Bowles, Jan - Love Slave to the Sicilian Billionaire [Guilty Pleasures 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (18 page)

He had hoped she would come to him and confide her worries. After waiting a whole week, he figured that wasn’t going to happen. If the woman he loved refused to confide in him, there were just two options left. Leave her be and watch their relationship slide further into decline, or try and reach her before it was too late. Now was time to take matters into his own hands.

With exaggerated movements, Max folded the newspaper and slammed it on the breakfast table. He saw Ella flinch as he caught her by surprise. Her eyes warily looked at him. She tried to smile, but he knew it didn’t come easy.

“I’m sorry, Max. Did you say something?”

“You seem a little distracted, Ella. Is there anything you wish to confide in me?”

Her eyes looked huge and she shook her head. “No, Max. I’m perfectly okay.”

He leaned back in his chair and studied her intensely for a while. She squirmed uneasily under his scrutiny. He knew she was still lying. “Are you sure? You know you can’t have any secrets from me. If you are to be my permanent and true slave, you have to surrender everything to me, and that includes your personal thoughts. I need to know everything you are thinking, good or bad.”

He just saw her lower lip tremble before she covered her unwanted reaction, with a hand to her mouth. “I’m fine, Max. I just have a throbbing headache, that’s all.”

“And you’ve had it for an entire week,” he stated incredulously.

“Yes,” she answered meekly.

Max breathed in. “I’ve tried to be patient with you, Ella, but the time for waiting is over. You need to come face-to-face with your Master’s displeasure. I know you are keeping something from me, and it is my duty to find out what it is. Last chance, Ella. Have you anything to say?”

When she didn’t answer, Max sighed resignedly. “Then go and prepare yourself, and meet me in the playroom in half an hour. You need reminding of your place.”

“Yes, Master.” Ella rose almost immediately and hurried from the dining room.

He kept his thoughts firmly on the task in hand. It was his duty to calmly win what he needed from her. To have her true submission would be priceless. Using anger would serve no purpose at all, but using punishment and reward would eventually bring him the results he desired the most.

Max removed his T-shirt and strode over to the playroom. He unlocked one of the full-length mirrors and withdrew a large, bespoke A-frame made of steel. It stood over eight feet tall and could accommodate a person within its structure. He locked it into position in the center of the room by attaching the feet to the floor and clipping the top to the ceiling of the playroom. From behind a wall mirror, he pulled out a table and neatly laid out a number of items that he removed from the old chest that lay in the corner. Some of them were just for show, like the antique pear of anguish. It was an evil device that opened up, inside the body, and was used frequently in medieval times as a sadistic form of torture. If he as much as showed it to Ella, he felt sure she’d use her safeword. He dimmed the lights, setting the scene. Using a video projector, he made the playroom look like the interior of a medieval dungeon. He could almost smell the sawdust on the floor.

Ella appeared exactly on time, as he knew she would. Her beauty still astounded him as she walked toward him in her flowing white robe. He’d given it to her as a gift. It heightened the sacrificial elements of their role-play.

Max stood behind her and ran his hands over her trembling body. Her breasts heaved as he cupped them. He enjoyed feeling their weight and the way they blossomed with his touch through the flimsy material. Her nipples puckered beneath his fingertips into the most perfect buds. He leaned in and whispered against her cheek. “I sometimes think that you don’t really see me. I’m here in person, but am I here?” Max stroked her head. “Does my soul really connect with yours? I want you to be totally aware of me. Everything I do should be reflected back at me from your eyes.”

He undid the tie around her waist, and slipped the gown from her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. Ella had the perfect body. He would never tire of appreciating it.

“Now hold out your hands.” She dutifully obliged, watching him bind the soft rope around her wrists through hooded eyes. Usually she would ask what he was going to do, but not this time. Whatever was eating away at her was unhealthy. Once he’d tied her wrists, he attached the bindings to a piece of rope looped through a ring at the apex of the A-frame. He raised her arms until they were high above her head and then secured the rope. Next, using leather straps, he attached her shapely ankles to either side of the frame, so her legs were spread evenly apart. When he was completely satisfied, he stood back and admired his handiwork. Ella was going nowhere. She would just have to listen to what he had to say, whether she liked it or not.

In true theatrical style, he drew the table of punishment implements closer for her inspection. “Take a look at what your Master has in store for you, pet.” He lifted up the flogger and cane, bringing them within inches of her eyes, then placed them back on the table. Next he chose the pear of anguish, holding it close and opening the device in front of her. There was just a hint of nervousness as he studied her eyes. “This is called the pear of anguish, for obvious reasons.” He replaced it on the table. “I’ll leave you to reflect for a while on how you will make a better slave for your Master.”

Max then began strolling from the room. When he reached the glass windows, he flicked the two-way switch, allowing him to see inside the playroom from the courtyard outside. As an added bonus, Ella wouldn’t be able to see out, so surprise would be on his side when he returned. Plus, if she got into difficulty, he wanted to be able to cut her from the frame in as little time as possible. He was smart enough to always have Ella’s safety as his utmost priority. She was the most precious thing in his life.
 

