by Marie Skye
Without looking up, I spoke. “Eat. I know you have to.” My phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked at the screen. Shit. “I have to take this, excuse me.” I got up and left the table, signaling to the nearby waiter for another bourbon.
By the time I came back to the table, Emmalin was gone. At first I assumed she went to the bathroom, but then that meant she would’ve had to have walked past me. Then I noticed the thirteen dollars next to her untouched food and a note on a napkin that said:
This was all the cash I had on me for dinner. I’ll pay you back the rest. E
Fuck.
I raced to the front of the restaurant, looking for Alistair.
“Which way did she go?”
“I tried stopping her, but she kept going.” He pointed in the direction she had gone.
"Have Benny grab her coat and follow me with the car!" I shouted before running after her. I was pissed. She left the restaurant. She had no coat on, and whatever cash she did have she left on the table. All to get away from me.
I spotted her at an intersection, waiting for the walk signal. She stood there, arms wrapped around herself. Some guy bumped into her, nearly knocking her over. I wanted to beat the shit out of him. The crossing light came on, and I reached for her as she was stepping off the curb and swung her around, pressing her up against me. She seemed startled at first before realizing it was me. She tried taking a step back, but my grip was too tight.
"Why did you leave?" I said through gritted teeth.
"Why did you come after me?” she countered.
"I will always come after you, make no mistake about that.” I unbuttoned my suit jacket.
"Don't."
"Enough! I'm done with your defiance toward me.” I put my jacket around her and guided her toward Alistair, who was waiting with the car door open. She moved to the farthest corner. Being inside the car immediately reminded me that, not even an hour ago, I had her laid out across the seat.
Shutting my eyes, I willed my dick not to get hard. Didn’t work. It took everything in me not to touch her. It wasn’t until I felt the warm liquid in my hand did I notice the blood caused by digging my nails into my flesh from clenching them into fists so tightly. I shoved my hands in my pants pockets.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to my condo. She opened the door before Alistair got out of the car and stalked up the rest of the driveway. Alistair watched her go up the stairs before looking over at me with a raised eyebrow and handing over her coat and two food warmers.
“I won’t be needing you the rest of the night.” I glanced in her direction. “I’m sure of it.” I marched toward the door and unlocked it, making sure she went in first, in case she changed her mind and decided to leave. We stood in the foyer staring at each other. I was conflicted. Part of me wanted to tie her up and fuck her senseless, and the other part of me wanted to punish her, but I knew she wasn’t ready for the dark punishments I had in mind.
“Come on, you need to eat.”
She reluctantly followed me to the kitchen. I set the warmers down and got the food out. It was still hot, as if it had just come out of the kitchen. She stood by the door.
"Emmalin, sit down. You'll need your strength, especially for what I’m planning to do to you later.”
Not taking her eyes off mine, she slowly sauntered over to the chair and sat, making sure there was a chair in between us. Neither of us spoke. The only sound came from the scraping of the utensils on our plates. Twenty minutes later, I was done. Ten more minutes went by, and she was still eating.
"Deliberately prolonging this won't make it any better.”
Glaring at me, she took one last bite, set her fork down, and pushed her plate away. I immediately grabbed the plates and took them to the sink. I headed out of the room.
"Follow me, Emmalin.” I didn't bother waiting to see if she would follow. I knew she would. When I felt her presence in the room, I turned around.
"Come here.” She took her time walking toward me, looking everywhere but me. I put my hand under her chin, so she had to make eye contact. “What happened tonight?” She creased her eyebrows.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“What happened tonight, Emmalin?”
She jerked her chin away, before walking toward the mantel.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Grayson. You’re the one who turned cold the minute we got to dinner, but I guess I should’ve expected that being one of your whores.”
I lowered my head and pinched my brow, feeling my temper starting to rise. “Stop.” My voice was low.
She faced the mantel, running her finger along it. “I don’t know why I thought my treatment should be any different. Fuck them, take pity, and then toss them. That’s what you do, right?”
Before she had time to react, I grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. She gasped from the hard impact.
“I said stop! That’s the last time you will ever refer to yourself as a whore. Do I make myself clear?” I said through gritted teeth. She visibly swallowed and nodded. “Now get upstairs and take off your clothes. Now.”
Such a damn fool. Who the hell did he think he was? I wanted to scream. I couldn’t keep up with his mind games any more than he could. I should’ve told him to fuck off. Yet, there I stood in the middle of his bedroom, shamelessly naked, just like he said. I had every intention of pivoting out the front door, if it wasn’t for the wetness that pooled between my legs. Traitorous body. I jumped as arms circled me, uncrossing my arms.
“Relax.” His finger trailed my body, causing a trail of heat to go down my back. I shivered as his finger left me. His hand grabbed the nape of my neck, and he leaned forward.
“What are the three things I will only ever ask of you?” he whispered against my mouth. I licked my lips.
“Never lie to you.”
“And have you lied to me?”
My heart rate picked up, but I couldn’t think of anything. I shook my head, and he nodded.
“What was the second and third?”
