The Inquisitor's Pet: A Cage of Silver and Sins

om was as massive and steri

re were no useless decorations-only stark, silver pipes and glass partitions polished so fiercely they were practic

yours

in. With a casual, humiliating flick of his wrist, he looped the end of the leash around the heavy brass door handle

"Don't try anything clever-there are anti-magic runes buried benea

eavy oak door groaned shut, sealing me

own wreckage. The woman in the mirror was a ghost. My once-exquisite linen dress was a ruined rag of mud and aci

at. The copper button nestled in the hollow of my c

rnails clawing at the edge of the colla

zz

A

ered by ice-exploded through my skull. It was the Cold-Iron's automated punishment for

gritted teeth, tears of physio

I struggled out of the sodden dress, peeling the fabric away until my skin felt raw and exposed. When

led into the walk-in shower

oo

ter er

ked, recoiling

A terrifying crimson rash broke out across my shoulders instantly. I reached out to adjust the valve, but betw

wer into a Victorian pressure cooker. Asphyxiation clawed at my throat. I slipped on the wet tile,

arkness began

A

m door was

idn't stop at the threshold. He strode straight into the sho

to a ball in the corner, my arms trembli

t with lust, but with the cold calculation of

offed. "Can't eve

round me. He step

, I was

ver me, pressing me flat against the cold obsidian tile wall. He l

e hard, unforgiving outline of his belt buckle pressing against my bare hip. The

his arm brushing my cheek

lding h

OO

ter hammere

e I craved. I would have slid to the floor if Linus hadn't caught me. His hand-large, r

st stood there unde

ng transparent, clinging to the cords of muscle on his ches

s gaze dropping to my parted lips, then lower, tracing the path of the

er. He released me abruptly, stepping back as if I had burned him

he bedroom like a ghost, clutching

y bed, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He had changed into a black silk robe, leaving his che

ing up from his drink. He point

ess shirt lay the

sip, the ice clinking in his glass. "Wear

d turned my back to him, my fingers f

es hung past my hands, and the hem fell just to

myself in it felt like letting him hug me from be

e," Linus

cover as much skin as possible. I walked over slowly, the thic

. His eyes traveled slowly up my bare legs, lingering on the shadow b

It was the look of a man unwrapping a gift

nder wrist, and pulled me forward until

intimate. I could feel the h

the frost-chilled skin of his inner wrist, and pressed

on you than it

collar of the shirt-his shirt-fingering the material. He looke

an," he said softly, a dark prom

ron chain at my neck

ort. You don't l