Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
208. Mose - Courting III

Flowers, donuts, good food, and wine might seem much, but Olivia deserves a little happiness. "Courting it is," I say before leaving the kitchen.

Although I had never courted someone before. I don't know where to start. The only things I'm good at are food and...bondage. There's nothing more sexy than to have a woman tied up so I can do whatever I want to her. Since Olivia will be my bonded, I'll have to show her that there are many types of...bonds. Some permanent, others not.

I go to my room to retrieve my medical kit together with other things that I plan to use exclusively on Olivia. Like my new set of ropes.

When I have everything I need, I go to Jasper's room.

Olivia is sleeping but not peacefully as many do. From the way her eyes move and how she is tossing around, it appears she is having a nightmare.

I put my things at the foot of the bed before crawling next to Olivia and stroking her hair.

"Olivia, wake up." I keep my voice low. When she doesn't wake up, I gently shake her shoulder. "Dinner is ready."

She whimpers before kicking the blanket off of her. "No!" she screams before waking up.

My demon growls. It's a strange thing to hear him making sounds, but I know they are all for Olivia. And right now, I can tell he is upset because she is scared. I might not be able to do something about her nightmare, but I can comfort her. "It was just a nightmare," I try to calm her down before pulling her into my lap. Her hands grab the front of my hoodie and she buries her face in the hollow of my neck. She is shaking and softly sobbing. I run my palms up and down her back. "Do you want to talk about it?" She quickly denies it with her head. "It's all right. You are safe now. Ansel, Jasper, and I won't let anyone hurt you again."

I shouldn't make such promises, but it is only logical to say such things to her, especially since I'll bond with her. Then, I'll never have to worry that my demon might consume my soul. It's not the only reason I want to bond with her. I don't love her yet, but I want to protect her. Strange how quickly my opinion about her changed. And all because of a damn blowjob. Or maybe it was another thing entirely.

Olivia needs a few minutes of me holding her and stroking her back before she stops shaking.

"Thank you." Her voice is raspy.

I love that she doesn't try to put on a brave face. Some men prefer strong women; nothing wrong with that, but I actually like more delicate women.

My hands frame her face and kiss the tip of her nose. "You can come to me always. Let me listen to your lungs before we have dinner." I put her on the bed and grab my medical bag. "Take off the shirt."

She might have gone shopping, but she still prefers to sleep in our clothes. It makes me feel like we own her. Or is it the other way around?

When her shirt pools around her waist, her gorgeous boobs on display, I grab the right one. My thumb circles her nipple. My dick gets hard as a fucking rock. She puts her palm on top of my pants.

"How may I please you, my Lord?"

Her soft voice almost has me nut in my pants.

"Later." My voice is harsh, making me sound like I'm raising my tone at her. She snatches her hand away from me. "I'm not angry, just trying to control myself because the fucking things I want to do to you, Olivia, are not normal." Knowing how that sounds, I quickly add, "Don't think that I want to hurt you, just...fuck you until we are both spent."

"You know I'll never say no." She sounds so...defeated.

I lean forward and press my lip to her forehead. "You can always say no to me." She keeps quiet. Ansel might be right about Olivia. She needs to learn to fight. I want a vulnerable woman, not a doormat.

I open my medical bag. "After I listen to your lungs and check your ribs and toes, I want to do an exercise with you."

Olivia nods.

I take out my stethoscope and patiently listen to how her lungs sound. After I instruct her a few times to take deep breaths and she doesn't cough anymore, I am positive she no longer has pneumonia. Maddox should come in for a final check- up, though.

Next, I look at her toes and lastly, her ribs.

"You are healing faster than I expected. What takes most people months takes your body weeks to do. Fascinating."

Olivia puts her shirt back on. "A curse, actually. It made Jason hurt me more. He wanted to see how fast I healed before he could bruise me again."

I pull out a blindfold from my other bag. "Jason will never hurt you again. Now, about our exercise. I'll put the blindfold around your eyes and I want you to trust me."

Her amber eyes go wide with fear. "Please don't," she whimpers.

I kiss her. "I won't harm you, Olivia." Her chin trembles. "You know that I won't ever hurt you."

"Please," she begs when I put the blindfold around her eyes.

I get out of bed and quickly lift her up in my arms. "Listen to me, Beautiful." She shakes her head. "Listen to the sound of my voice. Jasper and Ansel are waiting for us in the kitchen. We will have a lovely dinner together, just the four of us, then we will come back here and Jasper and I will bond with you."

"I don't want this. I don't want to be bonded to any of you."

Women would kill to be bonded to Lords. "Why?"

Olivia thinks for what seems like a long time before saying, "Because there is something inside me that's slowly poisoning my body and soul. I'm trying to fight it but I'm so tired."

Suddenly, my chest hurts. "What is it?"

"Evil. Pure evil."

What is that supposed to mean?