by Livia Grant
“Would you like to see before I take the needles out?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
Jafari put his hands under her shoulders, helping her sit up just enough to see the swirling rainbow tracing a path across her abdomen. It was random, yet perfectly proportioned and placed to accentuate her curves. A few had started bleeding, most likely from her uncontrollable movements during her orgasm, but most of them were fine.
“I had the photog get a few pictures. They’ll be sent to you.”
“Beautiful,” she murmured. “You make me feel beautiful. Thank you.”
Nodding, he cleared his throat, then removed the needle from her clit hood, keeping a careful watch on her face. It took some time to remove them all, and by the time he was done, Kacy had a hard time keeping her eyes open. She wasn’t sure she’d make it back to her car before the inevitable crash and burn.
He wiped her down with more disinfectant wipes, then dabbed antibiotic gel on both the piercing wounds and the marks from their cell popping scene, covering everything with gauze. Wobbling slightly, she sat up and climbed down from the table, thankful for his help.
“Should we spin again?” she asked.
Glancing down at the Rolex on his wrist, he grimaced. “Yes, but we’ll have to hurry. It’s after ten thirty.”
Swinging her into his arms, he carried her across the main play area.
“I want my stepbrother to fuck my ass!” a woman shouted from the stage in the corner. Kacy turned to see, but Jafari didn’t stop moving until he reached the roulette wheel.
Still resting in Jafari’s arms, Kacy accepted the ball from Madison and tossed it in.
The wheel rattled; its spin almost mesmerizing as the ball came to rest on roleplay.
“Perfect,” Jafari murmured. “Exactly what I needed. We’re definitely going to Monte Carlo.”
Kacy didn’t have time to question his comment before he carried her down from the stage. When they got to the play area, he headed straight for the fantasy rooms. The door to the dungeon room stood open, meaning it was empty.
There was a sudden burst of cheering and applause from the hallway housing the Red Light District, but they both ignored it. She was too happy to be in his arms, and planned to make every moment count.
Lifting her head from Jafari’s shoulder, she peered around the space, a delicious shiver coursing down her spine. The room was darkly Gothic and slightly chillier than the rest of Black Light, perfectly decorated to meet anyone’s wildest fantasies. There were shadowy forms set about the room, furniture and equipment she wasn’t able to examine too closely.
Instead of taking her to the small bed like she’d expected, he set her down next to a pillory set into the floor. Although the openings were thickly padded, she shivered, knowing he was going to lock her into the unforgiving contraption.
The thought of getting a punishment from Jafari made her core clench with a perplexing mixture of need and trepidation, and her nipples pebbled into tight, achy points.
Capturing the back of her neck in one large hand, he pushed her head down until her throat rested against the supportive cushioning. “Hands too,” he ordered.
Kacy bit back a whimper and placed her wrists in the concave openings, trying to control the atavistic urge to panic when he brought the top down, locking her in place. Bent over at the waist, she was completely exposed to him. The platform put her at just the right height for anything he could imagine doing to her.
Looking up, she caught a glimpse of the two-way mirror. She’d gotten used to the idea of being watched, but wished they could have had a private scene. It would have been so much easier to tell him her secret, but she promised herself she’d do it the minute Roulette ended.
Still giving her a dark, unsmiling stare, he yanked at his tie, pulling the knot free, then stripped with more speed than grace, tossing his clothes in a heap next to the bed.
Jafari looked like chiseled obsidian, his hard body ridged with muscle. Spit pooled in her mouth, and she let her gaze wander to his thick cock, standing proudly from a trimmed nest of wiry black curls. He fisted himself, using a thumb to pull his foreskin back from the crown.
The musky scent of his arousal reached her nose, making her bite back a whimper.
“Like what you see?” he asked, still working his cock.
“Yes, sir,” she whispered. “You’re… I mean…” She cast about for something to say, then added, “I’m still green, if that’s what you want to hear.”
