Chapter 6: I Don't Want to Punish You

-Arabella-

Ronan unashamedly lathers soap over his body as he watches me, and I can't pry my eyes away from him. Every inch of his body seems sculpted, from the muscles on his calves and thighs to his perfect chest and arms.

Is he taunting me to finish what we started before Desmond walked in on us?

He could just as easily tell me what he wants, but I'm realizing that at least when it comes to sex, he enjoys the chasing game.

I don't know if I should be moved or scandalized by the fact that he wants me to desire him instead of making me act as his sex toy, like most vampires are known to do.

And against my better judgment and everything I thought I stood for before coming here, I do. I do want him inside of me.

My pussy still throbs from our unfinished business, and his erection tells me he's still just as aroused as I am.

"I need the conditioner," he says all of a sudden, breaking my trance. His voice booms through the double shower stall, amplified by the heavy moisture lingering in the air.

The bottle is well within his reach if only he takes a few steps toward me. But he stays under the shower, looking at me expectantly.

I grab it and hand it over to him, closing the distance between us. There's a brief pause before he lets it fall to the floor and his hand is on my arm, pulling me over to him into a tight embrace.

His hard cock presses against me as he moves us away from the falling water, my back now against the wet tiled wall.

He lifts one of my legs and enters me at the same time that he lifts my arms with his free hand, pinning them to the wall. The surprised moan that escapes my mouth is raw, fully exposing how good it feels to have him inside of me.

He moves with slow, careful thrusts, merging our wet bodies together. Each time he enters me, I cry out in pleasure, completely giving myself to him.

"I like it when you moan," he says, and he picks up the pace and lets go of my wrists, lifting me from the ground completely. My legs are now wrapped around him, and without even thinking of what I'm doing, I hold on to his neck, pressing my breasts against his chest.

My mind goes blank and there's nothing else in the world but our two bodies moving in sync, his cock deep inside me and pounding me with rough thrusts that send waves of ecstasy through my body, right down to my core.

I give in to the pleasure, tugging at his hair and digging my nails into his back. This only seems to encourage him, and the intensity of his thrusts is stronger, faster, and rougher.

My pleasure mounts until I can no longer hold it, and I scream out his name, shaking and squirming as I reach my climax. He grunts and slows down, throwing his head back as he finishes, his warm cum filling me and dripping down my leg.

I stay in his arms for as long as he holds me there, and suddenly, it seems like something snaps in him. It's over, whatever moment we had here.

"Clean up and wait until someone brings your things over." Ronan sets me down, heads back to the shower head he'd been using, and proceeds to finish washing his body.

Meanwhile, I pretend to do the same, brushing out the tangles in my hair. But my heart is still drumming away and my insides still throb and pulsate from the pounding he just gave me.

Without a word, he exits the shower, leaving me alone.

Soon I hear voices and doors opening and closing, and I realize I should get moving if I don't want to be late. I have no interest in going to a party full of vampires, only to be paraded like a pet in an award show, but it is what it is.

Seeing his enormous bathroom with multiple shower heads and mirrors from floor to ceiling puts things back in perspective. This is my home now, and this will be my life.

So much has happened in the span of a day that began with me finishing the application with little to no thought given to what would happen if I was chosen.

On the bed I find a leather harness, a thong, and a piece of cloth that I assume I'm to use as a top, and a black bag.

Is this what I'm supposed to wear to this party?

"Hello!" a chirpy voice calls out, startling me.

"Red?" I say automatically, recognizing Desmond's attendant. She's wearing a similar outfit, but hers is red, and her see-through bikini leaves nothing to the imagination.

She nods and smiles at me.

"Is that really your name?" I ask, thinking there's no way she's a redhead who's called Red.

"No, but my blood master likes it. He asked me to do your hair. Are you ready?" Before I respond, she pulls out a blow dryer and a comb from the bag on the bed. "I've brought makeup, too."

***

The outfit is scandalous, bordering on lewd. And despite everything I've done with Ronan and everything he'd done to me today, THIS is what threatens to break me.

It may be because I'm exhausted, or because it's the first time I'll ever be seen in public as an attendant, but I can't bring myself to move.

Red hovers over me, giving my hair some final touches. It flows down my neck in silky waves, very unlike the straight, boring look I've been carrying on my head for months. I had no money to go to the salon to get it cut or styled, and now Red has brought life back into it.

"Are you sure you don't want the fake lashes?" she says, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

"I'm fine, thank you." I smile at her and she smiles back, though her smile doesn't reach her eyes.

