Touch of Fire

by J. E. Taylor

  “Fuck you,” I hissed through my cracked lips.

  “That can be arranged,” he said.

  “I’d like to see you suck cock for ten days straight.”

  His smile turned sour and his eyes sharpened to a glare. “Try doing it for ten years. It’s not pleasant, especially when it’s the devil’s dick.” He shifted and leaned forward. “Put your ante in,” he said through clenched teeth.

  His statement caught me by surprise, but it didn’t lessen the anger filling my skin. I flicked the coin and glared at him, wishing him dead.

  He shuffled a new deck; his gaze kept dropping to my ruined lips and back to my eyes. Kaine sighed and placed the cards in front of him before he reached toward me. I couldn’t move back fast enough; his thumb swiped my lips and left me gasping in pain.

  He resumed shuffling and stared at the coins. Tingling replaced the pain and I couldn’t help but trace where he had touched with my own fingertip. The raw, bloody lips were gone. What was left was the smooth satin I was used to and my hand dropped to my lap.

  “That’s for the next time you lose.” His tone carried the same fire burning in his eyes. Whatever awe I had momentarily felt vanished. He just healed me in the event of a repeat.

  “You didn’t like the feel of raw lip burn?” I asked, wielding sarcasm.

  He huffed at me. “Not particularly.”

  The fact it wasn’t as satisfying to him after a while made me laugh. “If it bothered you, why didn’t you do this earlier?” I waved to my healed lips.

  He smiled. “That would have defeated the point of your suffering.”

  “You’re such a sleezy shit. Deal the fucking cards.”

  This time his laugh was genuine and he dealt the five cards. I glanced at my hand and blinked. Spades. All five cards were spades and my breath caught as I rearranged them. Holy shit, I had a straight flush—not a royal straight flush but the likelihood of him beating me was slim.

  “How many?” he asked and I shook my head.

  “Pass,” I said and his eyebrow rose.

  Kaine took three cards and his lips twitched.

  “It’s your bet.” He met my gaze.

  I looked at my pile. With a deep breath, I pushed it into the center. “I’m all in.”

  “Are you sure?” He cocked his head and I nodded.

  “Okay.” He matched the amount in the pot. “I’ll see your bet and I’ll raise you a fuck you will never forget.”

  Damn him and that cocky smile. Despite my anger with him, my pussy clenched against the wetness now dripping from it. If I folded, he’d own me for all eternity. If I took the bet, even if I won, it meant he’d have his way with me. I was screwed either way.

  “Check,” I muttered and nodded my chin toward him.

  He slid his cards face up. The shit had four queens, but it wasn’t enough to beat a straight flush and I fanned my cards out with a smile.

  He stared at the cards, his smile fading a moment, and then his gaze rose to mine. A heat like I never knew existed burned through me at the familiarity in that look. I couldn’t quite place where I had seen it before, but my lament dissolved the minute he pushed the table aside and motioned for me to come to him with his finger.

  “You already gave me a fuck I would never forget.”

  Kaine pressed his lips together and his eyes narrowed into slits. “Come here,” he ordered.

  I laughed. “I want you to crawl to me on your knees,” I said, unwilling to be submissive to him after what he made me do for days on end. To my surprise, he got on his hands and knees and stalked toward me. My body reacted to the flare in his eyes as he approached.

  He sat back on his knees in front of me and slid his hands up the inside of my calves. I inhaled, irritated that his gentle touch turned me on. This was the thing that relentlessly fucked my mouth like he had something to prove. When his soft caress reached my knees, he pushed out and spread my legs wide. The silky fabric of my skirt shred with the motion and left me exposed.

  He kissed the inside of my thigh, twirling his tongue on my flesh as if he was giving me a lewd preview. And it worked: I was literally hotter than hell.

  “What was that dream you had?” He cocked his head and tapped his lips with his finger.

  “What dream would that be?” Even my voice carried that breathless, horny quality.

  His eyes sparkled like the stars on a moonless night. “The one you had the night I gave you my card?”

