Chapter 43: The Predators' Delight
Sloane's throaty laugh cut through the study's heavy silence, her champagne flute catching the firelight as she tilted it toward Izzy. The amber liquid sloshed dangerously close to the rim.
"The way he whimpered when you pulled the strap-on out of the drawer." Sloane licked her lips, a predator savoring the memory. "Like a kicked puppy trying to be brave."
Izzy stretched along the leather sofa, her silk robe falling open at the thigh, revealing the pale skin still flushed from the morning's exertions. She traced the rim of her own glass with a painted nail, a satisfied smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"He thinks he's strong now. They always do, at that age." Her emerald eyes glittered in the firelight. "It's adorable, really. That little furrow between his brows, the way he clenches his jaw and tells himself he's in control."
Sloane set her glass down and shifted closer, her hand finding Izzy's bare knee beneath the robe. She drew lazy circles on the skin there, her fingers climbing higher with each pass.
"You know what I loved most? When he swallowed." Sloane's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "That desperate gulp, trying not to choke. And then the way he opened his mouth to show me, like a good little boy, tongue flat and empty."
Izzy's laugh was low, musical. "He's learned his manners. It only took months of training."
"Training." Sloane savored the word. "Such a clinical term for what we do to him. I prefer 'reconditioning.'"
The fire crackled, sending shadows dancing across the bookshelves. Izzy let her head fall back against the cushions, studying the ceiling. Her fingers found Sloane's and interlaced with them, the gesture almost tender after the morning's cruelty.
"He leaves for university in six weeks. Arthur's will grants him the trust fund and the London townhouse. If he decides to exercise those rights..." Izzy's voice trailed off, a thread of genuine calculation beneath the languor.
Sloane's hand stilled on her thigh. "You're thinking about the inheritance."
"I'm thinking about control." Izzy sat up, reaching for the champagne bottle on the side table. She refilled both glasses before continuing. "Once he's at university, he'll have money. Freedom. He could cut us off entirely. He could go to the police."
The word hung in the air, unspoken between them until now. Sloane's delicate features tightened.
"He wouldn't dare," she said, but there was a question buried in the defiance.
"He wouldn't. Not yet. But that's the problem with boys like Julian." Izzy took a slow sip, watching Sloane over the rim of her glass. "They're all wounded pride and secret resentments. They nurse their grievances like precious wounds, waiting for the moment to strike."
"So we don't give him a moment."
Izzy's smile widened. "We give him so many moments that he forgets which one to pick. We drown him in humiliation until the idea of consequences is just another fantasy he pleasures himself to."
Sloane leaned in, her lips brushing Izzy's ear. "What do you have in mind?"
Izzy considered, her fingers trailing along Sloane's jaw. "He's been seeing that girl. Anne. The innocent little church mouse from his seminar."
"The one with the enormous tits and the virginal blush?"
"The very one." Izzy's laugh was like broken glass. "He thinks she's his salvation. His escape from us. He's built an entire fantasy around her saving him from his wicked stepmother."
Sloane pulled back, a slow grin spreading across her face. "You want to take that from him too."
"I want to make him watch." Izzy's voice dropped to a husky murmur. "I want him to see the fantasy crumble. To realize that the girl he loves is just another toy for us to play with. That there's no escape, no salvation, no world where he gets to be a normal boy with a normal girlfriend and a normal future."
"God, you're magnificent." Sloane's hand slid up Izzy's thigh, beneath the silk. "When do we start?"
"Tonight. I'll invite her for dinner. Get her alone in the garden, get her talking about her dreams, her desires." Izzy parted her legs, welcoming Sloane's touch. "She's so needy for affection. Her father never loved her properly, and Julian's attention is a poor substitute for what she really craves."
"Which is?"
"Validation from someone who knows exactly how to give it." Izzy's eyes darkened. "Someone who can show her what real pleasure looks like. A woman's hand, a woman's mouth, a woman who understands her body far better than any fumbling boy."
Sloane's fingers found Izzy's center, slick and warm. "You're going to seduce his girlfriend."
"I'm going to unmake her." Izzy gasped softly as Sloane pressed harder. "And then I'm going to let Julian watch. I'm going to make him kneel while she rides my face, make him see the love in her eyes turn to hunger, make him realize that he was never enough for her either."
"You're going to break him completely."