“Not quite, but it’s always good to know.”
He grabbed her hair, pulling her head up to meet his gaze. There was a tiny flutter of apprehension in her belly, but she loved the way he manhandled her. It made her feel small and cherished in a way she couldn’t explain.
“You ran from me the last time I tried to give you aftercare,” he said softly. “It won’t happen again. But first, we’re going to talk.”
Jafari
Kacy’s eyes widened and she bit her lip, obviously trying to come up with an explanation for her failure to communicate a safe word. Although he was angry, both at her carelessness and at himself for not noticing it sooner, he wanted to give her a chance to admit her mistake before he went further.
“This is going to be just the two of us, and the name of this game is interrogation.”
“I don’t understand, sir,” she whispered. Bright spots of color blossomed on her pale cheeks.
Starting at her captive wrist, he kissed a path down her arm. “I think there’s something you aren’t telling me, and I don’t like it when sweet little subs hold back.”
Pressing her lips together, she shook her head. “There isn’t anything. I swear.”
“Hmm.” He strode to an implement rack and selected a light Delrin cane. It would give her the right amount of sting without doing any damage, nor would it leave lasting bruising. “Care to try your answer again?”
Jafari traced the edges of the gauze dressings covering her abdomen with the tip of the cane, careful not to disturb them while he waited for her to answer.
Her tongue darted out and she licked her lips, the gesture somehow innocent and carnal at the same time. “No, sir. Not… I mean, I don’t have anything to say.”
“Oh, I bet you do.” He crowded her, inhaling her sweet perfume of vanilla and arousal. Lowering his head, he feathered kisses down her jaw, never getting close enough to her mouth to make her panic, although he quite happily let her think he would.
Stepping back, he drew the tip of the cane down the center of her back.
“What are you doing, sir?”
“Don’t you remember? This is an interrogation.”
He brought the cane down smartly, aiming for the fleshy center of her rounded bottom.
She winced and let out a soft cry, then lowered her head. “Jafari, I—”
The cane fell again, landing just a few centimeters below the first welling line, dragging another whine from her. “I don’t think you told me the truth about your hard limits.” He laid a third stripe closer to her tender sit spot. “That’s quite a transgression.”
Shoulders hunched, she lifted her head and tried to face him, the sight of tears sparkling in her eyes surprising him. “I told you the truth, I swear.”
He delivered three more cane strokes to her backside, relishing her pained cries. She might be a masochist, but a punishment caning was meant to be painful, and hopefully teach her an important lesson. Roughly, he rubbed her abused flesh, then pulled the plug from her ass and tossed it aside. While he usually kept his play area as tidy as possible, he was too intent on punishing Kacy to think about the staff who would be cleaning up after him.
“I wanted to make love to you,” he said sternly, catching the crease between her buttock and thigh with the cane. “But naughty girls who don’t tell the truth get punished instead.”
“Master, please! I—”
“What are your hard limits?” he demanded, placing another line of fire betwee
n two reddening marks. Her screech of pain almost made him relent, but she had to understand the importance of trust between them if they had any hope of a relationship beyond the few scenes they’d already shared.
“I told you! Please, you have to believe me.”
“Enough.” He retrieved a bottle of lube from the array of supplies set on a low table. “I know you’re lying, Kacy. Perhaps having your ass full of my cock will remind you how important it is to be truthful.”
“Sir, please, I—”
“You what?” he asked, dribbling a generous dollop of lube to her puckered rosette. Ignoring her whimpers, he eased his thumb into her ass. “What is your truth, Kacy? Maybe you lied about water sports being one of your hard limits. Should I piss on you?”
“No!” She jerked, struggling to escape, and he resisted the urge to soothe her. Even if water sports wasn’t one of her hard limits, it was one of his.
“No isn’t a safe word, sweetheart.” Removing his thumb from her ass, he pushed two fingers into her, scissoring them to stretch the delicate opening. The butt plug had done a good job, but he didn’t want to hurt her more than necessary.
