Chapter 26
26
R ex
She leans back as I drag her deeper into the room, but it’s only a token resistance. A part of her is fighting, ready to take flight. The rest of her has already surrendered.
Her gaze darts everywhere, from the racks of whips to the oversized oil paintings hanging in giant gilt frames. Each painting depicts angels and demons grappling in apparent ecstasy. Her stiff limbs loosen as she grows curious. Her breathing deepens, and her tongue darts out to touch her lips.
She recovers enough to toss her head and sneer at me. “So you have a private dungeon. So what? It’s not enough that you own a club?”
I love it when she rolls her eyes at me, tempting me to spank the sass out of her. “Co-own. And no. I require a completely private space. But I knew you wouldn’t scene with me at my home. Not to start.” I wrap her hair around my fist, using it as a leash to draw her head back so I can whisper, “I had to lure you in.”
She huffs. Her eyes are wide, but her body is tense as she drinks in her cavernous surroundings. “Do you bring all your submissives here?”
“No, little bird. I had this place built for you.”
She gasps. The last bit of resistance leaves her body, and she sags in my hold. She has no idea how long I’ve waited for her, how much I’ve planned. I knew I needed to reveal myself slowly.
I usher her to her knees, keeping her upright with my hand around her throat. Her pulse is wild under my palm.
“Ask me to blindfold you.” I have the black sash ready in my pocket.
The whites of her eyes flash as she looks left and right. Searching for escape.
“Ask,” I command and then soften my voice. “You know it will help you. Let me help you.”
“Please. . . blindfold me.” I wait until she adds, “Sir.”
She sighs as the silk settles on her upturned face. I tug the blindfold, checking if it’s secure.
“How’s that?”
“Good. Thank you.”
I brush my thumb across her lips. She’s lovely like this, completely under my control, consumed by darkness. “Tell me your safe word.”
“My safe word is. . .” She hesitates and then smirks. “Allegedly.”
“Good word.”
“You certainly enjoy using it,” she mutters.
I’m glad she still has her sense of humor. And there’s a peacefulness in her body as she waits on her knees for my next command.
She’s not holding on to her painful past so tightly anymore. With me, she has a future.
“This dress has to go.” I have plenty of scissors and cutting implements at hand, but I tear the fabric at the seams. She’s breathing hard by the time I’m done, shivering from the violence she can feel but not see. Her bare body is covered in gooseflesh.
“What are you going to do to me?”
I take her by the throat again. “Whatever I want.”
* * *
Inara
What he wants is to nudge my face upward so he can kiss me. In the dark world under the blindfold, I can sense him leaning over me. His hands are firm, but his lips are impossibly gentle. A slow advance attack that grows more intense as it goes on. Just like the way he’s snared me and the unfolding horror when I realize how thoroughly he has trapped me.
No, no, I’m in control. This is how I win. Giving myself over to him.
My sex is soaking, dripping nectar. His kiss consumes me, building pressure until I wrench my head to the side to gasp for breath.
“You can’t escape me, little bird.” He grips my arm, and the handcuffs click. I’m freed long enough for him to remove the remains of my dress and cuff my wrists in front of me. Then he hoists me to my feet and leads me forward. “You’re the only one who knows my true self, my darkness. Do you think I’d ever let you leave?”
He slows and guides me forward until my knees hit a sturdy, leather-covered surface. I kneel on the bench and fold forward. The bench supports my entire upper body. I let my cheek rest on the smooth leather, and all I feel is relief.
He pulls my wrists forward and secures them somehow, tying me down so he’s free to run his hands over my bare backside. “No, you belong here. Naked and at my mercy.”
Strong hands grip my ass cheeks and pull them apart. I whimper. He can see how I’m dripping for him. He can see everything.
“Don’t worry,” he whispers. His fingers trace my lower folds in a touch so light I could’ve imagined it. “You don’t have to make any decisions. I’m taking all of those away. You don’t have to decide anything anymore.”
He’s touching me where no one else has, and it’s too much. “No,” I whimper, and he pauses, but I don’t say my safe word.
He steps away and leaves me alone for the moment. I’m in darkness, straining to hear him, longing for his return.
Something soft runs over my back. He’s starting with gentle sensation play, and I hate it. I want him to hurt me so I can hate him.
I want him to do anything but continue talking. His words are scaring me more than anything else could.
He finds the marks he left on my skin and tickles them. I twitch and twist, but he’s tied me well. The ropes hold me fast, and the knowledge that I’m held secure by them makes me wet.
