Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
RUBY
S he was beginning to worry she might have wildly underestimated one Beckett Stone.
It wasn’t the punishment he’d delivered for her refusing to obey immediately. That much she’d expected. And even if the weights did make her nipples ache more than usual, she could handle that. She could handle a lot.
What was harder to handle, she was learning, was what he didn’t react to. Even when he was clearly annoyed by something, he didn’t always punish her for it immediately. Which left her wondering what, exactly, he was planning in that devious mind of his.
And it was that unknown, that wondering what might happen that had her heart racing and her stomach tying itself into knots.
But even with all that, her clit still throbbed with every look, every word, every touch. She was in pain, somewhat terrified of what came next, and her body still ached for him.
Sometimes she worried there was something seriously broken inside her, that she could have gone through everything she had and still want this. But according to the therapist she just barely scraped up enough money for every month there was nothing wrong with her. Dr. Jenn had even applauded her choice to take the job at Club BDE, calling it a breakthrough and telling her how proud she was that Ruby was reclaiming her power as a submissive.
At the time, Ruby had rolled her eyes. But with Beckett watching her like he wanted to simply devour her, for the first time in a very long time she really did feel powerful. More so than she had with any other Dom she’d played with in the past few years.
Pushing to his feet, Beckett disappeared behind the stocks and fear pounded through her veins. She hated not being able to see what was coming. And at least when she was strapped to a cross or on a bench, she could move her head a bit to catch glimpses of what her partner was doing.
But the stocks didn’t allow for any such movement, and it was almost as bad as being blindfolded, which was one of her hard limits.
She was on the verge of calling “yellow” when his hand came to rest on her backside, calming her in an instant with that single, simple touch. “Why are you getting this spanking, Ruby?”
Something had changed in his voice. It was harder now, sterner in a way that made her feel very small. That made her want to obey just to hear him call her a good girl again in that gentle tone he’d used earlier.
And she almost did. Until her gaze landed on a familiar head of fiery red hair toward the back of the crowd surrounding their podium. Frankie raised an eyebrow as if to tell her to get on with it already.
Right. She wasn’t supposed to be his good girl tonight. She was supposed to be a complete and total brat so he would never want to have anything to do with her again.
That thought shouldn’t have her throat going dry and tears burning in the backs of her eyes.
Forcing her emotions to the side, she smirked for the crowd and raised her voice. “Because Daddy B doesn’t have a sense of humor?” she asked, earning her a few big grins from their audience.
She braced, anticipating the first swat. But it didn’t come. Instead, he simply stroked his hand over the curve of her ass.
Under other circumstances, it might have felt like a tender caress. Here, now, from him, it felt more like a warning.
A warning that was echoed in his voice when he spoke. “Try again, little girl. And just so you know, for every incorrect answer you give me, I will add a cane stroke to your tally. You’re up to seven now.”
Shit. Again he was waiting her out, giving her a choice to make instead of simply forcing her compliance.
Brilliant bastard.
The weights on her nipples were growing heavier with each passing second, a constant reminder that he would not hesitate to follow through on his threats. One was just a bit heavier than the other, making her feel a little off balance.
Who was she kidding? Everything about this man made her feel off balance.
But she couldn’t give in that easily. Not with her pride on the line. “Because you don’t have a sense of humor?”
“Eight. Try again.”
“Maybe you should try taking the stick out of your ass, Bex.”
The hand stroking her ass paused, and for a moment she thought she’d pushed him into spanking her.
She was wrong.
Rounding the stocks, he crouched again so they were eye level. And to her continued surprise, there wasn’t anger burning in the dark brown, but rather the light of amusement. “There’s something you should know about me, Ruby Red. I can be as patient as Job when I want something. And right now, there is nothing I want more than you, begging for mercy as I stripe your pretty bottom. The more you fight me, the more I get what I want, even if I have to wait a little while longer to get it. So please, by all means, keep giving me excuses to add to your punishment. I am enjoying every second of this.”
