Chapter 29

Olivia’s POV

Even after returning to Damien’s tower, so soon to morning, my thoughts remained with the hungry slaves and the older woman’s loss of hope. I would never ask anyone ever again to escape with me, or even to help me escape, but maybe if they saw that I could get out of here, it would restore hope for themselves as well.

But I still needed to be able to train somehow…

Damien allowed me to walk freely. Perhaps if I could find somewhere private, I could exercise in secret. Yet Damien himself would surely notice, especially after I’d already asked him if I could. He was probably suspicious of me even now.

No. What I needed to do was somehow get him to grant me his permission. Then I could be free from punishment.

I wasn’t totally sure how I was going to do such a thing, however. Damien wasn’t one to be easily manipulated, and I wasn’t very good at being sneaky in that way.

Maybe I could use his indifference to my advantage somehow?

If only I could figure out how.

While I was sitting on my blanket bed, charcoal and paper in hand, I wasn’t actually drawing. Instead, my thoughts kept distracting me and I would look off into space.

Damien, meanwhile, was working at the desk. Every now and then he would glance over at me, and he seemed to do so with an increasing annoyance.

“You are thinking so hard, I’m starting to smell smoke,” he said.

I startled at the sound of his voice, having been driven from my thoughts.

“If you cannot do anything useful with your time, I will find something for you to do,” he said.

Immediately I looked down at my drawing. Despite my best efforts, this one had turned into Damien too. I didn’t know why that kept happening, and I was frustrated with myself for it. I wanted to remember the faces of my past, yet all I kept thinking about was Damien.

With a huff, I pushed the charcoal and papers away.

Damien dropped his pen to the table with a sharp clink. I froze, realizing that my exhale must have bothered him.

“Stand up,” he said.

It wasn’t worth arguing. I knew I wouldn’t win no matter what I did or said. I had interrupted his work and now I was going to have to suffer the consequences, whatever those may be.

So I stood.

“Come here.”

I walked to his side.

He sat a little straighter on the chair he was sitting in, so that his shoulders were high over the back of the chair.

“Rub my shoulders,” he said. “Do something useful with your hands and give me a massage.”

Moving behind him, I reached out and placed my hands on his shoulders. I’d never really given a massage before, but I knew generally what to do. Gripping with my fingers and thumbs, I tried to press my palm hard into his muscle while making small circles.

I thought I was doing a good job, but he just scoffed at me.

“You are so weak,” he said. “Is this the best you can do?”

I tried to press harder, but he was not any more satisfied.

“You are nothing but skin and bones,” he said, making it sound like an insult.

There was an opening here to push for what I wanted, but I knew it was dangerous to take it. Damien didn’t like when I talked back, or at all. But I couldn’t imagine a better opportunity than this, so for the sake of my future, I allowed myself to be bold.

“If I was allowed to train, then I wouldn’t be so weak,” I said.

He hummed at that. “Yes, you’ve had your mind on training a lot, haven’t you?” Grabbing my wrists, he pushed my hands away from him, then turned in his chair to look back at me. A single brow raised high on his forehead, he asked me, “What are you up to?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, deflecting rather than answering. If he could tell I was lying, as he had in the past, then speaking untruths wouldn’t help me. The only way out of this was evasion and deflection, and hoping he didn’t care enough to be persistent.

Damien lowered his brow, like he had figured out my game, but he didn’t call me on it. “I suppose I don’t really care what you are up to. There’s nothing that you could be planning that would affect me at all.” He glanced down at my body, and I shivered at the sudden intense focus. “I suppose even dogs need walks.”

I was a wolf, not a dog, but I bit back my annoyance, having learned that backtalk would only lead to punishment. As he was finally starting to lean my way, there was no sense in pushing my luck.

If he wanted to underestimate me, that was up to him. Let him think I would be too weak, even with training. He could think whatever he wanted while I was scaling that wall and getting away from here once and for all.

Damien turned his chair then, facing me now while still seated. He held up one hand. “Come, pet. I will feed now.”

I stepped closer, feigning obedience. As soon as I was within range, he grabbed me by the hips and pulled me into his lap. I was facing him, my knees digging into the chair on either side of his hips.

Like this, I felt so exposed, with only a few thin layers of fabric separating my core from his member. When he bite me, would he feel my arousal? Would it have an effect on him?

I wasn’t sure. I shouldn’t care.

Yet I was curious. He brushed my hair behind my shoulder, tugged my collar higher on my neck, then leaned in and bit down on the bare exposed skin between my neck and shoulders.

I moaned at once, pleasure immediately flooding through me after a brief flash of pain. Unable to control myself, I bucked against him. His hands became firmer on my hips, keeping me in place while he sucked blood from my neck.

Yet, even unmoving, I couldn’t help my body’s reaction. The pleasure made my core burn hot, my panties damp.

Damien hummed against my neck, and for the briefest moment, I swear I felt him hardening beneath me.

He sucked harder then, distracting my thoughts with an onslaught of pleasure. I came with flashing lights behind my eyes, my mind filled with nothing but bliss and desire.

If his dick twitched or hardened further, I was far too distracted to notice.

I clung to him as I came down from my high. He lapped at my neck, licking up any residual blood. Then, he lowered my collar back down into place.

His hands stayed on my hips a bit longer as he stared straight at my breasts, barely concealed behind the thin swatch of fabric that went with this outfit.

After a moment, he looked up to my eyes.

“A stronger body would give me more blood,” he said. “For that reason, and that reason alone, I will allow you to train.”