“I know you’re afraid. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He brushes the fur over my feet. “Let me attend to your fears, little bird.”
“Just shut up,” I mumble. “Shut up and hurt me.”
The fur falls away. He thrusts his fingers into my mouth. “Open,” he orders, pushing his fingers deeper until I gag. “Get them wet.”
He removes his fingers, and I cough. Next comes something hard and slick, filling my mouth. A gag. I push up as far as I can go, fighting, but it’s no use. He binds my head so the gag is secure and goes back to touching me all over. His fingers swirl patterns, getting closer and closer to my dripping sex.
I tighten my muscles, but he has full access to me. All too soon, he’s fingering me again.
“You’re afraid of us, of this. Of our connection, despite my darkness.”
I shake my head and grunt around the gag.
“Don’t deny it. I know it’s true. You’re afraid of this.” His fingers spread a slick lube over my swollen sex and then delve into the furrows alongside my entrance to soothe the prickling ache. “How well we fit together.”
The pressure builds, and I wear myself out straining against the ropes he’s tied me with. He keeps stroking me, relentless. “You can let go, little bird. I won’t let you fall.”
I don’t want to orgasm like this. It’s too wild, and I’m careening out of control. My muscles cramp as my body tightens. He’s going to force me to climax, and I have no way of stopping him.
He slides a finger inside me. I’ve played with toys, but I’ve never had a partner penetrate me before. I tried, but I never was able to get close to anyone. Until him.
He knows just how to touch me, stroking my inner walls and using plenty of lube to make sure his single finger glides smoothly in and out before he adds a second.
My clit throbs, hungry for more stimulation, but the sensation of his fingers stretching me adds another dimension to my need. Electricity buzzes up and down my spine, my climax building from a deeper place inside me.
“This will be mine,” he tells me. My inner muscles clamp down on his fingers. I’m holding my breath, concentrating on the minute movements of his hand. It’s strange but good. There’s pressure, but it’s not painful yet. And it’s so good, I would welcome some pain to balance it.
He adds another finger, and my eyes water with the stretch. I’m blindfolded, but I can imagine his beautiful face tense with concentration as he fingers me and finds ways to make me feel good.
My stalker, the man who has hunted and killed for me, strokes me to orgasm. Holding me in the palm of his hand. I fight the impending orgasm, but it feels inevitable.
His thumb grazes the needy edge of my clit, and I’m undone. Lightning strikes and sizzles down my limbs. I scream into the gag as pleasure blazes white hot through my mind. I shake in my bindings, out of control.
“That’s it. That’s my good girl.” He sinks his fingers deeper, taking advantage of the pulsing aftershocks to stretch me further.
I haven’t stopped trembling before he sets something smooth and hard at my entrance. It’s bigger than his fingers but glides in with the help of a copious amount of lube.
“A little more training before I take you,” he tells me.
My moan fills my ears. The humming helps me take the intrusion. I clench my inner muscles on the dildo.
Then it begins to vibrate, and I’m shouting all over again.
“Shhh, easy.” He strokes my back. My skin is slick with sweat. “You can take it. You’ll be grateful when it’s my turn.”
The vibrations are low and subtle, enough to begin building my orgasm but not enough to push me over the edge.
“A little warm up.” He scoops up my hair and arranges it over my shoulder, and I know he’s clearing the target for his flogger. The strands strike my ass, the left side and then the right, over and over. He breaks the drumming impact with a few snaps at my shoulders. “You came here to confront me. And then you tell me you’re giving up? I don’t think so.”
I dig my teeth into the gag. It’s not fair that he rigs the game so he can win. Does he need to be able to see into my head as well?
“You’re here for justice. It’s all you’ll allow yourself to want.” He sounds thoughtful. He swaps the flogger for a paddle. I brace myself as best I can against the hard thwacks and the blunt pain. Clenching makes me squeeze the dildo tighter, unlocking new levels of arousal. My pussy is dripping, and I’m drooling around the gag.
“I want to know why you keep yourself from the things you crave. For as long as I’ve been watching you”—he uses the paddle to emphasize each word—“you’ve held yourself apart. Locked yourself in solitude.”
I shake my head, and he threads his fingers in my hair, tugging until tears spring into my eyes. “It’s true. You keep yourself in a cage, little bird. And do you know what?”
His tight grip won’t allow me to move my head. I can’t nod or dissent or even blink to communicate.
His lips caress my jaw. He’s licking the tears that roll out from under my blindfold. “I’m the one who will set you free.”
