pjbooks Chapter 340: What a waste of time
Chapter 340: What a waste of time
After Vincent finished showering, the water on his body had not even fully dried before the chain around his wrist suddenly tightened.
With a sharp clatter of metal, Rory yanked him straight out of the bathroom.
Caught off guard, Vincent stumbled forward, his body lurching helplessly toward the bed.
By the time he regained his balance, he had already fallen onto the mattress.
Droplets of water slid slowly down his chest as Rory reached out and tilted his chin upward.
"Next time, you’re not allowed to take so long. What a waste of time."
The moment she finished speaking, she lowered her head and kissed him.
"Mmph..."
Vincent did not even have time to answer before he was pinned against the bed.
Watching Rory take such an aggressive lead, a flicker passed through his dark phoenix eyes.
So, could Rory be this proactive, too?
Vincent closed his eyes and just as he was about to wrap an arm around her waist, the soft warmth against his lips suddenly disappeared.
His eyes opened instinctively.
He looked up at Rory, his gaze clouded with heavy desire and confusion.
Rory pushed herself up slightly, her fingertips sliding slowly from his lips down to the sharp line of his throat.
Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "Do you still want to continue?"
Vincent stared at her as his throat rolled hard.
Did she even realize how seductive she looked right now?
"Yes." The answer came out rough and strained.
He felt like he was reaching the edge of his restraint.
He wanted to...
Hearing his answer, Rory curved her lips into a sly little smile.
"Then give me back my spatial ring."
The words hit like a bucket of icy water poured straight over his head, extinguishing every flame burning in his eyes in an instant.
The fascination and desire on his face vanished completely, replaced by cold hurt.
His beautiful phoenix eyes locked onto Rory as all the tenderness within them disappeared.
He let out a mocking little laugh.
"So everything you did... was just to get your ring back."
She did not want him at all.
She had only used his desire against him, waiting until he was at his most defenseless to make her demand.
The crushing disappointment and pain of being deceived wrapped around his heart like poisonous vines, tightening until it hurt to breathe.
The atmosphere around Vincent instantly turned icy.
The dark feather mark between his brows seemed to come alive again, the blackness deepening as faint shadows coiled around it.
His hand clenched hard against the bedsheets, knuckles turning white, as though in the next second he might flip her beneath him and make her pay for what she had done.
There he goes again, about to lose his mind.
Watching his reaction, Rory suddenly lifted her hand.
Smack.
Her palm landed squarely on his backside.
Vincent froze completely.
He... had just been spanked. And not just once...
Smack. Smack.
Rory gave him two more swats while glaring at him righteously, brows furrowed in irritation.
"You are not allowed to go crazy."
She leaned even closer and poked firmly at his chest, her tone fierce and soft at the same time.
"What nonsense are you thinking about now? Hurry up and give me the ring. If you keep dragging this out, I’ll cry. Believe it or not."
Vincent stared at her speechlessly.
The dark fury that had nearly swallowed him whole moments ago was instantly smacked apart by one slap and one threat of tears until not even ashes remained.
Looking at Rory, he parted his lips, yet no words came out.
In the end, he could only bite his lip silently, looking utterly wronged.
Smack.
Seeing him refuse to speak, Rory hit him once more.
"Hurry up."
Vincent inhaled deeply, swallowed down his grievance, then finally took out the ring and tossed it toward her.
"Here."
After saying that, he rolled over and turned his back on her, refusing to look at her anymore.
Liar.
Not only had she tricked him, she had even spanked him.
Worst of all, she had threatened him too...
Rory caught the ring effortlessly and slipped it back onto her finger without even glancing at it.
Then she looked down at the man lying on the bed, so aggrieved he seemed ready to shut himself off from the world, and leaned closer until her nose brushed lightly against his.
In the tone of someone soothing a sulking child, she whispered softly, "Be good. I didn’t lie to you. I only wanted the ring so I could take something out for you."
Vincent tightened his grip around her waist and spoke resentfully, "What did you need to take out for me? You could’ve just told me. I would’ve gotten it for you."
The more he spoke, the more wronged he sounded.
"You tricked me, you hit me, and you even threatened me..."
Faced with his accusations, Rory felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever.
She simply lifted her wrist and shook the chain attached to it.
"You still have me chained up. I don’t even have freedom right now. Did I complain about that?"
Vincent: "..."
That one perfectly justified rebuttal left him utterly speechless.
The grievance lodged in his chest instantly became awkward and unbearable.
Right.
He still had her chained up.
What right did he have to argue with her?
Seeing Vincent rendered speechless and miserably stifled, Rory not only failed to soften, she became even more righteously confident as she glared at him.
How dare he try to reason with her?
Did he really think Rory was the type to sit down and calmly discuss things?
Obviously not.
She had always preferred methods that were far more direct and effective.
"Alright, stop being angry."
Rory lowered her head and kissed him softly.
Then she coaxed him gently, "I really was only getting something."
"What are you getting?" Vincent asked quietly.
"Hm?"
Rory looked at him.
The next second came a sharp clatter of metal.
Vincent suddenly felt something cold lock around his wrist.
His head snapped upward in shock just in time to see Rory holding an entirely new chain.
Instinctively, he tried to sit up, only for Rory to press firmly against his shoulder and push him right back onto the mattress.
"Rory... what are you doing?"
For the first time, a trace of panic finally entered his voice.
Rory did not answer.
Instead, she answered him through action.
Holding the other end of the chain, she leaned over him and looped it neatly around the ornate metal railing at the head of the bed.
Click.
The crisp sound of the lock fastening echoed through the overly quiet room, sharp and startling enough to make the air itself tense.
Only after securing him completely did Rory lower her head again and smile in satisfaction.
Her fingertips brushed lightly across Vincent’s trembling eyelashes as she whispered beside his ear, "There. Now it’s fair."
Vincent: "..."
He stared blankly at her actions, then lowered his gaze toward himself, now thoroughly restrained.
For a moment, his mind went completely blank.
Fair?
This was obviously...
Rory watched the shift in his expression from shock, to confusion, to the slow emergence of something dark and dangerous in his eyes.
Not only was she unafraid, she leaned down even closer and gently traced the increasingly sinister feather mark between his brows.
"Don’t you like the gift I gave you?"
Gift?
"Heh..."
Vincent suddenly let out a low laugh.
The chain around his restrained wrist tightened sharply, rattling against the metal frame.
Then his free hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the back of Rory’s neck before he dragged her down into a fierce kiss.
"I like it," he murmured against her lips, his dark eyes burning. "I like it very much, Rory..."
At some point, the curtains had been stirred open by the wind.
Outside, the dazzling neon lights of Planet Z1689 shattered into fragmented streams of color that spilled across the entwined pair on the bed.
The shifting lights flickered across their tangled bodies like their uneven breathing, bright one moment, dark the next.
The next morning, when Vincent finally opened his eyes, he discovered he was still chained to the bed.
And the space beside him was already empty.
The chain he had once fastened around Rory’s wrist now lay discarded carelessly on the mattress.