Chapter 3
Aria's POV
I woke up still on the floor, my knees aching and the collar warm against my throat. The room smelled like cold stone and whatever expensive soap Draven used. Morning light came through the window in thin gray strips, and my stomach growled loudly.
I had not eaten since yesterday, and my mouth tasted like regret.
The door opened without a knock.
Draven walked in wearing black sweatpants and nothing else. The scars across his chest caught the morning light, making him look even more intimidating than he already did.
He did not say good morning.
Instead, he looked at the empty spot where I was supposed to be kneeling.
I stayed on my feet, lifting my chin while crossing my arms over my bare chest like that would somehow make me less naked.
“Morning, Alpha Asshole. Sleep well?”
He closed the door behind him.
The air in the room got heavier, like the walls were leaning in. “I told you to kneel the second I enter.”
“Yeah, well, I decided to try standing today. Novelty and all that.”
His expression did not change, but something in his eyes became darker.
“Come here.”
“Make me.”
He crossed the room in three long strides.
Before I could move, he caught my wrists and turned me toward the bed. Within seconds, he had secured both wrists above my head against the thick wooden bedpost with silk ropes.
“Hey. Let go.”
“Quiet.”
He tied the final knot with practiced efficiency. Then he pulled a soft black blindfold from his pocket and slipped it over my eyes.
Darkness immediately swallowed my vision.
My breathing became faster.
“This is bullshit,” I snapped, although my voice sounded thinner than I wanted it to. “You cannot just do whatever—”
His mouth was suddenly right next to my ear. “I can. And I will, whenever you decide the rules do not apply to you.”
I tugged against the ropes.
They did not move.
The collar hummed quietly against my pulse, but he did not shock me this time.
Instead, his hands began moving slowly across my skin, deliberately testing my reactions. His fingertips skimmed the undersides of my breasts, circled my nipples without pinching, trailed down my stomach and stopped just above where I was already getting wet against my will.
“Do not,” I whispered.
“Do not what?” His voice remained calm, almost bored. “Touch you? Look at you? Remind you who owns the next thirty-nine days?”
“All of the above, you controlling bastard.”
He laughed quietly.
Then something cool pressed against my clit. A second later, the device began to vibrate.
My hips jerked before I couldn't stop them.
“Fuck—”
“Language,” he said, but he didn’t turn it off. He just held the device right there, adjusting the angle every time I tried to twist away.
Soft touches kept skating over my skin, his palms cupping my breasts, thumbs brushing the tips, fingers tracing the insides of my thighs without ever giving me enough pressure to tip over.
I bit my lip until I tasted blood. “I hate you.”
“I know.” He sounded almost gentle.
“But your body’s singing a different song though. You’re soaked, Aria. Dripping down your own legs while you swear you hate me.”
“It’s just physiology, asshole. It does not mean anything.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” He increased the intensity slightly. My knees nearly buckled, and the ropes became the only thing keeping me upright.
Every nerve in my body seemed painfully alert. The blindfold made everything worse because I could not see what he was going to do next.
He kept teasing me until I thought I would lose my mind.
Whenever my breathing became ragged and my body instinctively moved closer to the edge, he eased off and forced me to wait. Then he started again.
The frustration became unbearable.
“Please.” The word escaped before I could stop them.
“Please what?”
I swallowed.
“Turn it off. Or finish this. I do not care. Just stop teasing me.”
“Not yet.” His free hand slid up to rest over my racing heart. “This is the first lesson. You disobey, you get edged until your brain goes quiet and your body remembers who decides when you come. You will learn, or you will suffer. Those are the only two options.”
I was trembling so badly that the bedpost creaked beneath the strain.
Sweat covered my skin, and my breathing came in uneven gasps.
The blindfold made every sensation feel stronger. Every movement seemed magnified, and every quiet breath from Draven sent another shiver through me.
When he finally switched the device off and removed the blindfold, the sudden light made my eyes water.
I blinked several times before focusing on him.
My arms were still stretched above my head, and my entire body was shaking from exhaustion and frustration.
Draven placed the device on the nightstand and calmly untied the ropes.
My arms immediately dropped.
They felt heavy and weak, and I nearly collapsed before he caught me by the waist.
“You will learn,” he said quietly, almost gentle. “Or you will suffer. Your choice how long it takes.”
I wanted to throw another sharp insult at him. Instead, I stood there, my body trembling from everything that had just happened.