HIS PET, HIS RULES

The Lesson in Obedience

The mansion was quiet, too quiet. Daisy had just finished polishing the long dining table when she heard the soft echo of Xander’s footsteps across the marble floor. He never rushed, never made a sound he didn’t intend to. Every movement was deliberate, a reminder of the power he carried without needing to say a word.

She straightened, clutching the cloth in her hand as if it were a shield.

“Upstairs,” Xander said, his voice deep, smooth, and edged like steel.

Daisy’s breath caught. He wasn’t asking. He never asked. The contract didn’t leave room for questions, yet each time he commanded her, her body reacted before her mind could catch up.

She followed him, her legs unsteady as they climbed the sweeping staircase. He didn’t look back to see if she obeyed, he knew she would.

At the end of the hall, he stopped at a door she had never entered before. He opened it, revealing a room that wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t decorated with the cold elegance of his mansion. It was stripped down, dimly lit, intimate. The walls were painted a dark shade, the kind that absorbed light. A single armchair sat in the center, and nothing else.

“Close the door.”

Her hand trembled as she obeyed, the soft click of the door locking them in together sounding louder than it should have.

Xander moved to the chair, sitting with a quiet grace, then leaned back, his eyes never leaving her. “Come here.”

Her pulse thudded in her ears. She stepped forward, each movement slow, cautious, deliberate like prey circling closer to its predator.

When she stood before him, he tilted his head. “Do you know why you’re here, Daisy?”

She swallowed, her voice barely a whisper. “No, sir.”

A faint smirk curved his lips. “To learn obedience. To understand what it means to be mine.”

Her chest tightened, her body warring between fear and the dangerous spark of desire curling in her stomach. He had a way of twisting her nerves into heat, her resistance into something fragile.

“Take off your sweater.”

The command was simple, yet it made her fingers clumsy as they reached for the hem. She hesitated, and his eyes narrowed.

“Slowly,” he added, his voice dropping lower.

She obeyed, pulling the fabric over her head inch by inch, aware of his gaze burning into her skin. When it finally slipped free, leaving her in the thin camisole beneath, she felt bare despite being covered.

“Better,” he murmured. “Now kneel.”

Her knees touched the rug, her eyes lowering automatically, her breath quickening as she felt the weight of his attention. She wasn’t sure if the heat rushing through her was shame, anticipation, or both.

His hand reached forward, the back of his fingers brushing against her cheek. The touch was deceptively gentle, but she could feel the restraint in it, the power coiled beneath his control.

“You think this contract is only about survival,” he said softly, his tone coaxing yet dangerous. “But it’s more. It’s about surrender. You’ll fight me. You’ll want to resist. But eventually, you’ll learn that resistance doesn’t serve you.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

He leaned forward, his breath brushing against her ear. “You’ll crave the very things you’re afraid of now.”

Her body trembled, not from cold, but from the slow burn igniting under his words.

“Stand.”

She obeyed, her legs shaking as she rose. His eyes trailed over her, deliberate and unhurried, before he stood too, towering over her.

He stepped closer, so close she could smell his cologne. Dark, intoxicating, expensive. One hand slid to the back of her neck, firm, claiming, pulling her forward until their lips hovered a breath apart.

“You belong to me,” he whispered, his voice a dark promise. “Say it.”

Her heart pounded. The words lodged in her throat, pride and fear tangling together.

His thumb pressed against her lower lip, forcing it to part. His gaze held hers with a sharp intensity.

“Say it, Daisy.”

Her body betrayed her, leaning into his hold, her voice shaky but audible. “I… I belong to you.”

The smirk returned, this time darker, triumphant. “Good girl.”

The words sent a shiver racing down her spine, heat flooding her core.

Then he kissed her.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t careful. It was a claiming, fierce and consuming, a kiss that stole her breath and left her gasping against him. His hand tightened at her neck, holding her in place as his mouth dominated hers, deep and punishing.

Her resistance melted into something reckless, her hands clutching at his shirt, her body arching into his. Every brush of his lips, every demanding sweep of his tongue dragged her deeper into the fire she swore she didn’t want but couldn’t resist.

When he finally pulled back, his breath ragged, his gaze searing into hers, she felt undone.

“This was only your first lesson,” he said, his voice low and rough. “And by the time I’m finished with you, you won’t just obey… you’ll beg.”

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her lips swollen from his kiss, her heart no longer her own.

For the first time, Daisy realized the truth. Xander wasn’t just her captor. He was becoming her addiction.