Without giving her a chance to respond, he rose and returned to his spot behind her. “One more time, little girl. Why are you being punished?”
Beckett
Beneath his hand, Ruby trembled slightly. Just enough to let him know she wasn’t completely unaffected by him.
Of course, he’d seen that much in her eyes when he’d told her to keep giving him reasons to punish her more. There had been that little flash of fear he loved so much, and it had taken everything in him not to fill her pretty, pouty mouth with his cock then and there.
Her eyes weren’t the only thing letting him know he was making an impact on his naughty girl. From this vantage point he could see that her pussy was positively dripping with arousal.
Too bad for her she hadn’t earned an orgasm yet. And he doubted she would, at least not tonight.
Ruby mumbled something, dragging his attention away from the filthy images in his mind and back to her. “What was that, little girl? I can’t hear you.”
“Then maybe you should get your ears checked.”
Little brat. “And that makes an even ten. Want to go for the full dozen?”
“Not really.”
“Then I suggest you repeat yourself. Without the attitude this time. And with my proper title, or it won’t count.”
The floor beside him vibrated, and it took him a second to realize it was because she’d stomped her foot. Swallowing a laugh, he deliberately ignored the action. Maybe it was instinctive, maybe it was to get a rise out of him. Either way, he wasn’t going to reward her with further attention.
After a long, drawn-out silence, she finally huffed out a breath. “I’m being punished because I told Braden a tiny little fib. Sir.”
Close enough. “Thank you, Ruby. I’m going to spank you now, and I’ll warn you ahead of time you’ll need to keep a civil tongue in your head during your punishment. Believe me when I say you do not want to find out how I deal with outright disrespect. Understood?”
“Yeah.”
“Ruby.” He let the word be its own warning. She knew damn well what she’d done and he had no doubt she was still doing it on purpose.
Silence stretched between them, heavy and filled with expectation. He was well aware of the eyes on them, watching them, waiting to see if and how he tamed this particular brat.
Just when he was about to add to her tally, she spoke up again, her voice surprisingly soft and submissive. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”
“Good girl.” God, he wished he could see her eyes when he praised her. “Thank you for answering me correctly.”
With that, he raised his hand, pausing just for a moment to savor the anticipation before swinging it down to connect with her bottom. Even though this was a warmup for the cane, he wasn’t going nearly as easy on her as he would for a play session.
Ruby jumped slightly as pink blossomed on her skin, a near perfect print of his hand on the pale canvas. He repeated the action on the opposite cheek, taking a second to admire the twin handprints on her ass.
His mark, for however long it would last, on the woman he’d been pretending not to want for far too long. Now that he had her here, wearing his handprints on her skin, the only thought in his mind was simply… Mine .
The logical side of his brain knew that wasn’t true. He had his reasons for not getting in too deep with anyone, especially with someone as bratty as Ruby. But something inside him, those deep, dark parts that longed to hear her begging him for mercy, promising Daddy she’d be a good girl forever, then screaming for Daddy as he fucked her into oblivion didn’t care about those reasons. That side of him only knew one thing.
Mine.
He was normally able to keep those decadently depraved cravings on a tight leash, even when he had a willing little subbie at his mercy. But tonight he gave them some slack, let them out to play just a bit as he watched Ruby’s delightful bottom bounce under his hand over and over.
For a long while, the only sound he could hear was his palm connecting with her bare skin. Ruby, for her part, was frustratingly silent during the ordeal. And he had no doubt that was intentional. A refusal to give in, to let him ‘win’.
Shifting his attention downward, he focused on her sit-spots, that sensitive bit of skin where ass and thigh met, and where he knew she’d feel his punishment well after they were done.
That earned him a high-pitched whine before she managed to catch herself, and he allowed himself a grin since she couldn’t actually see him.
And when he stayed focused on that one spot for several swats, he managed to pull a series of grunts and whines from her as she danced under his hand. Far from the sweet cries and pleas for mercy he truly wanted, but that was okay.
He still had the cane.