The bedroom was a cocoon of shadows, the kind of dim that felt conspiratorial, as if the world beyond Dazai’s drawn curtains had agreed to look the other way. The faint hum of late afternoon traffic was a distant murmur, barely penetrating the thick walls of his house. I knelt on the cool hardwood floor, the grain biting into my bare knees, and tried to wrap my head around how a stupid, half-joking bet had landed me here—stark naked save for the leather collar snug around my throat, its metal buckle cold against my skin. My heart thrummed a frantic rhythm, half mortified, half electrified, as I stared at the scuffed toes of Dazai’s boots inches from my face.
“Well, well,” Dazai’s voice drawled above me, rich with amusement, “look at my naughty little pup, all leashed up and nowhere to go. Didn’t think you’d actually go through with it, you know.”
I swallowed hard, the collar shifting with the movement, and kept my eyes down. My cheeks burned hotter than a furnace, but I couldn’t deny the traitorous heat coiling low in my belly. “Shut up, Dazai,” I muttered, voice barely above a whisper. “This was your dumb idea.”
He chuckled, a low, dangerous sound that sent a shiver racing down my spine. I felt the leash tug slightly, the leather strap connecting me to his hand pulling taut. “Oh, come now, don’t be shy. You lost the bet fair and square. And look at you, blushing like a virgin on her wedding night. It’s adorable.”
I snapped my head up to glare at him, though the effect was probably ruined by the way my breath hitched. Dazai loomed over me, all sharp angles and infuriating confidence, his dark hair falling messily over one eye. That smug grin of his was practically a weapon, slicing through what little dignity I had left. “I’m not adorable,” I hissed. “And I’m not your damn pet.”
“Aren’t you, though?” He crouched down, bringing his face level with mine, his fingers brushing the edge of the collar with a deliberate, teasing touch. His voice dropped, silky and taunting. “You’ve got the collar, the leash, and—oh, let’s not pretend—that pretty little flush all over. You’re my good girl, aren’t you?”
My breath caught, and I hated how my body reacted to his words, a rush of warmth flooding through me. “Dazai, I swear, if you don’t stop talking—”
“What?” He interrupted, tilting his head with mock innocence. “You’ll bite? Go on, pup, show me those teeth. Or are you too busy wagging your tail for me?”
I groaned, half in frustration, half in something far more humiliating, and dropped my gaze again. “You’re insufferable.”
“And yet, here you are,” he purred, straightening up and giving the leash a light tug, just enough to make me lurch forward slightly. “On your knees, naked as the day you were born, letting me play master. Tell me, sweetheart, does it sting more to lose the bet or to love losing it?”
My hands clenched into fists on my thighs, nails digging into my skin. I wanted to snap back, to tell him to go to hell, but the words stuck in my throat. Because he wasn’t wrong—not entirely. There was a part of me, a reckless, aching part, that thrilled at this game, at the way his voice wrapped around me like velvet and steel. “I don’t… I don’t love this,” I lied, my voice small, unconvincing even to my own ears.
Dazai laughed again, softer this time, almost fond. He stepped closer, the tips of his boots brushing against my knees, and then his fingers were under my chin, tilting my face up to meet his gaze. His touch was gentle, maddeningly so, a stark contrast to the wicked glint in his eyes. “Liar,” he murmured, thumb brushing over my bottom lip. “I can see it, you know. The way your pupils are blown wide, the way you’re trembling just a little. You’re dripping for this, aren’t you, my wet little puppy?”
A whimper slipped out before I could stop it, and I squeezed my eyes shut, mortified. “Dazai, please…”
“Please what?” His voice was a low growl now, all pretense of teasing gone, replaced by something darker, hungrier. His fingers trailed down from my chin, ghosting along the edge of the collar, then lower, brushing the sensitive skin of my throat. “Please stop? Or please don’t stop? Use your words, pup. I want to hear you say it.”
My breath came in shallow pants, every nerve in my body alight under his touch. The humiliation burned, but so did the desire, a molten heat that made my thighs press together instinctively. “I… I don’t know,” I whispered, hating how weak I sounded, how desperate.
“Oh, you know,” he cooed, his hand sliding to the back of my neck, fingers curling into my hair as he tugged lightly. “You’re just too proud to admit it. But that’s okay. I’ll get it out of you. Say it for me, sweetheart. Tell me you’re my good, wet puppy.”
I bit my lip, hard, trying to hold back the words, but his grip tightened just enough to make me gasp. My resolve crumbled, the heat and shame and need all colliding into a single, trembling plea. “I’m… I’m your good puppy,” I mumbled, barely audible, my face flaming.
“Louder,” he commanded, his voice firm but laced with a tenderness that made my chest ache. “I want to hear it. I want to know you mean it.”
“I’m your good, wet puppy,” I said, louder this time, the words spilling out in a rush as I looked up at him, eyes glassy with a mix of defiance and surrender. “Happy now?”
Dazai’s grin softened into something almost warm, though the dominance in his posture never wavered. He released my hair, his hand sliding down to cup my cheek, thumb brushing away a stray tear I hadn’t even realized I’d shed. “Very,” he said quietly, his tone a strange mix of triumph and care. “You’re perfect, you know that? So damn perfect like this.”
I didn’t know how to respond, caught between the lingering sting of embarrassment and the unexpected comfort of his words. My body still thrummed with unmet need, every touch and taunt stoking the fire, but there was something else now, too—a tentative trust, a dangerous pull toward whatever this was becoming between us.
“Stay right there,” Dazai murmured, straightening up and giving the leash one last, gentle tug. “We’re just getting started, pup. And I’ve got so many more games to play with you.”
I nodded, mute, as he stepped back, his eyes never leaving mine. The weight of the collar, the pull of the leash, the heat of his gaze—it all anchored me to this moment, to him. And as much as I hated to admit it, I couldn’t wait to see what came next.
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