  Heat filled my face and I knew exactly what he was talking about. My pussy dripped at the thought and he leaned forward and flicked my clit with his tongue. I think I moaned. I know I gripped the sides of the chair as he slid me forward and ate me with the same ferocious zest he had fucked my mouth with.

  It was beyond any fantasy I could conjure and I hated the fact this bastard could make my entire form tingle. My nipples hardened against the satin fabric of my dress; the soft whisper of silk heightened my sensitivity. Each swipe of his tongue sent a shiver through me and his dark eyes danced with aroused amusement when I came for the first time.

  My moan filled the darkness. I expected a quick fuck to follow, but instead, he kept on licking. Just the sensation of his tongue and nothing else on my body drove me mad.

  “Scream for me,” he whispered between swipes.

  The wails in the background layered with mine, but there was a different quality in my release. It wasn’t born of pain; this was on the border of heavenly and my eyes opened and stared at the blackness as he built me up to another orgasm.

  “Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.” My fingers slid into his thick silky hair and I pushed him harder into me. His tongue hit a speed I didn’t think possible, one that set my form to liquid fire.

  My legs wrapped around his shoulders and my head tilted back at the ecstasy Kaine created. This time when my body contracted, come sprayed out of me and my scream ignited the room.

  Kaine shifted and when his hips centered with mine, I brought my gaze to his. He smiled and slammed his full length and girth into my dripping pussy. I moaned, still clinging to handfuls of his hair. His retreat was so slow it almost burned and then the hard slam of our hips ripped another groan from me.

  The rest of my dress shredded and he dipped his mouth to my nipples, spending time to pull another cry from my lips. His slow, hard strokes left me breathless and squirming for the same hard and fast thrusts he had exercised in my mouth. But he continued the slow grind until I was covered with sweat and begged him to go faster.

  A low growl formed in his throat and his lips traveled to my neck; the chill spread, drying my sweat and I moaned. When his teeth bit my earlobe, my eyes rolled back in my head and my entire form contracted with the orgasm.

  “Layla,” he whispered. “I could fuck you forever.”

  His hot breath tickled my ear and my eyes flew open at his tone. It was soft and rang with longing, triggering a familiarity that escaped me. This was very different than his demeaning and demanding tone I had been assaulted with since I walked through the curtain. My gaze bounced to his. The sinuous motion of his hips sent waves of pleasure through me, but it was his eyes that made the moan well in my throat.

  I saw the human under the folds of evil and the want in his eyes locked my breath in my lungs. His eyes closed and his head tilted back while his fingers dug into my thighs. My begging finally broke through and he moved fast and hard, and the gruff groan that came out of his throat sent me into another moment of bliss. He stiffened against me and pulled my hips to his.

  Shudders cascaded through both our bodies and I unwrapped my trembling legs from around him. Kaine’s forehead dropped to my shoulder and his chest heaved, but he didn’t pull out of me yet and I didn’t hurry him along. As warped as it seemed, having him fill me gave me a sense of peace. It wasn’t until I ran my hands through his hair and pushed his head away from where it rested that I suddenly wanted him out.

  His salacious grin made me feel dirty and used, and I wanted to wrap the tor
n fabric of my dress around me. He circled his hips once and then pulled out with a light laugh, becoming the demon I was used to.

  I tried to pull the fabric together, but the dress was a total loss. He climbed to his feet and zipped himself back into the finely pressed pants. He reached down and picked up his shirt, keeping eye contact with me.

  “I think that will stick with you for a very long time.”

  I couldn’t argue with him. That was the kind of lovemaking that moved the earth. Unfortunately, there was no love in the equation. I shrugged and feigned indifference.

  “You are a little slut, aren’t you?” His entire demeanor shut down on me as he pulled the silk dress shirt over his shoulders.

  “Drop dead.” But even my voice sounded as pathetic as my curse.

  He pulled the table back in place. “You have close to a year.” He made neat piles and pushed them to my side of the table. His eyebrow cocked.

