He tossed his journal onto the desk and out of her reach before his hands plunged into her hair, pulling her head closer. “That’s the truest statement you’ve said since we started playing this game,” he hissed as he yanked her head back to meet his gaze.

“Where are my notes?” she blurted as she thrashed against his grip. “Why isn’t my chapter in your manuscript, Victor?”

He glared at her as tension settled thick and suffocating all around them. A tiny spark whispered in her brain that she was being irrational to insist on reading about herself, but she continued, undaunted.

“I want to know what you’ve written about me. I want to know all of it. Everything. I want to know all your secrets…” She swallowed an upsurge of sobs.

His narrowed gaze sharpened and his voice lowered. “You don’t deserve to know my secrets after you lied to me about Nate and read my personal journal…”

“But I want them,” she clamped onto the lapels of his jacket, shocked at the desperation in her own voice. Perhaps she didn’t deserve to know them, but then again he had put her through hell and it only seemed fair. Tugging him close, she stared up at him. “After what we’ve put each other through this round, I think we both deserve what’s coming to us.”

His prolonged stare sent a rush of emotion roiling through her. Would the part of himself he had disguised as Mr. Black prevail or would Victor keep him at bay?

“Fine. You want what’s coming to you? You’ll get it.”

The hungry, predatory look in his eyes made her question her own sanity for having pushed him. He gripped her upper arm and pulled her out of the room as he led her down the stairs and to the living room.

When he reached for the treasure box on the mantle, a bizarre sense of peace overcame her. Unseeing, she could pretend that his eyes were caring. Unable to speak, she wouldn’t be tempted to ask things that she had no business asking. Unmoving, she couldn’t resist his manipulations. So long as he didn’t hurt her… She had no choice but to believe that he wouldn’t.

Lowering herself to her knees in front of him, his eyes grew languid, though she didn’t know why. As he began to remove her clothes and bind her, she let herself go. This role was one she had grown into, even if it was one she hadn’t initially wanted.

There would be no more sleep this night and most likely, no work later on.

***

With Elsa undressed and bound, Victor guided her to the chaise. He was mentally worn out and too tired to be angry with her, both from work and from dealing with her constant insubordination. Even though he had trusted her enough to leave the cameras off and she had, once again, pounced on the opportunity to stick her nose into things she shouldn’t, he wasn’t surprised. She was simply being Elsa – curious, demanding, and infuriating. As usual.

As he circled around her and listened to the sound of her strangely calm and slow breathing, a sense of calm overtook him. With her at his feet, he felt like nothing in the world could possibly go wrong. Standing in front of her, he was ready to give her what she wanted and to get in return, what he was drawn to - total power.

Tonight he would demand that she submit completely to him. Tonight - he would own her.

22: Rise & Fall

Smoothing Elsa’s hair away from her face, Victor tied it in a knot behind her head. His touch felt kind. Warm. Welcome. The sounds of the music he had cued drifted all around her, filling her with a sense of urgency to have his hands on her and to have the pleasure that she hoped he would grace her with, rather than punishment.

“We don’t always get what we want, Elsa...” he spoke softly as he fingered the remaining loose strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m not ready to share my notes about you. I don’t know that I ever will be. That’s just something you’ll have to accept.”

She had hoped he would divulge and disappointment washed over her.

“But what we do get are the things we need…” he continued as his scent enveloped her in a drift of expensive cologne. “The things that are good for us even if we don’t know it at the time that they’re happening.” He paused to lightly chafe his shadow-beard across her jaw. “My life has been shitty at times, but it was what I needed to become the man I am today. Just as all the heartbreak you’ve endured is what you needed to become the strong woman that you are right at this moment.”

She shook her head no and turned away from him, but his hands gripped her head firmly.

“Even if it’s not what you want to hear, you know it to be true.”

She didn’t want his statement to be true. She didn’t want to believe his words, but they hung in the air above her like a thick mist after a summer storm. She swallowed noisily against the ball gag as she contemplated his words. Maybe he was right…

“We don’t always get what we want,” he repeated softer than before as he moved away from her.

The sound of his pants zipper being dragged down and the buckle of his belt hitting the floor made her lower belly tighten. The air moved around her and she felt the heat of his body in front of her.

"I know what you want, Elsa. I’ve known all along. I knew the first time we met in this house what you really wanted.” His fingertips sculpted the curve of her cheek before gliding downward to skim between her breasts and down her stomach. “You remind me without words what you want every single time we’re together.”

Even without sight, she could feel the weight of his scorching gaze on her skin.

“You want to be taken control of. To be made to do things that you’ve only imagined in that wicked head of yours. To be owned.”

The bunching and quivering of her muscles was felt beneath his hand as he ghosted it over her labia.

“I’m here to give you want and need, Peach. What we both need.”

His fingers loosened the strap at the back of her head, the gag falling to the floor with a soft thud. Her soft exhalation floated across her saliva-soaked mouth as the words to Hurricane by Thirty Seconds to Mars suddenly became louder. The deep bass rumbled through her body, heightening her senses. The mere touch of his hands made her skin tingle as he cupped her chin and held her head steady as he pushed the crown of his cock past her lips.

“This is what you need,” he whispered, delving into her mouth. “Take it all, Elsa.” His hands guided her head. His movements were slow, easy, relaxed. Her body went limp as the euphoria of the moment began to warm her. She felt his body move as he shifted his stance and his thrusts began to come rougher and at a more rapid pace.

“This…” he grunted as he pushed past her tonsils, making her gag loudly and her body stiffen. “This…” he breathed out as he pulled her against him, forcing the entire length of his cock into her throat, making her breathless.

She did her best to hold still, but as each second ticked by slowly, her lungs began to burn with the need for oxygen. All of her muscles tensed and just when she thought she would have to fight for her life, Victor released her, allowing her to take in a big gulp of air.

“You think I’m angry with you, but I’m not. I’m too tired to be angry. If I’m honest with myself and you, I’m proud of you. You’ve played this game admirably, Elsa, and this isn’t punishment. I’m simply giving you what you need.”

Over and over, he filled her throat, pushed her past her limit of comfort and made her struggle for air, and every time, she came closer to feeling as if she would fly.

“Fuck…” he moaned out when she swallowed against his shaft. The tightening of her throat muscles against his cock sent a painful ache shooting down her spine. His hands and body began to quiver when she did it again, and she knew that he needed this too.