Chapter 15
T he monster inside of me wants me to rip the towel off her body and throw her face down over my knee. It wants to spank her luscious ass until it’s as red as the juiciest tomato. Just like her ass. Plump and ripe.
But I don’t.
Instead, I stand, watching the indecision cross her expression. She wants to follow my order. I can see it simmering just below the surface of her defiance.
She can pretend to herself she hates being told what to do, that she despises the punishments I’ve meted out, but I see through all of that. Beneath the thin-plated armor she’s wrapped herself in is a woman strong enough to withstand a man like me but soft enough to enjoy the domination I offer .
But she doesn’t know it yet. She sees her submission to me as a weakness, and she’s desperately clinging to the notion that she’s made of steel. Whatever has put this defensive mechanism into play, I will sort it out.
I will find it and crush whatever villains from her past are haunting her present.
“What sort of game?” She grabs onto the edge of the towel that’s clinging her to chest.
If she thinks I won’t simply tear it from her body, she’s playing games with herself. Or maybe that’s what she wants. She wants me to force her to submit, then she can keep pretending it’s not what she wanted.
That it’s something I thrust upon her.
Well, we aren’t playing that game anymore.
It’s time for a new one.
“The sort you’re going to want to win.” I gesture toward the towel. “You’re losing at the moment.”
Her throat works as she swallows hard. The skin surrounding the scab on her neck from the knife is bright pink. She’s been picking at it.
She has no idea how easily it is to spot her nervousness.
“I’m sorry about the phone—” I cut off her words with a raise of my hand.
“This isn’t about the phone.” At least not completely. “It’s about what we were talking about downstairs.”
“Obedience? You want to make me listen to you, is that it?” She’s gearing up for a fight, but I’m not going to give her one.
It would be easier to throw her over my knee and spank her until she promises to listen, promises she won’t disregard every fucking order I give her. But it won’t get us to the end result.
I don’t want some obedient little robot. I want her trust, her loyalty, and when I have those, she’ll give me the submission we both crave.
“I’m going to show you how good it can be when you do, and how bad it can be when you don’t.”
She shuffles back a step, still clinging to that damn towel like some sort of lifeline. It would be satisfying to rip it from her, and send her to spinning to her knees, but I hold steady.
“You’re still losing the game, Mira. Drop the towel.”
She moistens her lips. Her eyes flicker to the door. Does she really think she can run from me in my own home? Maybe hide in one of the guest bedrooms?
“Or are you too afraid?” It’s a cheap trick, needling her pride, but it does the job.
She raises her chin, a small gesture of defiance.
“What are the rules of the game?”
“Every time you do what you’re told, you’re rewarded.” I take a cautious step in her direction. “And every time you don’t, you’ll be punished.”
When I’m close enough, I bring my hand to her cheek, running the back of my knuckles over her jaw.
“Like I said, you want to win.” Dragging my touch downward, I settle my hand around her throat.
Her pulse gallops beneath my fingertips.
“Last chance, drop the towel.” Carefully, I squeeze her throat .
Not enough to cut off her air, but enough to warn her that I can.
Her pupils dilate, and her heart pounds a relentless drum solo beneath my fingertips. She untucks the towel and releases the material. It falls down her body, pooling at her feet.
“Good girl.” I capture her mouth beneath mine.
She softens as I deepen the kiss, brushing my tongue across hers, squeezing her throat just a little more. Her fingers tighten, fisting my shirt as if I’m the only thing keeping her grounded. It’s not just to keep me close, but to keep herself from spiraling into the abyss of surrender.
“Take off my belt,” I order after breaking the kiss.
Her soft, sweet eyes erupt into chaos before me, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. This woman is so expressive—there’s no need to guess what she’s thinking. It’s all written right there in her eyes.
“But I dropped the towel.”
“You’re not listening again.” I force a frown. “Rules are, do as you’re told. Take. Off. My. Belt.”
She hesitates, but it’s only a moment. I’ll let it slide—this time. With nimble fingers, she unbuckles the belt, and pulls, sliding it through the loops.
I can’t wait until those fingers are wrapped around my cock.
“Now get on the bed.” I reach behind my head, yanking off my shirt and tossing it to the floor with the towel.
She tucks the corner of her lips between her teeth while she drinks me in .