I took a deep breath. “You said never to say anything I don’t mean. And right now, you’re making me feel like a child, and I don’t appreciate it, and you’re a dick. And third, to give you all my pleasure,” I half mumbled, looking away. He smirked. That damn smirk again. He turned my head back to him.
“I do love your honesty, I’ll say that. However, you broke two of those rules tonight.”
“I already told you I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tried turning my head away, but he held me firm. His hand trailed from my chin down to my neck. My heart began to race. There was no pressure, but there was still that fear.
“In the limo, you feared me for the first time, and I didn’t know how to take that. I didn’t know what to do with that. You blocked yourself from me, and while doing so, you denied yourself pleasure, and that angered me for reasons I can’t even begin to explain.”
Suddenly, being naked wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t like this. I couldn’t have him prying. I tried to take a step back. “I’m sorry you felt that way. I’m sorry I didn’t have—” I whispered and started to turn, but he grabbed my shoulders.
“Dammit, Emmalin. Do you honestly think I’m pissed over that? I’m angry because someone hurt you. Someone had to have physically hurt you, for you to react the way you did. Didn’t they?”
I didn’t move. I shut my eyes, trying to block the memories that were attempting to force their way into my consciousness. I wanted to throw up. I didn’t want to think about any of that. Not right here. Not right now. Breezes. Think of the breezes from the trees. They keep you safe. Always safe. They hid you. They kept you safe. They were your haven.
“Emmalin!”
My eyes snapped open. My breathing slowed when I saw it was Grayson in front of me. I shoved him back with more force than I intended and covered myself up. “I’m not talking about that with you. You have no right to assume anything about me.”
> He sighed. “I just want you to let me in. It’s always one step forward and two steps back with you.” He uncrossed my arms. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m never going to hurt you, so stop trying to block me. It’s you and me, remember?” He pressed my body against his tightly. “You and me,” he whispered into my hair. My body started to relax. “I hate when you block me out.” He continued on. “I hate it. It leads to lies. And that makes me want to punish you.”
I closed my eyes. “So do it.”
He stilled. “I told you never to say things you don’t mean, Emmalin.”
I pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “Do it.”
He stepped back. “Stop. You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Punishment, right? You said you did stuff like that, right? Well, I’m telling you to punish me. I want you to.”
He turned away from me. “Get dressed.” His voice was low.
“No!”
He whirled around. “No? Emmalin, get dressed now!”
I wasn’t backing down.
“No, Grayson. I want you to. I need you to.” I lowered myself onto my knees, never taking my eyes off him. He stood above me, his expression a mixture of confusion, confliction, pain, but most importantly, lust. Minutes went by before he said anything.
“Why?”
I had so many reasons to say why. I wanted the pain. I wanted the pain because I was tired of letting the past consume me, and I wanted the pain as punishment. I wanted the pain to weaken me. I wanted the pain for every time I even thought of the past.
“We all have demons.”
He looked me over, searching for even a hint of uncertainty. “You realize the predicament you’re putting me in? I said I would never, ever hurt you. You now want me to go against that. I said I would never do those things to you, Emmalin.”
I reached out and grabbed the bulge in his pants. “Judging by the stiffness in your pants, I would say you’re looking forward to it.”
He grunted and stepped back. We stared at each other another few minutes before he spoke again.
“If we do this, you’re mine. Completely. No more running. No more fighting me. I have complete control over you. I own your body. You are my complete possession.”
I nodded.
“You need a safeword. ‘No’ doesn’t work here. ‘No’ doesn’t exist. You have to promise me, if it gets too rough or if I hurt you, you will use this word, and I’ll stop immediately. You have my word.”
I nodded.
“What’s your word?”
With no hesitation, I said the word “attic.”
I searched for any trace of hesitation. Any inkling. Any excuse to shut this down. There wasn’t so much as a wave of fear that crossed over her eyes. It was almost as if she shut down and turned into another person, with this strong desire to feel pain. And the sick, sadist part of me wanted to mark her. I wanted to see my markings on her. I wanted to own her entire body. My cock twitched at the thought of branding her. Making her my own. The fact that she kneeled before me, giving herself to me to do what I wanted, made me proud. But it also scared the ever living shit out of me that she had no fear behind her eyes.
“Stand up.” I removed my tie, and placed it around her wrists in front, never taking my eyes off her, still looking for the fear. “I’m going to punish you, and not a single sound from you, do you understand?” She nodded. “Good, and if you take that well, then I’ll fuck you.” I grabbed her roughly and pushed her against the dresser.
“Hands stay on the dresser the entire time.” I went into the closet and retrieved a small bag. When I pulled out a paddle, she eyed it closely. “I know what you’re thinking. No, this has never been used on anyone else. Everything I have is brand new, I promise you.”
I unbuttoned my shirt and pulled it off before sliding off my pants as well. My erection barely able to contain itself, I rolled down my briefs just far enough to roll on a condom. I was so hard it was almost to the point of being painful. She hadn’t moved from the position I put her in. I walked up behind her, pressing my body into hers.