I shake with a sob. He’s flaying me open, and it’s worse torture than any pain the cruelest implement could mete out.
He releases me and steps away, only to return with another flogger. This one has heavier falls. The knots drum down on my skin. Each impact is a revelation. The ache and sting unlock something in me.
“You will be free, little bird. And you will fly.”
I’m already flying.
Trapped in the darkness of the blindfold, I can’t stop my second sight from conjuring up the scene. Rex paces behind me. He rocks back and forth, using his footwork to send the flogger raining down on me. His aura is as black as the deepest night, but there’s beauty in the darkness. Tiny diamond stars glint and wine-colored flowers bloom under a velvet sky.
I let my senses sink into him. The brush of his hand on my punished flesh, the scent of his cologne conjuring up memories of the nights I’ve spent with him. With him, I’m safe. I’m never alone.
“What else do you fear that you won’t allow anyone to get close to you?”
He tugs the gag out of my mouth. I clamp my lips down. I’m too raw and wide open, ready to spill all my secrets. He rubs his thumb over my lips, and I turn my head away.
“You’ll tell me. I will know everything about you, Inara.”
I can’t tell him the truth. No one knows it about me. No one can. It will kill me if he finds out.
“Five with the cane,” he announces. I don’t have time to brace myself. By the time I tense my muscles, it’s too late. He slashes the rod across my ass and adds three more lines underneath. The cane is wicked, biting the backs of my thighs. I cry out, ugly, choking sounds that seem more animal than human. But I’m eager for each stinging slice. I want him to brutalize my fragile flesh, create something durable, something new.
My arousal gushes out of me. I’m so wet the dildo is sliding out. Rex pumps it in and out of me. The hard plastic stimulates me deeply but isn’t satisfying. Even so, my orgasm rises, the tension twisting from the depths of my womb. My breathing grows heavy. My groan echoes in the depths of my soul.
He pulls the dildo out before I can come.
“One to bar the gate,” he warns. The cane slices diagonally across all the horizontal welts he made.
My shriek reaches new heights when he seals his mouth on me. He licks over my heated skin, soothing the marks he made, and plunges his tongue into my sex. I come so hard I see supernovas bursting like fractals, splintering my mind.
He keeps sucking on my clit, and I shout, no-no-no , because he’s forcing me to come again. I’m straining, trying to get away from his inexorable mouth, but I’m bound too tightly. It doesn’t keep me from struggling anyway until my skin is slick with sweat.
He forces me through one orgasm and then another and smacks my pussy, forcing the shockwaves to go on and on. His palm on my sex makes a wet, slapping sound.
He releases my arms and pulls me off the bench. I turn my face to bury it into his arm. “No, don’t hide from me,” he murmurs, lifting me easily and striding forward, carrying me toward some new torture. “Tonight, you give me everything.”
* * *
Rex
My main living quarters is a penthouse above the dungeon, a short elevator ride away. I carry Inara out of the elevator and head to the bathroom first. She’s still cuffed and blindfolded and, for the moment, obedient. She jumps when I start running the water, but once I’ve stripped down to my briefs, I run my hands down her shoulders and check her fingers for capillary fill, and she relaxes. My check-ins are guideposts on the dangerous highway we travel that allow her to lose herself in the journey.
She needs my care and control. She craves it.
She was born to be mine.
I lay a towel on my lap and guide her to sit with her legs splayed and draped over mine. It’s awkward for her in the cuffs, but I angle her so she can relax against my right shoulder. She’s so much smaller than me; I can manhandle her like a doll.
The washcloth, shaving gel, and straight razor lie ready for me. I start with a warm washcloth on her sex to soften the hair and skin. She doesn’t startle until I spread copious amounts of gel over her pretty pussy lips.
“What—”
“Shhh. Don’t move, little bird. I don’t want to cut you.” She goes rigid as I set the straight edge at the valley between her labia and upper thigh. I carve a clean path through the white lather, rinse the blade in the running water, and repeat. Her skin is flushed red where I spanked her pussy, and I go slowly so it only takes a single pass to leave her smooth.
“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I’m good with a blade.” She stops breathing. She’s a living statue in my arms, but I enjoy the intimacy, the deep level of trust. She can’t move or see; she can only submit.
All too soon, it’s over. I stroke the smooth petals of her sex to check for any stray hairs, then wipe her clean and pat her dry. I rest my hand on her chest to bring her back to life. “Breathe. This part’s over.” I wait until a sigh eases out of her to add, “From now on, I’m the one who cares for this.” I cup her between her legs so she knows exactly what I mean. “And I will be shaving you often.”