“Still not moving,” I say when she gets lost in whatever fantasy playing out in her mind.
Once she’s on the bed, I kick off my boots and climb up with her.
“Put your wrists together.” Taking the belt from her, I wait for her to follow my directions.
She only watches as I wrap the leather around her wrists, pulling the end through to secure it. Working her wrist one way then the other, she tests the bond.
“Are you going to gag me next?”
“It’s an option I’ve considered.” I grab hold of her wrists. “But your mouth gets you into so much trouble, I’d be taking away the chance to punish you.”
“You like spanking women?” She questions while I pull her wrists over her head.
“I like spanking you,” I admit. “Leave your hands here.”
She’s flat on her back now, her head resting on my pillows.
I like her this way. On my bed, spread out before me.
“And I think you like it, too.” I peer into her eyes. “You like that you don’t have to be in control, that you can lean into someone else and know they aren’t going to topple over.”
Her cheeks blush. “You know me so well after a few days?”
“You forget, I’ve been watching you for weeks.”
“Right.” She scoffs. “I forgot, you’ve been my stalker, my kidnapper, and now you’re…what…my…”
“Husband. ”
She really turns red now.
Fuck. The fire in her could burn me alive, and I’d die a happy man.
“You have to stop saying that.”
“Why? It may not be true today, but it will be soon.”
“I’m not marrying you.”
“A topic for another day.” I put it aside for now; she’s not as certain as I am, but she’ll get there.
Leaning over her body, I take her nipple into my mouth. Flicking my tongue over the hard bead, I wait for the tension to ease in her muscles before I stop.
“Spread your legs for me.” I rest my hand on her thigh, waiting for her compliance.
I grin into her breast when she refuses me.
Raising my hand, I bring it down hard, slapping her thigh sharply.
She cries out but still doesn’t spread her legs.
Another smack, and another.
“All right!” She yells, making me pause just before I unleash another slap.
With all the attitude she can muster, she opens her legs. The dark pink on her thighs from the spanks, contrasts against the creamy skin of her inner thighs.
“Good girl.” I press a soft kiss in the valley between her breasts.
A soft mewl sound escapes from her as I slide my hand between her thighs, finding the wetness I knew would be there. She can protest, but her body tells me her truth.
“I’m going to make you come, but you have to be a good girl, can you do that? Can you keep being my good girl?” Pushing one finger through her folds, I bring my wet fingertip to her clit.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?” Rolling her clit beneath my finger has her eyes turning glassy.
“Yes.” Her hands fist over her head. “Oh, please.”
“What is you want? Tell me.”
Her face flushes again.
She’s panting with need.
“Are you not listening again?” I take my hand away from her pussy, watching as she deflates from the pleasure being taken away.
My cock is getting uncomfortably hard.
“Don’t stop!” She thrashes her head to the side, frustrated.
Without hesitation I grab her hips and flip her onto her belly. I spank her again and again with my open palm until her ass from curve to top is bright red. When I finally stop, she’s panting even harder, and her legs have spread wide.
She looks up at me from over her shoulder, her eyes glassy with desire.
Fuck.
Arching her back, she pushes her ass up at me.
“Mira.” I touch the inside of her thigh, dragging my fingers up to her pussy.
She’s drenched. A shiver runs through her body as I brush against her clit.
“Please,” she says sweetly now. No more demands .
I thrust two fingers into her pussy, curling my fingers just enough for her to moan. Her hands, I notice, are still over her head. She hasn’t moved them.
She can be so good when she tries. She just needs the right motivation.
“What do you want, Mira? Answer the question.”
With a soft sigh, she looks up at me.
“I want you to fuck me, Rurik. Hard. Don’t stop, don’t hold back, just fuck me.”
Desire drips from her words.
“I want to touch you, take the belt off?” She nods toward her bindings.
“Not this time.” I drop my pants to the floor and move behind her. “On your knees.”
She shuffles herself into position, sticking her ass at me as though it’s some sort of dare.
Once the tip of my cock presses against her entrance, an animalistic need takes over. I plow into her, feeling the tightness and the heat. It’s as if a lightning bolt strikes me. I’m charged, completely electrified to my core.
“Fuck.” I pull free of her only for a moment to flip her to her back again. I need to see her, watch her come unraveled beneath me.
