Chapter 21

"Sorry, I, I was..." I trailed off, backing up slowly toward the bed with my arm covering my private areas, my cheeks flushing bright red. He dropped his head to look at the mess before lifting it back up again, and strolling into the room. The shadow man took a brief glance at the bathroom before peering at me again.

"Hmm." he muttered. But he didn't seem mad. At least, I didn't think so. I sighed, "I was hungry." As if that would make things better. He tilted his head, then slipped his hand behind his neck, pulling slightly. I frowned. Maybe he was sore or perhaps delaying his punishment, pondering what to do with me. I mindlessly ran my tongue along my lips, lapping up the leftover butter that was smeared on them and my face.

I watched his stomach muscles stretch and contract tightly against his deep, rapid breaths. I took another step back closer to the bed so I could grab the sheet in attempt to cover my indecency. But he took another step closer, and my stomach fluttered. He tsked, "Little pet, thieving? After I"ve shown kindness to let you bathe yourself?" He took another step closer. The tone of his voice wasn't menacing in the slightest, rather, it was playful.

Catching me off-guard. I took another step back, and the back of my knees contacted the bed frame. I lowered myself onto the mattress, scooting under the sheet. He came even closer, and I scrambled back against the headboard with my knees tucked against my chest.

"I wasn"t…" I whispered, but he was too quick. His body weight pushed me hard against the headboard as he threw his body over mine, digging his thumb and middle finger against my jugular with haste, a need. I wasn't thieving. Well… fine, I was.

His scent was all over his bed and bedsheets, and I shuddered as the smell intoxicated my nose. An involuntary breath parted my lips. As if I couldn't get anymore obvious about how much I enjoyed smelling him, even though it was the very smell that haunted my every thought. He groaned in response to my breathy sigh.

The sudden intrusion of that goddamn fucking static charge ran its course in my veins, and my pussy thumped to its rhythm, again. The sensation still aching from our little rendezvous earlier. The shadow man let loose an intimate growl. I bit down on my cheek as the temptation to not touch him made my skin crawl. His body hovering over me made me feel like Jell-O, and I wanted to feel more of the electric heat. The room spun, and I felt dizzy.

"Am I in trouble for eating?" I whispered under his grip, but he ignored me. He yanked the bed sheet off me in one swift movement, tossing it onto the floor. I panted the vision back to my eyes again from the release of his grip. He drew in a large breath through his nose, filling himself with his cologne that wafted from my hair.

"Hmmm." A deeper noise vibrated from his chest. I tried to squeeze my thighs together, but his knee was firm between them. His body language was screaming a million mixed messages, and it was exhausting just trying to read them.

"Do you know what happens to little thieves?" The muffled tone of his voice against the mask wasn't helping the flutter between my legs. I swallowed, struggling to shake my head around his grip on my throat. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't answer my question." He demanded. I wriggled under his weight, noticing that his hand was pushing harder against my full stomach. A small punishment for my greed. Wait… what was the question again? He pressed harder for my response, and I tried not to give it. But the memory of his glass slashing my feet washed over me, and I remembered there and then just how much of a monster he was.

Tears stung my eyes, and I sputtered, "I'm sorry. Please. I… I don't want the glass again. Please." He purred intimately. Because he liked me weak. I gasped. He wiped the tears trickling down my cheek with his thumb. I sobbed harder, and my body trembled like I was having a seizure. He chuckled darkly.

"I love it when you beg for me. I almost considered not hurting you, but… I'm going to have to teach you a lesson, aren't I, pet?" I shook my head, but before I knew it, he threw himself off me. My heart pounded from his rapid movement. He pulled a remote from the bedside drawer. I sighed loudly, in relief that it wasn't a knife. But that relief was short-lived.

The shadow man tapped a button, and the mechanical sounds of clunking woke to life from the ceiling. It was coming from the area with the steel frame and twinkling lights. I gasped, seeing the square frame begin to lower from the ceiling. Fuck. I gritted my teeth, dreading what in the fuck was about to happen. The metal frame lowered midway from the ceiling before locking itself into place.

The center of the frame had a large steel hoop. I kept darting my eyes between the shadow man and the frame, seeing that he was enigmatic, as usual. He maneuvered to the other side of the room. I panted in panic on the bed as I watched, the whites of my eyes on full display as he pressed another button on the remote. More mechanical noises chimed. I gasped, completely breathless as the entire wall behind where he was standing lifted up into the ceiling.