  I stared at the coins. “What happens when time runs out?” At a cellular level I knew. I would be his slave for the rest of time. His smile answered me. Before he even uttered the words, I knew a year was not enough. I wanted to see my son grow up and get married, have kids of his own; I wanted to see my grandchildren grow and a year was not enough time. Now I understood his comment. Time was more precious than money when the clock was ticking.

  “I will come to collect my prize.” He leaned back and crossed his arms.

  I flicked a coin into the middle of the table, and shifted the fabric so it at least covered my lap. There was nothing I could do about my bare chest and I cursed the chill biting at my skin, leaving my nipples hard and a focal point of his attention.

  He threw his ante into the pot and shuffled the cards before dealing.

  My target was twenty-five thousand days. That’s what I needed to win to have the lifetime I wanted and I was ready to endure whatever this shit threw my way to get there. I met his gaze.

  “Deal,” I ordered.

  He obliged.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, looking at the hand. This was one of those I knew wouldn’t go my way, but I tossed in a coin to see if I’d somehow get lucky with the flip. I dropped three of my five cards and glanced at him.

  The bastard counted out coins. I raised my eyebrow.

  “The bet to stay in is ten days.” He glanced at me.

  I pressed my lips together and looked at my hand. I threw it down and glared at him, shaking my head.

  I expected a chuckle or some snide remark, but there was an underlying aggravation etched into his features. He sighed, shaking his head for a moment. He closed his eyes and inhaled; when his eyelids opened a chill settled over the room. He moved the coins to his side of the table and stood, waving his hand across the surface. A solid board covered the table; he stepped to my side and pulled me to my feet.

  Something about the resolve in his hard features hit a panic switch and I tried to yank away. He grabbed me by the back of the neck and slammed me face down on the board. His hand pressed between my shoulders and held me down hard enough to pull a gasp from my lips. Cuffs clasped on my wrist and I struggled as he pulled my arm out, locking the other side to the end of the table. He shifted, trading his hand holding me down and did the same with my other wrist. The bindings were so tight I couldn’t move and he pushed me far enough forward so my head dropped over the front side of the table.

  Chains clasped each ankle. He pulled my legs wide and secured them in place. I was bound and bent over, completely at his mercy, and I panicked when he stepped in front of me. He crouched down and his dark eyes promised pain, but there was no glee there like there was when he lost the bet.

  Somehow, this made it even worse and I couldn’t pull in a breath.

  “Time starts now.” He stood and retreated behind me. His fingers probed, gently at first, spreading me before he paused and pulled his hand away. I got a sense he didn’t want to do this but before I could say anything snide, his fingers returned, this time with a vengeance. At first it was one finger and his motions brought forth a wave of wetness, coating my pussy. Two fingers spread me wide before three and four fingers forced their way in. When the rest of his hand pushed inside, I cried out at the pressure. His fist turned in slow rotations as he pushed it farther and farther in.

  What he was doing wasn’t painful; it actually sent a shiver through me, coupled with a moan. The tickle to my pleasure centers abruptly came to an end. He slammed his fist inside me with such force, my feet lifted off the floor; I strained at the binds. A scream hissed from my mouth and my eyes burned with tears.

  His mouth clamped down on the meat of my ass, sucking flesh between his teeth as he continued to use my cervix as a punching bag. I was sobbing when his fist slowed back to that slow rotation again. His mouth moved to my other cheek, biting and sucking to the point I was sure my entire ass was covered with dark hickeys.

  I gasped for breath and tried to quell the sobs. I shook my hair out of my face and my focus landed on a pearl of blood that rolled down my thigh. Kaine climbed to his feet. The sound of his zipper pulled another sob from my chest. The thought of him pounding against my aching pussy horrified me. When his hands parted my ass cheeks, I attempted to struggle, but I was secure enough to only aid in the pain of his penetration.

  I had to say one thing for Kaine: he knew how to fuck with abandon. He didn’t seem to care that I screamed throughout his thrusts to the point my vocal cords burst and only harsh, rasping cries escaped from my mouth. I couldn’t see his face, but I imagined he held that same smug smile he had carried the entire time I sucked his cock, enjoying my screams at a level I’d never understand.

