insisted.

"You really need me to say it?" she asked.

"Yes, absolutely."

"You really care a lot about her, don't you?"

"Astrid, sometimes I'm unsure who I hate the most, you or Alison."

"And yet you want to have sex with her all the time?" she questioned.

"Yes, because with her, I'm the one in charge, and she doesn't crave to do what you want to do to me," I pointed out.

"Come now, Jared, you're a big guy. You can admit your feelings."

"I just did. I hate. I will always hate her."

"And yet you maim Noah, put Michael on bedrest for two weeks, and bargain with me for her protection."

"I can hate something and still not want others to have a taste," I explained, and Astrid's smile widened.

"You really despise her, but also want her. That must be conflicting," she pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm not going to talk about that with you. Now either say we have a deal, or we can argue all night if you want to," I said.

"Hmm, I do like arguing with you, but I like orgasms more."

"Then say we have a deal."

She sighed, looking annoyed that she had to say it out loud. "Fine, Jared," she conceded, reaching for my cheek and stroking it. "I will leave your pet alone if you satisfy me tonight."

"Deal," I repeated, then gave her my wrist to cuff.

Her eyes showed the dark pleasure of having me sprawled beneath her, and she climbed over my chest to position her pussy over my mouth. I tried my hardest to suppress any disgust, drawing on memories of Alison, this time trying not to fight or make excuses for my desires. I needed to get through tonight.

"If you bite me, don't forget who I can call to pay your pet a visit. Finn never got to finish," she warned, and I glared up at her before answering with a curt nod.

She moved cautiously closer, still unsure if she could trust me, but I knew the consequences of disturbing Alison when I was so close to ending this mission. We just needed to gather the last bits of information from their houses and then corner them where they wouldn't see us coming. I couldn't wait to watch their blood flow, and the thought helped me relax as my wife descended on me, positioning her pussy for me to tease. Her taste utterly mortified me, but I once more delved into my mind, imagining someone else, someone I enjoyed teasing with my mouth.

As Astrid grew louder, I pushed away the sounds, replacing them with fantasies, making it much easier, even arousing me again. But she was far from satisfied with one orgasm, and she certainly took advantage of my situation. I knew tonight was going to be one of many where I felt like choking on my own vomit, but it was worth it to keep someone else safe. Bringing Alison into my life was a mistake. I should never have sought her out, but it was too late now. She was far deeper entangled than she even knew.