The whole thing. Like the garage door had done when I first got here. Unease bubbled in my stomach. The shadow man was uncloaking an entire wall of black, red, and gold ropes, perfectly bunched in a row. My breath picked up the pace the more I looked. Many black and silver chains, ones of varying thickness and length. And chains, so many chains. All hanging neatly under red LED lights.

Fear laced me as he grabbed several rolls of the black-coloured rope before pressing the button again, and the wall lowered back down to its original state. He ushered me to stand, and I hesitated. I sobbed at the thought of him seeing my belly rolls again. The mood was different, and the feeling of vulnerability and embarrassment was all that I felt.

My breath hitched as he pointed to the ground in front of him. Hesitantly,I pulled the sheet up with me and stood, about to take a step forward when he growled.

He shook his head. Sheet off. Come on, you can do this. He's seen you naked. A little. I blew a sigh from my lips, letting it exit my chest completely before allowing the sheet to drop in a puddle around my feet. He drew in a sharp inhale through his teeth, and instant arousal blossomed in his jeans. He stood there a moment, stoic.

Taking in all of me, his head lowering slowly. His gaze hovered for a long time at my pubic hair, I gulped and my cheeks burnt. I couldn't see them, but his eyes were hungry, happily devouring me again.

He was careful with his movements, entwining the rope around my arms in rhythmic patterns. Each interlace was carefully placed around my arm, not a single gap between each row of the smooth black rope. I jolted in a whimper as he yanked the ropes, testing the strength and tightening them in place. I arched from the rough, unfamiliar sensation and the uncertainty. Yet, I could feel my arousal coming back again. I studied him as he grabbed another piece of rope and held a section at my stomach.

"Press." His sultry deep voice tickled my pussy. Obeying, I pressed my hand at the rope on my belly, and he paced around me like a vulture. The torment of him doing the same movement in the basement before he maimed my feet hit my mind, and my lower lip trembled. He carefully threaded the rope around my midsection line by line, and it dug into my rolls. Being this exposed to him made me ache in more ways than one.

But the more I stood here for him, the more I was only happy to do so. He made me feel comfortable in my skin, somehow. Because even though I had shame written all over my body, he still had an impressive hard-on. I gulped at the size of his bulge, noticing that it had a wet patch around it. If I had the capacity to turn him on, maybe, just maybe, I wasn't as fat and ugly as I thought I was.

I gasped again as he tugged the ropes tight into a knot behind me. He secured my arms behind me, and I frowned from the unexpected excitement that ran through my veins. He threaded a pattern of ropes around my thigh, and my pussy throbbed beneath his tender hand that brushed a little too closely to the swollen area.

He continued the same pattern on the other thigh, and I stood in front of him tied up like a pork loin. Then he twirled his faded black finger in a 360-degree motion, gesturing for me to spin around. I did as he instructed, and his hands ran through my damp hair, brushing his fingers through the knots.

Mindlessly my back arched from the sensation, and I let a moan free. I didn't know what magic he had at his fingertips, but it made me melt like butter. He followed my hair down to my ass, separating it into three sections. I swallowed hard, he was plaiting my hair, with rope.

"Mmmm." He purred, before returning to the side table, pulling out a hair tie, and a lipstick. "Head up." He cupped the back curve of my neck, holding the weight of my head in his hand. I felt as though my legs were giving way. God, he made me feel so weak. He pulled his other hand up to my mouth, and slid his thumb across my bottom lip before letting it flop back against my teeth. I panted again. He chuckled.

"So sensitive, pet." Yes, that's me, sensitive and god damn ready to explode. I could not cope with the edging anymore. I just wanted a release. I was absolutely disgusted with myself. For wanting the man who had, and is still destroying me. And was supposedly going to kill me. His breathing quickened, and he glided the vibrant red lipstick across my lips, not once smudging it over my lip line. Showing his gentle side once more. And a feminine one.

He threaded the ropes through the metal ring in the middle of the steel frame and pressed a button on the remote. My heart pounded as the ropes started to shift under me, and the frame lifting slowly. He pressed the button again when my feet lifted off the ground, and I was merely tip-toeing. I gasped from the unfamiliar position my body was in.

He threaded a section of rope under my foot that was secured in the plait of my hair, pulling at it, and my foot lifted toward my head, leaving me no choice but to stretch my neck back from the pressure.

