All the better.
The voice is smooth. Rational. Almost soothing.
You withheld. That's perfect. The more you deny her, the more desperate she becomes. Pleasure is currency, Giovanni.Affection is leverage. The less you give, the more she'll crave it. Any touch. Even the painful ones. Especially the painful ones.
I exhale slowly, letting the logic settle over me like armor.
The monster is right.
Of course it's right.
Emmaleen is already addicted. Already desperate for my attention, my approval, my hands on her body. If I flood her with pleasure, she'll grow complacent. Comfortable. She'll stop fighting for it.
But if I make her earn it? If I make her wait? If I make every touch—painful or otherwise—a privilege she has to beg for?
She'll never leave.
She'll neverwantto leave.
I meet Jino's gaze again, steady. Unflinching. "She's fine," I say, and the certainty in my voice is absolute. "Better than fine. She's exactly where she needs to be."
Jino studies me for a long moment. His jaw tightens. The bruise on his cheek shifts as the muscle flexes beneath it. "You really believe that." His voice is quiet.
"Yes."
"Then you're more fucked up than I thought."
The words should sting. They don't.
Because the monster is purring now, satisfied, convinced that I'm finally listening.
"What did you do last night?" I ask, shifting the focus before Jino can dig any deeper. "You said you 'took care of it.' What does that mean?"
Jino's expression doesn't change, but something flickers in his eyes. Calculation. Decision.
"I gave her what you didn't," he says simply.
The possessive rage flares instantly, hot and vicious.
"Youfuckedher?"
"No."
The word is sharp. Final.
"Then what?"
Jino crosses his arms, the skeletal saints on his skin shifting as the muscles flex. "I gave her orgasms. With my fingers. My mouth. No penetration. No violation of your precious rules."
The monster snarls.
He touched her. Again.
I step forward, closing the distance between us, my hands still in my pockets because if I take them out, I'll swing. "You don't get to?—"
"Shebegged, Giovanni." Jino's voice cuts through mine like a blade. "She was trembling. Desperate. Broken. And you left her like that. So I fixed it."
"You had no right?—"