Chapter 5 Rules of Desire

Chapter Five

Ardyn's Pov

I didn't know how long he left me there.

Blindfolded. Hands bound. Wet with need and aching with frustration.

My thighs were slick with it-shameless proof of how badly I wanted what he refused to give. Every breath I took was laced with the memory of his voice, his heat, his nearness... and the devastating space he'd left behind when he stepped away.

He hadn't touched me-not really. Just a tease, a whisper of a promise.

And it wrecked me.

Somewhere in the dark, the door opened again. I tensed, head lifting, heart hammering. I waited to hear his voice. To feel his hands. To be-

"You're still here." His voice-calm, detached. Almost amused.

I swallowed hard. "Yes, sir."

He exhaled slowly, like he'd been expecting something else.

"Good girl."

My stomach flipped.

A second later, the blindfold slipped away. I blinked against the light as the silk around my wrists loosened. My arms dropped into my lap, wrists tender, skin flushed.

He crouched in front of me, eyes level with mine. Cold and unreadable.

"I want to make something clear." His voice was low and even, like he wasn't even speaking to me-just stating facts. "This isn't about love. It's about control."

I nodded slowly, pulse thudding in my throat.

"I give. You receive. But only when you earn it."

I bit my bottom lip. "And if I disobey again?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "You'll beg. And I still won't give you what you want."

Heat flashed between my legs.

He stood, adjusting his cuffs. "Go clean yourself up. You have new rules starting tonight."

---

My body was a trembling mess when I got back to my room.

The mirror showed flushed cheeks, swollen lips, wrists marked by silk. I looked like I'd been fucked within an inch of my life.

But I hadn't even been touched.

That was the worst part. The maddening, thrilling part.

I wanted him more than I feared him. I craved his control.

And that terrified me.

Still, I obeyed. I bathed, dressed in fresh linen, and braided my hair like the maids had shown me. I was downstairs within the hour, standing silently in the kitchen as Eda gave orders like a general in a war zone.

"Dining room needs clearing. Library polished. No fingerprints on the glass."

I nodded, eyes lowered.

But I could feel him somewhere in the house. I didn't know where, but his presence crackled in the air like static on my skin.

Midday passed in a haze of dusting and silverware.

Until Eda pulled me aside.

"Mr. Caelum wants you upstairs. Room at the end of the south hall."

My heart slammed.

I walked the hall like I was heading to my execution-hands trembling, throat dry. That part of the mansion was darker, quieter, heavy with velvet curtains and secrets.

His door was open.

I stepped inside.

He was waiting by the window, dressed in black slacks and a button-down, sleeves rolled to his elbows. The view behind him stretched into endless forest.

"Close the door," he said.

I did.

He turned, motioned for me to sit on a velvet chaise. I obeyed.

"You did well today," he said simply.

"Thank you, sir."

He stepped closer. "But obedience isn't just about silence and chores. It's about your body. Your willingness."

He stopped in front of me. Reached down. Gripped my chin between two fingers.

"I want to train you. Break the rebellion in you. Not with violence, but with discipline. Crave, submit, and learn your place."

I sucked in a breath. My thighs clenched.

"I'll touch you when I choose to. Pleasure you when you've earned it. Speak when told. Come when I allow."

Heat flooded through me, shameful and thrilling.

"And if I say no?" I whispered.

He smirked. "Then you leave this house. But you'll never find what you're looking for out there."

His hand slid from my chin to my throat-gentle but firm.

"You're mine, Ardyn. Say it."

My pulse pounded.

"I'm yours."

"Good girl."

---

That night, he made me strip.

No words. Just a gesture.

I stood in front of him, naked and trembling, his eyes roaming slowly over my skin. He didn't reach for me. Just watched. Studied. Like I was a puzzle he intended to solve one piece at a time.

"Lie back," he said.

I lay on the chaise.

He kneeled beside me and traced the inside of my thigh with one fingertip-slow, featherlight.

"You're not allowed to come," he said.

My heart slammed. "What?"

"You'll take everything I give you. But you'll hold it back."

"That's-"

"Hard. I know."

His finger moved higher. Grazed over my folds-wet and swollen from hours of anticipation.

I gasped.

"Be still," he murmured.

He dipped his head.

His tongue flicked over my clit, slow and cruel.

My back arched.

"Still."

I gripped the edge of the chaise as he licked me again-longer this time, pressing soft, torturous circles that made my breath come out in ragged moans.

But just when the orgasm started to build-

He stopped.

I cried out. "Please-"

He slapped the inside of my thigh lightly. Not hard. But it shut me up.

"You don't come without permission."

He returned to his torment-tongue, fingers, breath-until I was shaking, hips bucking, sweat dripping between my breasts.

"Don't. Come," he whispered, two fingers curling inside me.

I sobbed.

The pressure was unbearable.

And then-

He pulled away.

"Enough."

I was shaking, soaking, completely undone.

And empty.

He stood.

"You'll remember this next time you think about disobedience."

I stared at him, lips parted, thighs twitching.

He turned away like he hadn't just destroyed me.

And I realized the terrifying truth-

I'd do anything for him to let me come.