He secured it in place, and repeated the same on the other side, only threading the rope from my foot to the knot at my back. I was a pretzel. A naked pretzel. Right now, I was thankful for the sponge inside my body, preventing blood from oozing everywhere.

He stood there like a mannequin, admiring all of me before him, and dangling like a fucked-up chandelier. A dull ache at my shoulder blades niggled, letting me know that my tendons were taut to their max. My body spun for a moment, before finally slowing, finding a spot to stay in, if I didn't move. "Hmmm. Pink nails look nice on you. And the red lipstick? Fucking perfection." he mused.

I croaked, but no words left my lips. He chuckled at my undeniable arousal for him. I panted at the sound of a belt unbuckling.

"My little puppet queen." He lowered me again so that I was level with the buckle of his jeans. "Bite." My mouth trembled before finally pulling myself together and opening my mouth, letting my teeth chomp down on the buckle. I was sure he would have been uncomfortable, his erection was hard pressed against his jeans, his very tight jeans.

The little bumps of what I assumed were piercings outlined through the fabric. He pulled back, letting the belt slide through the tabs. I spat it onto the floor, and I held the air in my chest, biting my lips as I watched him free himself. His cock stood proud at attention.

I gasped, wriggling against the ropes. I was right. His cock had nine piercings up the shaft of it, like a fucking ladder. I remember Tilly mentioning names of piercings many of times. During the many painful "sit throughs" of her sexual interests. I know for sure that what the shadow man had was a Jacobs Ladder. He had more, but that was the one that took my attention first.

Noticing my gasp, he chuckled. He was amused? The other two piercings were placed evenly on the top through the perfectly smooth head. A double dydoe. Mindlessly, I licked my lips. Fuck.

This motherfucker was giving me more reasons to want him more than I did. And more than I cared to admit. "Open." he demanded, his voice laced with heady desire. I didn't hesitate. His cock rammed to the back of my throat, violating my jaw as it widened to take his impressive girth. The hit of his cock and his arousal of it in my mouth tugged at my orgasm.

"Fuck." he groaned, and I whimpered instinctively. His piercings bumped along my bottom lip as he pumped in and out, some hitting the tips of my teeth. I moved my tongue over my teeth so he didn't run his cock over them or hurt himself. I took him all, and happily. My only option to breathe was through my nose as he swelled thicker inside my mouth. He was enjoying this, as was I.

I kept my breath hollow, trying hard to ignore the throbbing of my pussy and the threatening orgasm. But the more his rhythm picked up the pace, the more I ached for him.

My hair pulled at the scalp from the pressure of my foot and ropes pulling against it, but fuck it felt good.

I gasped for air and removed his length from my mouth, spinning my body so that I was facing the other way. Now blind to his touch, I saw stars momentarily as his thumb found my clit. I almost folded for him here and now but the intrusion of my period stopped me. My cheeks flamed.

Between sobs of pleasure and panic, I cried out as he inserted a finger in my pussy. I yelped as the sensation brought me closer to my orgasm. "WAIT. I. I…" I stuttered, embarrassed to bring up the sponge that was crammed in there. He paused, waiting for me to find myself again. "Use your words, pet."

I moaned from the use of his pet name for me. Fucking hell, think Esme. It was hard to use my words, given that my heart beat was pounding at my pussy. It took everything in me to not let out my climax, even though I had been aching for days for my release. And every time I squirmed, it pulled my hair, and I liked it. Really fucking liked it. "I… I have something… in there."

"You're about to." he growled. "No. Wait." I gasped, without warning he suddenly shoved two fingers into my pussy. I cried out in pain. He twirled and pinched at the sponge before pulling it out, the blood-covered DIY tampon now in his grasp. "You mean this thing?" he toyed, throwing it on the floor.

"Yes." I muttered mousily, tears flowing down my face. How embarrassing.

"I see…" he tilted his head.

I shuddered. Was he not bothered? Obviously not, for he continued his sexual torment against my clit, rolling a rhythmic pattern. Slow, stop, slow, stop.

"Oh, Jesus H Christ. Please." I begged mindlessly. My release was so close, the need for him was too strong that I couldn't deny it anymore. I didn't care about the glass, the stalking, the kidnapping, the starving. Nothing. I didn't care about anything. I just wanted him. Whoever he was. That was so twisted. The throbbing was getting heavier where he swirled, yet somehow lighter.

