I hate you.

Fuck, not again. I push away the memory of her small, accusing whisper and focus on the present. I can feel her stirring next to me, a small sound of discomfort escaping her throat as the mattress rubs against the tender spot in her upper arm. That sound does something to me, gets under my skin for some reason. I don’t want Nora in pain—not from this, at least—and I reach for her, pulling her closer to me so I can hug her from the back.

She stiffens at my touch, rigid tension spreading through her body, and I know that she’s awake now, that she remembers what happened.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, keeping my voice low and soothing as I stroke the smooth curve of her outer thigh with my hand. “Do you want some water or anything?”

She doesn’t say anything, but I feel her head moving slightly, and I interpret that as a nod.

“All right then.” Reaching back with my hand, I grab the water bottle, fumbling a bit in the dark. Propping myself up on one elbow, I turn on the bedside lamp, so I can see, and hand the bottle to Nora.

She blinks a few times, squinting at the light, and takes the water from me, her slender fingers curving around the bottle as she sits up. The movement causes the blanket to slide down, exposing her upper body. I undressed her before putting her in bed, so she’s naked now, with only her thick hair hiding her pretty, pink-tipped breasts from my gaze. Familiar lust stirs within me, but I push it down, wanting to make sure she’s okay first.

I let her take a few sips of the water before asking again, “How are you feeling?”

She shrugs, her eyes not meeting mine. “Fine, I guess.” Her hand lifts across her body to her upper arm, touching the Band-Aid there, and I see her shiver slightly, as though she’s cold. “I have to use the bathroom,” she says suddenly and, not waiting for my response, climbs out of bed. I catch a brief glimpse of her rounded little ass before she disappears through the bathroom door, and my dick jumps, ignoring my mind’s directive to be still for once.

Sighing, I lie back on the pillow to wait for her. Who am I kidding? My pet always has that effect on me. I can no more ignore seeing her naked than I can stop breathing. Almost involuntarily, my hand slips under the blanket, my fingers curling around my hard shaft as I close my eyes and imagine her hot, velvety inner walls gripping my cock, her pussy wet and deliciously tight . . .

I hate you.

Fuck. My eyes fly open, some of the heat inside me cooling. I’m still hard, but now the lust is intermixed with a strange heaviness in my chest. I don’t know where this is coming from. I should feel happier now that the trackers are in, but I don’t. Instead I feel like I lost something . . . something I didn’t even know I had.

Annoyed, I close my eyes again, this time purposefully focusing on the growing ache in my balls as I pump my fist up and down my dick, letting the hunger build. Even if she does hate me, so what? She probably should hate me, given everything I’ve done to her. I’ve never let such concerns stop me from doing what I wanted, and I’m not about to start now. Nora will get used to the trackers just as she got used to being mine, and if the compound security is ever breached, she’ll thank her lucky stars for my foresight.

Hearing the door open, I open my eyes and see her emerging from the bathroom. She still doesn’t look at me directly. Instead she keeps her eyes on the floor as she scurries to the bed and climbs under the covers, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Then she stares blankly at the ceiling, as if I don’t even exist.

She might as well have slapped my face with her indifference.

The lust inside me turns sharper, darker. I won’t stand for this kind of behavior, and she knows it. The urge to punish her is strong, nearly irresistible, and it’s only the knowledge that she’s already hurt that prevents me from tying her up and giving in to my sadistic inclinations.

Still, I’m not going to let her get away with this. Not tonight, not ever.

Throwing off my blanket, I sit up and command sharply, “Come here.”

She doesn’t move for a moment, but then her eyes lift to my face. There’s no fear in her gaze, no emotion of any kind, in fact. Her huge dark eyes are lifeless, like those of a beautiful doll.

The heaviness in my chest region grows. “Come here,” I repeat, the harshness of my tone masking the intensifying turmoil within me. “Now.”

She obeys, her conditioning finally kicking in. Pushing away her blanket, she comes to me on all fours, crawling across the bed with her back arched and her ass slightly raised. It’s exactly the way I like her to move in the bedroom, and my breathing quickens, my cock swelling to an almost painful thickness. I’ve trained her well; even distressed, my pet knows how to please me.

“Good girl,” I murmur, reaching for her as soon as she’s within my grasp. Sliding my left hand into her hair, I wrap my right arm around her waist and pull her into my lap, gathering her against me. Then I slant my mouth across hers, kissing her with a hunger that seems to emanate from the very core of my being.

She tastes like minty toothpaste and herself, her lips soft and receptive as I plunder the silky depths of her mouth. As the kiss goes on, her eyes close, and her hands come up to rest tentatively at my sides. I can feel her nipples pebbling against my chest, and the realization that she’s responding the same as always sends a wave of relief through me, alleviating much of my uncharacteristic unease.

Whatever strange mood she’s in, she’s still mine in all the ways that matter.