AWAKENING 🌶️ 🌶️

Chapter 1

“Bound”

POV Ria

The rules set out for us are simple.

Never fall in love with Master.

Never touch Master unless invited.

Last and most important:

Never forget your place.

Master carries a dangerous, seductive allure that makes you desperate for his touch.

It’s maddening when he’s away at work.

The moment he’s home, we fight for his attention.

He likes to tie us up, spank us, and fulfill our every twisted desire.

I am the only one who wishes to escape him.

I have become his favorite. His favorites always vanish.

Master suddenly comes around the corner, and we freeze.

His eyes are a striking ocean blue, and his dark hair falls just below his ears. He wears a gold robe, and his tattooed chest is on display.

Then he looks at me.

My knees grow weak as his musky, intoxicating scent fills my lungs.

Then he’s gone.

Mya grabs me around the waist before I fall.

“My saviour,” I tease.

“Never look directly into his eyes unless you have something soft to land on,” she smirks.

We grab some cloth napkins from the laundry and then fight with the other staff to serve breakfast to Master and his mistress, Lisa.

Ella and I manage to get out first.

“The darkness broke into the city last night,” Lisa says.

“The Fae King pushed it back,” Master replies.

“Only the black dragon can save us,” Lisa declares.

I pour Master’s coffee, and he wraps his hand around my thigh, sliding his fingers up in plain sight of Lisa while reading his paper.

I try not to spill the coffee as he slides his fingers along my underwear.

“Saved from what? You live in luxury.”

“You’re too sheltered to see the world falling apart, Sebastian,” Lisa barks.

The room goes silent.

Lisa just talked down to the Master.

The air grows tense.

Ella trembles beside me, gripping her chair.

Master pulls me onto his lap, staring at me hungrily.

Lisa snatches the paper out of his hands. “Emerald City just vanished overnight.”

This girl has a death wish.

I hear a dish break in the kitchen as the staff panic, worried Master will lose his temper.

He releases me and waves me off.

I hide in the kitchen.

“Have you been there? Do you have family there, Lisa?” Master asks, raising his voice.

“No,” Lisa says.

“Then how do you know Emerald City isn’t a fictional place that never really existed, other than to gossip about? Hmm?”

“Sebastian.”

Master slams his fist onto the table and stands. “Lisa, I think our arrangement has come to an end. Now get the hell out of my sight!”

Lisa drops to her knees. “Please forgive me, Master.”

Mya and I hide behind the kitchen door before Master loses control.

Lisa runs up the stairs for her life, while chairs and furniture crash through the front window onto the street.

“She was his slave?” Mya whispers, her eyes widening.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“If she’s gone, he’ll be all mine.”

“Good luck with that,” I laugh.

“I’ll arm wrestle you for him,” Mya tries to bargain.

“Ria, come with me,” Master calls in a husky voice dripping with sin. I obey instantly.

He stands near the basement door, waiting for me. I follow him down to the basement. He locks the door behind us.

I sit on the bed with my hands behind my back as he wraps them tightly in a thick scarf.

“Hmm, such a beautiful creature,” Master coos. “Say yes to my proposal. You will never want for anything.”

“No,” I whisper.

“Why can’t you admit you want me? You tremble every time I touch you.”

“Only because your allure pulls me in.”

“And yet…” his lips curve slightly. “You never run.”

He places his hand firmly under my chin.

“I should send you back into the world so you remember what it’s like to live without me.”

I’ve tried to leave, but my body won’t let me.

Every time I try to step outside the door, my body freezes and my head spins, as if I can’t breathe without him.

“Why did Mya come to me this morning instead of you?”

“She likes it when you touch her.”

“And do you not like it when I touch you, Ria?”

I don’t answer, but he already knows.

I crave him like a drug.

At the moment, his endless ocean blue eyes are a storm. His hair is wild from losing his temper.

He appears calm, but I know he’s hanging on by a thread, and I shouldn’t anger him.

He looks more like a Greek god than a fae council member.

He presses his lips to mine, and my heart stills. He tastes like fresh coffee and bacon from breakfast, and I forget how to breathe.

He runs his hot mouth from my lips to my collarbone as I let out a small moan.

Then he rips open my maid’s uniform and traces his fingers along my black dragon tattoo, that is mostly on my back but curves around with its tail to the front of my chest.

He slides his mouth down my body to the mark on my lower thigh and bites hard, reopening the wound.

“When the bonding spell starts to break, I can mark you as my mate, Elanthria,” Master whispers.

I stay silent.

He knows I don’t believe a man as perfect as him could truly be my mate.

He unties the scarf and leaves me there alone.

I sneak upstairs, grab a clean maid outfit, and change in the bathroom, hoping no one notices or gets jealous of my time with Master.

I run outside and roll around in the dry dirt.

“What on earth are you doing?” Mya asks, suddenly hovering above me.

“My skin felt like it was on fire.”

“Master can have that effect,” she smiles. “In your nightmare this morning, you said there was something different.”

“Thanks for taking the punishment for me falling out of bed and making so much noise.”

“I love when he spanks me. Anytime,” she beams.

“You’re such a masochist,” I laugh.

“My nightmare was the same. My twin brother calls me, then a white witch tries to kill me, but this time, a hand wearing a red dragon ring saved me from the witch.”

“Maybe the red dragon ring belongs to your brother.”

“I’m not a dragon, Mya. Dragons are powerful, driven, majestic, and dangerous. I’m none of those things.”

“Maybe you’re a late bloomer.”

“Dragons shift at sixteen, and I’m nineteen.”

“Your ankles are covered in dark charms and runes. Maybe you’re simply bound.”

“Or maybe I’m not bound to protect myself,” I whisper. “Maybe I’m bound to protect everyone else.”