Locking eyes with me, she raises her arms over her head again, putting herself back into proper position.
I’ve never seen anything so beautiful as this. Leaning over her, I flick her nipple with my tongue until it’s at a hard peak.
“Good girl,” I croon, smashing my mouth over hers while I plow into her again.
I swallow her cries as she meets me thrust for thrust. Her hips buck off the bed, her tongue lashes across mine. I give, she takes, and then she gives right back.
It’s perfect.
And beautiful.
And powerful.
“Rurik!” she whines. “I’m so close. Can I come? Please!”
What this woman does to me! She rips the strength from me with her submission. I wonder if she even knows how easily she slipped into it.
“Good fucking girl!” I thrust harder. “Come.”
Her eyes fly open as her orgasm rips through. Her pussy clenches around me, pulling me into her and dragging me closer to my own release.
I thrust again and again until my body takes control.
My breath catches, and for a moment everything stills.
There’s an explosion. A burst of raw, searing heat.
I jerk with the force of it, gripping onto her hips and kissing her harder than ever before as my orgasm tears through me in powerful, uncontrollable waves.
It’s moments before we bring our eyes to meet, but when they do, something changes. The warmth I felt before in my chest is now an inferno.
Her cheeks are flushed. Using my thumb, I pry her bottom lip from between her teeth and replace it with a kiss, this one soft and sensual .
“Give me your hands.” I ease away from her, coming to kneel at her side.
There’s a delicate red band around her wrist after I remove the leather strap. Bringing them to my lips, I kiss the mark.
“It doesn’t hurt.” She tries to sound comforting.
She misunderstands.
“I like my marks on you.” I coil the belt and drop it on the nightstand beside the bed.
“That sounds barbaric.”
I shrug. “It’s the truth. Don’t move, let me get a washcloth.”
She manages to behave long enough for me get a damp cloth and clean her, before she starts to roll off the bed.
“I need to call Megan back. She’s going to think you’re tormenting me with the way you yelled then hung up on her.”
“You can call her in the morning.”
“It’s not that late.”
She turns to me when I don’t respond, her shoulders dropping. “I’m not arguing, I’m just being reasonable. Maybe you should try it sometime.”
“Have you always been this mouthy, or is it stress induced?” I pull my boxers on, snapping the elastic when her eyes seem to be glued to my abdomen.
“No, it’s been always.” She slides off the bed, stepping over the towel on her way to her bag to dig out some clothes.
She’s going to need more clothing, and better than that dollar bin crap she has stuffed in her bag.
When I went through to grab the burner phone, I got a good look at the overly worn clothes.
Shirts with the necklines stretched from being worn and washed too many times, and her leggings are starting to thin to the point of tearing.
“I’m sure your parents loved that about you.” I watch as she glides the pair of sleeping shorts up her muscular legs and over that ass of hers.
The urge to throw her over my knee so I can take my time enjoying her wiggle beneath my hand some more clouds my brain.
“My parents barely knew I was around most of the time. They were too busy trying to get married or get divorced.” She pulls a T-shirt over her head and combs her fingers through the short locks of her hair.
“I can’t imagine a revolving door of stepparents made for a fun upbringing.”
She sinks onto the edge of the bed, thinking.
“I stayed out of their way, and they stayed out of mine. It worked out fine.”
There’s something in her voice that tells me otherwise.
“What about you? Your parents totally on board with your whole mafia huntsman persona?”
She tenses when the buckle of my belt jangles as I slide it back through the loops of my jeans. It makes me smile, this little reaction to such an innocent sound.
“They died when I was a boy.” I go to my closet and grab a new shirt.
Her eyes are soft when I come back out, almost sad.
“Then who’d you grow up with?” she asks .
“I was old enough to take care of myself.” I pull the shirt over my head.
“Was your father in the mafia too?”
I laugh. “No.”
“You’re not going to tell me anything else?” She slides off the bed, her bare feet making no noise against the plush carpeting.
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“You’ve done all that digging into my past, but you won’t tell me anything about yours?” She’s getting testy again.
Before I can respond to her, an ear-piercing alarm blasts from my cell phone.
“What is that?” She yells over the sound, covering her ears.
I search out my phone, finding it on the dresser.
“Rurik?” she shouts just as I turn off the alarm.
“The police are here.”