“Please, don’t,” she said, her voice thick with tears. “You said it was one of your hard limits.”
Despite her piteous cries, her inner walls squeezed his fingers, clenching and releasing as he prepared her for his intrusion. Some part of her welcomed his brutal treatment, yet it didn’t make him feel better about it. She was already stretching the limits of what he was willing to do. What would it take for her to finally admit she didn’t want him to kiss her?
“What if I lied?” Stepping around the pillory to face her, he fisted his cock, aiming it at her face. “Open your mouth, chérie.”
Tears streamed from her eyes, making him feel like the worst sort of abusive asshole. He just couldn’t think of anything else that might get through to her. To his shock, her lips parted and she closed her eyes.
Fuck.
Letting out a breath, he stroked her tearstained face. “Lucky for you, I don’t have to go,” he said gently. “But you’re going to be punished unless you tell me what I want to know.”
“I… I can’t.” Her shoulders slumping, her head fell until her chin rested against the wooden cross member of the pillory. “I’ll take the punishment.”
“Stubborn little rabbit.” Petting her back, he walked around the pillory and retrieved a condom, then moved her feet apart. “I’m going to fuck your ass now, and you will not come.”
“Yes, sir.”
He tore the condom open and quickly slid the latex over his erection. Without giving her a chance to protest, he tapped the head of his cock against her opening until she relaxed and pushed against him. He eased his thick shaft into her, watching carefully for any signs of distress.
She was so damned tight. He resisted the urge to sink balls deep into her body, intent on making sure she felt every single inch of his penetration. Reaching around her, he bent close and rubbed her clit, feeling the tiny bundle of nerves swell between his fingers. “Do. Not. Come,” he growled.
“Oh, God.” She tightened around him, her hips jerking back to meet his thrusts. She whimpered, pleas spilling from her sweet lips like a catechism.
Lowering his head, he bit down on the meat of her shoulder, then soothed the hurt with kisses. “Would you like to come, sweetheart?” He thrust inside her and pinched her clit, making her let out a groan. “Answer me.”
“Yes! Please!”
“Then tell me your truths. Tell me and I’ll give you what you need.”
“I…” She sobbed out a breath, her curvy body shuddering with the force of her need. “I can’t stand to be kissed on my mouth!”
Finally.
Jafari pushed two fingers into her wet channel, fucking her in tandem with his thrusts into her ass. “Come for me, my sweet, good girl. I’m so proud of you.”
Her sudden climax dragged him into bliss almost against his will. Shutting his eyes, he let the wave of delight carry him with her, his balls tightening almost painfully as her channel rippled around his cock. With a shout, he emptied himself into the condom, feeling as if he’d given her part of his soul. Collapsing, he rested on her back for a few scant moments, unwilling to put stress on her tired body.
Without warning, she burst into tears, sobbing as if her heart was breaking. Hurriedly, he pulled out and got her free of the pillory, then carried her to the small bondage bed. After dealing with the condom, he sat down and held her small, shivering body in his lap.
“Shh, chérie. You were so brave, and I’m very proud of you.”
Jafari didn’t want their evening to end with her tears. He wanted her in the comfortable king-sized bed in his suite upstairs where he could give her the aftercare she deserved. She coughed and let out a sniff, then wriggled free. Although it went against everything he wanted, he let her go.
Scrubbing at her eyes with a shaking hand, she backed away, tears still falling. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Turning away, she trudged toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To find my clothes and leave. I don’t blame you for being mad. I should have told you the first time we played, but…” She let out a breath and seemed to deflate, misery wafting from her like a cloud. “Anyway, I’ll get out of your hair. I’m pretty sure we earned a free month, but you can have mine.”
Her hand trembling, she reached for the doorknob.
Freezing for a split second, Jafari considered his options. He could let her go. That would be the easiest path, yet she was the one woman who captured his imagination and made him want to slay her dragons. He needed to find out why she didn’t want to be kissed and fix it.