My bed waits on a raised platform in the dark cavern of my bedroom. Like the furniture in the dungeon wing, I had the bed specially made for her. It’s large enough for an orgy, and the frame is sturdy, with rings ready to tie her.
I lay her out and kneel over her, cuffing her to the headboard. Then I tie her ankles and pull the rope so her legs rise over her head. The position folds her in half and bares her freshly shaved pussy and bottom to me.
I started preparing her downstairs with my fingers and the dildo, but she’s not ready to take me yet. And I need her to be ready before I unleash myself on her.
I run my hands down the backs of her thighs, tracing the vicious cane marks I left from knee to rear. She whimpers, still blindfolded. I pet her sex. Her pussy lips are wet and plump, ripe for eating.
My cock protests when I stretch out on the bed, propping myself up so my face is level with her sex. Other than my hard dick digging into the bed, I make myself comfortable so I can feast. Her salt-and-honey scent makes my mouth water.
I lay my mouth on her again. She’s delicious, a dripping peach, and I could eat her all night and not find my fill. I swipe my tongue up and down her slit, lapping her up. I dig my fingers into her abused flesh, punishing her all over again.
I let my tongue slip lower to delve between her splayed ass cheeks. She writhes in her bindings, trying to break free. I lift a hand and squeeze her left breast, making her yelp.
My cock is so hard it could pound through steel. Only years of restraint keep me from spilling all over myself.
I tickle her clit until her stomach tenses, and she’s thrown her head back, giving herself over to her climax. And then I back off.
She moans, panting. I press my palm against her pussy and press lightly, grounding her, teasing her, keeping her on edge.
“The next time you come will be on my cock.”
“Rex, please?—”
“No.” I swat her pussy and watch with sadistic pleasure as she tenses and howls. “When you’re naked, and I’m not, you call me ‘Sir.’” I go back to kissing her sweet cunt, ignoring her cries for mercy. Her thighs are taut on either side of my head. I savor her sweetness and devour her, licking my plate clean of salty nectar.
“Please, Sir,” she finally begs. I can tell she’s close by the quiver of her calves, her toes.
“Soon, little bird. You’re doing so well for me.” I stand and shuck off my underwear, admiring the beauty of her devastation. Her lips are plump from my kisses, and her glistening golden skin bears my marks.
She’s perfect like this, tied to my bed and thoroughly adored. I release the ties keeping her legs upright, allowing her to lie prone on the bed. But I’m not giving her a break. I kneel on the bed by her head and probe her lips with my cock. “Open.” Her lips part. My cock jerks at the first puff of her warm breath. I fight the pleasure building in the base of my spine and slide into her mouth. She feels like heaven, like home. “So good. Your mouth is perfect for me.” The praise makes her crane her head further, trying harder to please me. Her tongue strokes the underside of my cock, and her cheeks hollow as she adds suction. “That’s it. Get it nice and wet.”
I take her hair and guide her head as she tries to swallow me further. After a few inches, she chokes. I retreat, then force her to gag, again and again, until tears run out from under the blindfold.
She already knows it’s not easy to please me. It’s not easy to be mine. But my little bird likes it hard. She loves the challenge.
“Good girl.” I pull out and trace her puffy lips. I collect her tears and taste them. “How you please me.”
She sobs and accepts my soft kiss. I keep a hand on her throat so she knows I’m in control.
I move between her legs again. She’s still tied, spread-eagled in the center of the bed. I take the time to lube up my cock, fisting my length and squeezing until I groan. I use the head of my cock to spread the lube around her lower lips.
I’m almost ready to claim her. There’s only one thing left to do.
I reach behind her and fiddle with the knot at the back of her head, ready to undo the blindfold.
“No, please.” She shies away as much as she can with her arms secured over her head.
I grip her chin. “I’m going to take you now. And you will look at me.” I lift the silk to bare her eyes.
She’s breathing hard, overcome. Her gaze flies around the room and finds a home on my upper torso. She seems arrested by the scars that mar my chest, evidence of the dangerous nature of my hunts.
“Look at me, little bird,” I command, and she meets my gaze. The whites of her eyes flash. She’s startled prey caught in a trap. I set a hand on her chest and rest a little weight there, willing her to match the rhythm of my breath. “I’ve got you.” Her breathing slows. “I’ve got you.”
