His Slave Her Master

Part 21 Punishment

Gazing out of the window, I sighed deeply. I was in Valentino's 'rooms', a place that could probably home an entire village of people it was that big.

The walls were painted a rich red to match the lavish sheets upon the queen sized four poster bed. The carpet was plush black, feeling wonderful beneath my swollen feet from my day out in the snow. The bathroom was another story, able to fit not one, but two bathtubs. What Valentino needed two baths for, I didn't want to know.

Having refused to bathe anywhere but my original rooms, Lena had brought me up in just my bath robe, promising to return with nightwear for me. That left me alone in this gigantic room by myself, with nothing else to do but gaze out the window like some kind of locked away princess.

Resting my arms on the wooden window pane, I let my eyes fall shut from exhaustion. Lena had also promised to bring me up food as I was starving. It felt like I hadn't eaten in days, when in reality it was only this morning.

I had no idea what time it was now, only that it was extremely late and I wanted nothing more than to crash where I sat on the plush window bench.

Looking over the snow coated land, with the moon hanging bright and heavy, I couldn't help but feel at peace. Something, I realised, I hadn't felt in a long time. Admittedly, not even in my normal life. What with my family's disapproval of my relationship with Robbie, and Robbie's accident, I had never really had a stress free moment. I thought back to what my mother had said about burning out if I didn't pause. Was this that moment? Was this the fire inside of me finally burning away to nothing? I felt I still had fight in me, but would it be enough?

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. I turned around, expecting to find Lena in the doorway, only to be disappointed.

Turning my back on Valentino, I made sure to keep my heart beating at a steady pace, so that way I wouldn't give away the effect his presence was having on me in this moment.

"I see you have grown accustomed to your new living arrangements." Val commented smugly. I watched from the corner of my eye as he pulled free the sleek black tie that hung around his neck and placed it on the lavish bed.

Without a word, Valentino began to pull off his boots, setting them beside the bed. Running his long hands through his silky black hair, he breathed in deeply.

"You never told me you enjoyed watching the sun set." He said, watching me intently.

I merely shrugged, afraid that if I looked at him, I'd cave under the intensity of his stare.

Valentino, noticing my refusal to fully acknowledge him, began to slowly make his way over to me. My body tensed involuntarily, my hands becoming clammy and my head fuzzy.

What he did next had me gasping from shock.

"Valentino?" I breathed, my words coming out forced like my breath.

Valentino chuckled as he pulled the tie tighter around my now bound wrists. It happened so quickly that I couldn't of tried to get away if I tried.

"So beautiful." Valentino murmured in my ear, gently biting my left earlobe as my body jerked forwards from the contact. "How a human can be so beautiful baffles me."

"You were once human." I felt the need to point out as I inwardly freaked out over what he was going to do to me. "Or, at least, as close to one as you could be."

Could Ox's be considered human? They looked like them, so what made them different?

I bit my lip when I felt Valentino gently nibble on my other earlobe. "I suppose we have one thing in common then, small creature."

"That being?" I said, my voice breaking as I felt his hand trail down my spine, causing me to shiver.

My body immediately became tense as his head lowered so that his lips were beside my ear, his hands now lazily playing with the hem of my bath robe.

"Even as humans, we are both gifted with immortal beauty." He said slowly. "What do you think that means, small creature?"

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I think it means that you view yourself very highly. Perhaps vainly."

I gritted my teeth when Valentino gently brushed the robe away from my left shoulder. "There is no bother in being vain if you have a reason for it, my small creature."

My next words came out in a small whisper. "Don't do that."

I could practically feel the smirk playing in his beautiful face. "Whatever do you mean? This?"

I gripped onto the edge of the bench as I felt his lips descend to my bare shoulder, leaving feather kisses everywhere they trailed. The feeling was setting my body on fire, my nerves going crazy.

"Your body reacts in all the right ways." Valentino said, his lips now going to my neck where they paused. "It may take a while for you to react towards me in an emotional way, but for now this will have to do."

"What do you-"

I was cut off by a sharp pain in my neck that had me screaming in intense agony.

Flashes of that awful night played in my mind. The night Valentino had bitten me the first time, when I was still clueless about everything. In ways, I still was.

My eyes squeezed shut as tears trailed down my cheeks, my body becoming limp. I couldn't believe I was letting this happen to me again. Couldn't believe I was letting him hurt me this way.

A sudden wave of anger surged through me, as my hands went to his chest to push him away. As he was so absorbed in what he was doing, he stumbled backwards.

Ignoring the biting pain in my neck, I ran towards the fire place where I picked up the brass poker. Spinning around, poker in hand, I came face to face with both my worse nightmare and my only dream.

"Come near me again," I said in a voice that sounded unlike my own, "and I won't hesitate to end my life here and now."

I felt pure satisfaction when Valentino's gold eyes widened when I twisted the poker around so that it was pointed directly at my wildly beating heart.

Without me, the curse could never be broken. Without me, the ancient ones would keep punishing him.

I felt my heart drop when Valentino's look of fear turned into a look of smugness. I frowned.

"You don't want to do that," Valentino said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And why not?" I said, inwardly cursing at the stutter in my words.

Valentino began to walk towards me as my grip tightened on the poker. "Because, my darling creature, if you die, the consequences won't be on me, but on them."

I felt my heart stop.

"That's right," he said, grabbing the end of the poker and pressing it slightly into my chest as I gasped. "If you die, it will be them who are punished."

Images of Marla and Alain flashed in my mind, Lena's daughters. I thought of Samira's kindness and Kadence's gentleness. Of how Emir had given me clothes when mine were ruined.

In defeat, I dropped the poker so that it clattered to the ground, my heart sinking to the ground along with it as I dropped to my knees.

Valentino crouched down beside my weak body. "There is no escaping me, small creature. And that's a promise."

The last thing I heard was the bedroom door slamming closed as I crumpled in on myself, wishing for it all to just end.

[Bad chapter, I know. Sorry guys.
Shoutout to TeaceFindlay for making the new insanely beautiful cover (at the top) and thank you guys for reading!]