“Hands on the floor, beside your hips,” he ordered. It wasn't that Mateo was enjoying being short with her, it was just that it was either give one-word orders or drop down onto his kneesbefore her, bury his face against her flat stomach, and beg for forgiveness as he spilled his guts to her, leaving nothing out.
There was no hesitation on her part, her shaking hands moved from between her legs, and she placed them palms down on the concrete beside her hips. He hated that his girl was so obedient, enduring this hell without complaint. Yet, at the same time, he was glad she wasn't earning herself extra punishments that he would have to deliver.
“You keep them there no matter what,” he warned.
She didn't give any indication that she’d heard him, and he was desperate to hear her sweet voice again. So desperate in fact that he demanded a response.
“Tell me you understand,” he growled.
“I-I u-understand,” she stammered, so eager to please, to obey. Mateo used to love that about her, that he could challenge her to try something new, jump outside her comfort zone, but he hated it in this place. Ally was pretty much already the perfect, submissive slave, which meant she wouldn't be here long before she was put up for sale.
“Good girl,” he purred before he could stop himself, and Ally’s bright blue gaze snapped to his. That’s what he would have said to her in the bedroom when she pushed against her fears and insecurities and tried something new. It wasn't appropriate to say to her now, but he couldn’t help it. Nothing about who he’d been for the last two decades was the same when he was around this woman, she messed with his head in ways he didn't even understand.
Uncapping the tube, he squirted out as much of the gel inside as he thought he could get away with, should anyone be watching, but not as much as one of the others would have used. Stepping closer to her, he crouched between her still spread legs and took her bud between his gel-covered fingers. Her entirebody tensed and began to tremble, and it was clear from the terror on her face that she thought he was going to rape her.
He'd tell her that would never happen, but again, she likely wouldn't believe him.
Once he’d worked most of the gel around her bundle of nerves, he forced a finger inside her. Her internal muscles clenched, trying to expel his intrusion, and she was dry as a bone, but he ignored that and worked the last of the gel around inside her.
Then he removed his hand and stepped back, walking away from her until he was against the opposite wall, and propped himself up against it.
There was no doubting the second the arousal gel began to take effect, because Ally’s panicked gaze snapped to meet his. Her fingers twitched with what he knew was an automatic reflex to touch herself where she was now aching for stimulation, but if she gave in to that pressure, he’d have to punish her.
Pushing off the wall, Mateo straightened and stalked back across the room until he was looming over her. “Arousal gel. It’s going to take a couple of hours to wear off. You are not to touch yourself. You do not get to come. You're going to lie there, with your hands on the floor, until I give you permission to move. Touch yourself, and I can guarantee you’ll regret it.”
Hatred so pure he actually took a step back to get away from it, flared in those pretty eyes of hers. Of course, it was to be expected that she would hate him, they’d dated for a year, gotten close, he’d even considered proposing and figuring out a way to protect her from his job, but actually seeing that hatred hurt.
“You're a monster,” she whispered as her hips began to undulate, likely of their own accord, seeking relief that wasn't coming.
There was nothing he could say to argue against that, so Mateo said nothing.
“Was it all a lie?” she asked as more tears welled in her eyes. “Did you ever care about me? Were you using me all along? Was this always the plan? Did you groom me and push me to try new things because you knew you were bringing me here? Are you really a monster?”
If she thought she was hiding the fact that she was basically begging him to tell her that none of that was true, that he wasn't a monster, that he was going to get her out of here, that this was all some big, awful misunderstanding, she absolutely wasn't.
Much as he’d love to tell her what she wanted to hear, he couldn’t.
Of course, he hadn't set this up from the beginning. He wasn't grooming her, hadn't planned for her to become a victim of a trafficking ring—the opposite, in fact—and didn't push her to try new things because she was going to wind up here, just because he loved watching her learn more about herself.
But he was a monster.
There was no denying that.
So he said nothing. Just stood there, watching as her cheeks tinted pink, as sweat dotted her brow, as her fingers curled into fists even as she didn't move them closer to her aching, begging center. She was wet now, he could see it glistening between her legs, it wasn't because she wanted this, but because her body was being manipulated against its will. Her hips moved constantly, thrusting forward seeking friction that wasn't there, rolling and squirming, but her hands never moved to make it better, and the more she lay there, aroused and unable to bring it to a conclusion, the more he wanted to step in and do it for her.
No one would tell him he couldn’t, he could do anything he wanted to her, barring raping or killing her. Even Ally herself would be grateful for the relief he could give her with his fingers. At least grateful in the moment, but she’d hate him even more than she already did if he took advantage of her when she was sovulnerable. Maybe she wanted relief, but she couldn’t consent to anything so long as she was here.
Mateo’s own fingers curled into fists, desperate to touch his girl, give her what she needed. Their gazes met, clashed, had a whole silent conversation, before Ally finally let her eyes fall closed.
“You really are a monster,” she whispered, and since he agreed, he merely nodded.
“Yeah, little mouse, I am.”
Chapter
Six
August 16th