Her eyelids grow heavy as she calms. I can’t wait any longer. I push the head of my cock into her unyielding entrance. She’s slow to accept me, and I grit my teeth to keep from spilling too soon. I wait for her to soften, stroking her lovely cheek.
“I knew you would come to me. No,” I shush her when her lips tremble with a protest. “I know you did your best to resist. You can still fight me, little bird. I love it when you do.” I lean over her, holding myself over her body. With every minute that passes, my cock slides another millimeter inside her. “You come alive when you do. I never want to snuff out that fire.”
She whimpers and turns her head away. I catch her chin, forcing her to face me. “You will look at me while I fuck you.”
“It’s too much. I can’t.”
“You can take it. You will.” I rock into her, forcing her muscles to stretch. Her fingers clench and spasm like she wants to touch me. To claw at me, to stop me or force me closer, I will never know.
My balls are lead weights, swollen with cum. I want to ruin and ravage her, carve my name on her insides. But, no, tonight is for her. When she’s fully claimed and trained, there’ll be plenty of time to wreck her.
“Oh, gods!”
“When I’m inside you like this, you may call me Rex.”
* * *
Inara
A sigh shudders out of me, and my body welcomes his. There’s pain but a sense of rightness. He’s braced over me, holding himself up so his full weight doesn’t crush me into the bed. The muscles of his arms and chest are a masterpiece, an artist’s study rendered lovingly in the low light.
Tucked under him, I feel small and protected. I’m where I belong.
The last little bit of tension in my muscles melts out of me, and he slides another millimeter. He’s fully sheathed inside me.
“There it is.” He lets his pelvis rest against mine, letting me feel him. “You did it.” He kisses the tears tracking down my cheeks. “You feel so good.”
“Rex,” I call like he’ll come to my rescue. His eyes glitter as he stares at me. Damn him for forcing me to face him while he fucks me. It’s easier when I can hide.
I can forget that I’ve wanted this.
He knows that about me. He’s gloating. He’s gotten what he wanted. After tonight, I’ll be another trophy, another victim of a bored rich man’s plans.
I should’ve fought harder, longer—kept my distance. Instead, I’ve danced straight into the lion’s mouth.
Yet all I feel is relief. He’s conquered me, and I can let go. This must be how prey feels when the jaws close around its neck. The moment of peace before death.
“You’re going to come for me this way.”
I jerk my head. I’m too full, too focused on the sting of him stretching me to be able to orgasm.
“Oh yes.” He presses into me, gliding in and out in a movement so slight I could be imagining it. It’s strange to feel someone inside me trying to be a part of me.
Rex rolls his hips, and his cock hits a new spot deep inside me. Lighting flashes down my limbs and spine, followed by a rapidly spreading warmth. Pleasure coils deep inside me, ready to burst and carry me over.
“Yes, that’s it.” He’s triumphant, knowing he can command my body this way. I squeeze down on his cock, and his eyelids flutter. “Fuck,” he mutters, dropping his head so his silky hair tickles my face.
I do it again, milking his organ with my inner muscles. He groans, and I know he’s in my thrall as much as I’m in his.
I curl my fingers, trying to hold onto the moment. “I want to touch you,” I whisper.
He pauses and reaches up to unhook the cuffs. “You can’t escape,” he reminds me. He’s serious and intent. I place my fingers on his beautiful lips and smile. He knows how his control sets me free.
I run my hands over his chest and trace the thickened weals of his scars. “Where did you get these?” There’s a particularly brutal one at his left shoulder, a slash in front of the joint. I try to imagine what sort of wound would leave such a large mark.
“Hunting.”
My fingers still. “You mean killing.” The scar under my hands is a few inches from his heart. Some of his prey fought back.
“You know what I am, little bird.” He takes my hand and kisses it before clamping his hand over the leather cuff and pressing my wrist to the bed. “You’re the only one who knows.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue. Why me? I want to know this more than anything.
But I don’t ask. I’m afraid.
Instead, I rock my hips to meet his. He gasps and pins my other hand. Dark fire blazes in his eyes. “You’re ready for me.” And he begins to thrust. His cock rubs the top of my entrance, and goosebumps break out over my body.
In my mind’s eye, I see our auras rising up together. His darkness and a blazing chaos of red and orange. Light meets the shadow and consumes it like a phoenix burning bright.
“Inara,” Rex calls, and I surge upward, claiming his mouth with mine as the fire licks along the bed.
The sweat beads on my face, and I’m shouting, hoarse, as the heat blasts my skin from my bones. The phoenix is rising, leaving the world behind and crumbling to ash.
And we are one.