I've spent this whole time observing her, partly so I could mimic her behavior and act like I'm glamored at the party, and partly because I'm genuinely curious about what the glamor actually does.

She seems...off. Almost robotic, impervious to most words that don't align with the last order she's been given. She's been deflecting every question I asked, responding with vague inanities. Her mission is to do my hair and makeup, and anything beyond that seems to be irrelevant.

"Hmm, I think we're done." She sets the brush down and clasps her hands. "I'm going to go tell Desmond we're ready."

The room seems colder the second she's gone, and I'm forced to face reality again. I stare at my reflection, paralyzed by apprehension and fear.

At least I'm not wearing a collar. Red's ensemble includes one with an enormous hoop at the center, presumably for a leash. Thankfully, I found no such thing waiting for me.

The leather harness wraps around my breasts and ribs, as well as my waist and legs. It would have taken me ages to correctly put it on if it hadn't been for Red.

With the smokey cat-eye make-up she put on me, I look more like a vampire than Ronan. A very sultry, scantily clad vampire. And the shoes… I'll be lucky if I don't break my ankle trying to walk in those things.

If my mother or any of her former socialite friends ever saw me like this, I'd send her to an early grave. Grace would only laugh and probably compliment me on my bold and confident body-positive look.

I can't think of them. Picturing Grace's smile or thinking of her laugh threatens to send me crying into a corner. I wish I had spent more time with her before plunging into this, but between selling all my things at the apartment and moving out before the landlord came to collect the rent I owed him, I never got the chance.

I'm comforted by the fact that this is a vampire party, and no one I know will be there. Any other humans will probably be attendants who will never remember this event or anything that happens to them during their servitude.

"Ara! Come down." It's Ronan from downstairs, and his voice finally makes me move again.

I take a long, deep sigh, and exit the room, ready to face the night. Whatever it may bring, I tell myself, I've got this.

All the bravery I've managed to gather is shattered the instant I see Desmond at the foot of the stairs, eyeing me with a wicked look on his face. Red stands next to him with the same blank smile she's had all evening.

"Don't you look delicious?" He raises his eyebrows and smirks at me. "I knew I should have gotten you. I'll have to find a way to convince my brother to share you."

"Don't talk to her," Ronan says, appearing from a door that leads outside.

Like Desmond, he's wearing a black swallowtail coat, sans the vest and bowtie. He looks like he's stepped out of a Victorian movie, with a few modern details that wouldn't belong there.

"The car is here," Ronan announces, and I cautiously descend the stairs, grabbing on to the wooden balustrade for dear life.

"Red, get in the car. And pour me a whiskey" Desmond says, exiting through the front door with Red trailing behind him.

Ronan waits for me, eyeing me quizzically. "Will you be able to walk with those things?"

"I'll try," I say, almost reaching the end of the stairs. But I look at him before reaching the bottom landing, and I trip on my impossibly high heels.

Ronan catches me before I hit the ground with a firm grip on my waist. I manage to stand, but his hands remain in place for a few seconds before he lets go.

"Just… stay close to me and grab my arm if you're going to fall. I can't have you breaking something the first day."

So many nuances in his words. Is he concerned for my wellbeing, or is he scared of being embarrassed by his attendant in front of the other vampires? And the way he said 'first day' makes me think that it is perfectly possible that in the future, it'll be normal if I break a few bones.

After all, I'm just the food, am I not?

He extends an arm and I use him as support to get to the limo that's waiting for us in the cobblestone driveway.

The outside of his mansion is even prettier at night than in the daytime. The facade is lit with perfectly placed spotlights that accentuate its arched french windows.

My view is cut short as we finally get into the car, and I scoot as far away from Desmond as I possibly can. Thankfully, he's more interested in his phone and his glass of whiskey than in what's going on around him.

The ride goes by mostly in silence, except for the few jabs Desmond throws at Ronan about me, which he ignores or shrugs off. Most of them involve Ronan letting Desmond borrow me for a day or two, or exchanging me with Red for a night.

Ronan doesn't look too pleased to be here, but I don't know if it's Desmond who's souring it for him, or if, like me, he doesn't want to attend this event.

We come to a stop behind a line of cars entering a gated estate, and Ronan abruptly turns toward me.

"Do you remember what I told you about tonight?"

I nod and swallow.

"I'm serious. I don't want to have to punish you," he says. "Because I promise you, you won't like it when I do."

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