He launched himself from the bed and his hand connected with the wood over her head with a heavy thud. “It’s not eleven yet, little rabbit,” he purred.
Chapter 6
Kacy
Jafari loomed over her, his expression tight and angry. Unable to meet his gaze, she glanced at the watch on his wrist. It was close enough to eleven that she was surprised they weren’t already drawing attention from dungeon monitors. She almost asked how he’d been allowed to keep it, but the vintage diamond timepiece was as old-fashioned as the bow tie he’d left on the dungeon floor.
“Sir, it’s—”
“I don’t give a single fuck,” he gritted out, wrapping a long arm around her waist.
Without warning, he lifted her off her feet and tossed her over one shoulder. She hissed out a breath as the needle marks on her stomach made contact with his muscular body but didn’t dare say a word. He would have put her down, and she was too grateful to have his arms around her to risk it.
She shouldn’t have been though. She should have put a stop to it instead of dragging things out. It wasn’t going to do either of them any good.
In an astonishing display of upper body strength and balance, he went to his discarded clothes and crouched to retrieve a key card from his pants pocket, then straightened.
To her shock, he marched from the dungeon playroom, both of them still stark naked. The few remaining spectators scattered, knowing better than to get in the way of a furious dominant.
Elijah was the only one brave enough to do so and stopped Jafari’s angry momentum with a raised hand. “You may want to consider finding pants before you steal the fair maiden from the party like a fucking pirate,” he murmured.
“Elevator, or I carry her up the Runway stairs,” Jafari growled.
“Kacy, are you okay with this?” Elijah asked, moving to face her. “Roulette is over, and you can refuse.”
Putting her hands against Jafari’s back, Kacy lifted herself to meet Elijah’s eyes. “Yes, sir. I’m fine.”
Even knowing it was a mistake, Kacy wanted it. She wanted Jafari—his kindness and cruelty, his touch, and God help her, his kisses. If she could be brave enough to take them.
Studying her for a moment, Elijah chuckled and finally nodded. “Follow
me.”
He led them to an elevator to the right of the women’s restroom. After swiping his key card to summon the elevator, the door slid open, and Elijah held it for them. Jafari stepped in and stabbed a button yet didn’t let her go.
“I’ll have someone bring your stuff up later,” Elijah said, releasing the door so it could whisper closed, leaving them alone for the first time all night.
“Sir,” she said, keeping her voice soft. “You can put me down now.”
“No.” He tightened his arm around her legs, then relaxed. “I’m keeping you.”
Her breath caught and she couldn’t help the utterly idiotic idea that he meant permanently. He’d already learned too much, and when he realized she might not ever feel comfortable with him kissing her, she’d be out on her ass faster than anything.
The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened. Still carrying her over his shoulder, he strode out then turned left, his long legs taking them to the end of the hallway so quickly her head spun. He swiped his key card, then pushed the door open and slammed it behind them.
Only then did he allow her to slide to the floor, the sudden movement making flares of delicious pain from the piercing wounds light her up with renewed desire.
“We’re staying here tonight,” he said softly, cupping her cheek. “We’re going to clean up and have proper aftercare, and in the morning, we’ll share breakfast and talk about where we’re going from here.”
Kacy bit her lip, resisting the impulse to run. Jafari was so far out of her league. What could he possibly want with a homeless woman when he could have literally anyone he wanted?
“But—”
“Shh.” He bent to brush a barely-there kiss on her cheek, scant millimeters from her mouth. “I will not break your hard limit, chérie, but you must let me give you the aftercare you need.”
She shivered, half wishing he’d aimed better. Yet the thought terrified her too. “Are we staying here all night?”
“Yes, I’m in town for a few days on business, so I’m keeping the suite for the duration. First things first though.” He reached into an open suitcase and retrieved a cell phone, then handed it to her. “Put your number in, please.”