Elias Kane leaned against the headboard, the soft pillow behind him the very same one that had nearly suffocated him st night.

  His long, straight legs were crossed casually as he tilted his head back, staring at the pristine white ceiling. He blinked tiredly and let out a soft yawn.

  This was a zy sight Serena Bckwood had never witnessed before—one she could never have imagined.

  Elias wasn't worried about her seeing him like this. She was still in the bathroom showering.

  The presidential suite had more than one bathroom anyway. He could go clean up whenever he felt like it. He was resting here simply because he was exhausted.

  Completely worn out.

  Even with experience under his belt, some things didn't change.

  Maintaining a natural expression on his face while forcing himself not to make a sound was absolute torture.

  He was even starting to regret picking the Pain Conversion skill. Pain Shielding would have been better—it would have spared him some of the overstimution.

  Of course, the main culprit was still Serena Bckwood herself. Where the hell did she get that kind of stamina? Two nights in a row! From dusk until dawn!

  Didn't her waist hurt? Weren't her thighs tired from all the squatting and riding? Didn't she get dizzy?

  After cursing Serena out thoroughly in his mind, Elias finally got up and walked into a bathroom. He stood in front of the huge mirror and inspected his body.

  His fair, slender fingers slid slowly from his chest down to the root of his thighs. Elias looked over himself and gave a slight nod.

  It was much better than yesterday morning. The only disaster zone was his neck—the area around his Adam's apple was still a deep, vivid red, the marks stubbornly refusing to fade.

  Elias raised his hand and gently touched the spot. His body gave a sharp shudder.

  Fuck.

  She had actually bitten the skin open there.

  Elias frowned slightly. "Is she an Energizer bunny or what?"

  [System Theta: Didn't you say they would all become your dogs in the end?]

  Elias: "..."

  It really had been his exact words.

  "But since when do dogs bite their owners?"

  Elias muttered, then quickly stepped under the showerhead and turned the water on.

  He had already gotten sick and developed a fever once yesterday. The effect he wanted had been achieved. There was no point in repeating it.

  Elias took down the showerhead, letting the scalding water pour over his body covered in red marks, trying to wash away Serena's traces. Instead, it only made the colors deeper and richer, turning them a bloody crimson.

  He hadn't intended to wash the marks away anyway. Once he put his clothes on, no one would see them.

  Even though he smoked, drank, and dyed his hair, he was still a good boy.

  Elias raised his hand, about to aim the showerhead at his neck, but his movement suddenly stopped.

  If Giselle Frost saw the marks on his neck that belonged to someone else, she would probably...

  Get very angry, wouldn't she?

  A boy who looked so simir to the angel she longed for, now lying in another woman's arms, covered in another person's marks and scent.

  What a desecration. What a stain.

  She would lose her mind...

  Thinking this, Elias decided not to wash the marks on his neck at all. He deliberately avoided those areas.

  With his experience conquering countless women, a messy rivalry was the best catalyst for feelings.

  Even though Serena and Giselle wouldn't meet face to face, these were the red marks she had left behind. Giselle's fury upon seeing them would be directed at Serena. All things considered, wasn't that creating a rivalry battlefield between the two of them?

  Besides, in the original plot, the two of them were indeed mortal enemies who both liked the same person.

  "Hmm-hmm..." Elias hummed a cheerful tune.

  He washed with the speed of a man not of this world. Even though he had entered the bathroom after Serena, he came out much earlier than she did.

  When Serena walked out drying her hair, Elias was already putting on his clothes.

  She looked up and caught a fleeting glimpse of a flexible, slender waist marked with red and white. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared under his T-shirt.

  The T-shirt was a little oversized, hanging down to the top of his thighs, just barely covering him. From the side, it looked as if he wasn't wearing anything underneath at all.

  However, Serena withdrew her gaze without hesitation. This kind of view wasn't new to her—she had seen it many times.

  And if she wanted, even right now, Elias would have to obediently strip everything off, stand completely naked before her, and wait for her orders.

  Not thinking about it was fine, but once the thought appeared, it surged forward like a tide, impossible to suppress. Serena looked at Elias and chuckled softly. "Take off your clothes."

  Having just finished dressing, Elias paused. He gnced at her and said indifferently, "Not pretending anymore?"

  Serena frowned slightly, pretending to be puzzled. "Hm?"

  "Your gentle persona." Elias cut straight through it. He was going to tear her mask off right now and force her to show her true face. "You think I'm cheap, a whore who still wants to act pure. Fine. Then I'll give you a line right back."

  His eyes were bright as he stared deeply into hers, speaking each word clearly. "If you're the client paying for it, then stop pretending to be a dy!"

  Under Elias's gaze, the smile on Serena's face slowly faded until her expression was completely bnk. "You seem to have misunderstood one thing."

  "From beginning to end, I was never the client. I am your owner." Serena walked up to him and looked down from above. "And you—yes, you might have been a host boy before, but the moment you signed that agreement, you became something that belongs exclusively to me."

  "I bought you. You are an item I purchased. Equality has never existed between us."

  The moment she finished speaking, Serena suddenly lifted Elias's softly curved chin with one hand while grabbing his colr with the other. With just a little strength, she could tear it to pieces.

  What would happen to him after that, however, she would not guarantee.

  "Will you take it off yourself, or do I help you?"

  A long silence followed.

  Finally, Elias slowly raised both hands...

  Serena smiled coldly. He was finally behaving.

  But if he was going to obey anyway, why act so stubborn earlier?

  The old Elias still had a shred of freedom, but since he himself had chosen to tear off this yer of her mask, she naturally wouldn't let him down.

  Snap.

  Except Elias's hands had grabbed hold of Serena's hand instead, pulling the one gripping his chin away from his face.

  She hadn't used any real strength, which was why he could move it.

  Serena's eyes turned ice-cold. She was about to teach Elias the price of disobedience. Her right hand started to exert force when, guided by both of his hands, it moved to the front of his shirt. Under his control, her fingers clutched the edge of the fabric.

  The young man looked up at her from below. Even with that indifferent expression, the posture carried an undeniable air of submission.

  He spoke calmly, "Go ahead and tear it. Isn't this exactly what you want, my…"

  "Master."