I tremble, but I refuse to speak as he continues his assault of my tits.

“Answer me, or else.”

“I’m not greedy and I’m not a whore.”

He pinches my nipple hard and I cry out. “Stop it. I’m going home.”

“You’re going nowhere.” His voice holds a cruel finality. “You’re staying right here where I am. In your place.”

I see my chance of escape and take it, pushing him away and stumbling toward the door. Since that first night, I haven’t tried to run, but today, I will. I’m done getting lost in the fantasy.

Done being Jasper’s willing toy.

I manage to get to the door, throwing it open when he appears right behind me. Before I make it one step outside, Jasper grabs me by the arm and drags me back inside. I thrash against him, resisting him with everything I have in me.

It’s no use.

He’s way stronger and crueler and unmovable.

He throws me down on the floor, and I glare at him as I pick myself up so I’m standing toe-to-toe. Or as much toe to toe as the height difference allows.

“You’re a monster,” I say in a cold, hard voice. “I don’t know why I ever thought you could be anything else.”

He wraps a loose fist around my neck. I swallow thickly, hoping I haven’t just signed my death sentence. The air charges with unmistakable tension as he shows me his other side — the devil’s side.

“You’re calling me a monster, Pet?” Even though he’s speaking with a calm tone, shivers crawl up my spine. “Fine. I can live with that. But do you know who’s also a monster? You.”

“W-What?” I stutter, struggling to get free of his grip and failing. “What do you mean?”

“Your family.” He releases me as if he burned his fingers on my throat. “Your family is a nest of snakes.”

“You don’t know anything about my family.”

“I know more than you do.”

His words make my blood run cold, and I throw him a questioning look, waiting for him to go on. I have a feeling I won’t enjoy the punchline of whatever he’s about to say.

“I told you that you’re a mafia princess, but guess which mafia?”

“What the hell are you talking about, Jasper?”

“You’re a Costa, Petal,” he finally says. “Remember that man you met back in Chicago? He’s your uncle.”

“W-What?” I struggle to make sense of his words, my head pounding with this new information. “Lucio?”

“Yes, Lucio. You’re the Costa heir, and the last member of their clan and you deserve to die for it. The only reason I haven’t finished you yet is..."

My lips tremble but I manage to murmur, “What’s the reason, Jas?”

His mouth forms a thin line.

Tears fill my eyes, burning as they threaten to spill. The amount of information thrown at me all at once makes me go dizzy, but at the same time, it hurts. The fact that I’m even related to a monster like Lucio, or the fact Dad is alive and never looked for me makes me sick.

Or maybe it’s the part about Jasper wanting to kill me.

“Now you know what you are, Pet. You’re just like the rest of them. Just like me.”

“That’s not true.” I wipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. “You’re only saying that to hurt me.”

“It is true. What’s more is that your own family wants you dead. But you know what? You’re not the only person the Costas have hurt. They’ve slaughtered people, my family, and for that, you’ll all pay.”

His family? My chest squeezes at the thought of him losing his family. Jasper was in that boarding school way before I came along. He must’ve been so young back then.

And yet, I don’t allow that to pull me down. His tragedy doesn’t forgive what he’s doing to me. “I have nothing to do with this. I’m not some chess piece you can move around the board as you please. I’m no pawn.”

“That’s exactly what you are, my little pet.” He pushes a strand of hair away from my face and tucks it behind my ear like a doting asshole. “Be a good girl until I get back.”

“Get back? Where are you going?”

He just returned. This place is so empty and scary without him. There’s the sound of owls at night and they never stay quiet. As much as I hate it, at least I sleep when he’s around.

The mansion is old, and from the few glimpses I had during that first night, it’s obvious no one has tended to it in years. Jasper has done his best to make it livable, cleaning the room and aquiring new sheets. At least he had the decency to bring in some of my clothes and toiletries when he kidnapped me.

Kidnapped.

The more I think about it, the more surreal it becomes. But that’s exactly what he did. He kidnapped me and brought me to the middle of nowhere.

He’s not only my tormentor but also my captor now. He’s a nightmare.

So why the hell do I keep seeing that boy from the boarding school whenever he covers me at night? Or whenever he sits me on his lap to eat.

I’m losing my mind, aren’t I?

In the bedroom, he motions to the bed.

“I don’t want to. You’re going to torture me again.”

“Isn’t that the point? Now get on the fucking bed.”

My body shivers in anticipation of his punishment as I climb onto the bed. He ties the ropes around my ankles and then wrists tightly, not tight enough to hurt me, but just enough so I can feel the delicious bite of the rope against my tender skin.

“There, you like being tied up, my pet.”

I swallow against the spark of desire between my legs. “Why are you doing this, Jasper?”

I genuinely want to know. Is he just a sadist, and if he is, does that mean he’d enjoy doing this with someone else? That he’ll get that gleam in his eyes even if it’s another woman tied to his bed?

The thought makes me taste acid.

“I like the thought of you suffering while waiting for me like a good little pet.”

“I hate you.”

“That’s getting old.” His expression darkens. “Stop pretending you don’t love every second of this. I know exactly what you like, what you need. I saw the videos, remember? You can’t hide anything from me.”

When I jut my chin, refusing to respond, he reaches into the bedside table’s drawer and retrieves something I can’t quite see in my position. Then he shows it to me and I stare in horror as he thrusts a vibrator into my opening.

“Jasper, don’t.”

“Oh, but I am and you will love it.”

He pushes a button and the vibrator hums inside me, creating bursts of arousal immediately. My thighs tighten, but with the ropes, I’m unable to move or alleviate the ache. He’s giving me pleasure but not quite enough.

He strokes my hair back, shocking me by the gentle move. “Be a good girl for me, Pet.”

And then he’s gone, leaving me alone, empty, and utterly dissatisfied.

3

Jasper

The house is large enough that even if someone stumbled inside, they couldn’t and wouldn’t get close to the wing where my little Petal stays.