  The beast alternated between fisting and fucking, regardless of how much blood he drew. The welts from his mouth stung each time his hips collided with my ass. I must have blacked out because when I came to, he had me unbound and stretched out on something soft.

  He tucked a stray hair behind my ear when I turned my head toward him. My body throbbed and the stark bruises on my wrists reminded me of what I had just endured. If I had more than two days invested, I probably would have died. I turned away and buried my face in the pillow to muffle my sobs.

  “A year, then,” he said.

  I whipped my head in his direction before I forced myself to my feet and took a seat in the chair opposite the table. I had to clamp my mouth around the whimper that begged to be released by the discomfort of sitting. I was too tired to worry about my state of nudity.

  “No,” I whispered, unwilling to let him win. His jaw dropped.

  “Layla.” He tilted his head. His eyes offered me another glimpse of sadness before he shook his head and waved his bruised hand over the board.

  The chips and cards reappeared and he moved the table closer to me so I didn’t have to shift. His wince pulled my gaze back to his hand and the ugly bruises covering his skin.

  He shuffled with difficulty before he tossed in his ante with his flawed fingers. I knew he had the power to heal. He had fixed my ruined lips yet he seemed to be in genuine pain and I didn’t understand.

  He raised his gaze to me. “Ante,” he said with no enthusiasm.

  I blinked at him and moved a coin to the center. “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head and dealt the cards slowly. Each movement of his hands brought forth a grimace.

  “Why don’t you fix that?” I picked my cards up and uttered my own wince at my movement.

  “Because I started to fix you and was forbidden from doing any more,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “You passed out after four hours.” He met my gaze.

  “Fucking a comatose girl isn’t your thing?” The question came out wrapped in a laugh.

  “Normally, I don’t give a damn.” He didn’t laugh and I took a closer look at him. “Normally, I don’t stop.” He shook his head in disgust and squeezed his eyes closed.

  I blinked and leaned back in the chair. “You...stopped?”

  He squeezed his fist
s and sucked air through his teeth. “Are you fucking deaf?” He glared.

  I opened my mouth to ask when and then closed it. I didn’t want to know.

  “I stopped when you started hemorrhaging,” he muttered.

  My gaze dropped to my lap. There wasn’t a hint of blood on me and yet I was sore enough to wince. “How long...”

  “I tore you to shreds in eight hours and I stopped before twelve hours had passed,” he said. I could swear a sheen of tears covered his eyes before he dropped his gaze to the cards in his hand. After a few seconds, his glare was back and he leaned forward. “I used to relish that. I used to revel in the screams and sobs and the flow of blood. I fucking loved it.” The growl in his voice made me cock my head in his direction.

  “So?” I said.

  He pointed a bruised finger at me. “You owe me a day and a half.”

  I shrugged and dropped two cards, flipping another coin into the pot.

  He glanced at his hand and pushed ten more coins into the center.

  Grinding my teeth together, I counted out ten chips and then moved ten more in just to fuck with him. I had three of a kind in my hand. While it wasn’t the best hand in the world, his audacity made my stomach burn and my sense of self-preservation falter.

  He glanced at his hand and matched my bet before he dropped two cards.

  He dealt my two and his two and picked up his cards. I did the same and exhaled. My eyes fell to the pot and my stomach clenched at the thought of losing that many days.

  “Your bet.”

  I glared at him and pressed my lips together as I counted out five coins. With a shaking hand, I dropped them on the pile and he just grinned.

  My heart fluttered as he counted five and put them in the pile.

  “I’ll see your bet and raise you...” he drifted off and pushed a large pile into the middle. “Five years.”

  I blinked at him and swallowed. My gaze dropped to my pile and then my hand. I put my cards in a neat pile. He grinned and reached for the pot.

  “I didn’t fold, but I don’t have the amount to match.” I met his gaze and pushed my pile into the center. “If I win, I not only get the pot, but you have to get me something suitable to wear.”