Chapter 69
Elijah Vaughn
A groan escaped my lips, and the tears came without warning.
It hurts… Dante, it hurts…” My voice broke, suffocated by the throbbing agony in every part of me.
He paused for a moment, his fingers brushing my skin with an unexpectedly gentle touch before he continued to lift me until I was propped up against the wall.
My breathing came in ragged gasps as my body protested the change in position. He wiped my tears with his thumb, his dark eyes fixed on mine.
“It’s okay, my love. The pain will pass soon. You were very brave to endure all this. I’m proud of you.”
His words ignited something inside me.
No matter how much brutality Dante carried within him, his praise had an absurd effect on me.
For a moment, it was as if the hell surrounding me didn’t exist. The pride in his voice filled a hollow inside me I hadn’t even known was there.
It was sick.
But it was real.
I swallowed hard, averting my gaze.
I didn’t know how to respond to that.
I didn’t know what to think.
But the satisfaction blooming inside me was undeniable.
He picked up the tray and, without asking, began feeding me. His movements were precise, attentive to every flicker of pain on my face,
He brought the spoon to my lips, and I obeyed without resistance. Every bite slid down with difficulty, not because of the food, but because of the exhaustion consuming me.
My eyes fell to my arms and stomach. My skin was covered in deep bruises, dark purples staining every visible inch.
My body was living proof of the brutal fight I had survived. But the pain was nothing compared to the weight of what had happened.
When he finished feeding me, he set the tray aside. Before I could react, his warm hands slid down my legs, starting a slow, firm massage.
I gasped as his fingers pressed into sore spots, but the heat from his palms eased the discomfort.
‘I’m sorry for being such a burden, Dante.” My voice came out soft, laced with guilt.
He didn’t stop.
He chuckled lightly, as if my concern was irrelevant.
“You have no idea how much pleasure I’m taking in taking care of you, bunny.”
My stomach twisted at the way he said that.
It wasn’t just an answer.
Chapter 69
It was a raw truth, dripping with something dark and insatiable.
The glint in his eyes sent shivers down my spine.
“Can I be honest, bunny?” His voice deepened, thick with something dense, something dangerous.
My body tensed instantly.
I swallowed hard.
‘Yes.‘
His smile widened, slow and predatory.
“My obsession with you has only grown.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“Taking care of you is… so damn satisfying.”
He continued, his voice pouring over me like hot liquid, stroking my skin.
“Seeing you depend on me for everything, knowing I’m the only one you can turn to–it’s too delicious.”
His fingertips glided along my thigh, pressing lightly as his gaze burned into me.
“Knowing that without me, you have no one… that you need me for every little thing.”
My chest rose and fell, caught in something I couldn’t name.
Maybe fear.
Maybe pleasure.
He tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with a satisfaction that made my soul shudder.
‘I’m a bastard for feeling this way, aren’t I?”
The question came like a knife, sharp and cruel.
But it didn’t need an answer.
He already knew.
And the worst part?
Some part of me knew it too.
Because, as twisted as it was, as toxic and wrong, some dark corner inside me didn’t want him to stop.
Didn’t want him to let me go.
Didn’t want to belong to anyone else.
This wasn’t normal.
It was a sickness.
Chapter 69
A corrosive dependency pulling me into an abyss I couldn’t–or maybe didn’t even want to–escape.
I let out a shaky breath when his fingers squeezed my thigh, the touch firm, possessive, burning into my skin.
Chapter Comments
