She shakes her head and starts to jerk on the wires, which makes me reach for my knife. Her eyes widen at the sight of the blade lowering, touching her skin. The squeal that comes from her mouth the moment I slide it down her belly is exhilarating, almost like a climaxing to me.

“Stay still, Princess,” I say. “This won’t hurt. Much.”

“Please don’t.”

“What? Make you bleed?”

“No.”

“You’ll like it, eventually,” I muse, leaning over her. “I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t believe you,” she says with a ragged breath.

I smile. “Then I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

I use the knife as a marker, drawing a pattern without drawing blood. Her eyes anxiously follow the tip, as if she’s trying to prepare for something. The thing is that she’ll never know when it’s coming. That look on her face, priceless. So torturous, the way she’s unraveling bit by bit … it’s like food for my soul.

Sweat trickles down her skin, and then when I let the tip puncture her skin just a tiny bit, she squeals. But I know it doesn’t hurt that much. I’ve tried this on myself plenty of times. Always have to know what the things I do to my victims feel like. Of course, the fear is taking over her sense of rationalizing. She’s letting it control her instead of experiencing it for what it is. Fear is excitement. Fear is a part of our souls. Fear makes us feel alive.

And she should be grateful that she’s still alive.

It’s all in my hands. With one slice, I could kill her right here, right now. But I don’t.

Instead, I lean in and suckle the blood off her skin, kissing her softly, letting my tongue slide all across her belly.

She squirms underneath me; her body arches to meet my mouth, but her mind is still focusing on the fear.

“Stop thinking, Vanessa,” I say. “It’s not doing you any good right now.”

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“What does it look like?” I say, ripping off her skirt so I can see her pretty pussy. “I’m enjoying you to the fullest.”

“By sucking my blood?”

I frown, waving the knife in the air. “You know, you should really consider the fact that I could’ve killed you already. You might want to think about that as I gorge myself on your pussy.”

She swallows. “What’s to say that you won’t kill me now?”

I smile. “I just like seeing the fear in your eyes, Princess. Nothing more.” I bring the knife to my mouth and lick the blade. I can taste her blood, and my own, as the sharpness cuts through my own flesh, but I don’t care. I’m lost in ecstasy, living on the edge, wanting to jump off with her.

She shivers, her lips quivering as I bring the knife down to her face. “C’mon sweet cheeks, smile for me,” I say.

The right side of her lip curls up into a fake smile, which does not move me even one bit. Damn her; normally, she’s as fake as can be, able to perform without flaw, and now real emotions suddenly overcome her?

Fuck her.

I ram the knife into the table next to her head, causing her to close her eyes. “Look at me,” I say. “Open your eyes, Princess.”

They peel open slowly. “Please … Phoenix.”

“Please what? You don’t like it when I want to lick the blood from your skin? You should be flattered.”

She shakes her head.

“I don’t fucking believe you,” I snap, grabbing her pussy with one hand, which makes her jolt up. “I bet this pussy here will tell me the truth.”

“No,” she says, still shaking.

“What are you so afraid of?” I muse. “This knife? Blood? Pain? Death? What?”

“You.”

The way she says it, without any doubt, takes me by surprise, and for a moment, I don’t know what to say. I thought she’d say pain, or even death, but instead, she says something that causes my heart to shrivel up and die. At least, it feels like that. Like my heart is burning a hole in her chest. That or her eyes. Either way, I’m fucked now. I started feeling something I shouldn’t have.

I lean in to look her in the eyes. “Can’t you feel the excitement rushing through your body? The adrenaline pumping through your veins? Isn’t it so much better than the lifeless statue-like doll you’ve been these past few years?”

“I …” she stutters. “I don’t know.”

“Your heart does. And so does your pussy.” I slide my fingers along her slit, which is already warm and wet. “It craves the thrill. You crave life. Real life. Not the fake kind. The kind that could get you killed,” I whisper close to her ear. “And I’m gonna give it to you.”

I back away, leaving her eyes full of fear and doubt as I stand up straight and focus my attention on her pussy. It’s all I know, all I can think of that will make her submit. That will make her stop thinking about all the things she thinks she wants and focus on the things she really desires. Me.

It’s always been me.

She doesn’t have to say it. I can see it in her eyes. I can taste it in her fear.

She wants me … and I’m going to give her everything I have.

CHAPTER 21

PHOENIX

I press a kiss to her belly, teasing her pussy by circling around it. She seems to be relaxing a bit, her eyes slowly closing, her breathing returning to normal. Her hands loosen around the cuffs, and the muscles in her legs relax as I slowly ease her into it. The knife next to her face serves as a reminder of what happens if she tries to defy me, and it’s keeping her on high alert. Good. I want her sweating and fearing, only for lust to take over completely, just as it should be.

I bring my mouth closer to her pussy, lowering myself with care as I make a trail with my tongue. Her body rises up to meet my lips, desperate for more when I plant a kiss on top of her eager pussy.

“Hmm … Your pussy is my breakfast,” I muse, licking up her wetness. “You taste so damn sweet, Princess. I could do this all day long.”

She moans appreciatively, which makes me chuckle a little. Even when she tries to resist, it’s impossible. I know what her body needs to get off … and what her mind needs to get wicked with me. She craves the danger I’m pulling her into, and she can’t help but succumb to my touch.

I smother her pussy with kisses and licks, making her squirm underneath me. I love the taste of her sweet wetness, which is practically dripping on the floor.

“You’re so fucking wet for me,” I murmur against her skin. “Like it so much, Princess?”

“Oh, god …” she mutters, biting her lip.

I grin. “How’s this for a dessert?”

I bury my face in her pussy and lick her until she starts to buck. The more I suck on her pretty little lips, the more she’s starting to get into it, moaning and gasping, getting my cock hard as a rock. It’s bursting out of my pants, hearing those sounds of hers. They’re making me crazy wild as I suckle on her clit, pushing her toward an orgasm. I want to taste it all and kiss her until she falls apart from my own fucking tongue. And even then, I’m not fucking done yet. I can’t fucking stop wanting to see her scrunch up the tablecloth, holding her breath in anticipation of what’s coming. I could do this forever; just fuck her until we’re both sated and there’s nothing left of us. No barriers, no boundaries, no lies, no nothing. Just us and sex. That’s it.

“Oh, fuck.” She moans out loud, trying to catch her breath as I devour her pussy.

“Yes, Princess?” I mumble, looking up at her face.

She licks her lips. “Oh, god.”

“Phoenix is good enough,” I say, smiling like a motherfucker.

She doesn’t even react because she’s too busy biting her lip, enjoying my tongue. So, I stop.

She looks up, angry like a motherfucking bear awakened from hibernation. “Why are you stopping?”

I place a finger on her clit. “I stop whenever I want to, Princess. I can do whatever the fuck I want, and you’d better remember it.”

“But …”

“But what?” I raise a brow.

“It was …”