Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
RUBY
T he smile curving Beckett’s lips matched the promise in his eyes, and it nearly knocked the breath from her lungs. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had held this kind of sway over her. Not even the first man she’d been with, the one who had shaped her in more ways than she cared to count, had affected her this way.
And that made Beckett Stone very, very dangerous.
Refusing to let him see how much he was under her skin, she kept her gaze locked on his as he cupped her breast in his hand, pinching the nipple just enough to send a little jolt of pain through her. Pain her body confused with pleasure, and she had to clench her teeth to keep from groaning when her clit throbbed in response.
“You are a beautiful little thing, you know that, Ruby?” Beckett’s tone was light, almost conversational, a mind-scrambling contrast to the need burning in his eyes. “And responsive, too. At least your body knows who’s in charge here.”
She couldn’t exactly argue the last part, seeing as how her nipple had turned hard as stone in his hand. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”
Another hard pinch startled a gasp out of her before she could smother it. “How do you address me, little girl?”
“Sir! Thank you, Sir!” The response was instinctive, and she mentally kicked herself for not being able to hold it back.
“Much better.” Beckett’s praise was a low purr that seemed to vibrate right down to her soul. “Keep being a good girl for me, Ruby Red, and I might allow you to come tonight.”
Ah, fuck. She’d totally forgotten his line about not allowing naughty girls to come during a punishment. Which, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t have bothered her in the least.
But if anyone could use the arousal dripping down the inside of her thighs to bring her to heel, it would be the man standing in front of her.
And because she knew he would wield that knowledge with the same prowess he wielded a flogger, she lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Do or don’t. I’ve got plenty of ways to find relief if I need it. And I’d say that’s a pretty big ‘if’ right now.”
She knew she’d overplayed her hand before the words even left her mouth, and her suspicions proved right when Beckett’s eyes went bright with excitement. “That sounds like a challenge, Ruby. And one thing you should know about me is, I never back down from a challenge.”
There was a note of something in his tone, and for a moment she wondered if he somehow knew about the deal she’d made with Frankie and company.
But no. How could he?
Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to his statement than just her orgasm privileges. “Not a challenge. Simply a statement of fact.”
“You’re already in trouble for lying, little girl. Something you might want to keep in mind during your punishment. Now hold still. This is going to hurt.”
Pain stabbed at her breast, dozens of sharp little needles jabbing themselves into her flesh as the rubber tip of the first clamp closed around her nipple.
Rolling her lips together to stop the whimper that wanted to escape, she closed her eyes and dragged in a lungful of air through her nose. As she focused on her breathing, the pain ebbed little by little, until it was finally bearable again.
“Eyes on me, Ruby.” Beckett’s tone was gentle, but there was no mistaking the authority in the words.
Heart in her throat, she kept her eyes closed and forced her mouth up into a smirk. “Can’t do that, Sir.”
“And why is that?”
Oh, he did not like that at all. But the steel in his words only made her wetter, needier than before. “Because I kind of need them. So they will be staying in my head and not on you, thank you very much.”
A heavy silence hung between them for one heartbeat, then two, before his loud laughter pierced the air.
“Touché, Ruby Red. Touché. Allow me to rephrase. Open your eyes and look at me, please.”
Prying her lids open, she met his gaze head-on as he cupped her other, still unadorned breast in his hand. “There’s my pretty girl. Keep those eyes open. I want to watch while I hurt you this time.”
Beckett
Intoxicating.
That was the only word to describe the woman in front of him. Everything about her screamed brat from her sassy mouth to the defiant tilt of her chin.
Everything… except her eyes. Did she even know how much she was telling him with those beautiful brown eyes of hers? He could see her need, as hot and raw as his own swirling in the depths. The pain she was trying her best to breathe through.
And just the smallest hint of fear.
Fucking intoxicating .
Tearing his gaze away from the tempest of emotion in her eyes, he glanced down at her breasts. Her gorgeous, heavy breasts with their beautiful rosy nipples. The one he’d clamped was a bit darker now, thanks to the trapped blood flow, and he grinned at the sight of it.
He’d long ago given up wondering why he had this need to hurt the women he played with. It was as much a part of him as the color of his eyes, and there was no changing it now even if he’d wanted to.
And right now, with pretty Ruby in front of him, waiting for him to hurt her some more, he absolutely did not want to change a thing.
