Chapter 76

Theo's POV

She’s trembling under my hands, every muscle tight with restraint, the ropes biting into her skin just enough to remind her she’s mine for the night. Her body glistens with sweat, and I can see the marks blooming across her thighs, stripes of heat and pain I laid there like brushstrokes on a canvas. But it’s not enough. Not yet.

Not for me and not for what I am.

I want more. I want her to cry, not from fear, but from the rawness of it, from the breaking point where pain becomes something else entirely. I want to feel it resonate in my bones.

I move in close and let my hand curl around the back of her neck, to anchor her in place. My grip is firm, fingers digging just enough to make her gasp. The sound is soft, delicate, but not what I want. I lean in, lips brushing the shell of her ear.