I dragged my arms up her body to her breasts and pinched her nipples. She arched her back into my chest and moaned.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” My hands traveled lower, over her stomach to her pussy, already wet, but I wanted her wetter. “Remember your safeword, and not a sound,” I whispered in her ear.
I spread her legs further apart with my knee and pulled her hips closer to me. As I continued kissing down her neck, I used one hand to palm her breast, teasing her nipple, before letting that same hand travel back down to her pussy, teasing her clit. I wanted her just on the edge.
When her eyes started to flutter closed, I knew she was close. I slipped my middle finger in between her folds, and her pussy immediately clamped down. Yeah, she was close, right where I wanted her. I abruptly removed my fingers, all the while reaching for the paddle at the back of my waistband. In one hard swing, I brought the paddle down on the smooth skin of her ass. She jumped, shocked by the sudden change from immediate pleasure to pain. But she didn’t make a sound.
My girl.
I struck her over and over, not hitting the same area more than once. Enjoying the marks. My marks over her beautiful ass. My intentions weren’t to bruise her but to show dominance over her. This was what she asked for. This was what I would give her. She was mine. I didn’t know how much time went by. It couldn't have been any more than a few minutes. I finally searched her out in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, and her bottom lip was between her teeth to hold in her cries. For a brief moment, I felt remorse. But then I looked into her eyes and saw lust and desire. I looked down at my handy work and saw her ass glistening red, which made my dick want to burst. I also noticed how wet she was. Her wetness had dripped down her legs, and that practically made me want to shoot my load right then and there. I ran my finger up her slit, and she shook. Grabbing a fistful of her hair with my other hand, I pulled her head back. “My vixen likes the pain.” I threw the paddle on the floor and hastily slid my briefs off before grabbing her roughly and sinking into her.
“Let me hear you,” I growled into her neck. She was already in the push of her orgasm. “Watch yourself come, love. Watch how fucking beautiful you are.”
She stared at herself in the mirror. Not taking my eyes off her, I reached down and rubbed her clit. I knew she was gone. She continued to come and dragged me with her, gripping my cock.
“Emmalin, fuck!” Her pussy milked my cock of its existence. I leaned over her, out of breath and unable to move. We both half laid over the dresser for a few minutes before I realized I was probably suffocating her. When she stood up, she wobbled a bit.
“You okay?”
She smiled. “Just a little orgasmic bliss is all.”
I smiled. “I also meant…” My voice faded as she leaned up and kissed me. Before she had a chance to pull back, I deepened the kiss. “Perfect.”
She held her hands up, and I undid the tie. “I’m going to grab a quick shower before I go.” She started toward the bathroom.
“You’re leaving?”
She turned toward me. “Well, yeah. I don’t have anything here. Not yet, at least. I have to go home.”
“Actually, you do have stuff here.” I headed toward the closet. “I had this entire section filled with clothing I thought you would like.” I went to the dresser. “And here, is a very nice selection of underwear, I also thought you would like, or rather thought I would like.” I smiled at her shocked expression.
“You did all this?”
I kissed the top of her head.
“Of course. Well, a very nice woman named Michelle did. I gave her your measurements. But don’t worry, there’s still room for your things when they’re brought over too.”
Her gaze traveled from the closet to the dresser before she made her way to the closet, carefully touching the clothes hanging inside.
“You know my measurements? I d
on’t even know my measurements.”
I pulled her toward me. “Well, that’s because I know your body better than you know yourself.” My dick began to come alive.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am. It’s been three minutes. That’s too long not to be inside you.”
She pushed against me. “I’m serious. I have to be up early to work a few hours before I report at Mandrake.”
“Speaking of, I never got to ask you how your talk with that guy went. Did you let him down easy?”
She moved away from me, grabbing a towel. “I didn’t have to. He walked in on me telling Gwen that I was seeing someone. He’s okay with it.” She headed into the bathroom. Something was up. I followed her.
“You said that as if he might have had another option.”
She turned and crossed her arms. I fucking hated that. “Don’t end the night with that, Grayson.”
I ran my hand through my hair. “I’m possessive of what’s mine, so pardon me if I sound a little cynical.”
She turned on the shower and stood facing me. After a few seconds, she stepped close and gently placed her hands on my chest.
“I am yours.”
I stood under the shower, letting the hot water scald my skin. As soon as it touched the skin reddened by the paddle, I wanted to scream, but refused to flinch away. I even went as far as making the water hotter. I let it torture me. I had to stop allowing the past to interfere with my life. I was never going to be normal again if I kept letting it get to me.
“Shit, Emmalin.” I jumped at hearing Grayson’s voice. “Are you trying to burn yourself?” He reached in and shut off the water.
I got out of the shower and was engulfed in steam. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was in that long.” I grabbed his robe, even though it was way too big.
“Hey.” He turned me toward him. “You okay?”
I smiled. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
His grip on my shoulders tightened for a few seconds before he eased up and shook his head. “I don’t know. I just…” He took a step back. “Come on. I made you some tea to help you sleep.” Ten minutes later, I was snuggled in bed next to Grayson, sipping tea, wearing his dress shirt.