Giving the nipple trapped between his fingers another hard pinch, he squeezed the clamp in his other hand and brought it up to the taut bud. As it clamped shut, he lifted his gaze again to Ruby’s face, delighted to see she’d obeyed his command to keep her eyes open.
Which gave him the thrill of watching the pain darken her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled, just for a moment before she pressed her lips together to stop it.
Lifting a hand to her face, he ran the pad of his thumb over that full bottom lip, gently tugging it free. “What color are you, Ruby?”
“Green.”
Little brat. Because her eyes hid absolutely nothing, he could see the flash of excitement as she refused to use his title. It was tempting, very tempting to slide his hand down to her throat. To squeeze until she knew, without a doubt, that he wasn’t fucking around.
But not only was breath play off the table for now since they hadn’t negotiated it, he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing her continued refusal was under his skin in any way. That was the reaction she wanted. The reaction she craved, deep in her soul. Giving it to her would be a reward.
And he made it a point not to reward naughty behavior.
“Good,” he said instead, inwardly laughing at the flicker of disappointment in her eyes. “The clamps aren’t too tight?”
“Nope. Right as rain.”
“Perfect. You’ll use the safeword if that changes.”
It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t word it as such. And he was pleased when Ruby agreed without hesitation. “Yes.”
Good girl. At least she knew not to fuck around with something as important as her safeword. Most everything else he was willing to let her play the brat with, but not this.
Not with her safety.
Those same old memories from before threatened to crowd him, so he dragged in a deep breath and pushed them aside. He couldn’t afford to be distracted right now, so they would just have to wait.
“All right, Ruby Red. Let’s get you in those stocks.”
She pouted. Just for a moment, but he saw the way her bottom lip puffed out before she caught herself, making it even more clear how much she disliked the stocks.
He’d have to ask her about it later. If the humiliation outweighed her enjoyment, then that was something he certainly wanted to keep in mind for the next time.
Because even if he hadn’t made that promise to Holden, he already knew there would have been a next time. One night was not even close to enough to get a woman like Ruby out of his system
And he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that.
Pushing those thoughts down into the box where he’d crammed his memories a moment ago, he slid his hand around to the back of her neck.
Mine .
For tonight, anyway. And tonight would be enough, at least for now.
And there’s some oceanfront property in Arizona for sale.
Ignoring those torturous thoughts, he guided Ruby over to the stocks. He released her, reaching for the top piece of wood, raising it up to open the holes for her head and wrists.
“Bend over and place your neck in the middle cutout. Your wrists go on either side of you.”
Once again, he watched her eyes as she tried to figure out some way to twist his words. Malicious compliance was a brat’s best friend, but he hadn’t given her much wiggle room.
Sighing dramatically, she leaned forward, positioning herself in the stocks. He took a moment to move her ponytail out of the way so it wouldn’t get stuck before lowering the wood and locking her in place.
She shifted, pulling at her hands to see if she was actually stuck. Which gave him the perverse pleasure of hearing her breath hitch as she realized she was well and truly captured.
Pulling the stopwatch out of his pocket, he hit the button to stop the timer, holding it up for her to see. “Eight minutes. Which means seven weights for those pretty little tits of yours, Ruby Red.”
“I still say you don’t play fair. I did obey.”
Crouching down in front of her, he held up one of the magnets for her to see. “You only did as you were told after I gave you an ultimatum. That isn’t obedience in my book, Ruby Red. Being a brat has consequences, and these are yours.”
It would be easier to walk around and attach the magnets while standing beside her. But he wanted to watch her eyes as he added each weight. It was an addiction, and one he worried there might not be a cure for.
To his delight, Ruby didn’t disappoint. When the first magnet caught, those beautiful brown eyes went round with surprise and she sucked in a sharp breath.
With each magnet, he watched her emotions battle each other in her gaze. Shock faded after a while, but pain and pleasure were having quite the go round. Worry was there, too, but just a hint of it.
By the time he added the seventh, final weight, she was panting slightly and pain appeared to be winning the battle, from what he could see in her eyes.
“What color are you, sweetheart?” he asked softly, brushing a stray bit of hair from her face.
“Green. Still green.”
“Good girl. You’re doing really good for me, Ruby Red.” Letting out a deliberately dramatic sigh, he shook his head. “It’s a shame I have to really hurt you now.”
And there, in the dark depths of her eyes, was his favorite emotion of all.
Fear.