Chapter 17
Sleep fought with me as my face pressed against something cool and hard. My hand tightened on the blanket, and my hips shifted sending a zing between my thighs as it ground against my pillow. A small sound escaped me, half asleep as I chased that feeling.
I shifted again, whimpering as the pressure increased.
A faceless man urged me in my mind, giving me praise and encouragement to keep going. My hips swiveled, my breast pressed up against the hard pillow. Each shift made my nipples scrape through the thin material of my night gown. The fabric between my thighs became damp the more I moved.
Something soft stroked down my spine, coming down to cup my hip, helping me move faster and harder. I was on the cusp of something explosive when I realized someone was touching me for real.
This wasn’t a dream.
My eyes flipped open as my mouth stretched in a silent scream and pleasure stuttered through my core. Dark hooded eyes locked with mine. The urge to push away got mixed up with my release, ending with my lower half pressing harder against Blackthorn’s thigh while my head jerked back in horror.
When I had control of my body once more, I jolted to the side and rolled until I sat on the side of the bed, my back to my captor.
I clasped my face with my hands, mortification burning through me.
The mattress shifted behind me, and I prepared myself for the taunts and rejection the vampire would throw my way.
Blackthorn pressed against my back, his hand brushing my hair away from my neck. I felt him inhale against my skin. “You smell divine. Please feel free to use me for your pleasure again.”
I ducked my head, hiding my burning face behind my hair.
Unaware of my humiliation, Blackthorn went about getting dressed for the day.
My eyes stalked him around the room, my pulse still racing. The place between my thighs had a beat of its own, achy and begging for more.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t touched myself there before. I’d also fooled around with a boy back on the island before I came to Candiopolis. But I’d never really been interested in anyone outside the usual young person’s curiosity.
Then, after I got caught up in Rumple’s trickery, the hope of ever being with someone was squashed.
I told myself that was all it was, my body’s lack of experience reacting to stimulation. It didn’t matter that it was Blackthorn. I would have ground against anyone. Even Fran, had I been half asleep and cuddling her body.
My own denial sounded false even in my head. But I didn’t want to refute it. I had made a plan last night, and one moment of weakness this morning wasn’t going to derail it.
When Blackthorn was done dressing for the day, he stopped in front of me, hand tilting my chin up until my eyes lifted. A curious expression filled his face, his thumb tracing my bottom lip. “So lovely.”
His words did not have the effect he probably hoped it would.
I jerked my face out of his grasp with a scowl. “Don’t spout lies.”
Blackthorn’s brows scrunched together, his mouth opening for a moment before closing. He straightened and adjusted his suit jacket. “Try not to get into too much trouble today. I do not wish to restrict you to this room again.”
I silently mimicked his words behind his back, before shooting him a rude gesture with my hand.
Once he was out of the room, I stalked to the bathroom and used water from the sink to scrub every part of me that had touched him. I had to be a bit more gentle between my thighs, but I cleaned until I didn’t feel his touch on my skin anymore.
“Mistress?” Fran’s voice called out through the bedroom and into the bathroom.
“One moment!” I huffed out a breath and then splashed water on my face, not caring if it made me look like a drowned rat. When I felt a modicum of clean, I stepped out of the bathroom.
Fran sat a tray on the low table next to the sofa filled with pastries and fruit. She barely glanced up as she flipped open the book she had been studying the day before.
“I figured we could focus on spells that broke contracts rather than just breaking spells in general. It may give us an edge on what we’re trying to do.”
I nodded, picked up a strawberry, and bit into it. “Whatever you think is best.” since I had no experience with magic whatsoever, I was happy to let her take the lead.
Fran glanced up, her eyes skimming my face.
Chewing slowly, I frowned. “What?”
Shaking her head, Fran turned her gaze back on the book. “Nothing. Just thought you looked... different that’s all.”
Different? The strawberry in my mouth became hard to swallow. Could she tell what had just happened with Blackthorn? Was I that transparent? I had thought I’d hidden it well, but maybe I hadn’t.
“I’m fine.” I forced a smile and picked up the glass of juice she had left on the table for me. “Just not sure I’m being much help.”
“Well, I don’t think I’m going to find anything useful in this one,” she said. “I’m going to head down to the library and see if they have a different book.”
“Alright,” I murmured, busying myself with stuffing my face so she didn’t know how anxious I was for her to leave.
Once Fran gathered her books and left, I hopped off the sofa and headed to Blackthorn’s closet.
Swinging the door open, I skipped inside.
Most of the closet was lined with rows and rows of black-on-black clothing.
While one side had been fitted with a few of my own outfits.
I went to Blackthorn’s side and gleefully started taking things down.
When my arms were loaded down, I marched back into the bedroom and toward the window. Half of me wondered if he would be cautious enough to lock it after my last stunt, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it opening with ease.
I let out a little yip as I threw the clothes over the windowsill.
