Shackled (The Lord Series) by Amy T

151. Olivia
an
Impo, her expectatly on the days that end with y. he was so full of life, her laughter was infections. There is one moment that don’t regret pulling that trigger and killing her.
I
tsas tall show my cheeks. It’s al moments like these, when everything becomes too much that I yearn for the mombiness at the drugs.
Jasper returns to the living room, and I quickly clean my face, not wanting him to ask me about Camila or what happened that night.
“Are you hungry? Or thirsty?” he asks as he goes over to the open kitchen.
reply as I usually do, “No.”
He opens the fridge and rummages through it. “Are you ever hungry?”
This time I take a few moments before I reply, “Not for food.”
Jasper looks at me before taking out the remainder of the cake Mose made yesterday. Surprisingly, it is fondant cake. Mose brought it, saying he was trying to make it at work, but the decoration turned out wrong, and he didn’t want throw it out as it was for a birthday and thought that I might like it. “How about something sweet then?”
How about drugs, I want to say, but knowing Jasper’s opinion on my addiction, I decide against it. Instead, I ask, “Do 1 have to eat?”
Jasper sighs, then puts the cake on the table and cuts a slice. “You are as stubborn as Speckles.”

“She is not stubborn, she only misses her filly,” I try once again to make him understand what is wrong with the mare, but just like Ansel, Jasper dismisses me. I don’t even know why I bother when men never take me seriously.
Jasper walks over to me, the plate with a slice of cake and a glass of water in his hands, and sits next to me on the couch. After putting the plate and the glass on the table, he gently scoops me up in his arms and puts me on his lap.
Awoken from her nap by Jasper moving me from my spot on the couch, Miss Teapot lets out a noise of annoyance before disappearing into the bedroom, making Jasper laugh.
A moment later, Jasper turns his attention to me.
Cupping my left cheek, he says, “I never thought I would love having a woman in my house so much.” Brushing his mouth against mine, he adds, “I will never let you go, Little Love. Your place is here, with me. If my blood-brothers don’t want you, even better because I get to enjoy you all by myself.”
His words mean nothing to me. I have heard them before from the man I thought was my soulmate, my everything. yet he turned his back on me when I needed him the most, shattering my hopes and dreams in the process. I will never again trust a man with my heart. Loving someone is not worth the pain and the heartbreak.
The moment Jasper gets tired of me, he will discard me as well, but until then, I will pretend I trust what he tells me.
151 Olivia
“Yes, Master,” I whisper.
A grunt of approval leaves him before his lips capture mine in a soft kiss. I reciprocate only because it pleases him. His left hand finds the buttons of my shirt, and he pops open a few, his fingers slipping beneath the thin fabric. His touch is gentle, but I brace myself in case he starts to twist my nipples painfully. They are still sore from when Ruchen and Tyson tortured me.
Jasper pulls back his head. “Do your ti t s still hurt?” he asks as he pushes down the shoulders of my shirt.
“No,” I lic.
His eyes take in the bruises covering my skin. “A new rule you must follow: Never lie to me, else I will paint your little as s bright red. Do you understand, Little Love?”
I don’t like this rule; it makes me too vulnerable, but if I don’t follow it and he realizes I am not being entirely truthful, he will punish me. “Yes, Master.”
“Good. Now, again. Do your t i t s still hurt?” he asks again.
I think for a few seconds about how to reply, as I am conflicted between the need to please him and the urgency to tell him the truth. “Not as much as yesterday,” I finally say.
Quicking an eyebrow, he says, “Olivia?”
My shoulders drop, and I brace myself for a blow as I say, “Yes, they still hurt.”
Not only does Jasper not hit me, but what he tells me next leaves me stunned. “I’m sorry.”
I blink several times, trying to figure out the ‘I’m sorry’ thing, whatever it means.
Jasper keeps talking. “I should have never let Rueben and Tyson torture you.” Kissing some bruises from my chest, he murmurs against my skin, “Rueben is on the verge of madness, and I promised myself to save him no matter the cost. Even sacrificing you if that meant he would be saved. Seeing what they did to you fills me with regret for not acting earlier. Do you think you can forgive me?”