And my throat was thickening to the sensation. I panted against his touch. Unable to deny how good his rhythm felt, he was gentle, soft, caressing. But he was still a murderer. Yes. But right now, he wasn't one.

And he was clearly not a stray to blood, or the female monthly visitations… periods. Was this another glance at his feminine side? He steadied, letting my orgasm subside. I panted hard, so hard my chest felt dry. Swirl, stop, swirl, stop.

"Fuck, you sound good for a virgin." His voice was as breathless as mine, but he paused. Leaving me desperate as he spun me around again to face his veiny cock once more. Pre-cum dripped from the pumping head. It was thick, and sticky looking. Instinctively, I licked my lips and opened my mouth for him, letting my tongue lap up his wetness until it was down my throat. I wanted more. He rolled his head back and curled his fingers around the nape of my neck, muttering something to himself as he thrust hungrily into the back of my throat. This was all kinds of fucked up, but I fucking loved it. Ecstasy. I was only happy to accommodate him.

"Fucking hell. I put you up here to teach you a lesson, pet." He dove into me again, then paused to continue. "But I'm only teaching myself one."

My saliva poured out of my mouth as I revelled in his enjoyment, lubricating each thrust. I could feel his orgasm building. He growled and grunted, moaning with each pump. He hissed through his teeth and let my body swing on the ropes against gravity, only making his cock reach further into my throat. The paint on his chest began to strip away from sweat, and his orgasm was building more, and more.

I frowned at a stray sound, pulling me back to reality. His pants vibrated, and a ringtone followed. He growled aggressively, and the heat from his body thinned to nothing as he pulled his length from my mouth. Leaving it feeling hollow in his absence. Someone was calling him.

"WHAT?!" he roared through the phone, belaying his rage. He holstered his throbbing, pierced, impressive length back into his jeans before walking somewhere distant in the room, perhaps the closet as his voice fell nearly silent. I panted in his absence. The throb in my pussy echoed in my head. I slowed my breath to reduce my heart rate, and licked the saliva and his taste from my lips.

I thought he had said I was going to be punished for taking his food. But this was hardly punishment. This was pleasure. I guess maybe that's what he meant, his lesson not mine. Only God knew what he was thinking. Only a few moments passed and he stormed back, steam in his ears and his breath hitched. I swallowed hard. I had again lost sight of who he was. A killer. My, killer. God, I was fucking delusional.

He lowered me down so that my knees touched the ground, his knife once more digging into my skin. He abruptly sliced the ropes from my body.

"We will finish this later." he hissed. I should have been a little more scared than I was, but the sensation only added to the sexual tension I had between my legs. He chuckled, pulling my hair so that my ear was at the cool metal touch of his mask. I moaned from the illicit movement.

"Hmm. Does my horny little pet like that?" he gritted between his teeth into my ear. The heat from under his mask sent a shiver down my spine, eliciting another moan that almost mirrored a desperate sob. He growled for my response. I offered a nod, it was all I could let out. "Hmm, well this just won"t do. I was supposed to be punishing you for stealing." He sounded disappointed, in a way. "Didn"t you?" I breathed, curious as ever.

"Yes. But I wasn"t supposed to be punishing myself. But, now I know how much I fucking love that you"re my defenceless, weak little puppet." I couldn't help the sadness that struck me as he put me back into my cage again, naked, and still very much hungry. Granted, it wasn't a hunger for food. He stood tall above me, only mimicking my sadness. I think. All traces of anger now long gone.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." I gazed at him through the metal bars, he sighed and reached into his pocket. The shadow man, I couldn't believe my eyes, passed me a singular tampon. I grabbed it, but his touch was cold. Too cold. Unease swam over me, pushing aside the desire I had for him. Like my moral compass had come back, swinging a fist. "It is. Because you're only making it harder for me."

"Harder to what?" But I didn't want to know the answer, not really. Before I knew it, he was in the elevator and holding his hand against the door to stop them from closing behind him.

"To tell you that I cannot wait to watch your life drain away for me." He rolled his head back, releasing a sadistic chuckle. My lips curled in disgust, and the food in my stomach threatened to release.

The echo from his laugh made me shudder as it faded down the channel of the elevator. It was haunting. Tears fell and I screamed in anger.

What the ever-loving fuck.