I grinned as I watched them flutter down into the overgrown garden, landing on trees and bushes, even in a dirty fountain.
With a little dance and a giggle, I rushed back to the closet to grab more, wondering how far I could get through the closet before Blackthorn figured it out.
Turns out, quite a lot.
My arms were filled with every last bit of clothing from his closet when Fran walked in, Blackthorn trailing behind her.
“Hello,” I chirped, continuing as if they hadn’t appeared.
Fran’s eyes bulged from her head as she watched me move toward the window, while Blackthorn calmly stepped further into the room.
“My dearest Mara, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”
I locked eyes with Blackthorn over my shoulder. “Exactly what it looks like.” My eyes still on him, I threw the remainder of his clothes out the window. Then dusting my hands off, I strolled over to the sofa and sat down, picking up my glass of juice from earlier.
Blackthorn watched me as if I were some exotic creature he’d just discovered. He leaned against the bed post, crossed his arms, and put one ankle over the other, his head tilting to the side as he studied me.
“Would you like to tell me why you have thrown all my clothes out the window?”
I contemplated not telling him a reason. To just let him think I was unhinged and doing it for none other than I wanted to. Except the idea that he might decide to eat me instead of sending me home made me picking the more rational choice.
“You wear too much black.” I waved a hand at him, before crossing it under my breasts. “It’s depressing. I look at you and all I see if a funeral march.”
Blackthorn took a moment to answer, his words calculated. “I see.”
Fran watched our exchange with visible confusion and terror. Clearly, she didn’t know how her master would react to my actions, and I felt a little bad about not giving her a heads-up.
“Fran,” Blackthorn said without turning his head away from me. “Will you give us a moment? I’ll let you know when you can come back.”
“Y—yes, of course, master.” Fran shot me a worried glance before scurrying out of the room. The door clicking behind her sounded more like a prison door than a bedroom one.
I stared Blackthorn down, trying my best to hide the fear as I gripped my cup so my hand didn’t shake.
How would he react? Was this it? Would he finally decide that I was too much trouble and let me go? Or had I angered him to the point of murder?
The unknown was much worse than whatever action he chose to take. With slow, precise movements, he moved away from the bed and sat down on the sofa beside me, which made my heart pound hard in my chest.
Without a word, Blackthorn took my glass from my hand and placed it on the table. My eyes zeroed in on his every movement, unsure what he would do next. Leaning into me, he cupped my chin with his hand, his thumb brushing my lips.
“It’s clear to me that you are feeling neglected and, instead of using your words, you are acting out.”
I opened my mouth to refute him, but it turned into a shriek of surprise as I was thrown over his lap. “What? What are you doing?”
Blackthorn laid an arm over my back, flipping my skirt up to expose my thin undergarments before putting his arm over my thighs keeping me in place. “Since you have chosen to act like a child, then I shall have to punish you like one.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” I gaped at him, pushing back against his hold.
His hand came down on my back side with a loud smack. I yelped and fought against his hold. Vines wrapped around my lower half, keeping me in place while he spanked me again on the other cheek.
“I can’t believe—” I cried out as his hand came down once more. “Unhand me at once.”
Blackthorn’s hand came down softly, smoothing over my sore bottom, as his other hand brushed through my hair. “I do not do this to hurt you. Only to teach you what is acceptable and what is not.”
“I’m not a child,” I snapped back, trying to twist around to glare at him.
His fingers tightened in my hair as he pulled my head back slightly, his face near my ear. “Then stopped acting like one.”
Blackthorn spanked me a few more times, every other one stopping to soothe my stinging flesh. Somewhere in the middle of it all, something started to stir within me. The pain, coupled by the gentle touch afterward, made my skin heat for an entirely different reason.
Suddenly, the hits stopped coming down and, for a moment, I thought it was over. A hand smoothed over my backside, moving precariously close to a part of me that had started to ache and slicken shamefully.
“It’s alright, you know,” Blackthorn murmured, teasing circles closer to my center. “To enjoy it.”
I gasped, shoving against him with renewed fervor. This time, he let me. I shoved my skirt back down and stumbled back from him. “I didn’t... I mean I wouldn’t...” I stumbled over my words as I tried to make sense of what happened.
Blackthorn crossed one leg over the other, his arms splayed over the back of the couch a smug expression on his face.
“The only one you’re lying to lovely is yourself. I can hear your blood rushing.” His eyes narrowed on the pulse at my neck before sliding down my body to my inner thighs. “You were not as upset as you wished to be by your punishment.”
“You’re unbelievable,” I scoffed, shaking my head.
When he only chuckled, I let out a low growl and stalked across the room. I threw myself into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, locking it for good measure, my body sliding down the wooden surface as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.
He was supposed to get mad at me. Toss me out on my ass. Not... whatever that was. How had it gotten so turned around? And why did I like it so much?