Page 25 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

I stay like that for a moment, kneeling at his feet but still holding myself tall, not quite defeated yet.

Then I lower fully, sitting back on my heels.

I keep my chin tilted up, refusing to lower my head.

A deafening silence falls. My breath wheezes softly through my nose, and when I swallow against the gag, it is loud to my own ears.

My head bows.

“Good girl,” he croons.

His hand takes hold of my jaw, gentle but firm as he tips my chin up. I keep my gaze averted as he studies me.

“Very good, indeed.”

His hands slip behind my head. The buckle loosens beneath his fingers, the straps fall away, and he pulls the gag free as I spit it out.

Air rushes in.

I gasp, choking and hunched over, wiping the drool from my face with my sleeve. My jaw aches so much more than before, muscles trembling with the effort to close.

He’s a bastard.

He’s—

There are no words.

I’ve never loathed anyone so much—his father included.

I drag in a breath.

Then another.

Finally, I lift my head, swallowing hard.

“The collar,” I manage, my voice rough.

He lifts a brow. “What of it?”

“You…you said you would remove it.”

“No. I said I would remove this.” He wipes the gag with the napkin, then stows it inside his coat.

I stare, uncomprehending. “No. You said…you made it sound like—”

“What I said and what you thought are not the same thing. Another useful lesson when dealing with my kind.”

His words land clean and final.

I struggle for words, my fingers going to the collar at my throat, hating how meek I feel.

This.

This is the problem with submission.

It lingers, settling into my spine, changing the way I hold myself.

Rage flickers—but it’s a futile flame. I did this. Me. I put myself here. On my knees. At his mercy.