Chapter Fourteen
Upping the Ante
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A LARM GLEAMED IN HER gaze as she pulled in a shuddering breath. Clearly, she knew what Lawes expected and what was likely to be at stake if she failed to please, but for some reason, the idea of eating from the bowl appeared to be a boundary she was struggling to push past.
Strange. I’ve made her do much worse in the past.
Splaying her hands on either side of the dish, she lowered over the metal until her tempting nipples brushed the floor. There she stilled, as if stuck and waiting for him to push her over the precipice. Lawes, being a generous master, was more than happy to oblige her.
He lifted his hand so fast, she probably didn’t even see it move, his palm connecting with her upturned backside in seconds. The crack that rose at the impact resounded around them, and there was a fleeting delay before her brain registered the hurt and her body jerked forward at the collision.
“I assume you need an incentive,” he growled, peppering her enticing ass with faster blows. She gasped at each of them, seemingly unable to keep still. “Consider this your motivation.”
Turning to meet his gaze with wide, questioning eyes, she still wasn’t doing as he’d asked, but he noticed the way she didn’t attempt to fend off his blows.
“ Eat .”
He accentuated the word, spanking her harder until her face fell into the bowl. Watching in blissful, protracted slow motion, he saw her scramble for the first piece of food.
She whimpered as she swallowed it down, her attention returning to the remainder while he continued to color her pert derriere.
The feel of her warmed skin under his palm was delicious, reminding him of all those times he’d chastised her.
He waited until she’d forced down another three pieces of food before he withdrew, missing the heat of her rosy skin as he climbed to his full height.
“Better.” His voice thundered over her like a message from the gods, his tone intentionally hard. “But after your distraction, my food is cold.” He tutted as he returned to his chair. “You can expect to pay for that error later, too.”
She stilled at his thinly veiled threat, her breath speeding up as she resumed the challenge of chasing around the pieces of food. All it had taken was a little impetus to get her started. Surveying her from the table, he was pleased she seemed perfectly at home over her bowl.
Her bowl.
Collared, compelled, and chasing bacon around the pet dish, Hannah was fitting in just the way he’d hoped.
Lawes finished his plate of food, but his concentration was squarely on the panting woman on her knees by his feet.
By the time he’d slipped the final piece of egg into his mouth, his appetite was largely satiated, replaced by a different kind of hunger.
Placing down his knife and fork, he shifted forward to run his palm over the curve of her ass.
“No,” he barked when her head rose from the bowl. “Don’t stop unless you’ve finished your food.”
Her focus fell immediately, the metal of the D-ring clinking against the dish as her body inched away from his caress, chasing the bowl along the floor.
Reaching for her, he squeezed her delectable cheek before offering the orb a playful slap.
There was no doubt his little girl was made for the life he was curating for her.
Even if she wasn’t willing to admit her desire yet, her body had always revealed the extent of her longing.
“I’m finished, Mr. Lawes, sir.” Her voice rasped. “Thank you.”
The way she refused to lift her head conveyed how wonderfully agonizing the admission was for her. For a woman who’d been planning her date with Saul less than one day before, the reality of having to thank him for the meal from her pet bowl must have been a bewildering fall from grace.
“You’re welcome.”
He patted her rump, physically fighting the urge to run his fingertips along her cleft and discover for himself just how much she’d enjoyed the experience.
He could have done so—he was at total liberty to help himself to any and all parts of the woman at his feet—but he held back, certain he’d revel in her magnificence all the more for the delay.
Delayed gratification wasn’t only something he forced Hannah to endure; it was a tool he employed for himself as well.
Soon, he’d have her bound in some delightful way. That was when he’d not only punish her for her recent performances but also when he’d consider enjoying the pleasure of their reunion.
That was when she’d truly be his again.
“Time to clean you up.” The mere thought of how magnificent that undertaking would be curled his lips. “Pass me your bowl, little girl.”
Shifting on her knees, one of her delicate hands reached for the dish that had tormented her, passing it to him without meeting his eyes.
He placed it on his plate, making a mental note to return and tidy up the kitchen later.
Her head was still lowered when he turned, but it was clear she could see him from beneath her lashes, her breaths becoming labored as his shoes neared her knees.
“On your feet now.” He thrust a palm in her direction, relishing the flurry of expressions that lit up her face when her attention finally rose.
“Mr. Lawes?” Puzzlement flashed in her beautiful gaze as she eyed his fingers. Apparently, she was more used to the hand delivering pain than offering help.
“Take my hand.” His index finger beckoned her impatiently.
Wordlessly, she complied, her cool hand gripping his digits as she rose to her feet.
“You’re cold, little girl.”
A flicker of concern washed over him at the statement. Her temperature, much like her hunger and her cleanliness, was his responsibility, yet the systems and routines he and Fuller had once established to fulfill those needs seemed foreign to him.
“A little.” She nibbled at her lower lip as if telling the truth would only land her in more trouble.
Frowning at her confession, he ensured the handle of the leash was wrapped around his wrist before he strode to the wall and turned up the dial of the thermostat. She stumbled forward after him, her breasts bouncing beautifully as he spun to enjoy the look of her.
“That will warm the place up.” He’d be heating her up soon enough. One way or the other.
