Page 16 of The Devil's Mercy

“You want Mercy and me to throw you on the ground and fuck you until you’re a sobbing mess, don’t you? The idea of a Connect choosing you as their Third gets you all hot and bothered. Honestly, you’re angry, but not as angry as you want us to believe. You’re just putting up a front to protect your ego. I got to you, didn’t I? Made you want me? Made you care?”

Calix could tell when someone was purposely trying to get a rise out of him. For whatever reason, it was clear the doctor wanted to push his buttons and make him crack. Pretending? What a joke. Aodhan was the one pretending here.

If Cal was smarter, he’d agree to being honest and tell the truth, but even though that wasn’t technically what the doctor wanted to hear, even though he was so obviously hoping Calix would resist, the truth would still bring some inkling of satisfaction to the doctor.

At least if he continued refusing, Cal got something out of it, too.

He really only ever felt in control when he was rushing headfirst into danger.

“If that really was true,” Calix lifted his chin defiantly, “then why was I about to hop on a spaceship off planet as soon as we said our goodbyes?”

Aodhan paused, staring at him, mood darkening with each passing second until the energy surrounding him became heavy and threatening. “You really were.”

“I told the truth, so—”

The doctor chucked the scalpel across the room, then hauled Calix roughly. He shoved him toward the contraption still dangling from the ceiling, wordlessly fighting Cal when he started to struggle.

“Wait!”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Aodhan attached Cal’s wrists to the loop hanging from the ceiling and strung him up.

“You said—”

“That’s not the truth I was after and you know it,” he growled.

“That doesn’t matter. You said—”

“Didn’t anyone warn you not to play games with a devil?”

Calix swore loudly as the hook was forced back into his body.

“Learn your lesson, baby,” Aodhan hissed from behind him, his hot breath fanning against Cal’s nape. “I set my pride aside and told you how I feel. I expect the same treatment in return. You were going to leave me? Yeah, okay. Now you’ll never get the chance.”

“What if I never tell you I like you back?” Cal seriously must hate himself.

Every last atom of his being screamed at him to shut the hell up, but it was too late.

“Then I guess I’ll have to carve my name into every inch of your flesh so you’ll never forget who you belong to.”

Chapter 5:

Cal cried out as his hole was battered, the stretch and burn caused by Aodhan’s thick girth making his hands clench hard enough his knuckles felt like they would pop out of their sockets. His wrists were bound above him, leather straps digging into his tender flesh, and the sound of chains clinking as he was rocked forward, forced to hang there while he was used, threatened to drive him half mad.

He’d take the cock over the awful sex toy that had been forced inside of him these past days—maybe even weeks—though. Just the thought of the anal hook had him clenching around that intruding member, causing the man at his back to moan his name and pick up the pace.

This torture had been happening on a loop ever since he’d foolishly goaded Aodhan. He’d allowed stubbornness and fear to get the best of him, and it’d been a mistake. A really, really bad one, because now his entire body trembled and ached. Tears streamed down his face, most of them soaked up by the blindfold that had been tied around his face at some point.

Neither of his psychopathic captors had attempted to start a meaningful conversation with him since. If Aodhan was there, he was either fucking Calix or prepping him for the hook. Titus only made his presence known when he was helping Calto the bathroom, which was an attached room of some kind, or treating his overused body with sun cream.

Sometimes he’d hold a straw up to Calix’s dry lips and allow him some water. There’d been no food—Not that he’d asked for any. He hardly had an appetite.

This couldn’t continue. He wouldn’t last, and for all he knew, they really would keep this up until he died and simply cut their losses.

Find someone else to take his place.

That thought shouldn’t bother him, but the tightness in his chest was too strong to ignore.

Too much had gone into tricking him here for it to be for something as simple as passing the time. He hadn’t been unlucky and stumbled into their trap. He’d been chosen. Led here for some reason.

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