He settled himself into a chair and scanned his newspaper, occasionally glancing at Ella. By the time five minutes had elapsed, she appeared to be in a trance. It was something she’d learned to do over the past few weeks. When Max returned to the playroom, he stood behind her and stroked his hands over her flawless back and curvy, feminine rump. The way that she responded to his touch left him no doubt that she was the perfect woman. He just had to convince her to let go of her inner turmoil and join him wholeheartedly.

“Have you anything to say, Ella?” he whispered, as he moved his hands down to the apex of her thighs. He slipped his finger inside her moist folds, searching for the piercing, knowing her clit would be stimulated even more. A gasp left her lips as he rotated a finger over the silver bead.

“No, Master. There isn’t anything I need to tell you.” Her sweet, tender voice that he loved so much rose a little higher with each word she spoke.

“Interesting. So where exactly did you go last Wednesday morning?” Max felt a sudden jolt rack through her body. “Yes, that’s right, my pet. I know you didn’t visit your attorney. Care to enlighten me?” When she didn’t answer, Max picked up the flogger from the table and walked in front of her. He raised it up, showing it to her, trailing the leather tresses provocatively across her bare shoulders and breasts. Her wary eyes followed every movement he made. “We cannot have any secrets from each other, my pet. As your punishment for deceiving me, you will receive five lashes. If you continue to withhold the truth from me, I will give you five more, until you come to your senses. Understand?”

“Yes, Master.”

Max moved behind her and lashed her butt five times. Taking care not to break her delicate skin, he aimed for a different spot each time. Her ass cheeks were bright pink by the time he’d finished. Held tightly by the A-frame, her whole body quivered, but she didn’t cry out. He soothed her reddened backside with a hand and leaned in to her ear. “Anything to say?”

“No, Master.”

Whatever Ella was hiding, she was too scared to tell him. He tried a different tack. Standing in front of her, he raised her chin with his finger and thumb, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her beautiful blue eyes, awash with tears, connected with his. His gut clenched as he said the words, “You disappoint me.” Ella could never disappoint him, but he had to try and get through to her. He then strode away, calling over his shoulder. “After you have had time to reflect on your disobedient ways, I will be back to administer further punishment.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ella stared at the bank of opaque floor-to-ceiling windows that separated the courtyard from the playroom. When Max had left the room he’d changed the polarity, so she couldn’t see out. Where was Max? Was he on the other side of the glass, watching her, observing her? Her heart ached for him. She loved him without question, but he wouldn’t want her after this.

History would repeat itself.

Three times he’d returned to discipline her, and three times she’d refused to say what was eating away at her heart. For the past week she couldn’t shake the thought from her head. Her own husband had tried to kill her, because he couldn’t stand the thought of her being alive when the woman he truly loved was dead. It made her feel worthless, and less than a real woman.

To add to her unhappiness, Max had found out about her little lie. How long could she hold out from telling him the truth?

Secured tightly to the A-frame, her arms ached so much she wanted to cry out with the pain, but she kept her mouth firmly shut. She may disappoint him elsewhere, but when it came to tolerating his discipline, she would refrain from using her safeword. Maybe then she could redeem herself in his eyes. At the moment it felt the only way.

Her heart somersaulted in her chest, when part of the opaque window slowly slid open, and Max entered the playroom. His silver-gray eyes pierced her very soul as he stood a few feet away and studied her. Eventually he spoke.

“Have you anything to say, my pet?”

Ella shook her head, and bit down on her lower lip, before answering, “No, Master.”

“Then there is no alternative.” She watched him pick up the evil-looking device he’d shown her earlier. He held the pear of anguish in front of her, showing her how it worked once more. Four segments opened out like the petals of a flower. It had some deadly-looking spikes on the end, too, that would be very painful if he inserted it in her pussy.

Unwilling to use her safeword, Ella closed her eyes, and breathed deeply, awaiting her fate.

Instead of feeling pain, Max calmly stroked a hand down her cheek. “Red, Ella. I’m ending the scene. I’m using the safeword.” He shook his head. “I would never use this on you. It’s just for show.” He tossed it contemptuously onto the table, and began untying her legs. “I don’t know what’s got into you.” She saw the disappointment on his face and her heart broke. He wouldn’t want her now.

History was repeating itself.

When he released her from the A-frame, the circulation in her legs had been restricted for so long she could barely stand, and she collapsed to the floor. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his jean-clad legs and clung tightly to him, feeling totally devastated.

“Oh, Master, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I know you want to get rid of me, but I can be a better slave if you give me one more chance.” The tears came in earnest. Surely their relationship must be over?

“Ella, baby, why would I want to get rid of you?” Max knelt down, and gently smoothed his hands over her quivering, naked back. “Just tell me everything. I’m sure it can’t be as bad as you’re feeling right now.”

“I so wanted to be a good slave, and to wear your permanent mark,” she sobbed.

“I know, baby.” Max sat on the floor, and pulled her into his arms.
 
He held her close, stroking his hand through her hair as tearful tremors racked her body. She clung to him, knowing her tears dripped onto his masculine chest, and ran in rivulets down his toned stomach.

His tender embrace made her cry even more. “I’m afraid to lose you, Master. I’m afraid to tell you. If I do, you won’t want me anymore. I love you so much.”

He cupped her chin angling her face to his, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Through blurred vision she saw the concern in his eyes. “Do not be afraid, little one. Your Master loves you, too, and there is nothing you can tell him that will make him love you less.”