“Aside from the temperature, how are you doing, little girl?” His tone was sardonic as he tightened the leash and insisted she press against him.
She was clearly distressed, confused, and unsure about everything he’d managed to inflict on her so far, but if he knew her at all—and he believed he did—she’d be worrying more about what was yet to come.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Mr. Lawes, sir.” Averting her gaze to the buttons of his shirt, she avoided his attention.
“I want you to tell me the truth.” Lifting one finger to prop under her chin, he demanded she look at her master. “Just like you did about the temperature. I always want your honesty.”
Her eyes fluttered at his explanation. “I don’t know how I’m doing, Mr. Lawes, sir. That’s the truth.”
He laughed softly at her confounded expression, willing to bet there were a thousand emotions warring in her head.
She’d be upset that he’d taken her and was still trying to figure out how culpable she was by reaching out to Saul online, but she’d also be concerned about what he was planning.
Then there was the complicated web of aroused feelings she’d have been managing.
He knew precisely what made her naughty pussy wet, and he was prepared to prove it by using each and every one of them against her.
“You’ll be warmer soon, at least.” He ran his hand along the smooth skin of her back. “This place has radiators in every room, including the bathroom.”
“The bathroom, Mr. Lawes, sir?” Her brow rose.
“That’s where we’re headed now.” He swooped before she’d had time to consider his words, lowering to collect her knees before he hoisted her over his shoulder. She went with a yelp, panting as they squashed the length of chain between their bodies.
“You could learn to crawl up the stairs,” he considered as he left the kitchen and started the steps one at a time. “But this is faster.”
She whimpered at his verdict, her fingers clinging to the back of his shirt as he reached the landing.
Hope burgeoned at the intimate act. He knew it was probably born of fear that she’d fall, but he chose to imagine it really spoke of her desire for him.
She wanted him, but as yet, she was too fearful, to be honest. She’d missed him but was too ashamed to say.
Turning left at the top of the staircase, he headed into the archaic family bathroom, patting her enticing backside when she mewled again.
A part of him wished he could have treated her to a more indulgent experience, to have whisked her into a huge rainfall shower and watched the hot water cascading over her shapely form before he slid his hard dick into her cunt, but as he lowered her to her feet on the small tatty mat in the center of the room, he remembered why she was there in the first place.
Hannah had taken the stand against him and encouraged the other women he’d harbored to do the same.
She was the reason he’d served so many long, arduous years inside the crumbling Victorian prison.
The rundown facilities in the tired old house were better than he’d enjoyed, and more than she warranted.
Thanks to his foresight and the hours of preparation he’d already put in, the room also contained everything they needed.
Shutting the door behind him, he ensured the end of the leash was still in place around his wrist before he closed the distance between them. “I want you washed and shaved, little girl.”
Her eyes widened as he held her against him.
“And because I don’t trust you with a blade, I’ll be taking care of those tasks myself.”
“But I’ll be good, Mr. Lawes, sir.” Her tone was imploring.
“Oh, I know you will be.” His response was dismissive. “Because you won’t have a choice, Hannah.”
Planting a chaste kiss on her forehead, he walked the short distance to the closet, opening the door to reveal the provisions he’d collected for that exact moment.
The chain between them tightened as he collected the cuffs he wanted, and by the time his focus was on her again, her brow was creased with concern.
“You don’t have to use those, Mr. Lawes.” Her words were short, breathy pleas. “I’ll be good.”
“You’ll be quiet,” he corrected. “Unless you want another gag in that pretty mouth of yours.”
She hadn’t tried to struggle since the last time he’d shoved a plastic ball between her teeth, but still, Lawes recalled just how bad his little girl could be.
“But please...” She backed away until her calves skimmed the edge of the bathtub. “I don’t want to be bound again.”
“I won’t repeat myself.” He was calm as he neared, waving the ends of the leather straps of the first cuff in front of her. “Give me your wrist like a good girl, and I won’t add strikes to your upcoming punishment.”
Panic gleamed in her eyes, her attention darting from his face to the door as she watched her options running out in front of her.
Naturally, she could try to run, but the leash meant she wouldn’t get far, and she surely knew she had no chance of out-maneuvering him.
Prison had been a laborious endurance, but the one thing it had granted Lawes was endless hours where exercise was his only outlet.
That meant he’d not only walked more around the yard than he’d ever felt inclined to do on the outside, but he’d pushed more weights than ever before.
Incarcerated for far too long, the one silver lining was how much stronger and fitter he’d become.
Staring into her eyes, he sensed the prospect of more bondage terrified her, but he also suspected the logical part of her brain was whirring into action.
She knew Lawes and how he’d respond if she pushed him too far.
He’d already promised her one penance. How much worse would it be if she pissed him off at that juncture?
“ Now .”
He added just enough emphasis to fire her into life, her arm trembling as she lifted it between them.
“Please.” She mouthed the word as he tugged the first bracelet into place, her breaths shaky as he ordered her to present her second wrist behind her back.
Ensuring the leather wrapped snugly around her delicate limbs, he allowed her bound hands to fall against her ass before he yanked at her leash and sent her surging against him again.
“No more begging now.” His tone was soft, but it was the only part of him that was. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”