by Julia Sykes
It only took a minute for her to climb out of bed. I continued snoring, feigning sleep as I listened to her soft footfalls padding against the carpet. The soft snick of the latch disengaging when she opened the door should have been almost imperceptible, but my senses were heightened; a predator lying in wait for his prey.
I opened my eyes in time to see her crack the door behind her, allowing a sliver of light to spill into the bedroom. The city lights from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the sitting room would illuminate her pale skin. My mouth watered in anticipation of the sight.
Not denying myself a moment longer, I slipped out of bed and went to the bedroom door so I could watch her. Her skin was as pretty as I’d imagined, the soft blue glow that filled the room reflecting off her flesh with a pearlescent shine.
Her head swung from side to side as she searched for an exit. She took a few steps toward the playroom, where I would train her.
My lips curved in a cruel smile.
Not that way, gatita. Not yet.
I knew the instant she spotted the elevator, because she quickly changed course, racing toward what she thought was the path to freedom.
Her entire body jerked when she pressed the call button, making a loud buzz echo through the room. She punched the button again, hoping for a different outcome. The buzzer sounded in angry denial.
I opened the bedroom door all the way and leaned against the doorframe. “It won’t open for you,” I drawled.
She yelped and spun to face me. The city lights caught in her wide eyes, making them flash through the darkness as she scrambled back. Her butt hit the elevator, and she jolted at the contact with the cold metal. Desperate, she pressed the call button a third time.
Buzz.
I grinned my savage amusement. “That elevator is accessed through thumbprint recognition. The only people who can come and go from this suite are those who have my permission. You don’t have permission, my curious gatita.” I finally began prowling toward her. She shrank back, but there was nowhere for her to go.
“Did you want to explore my home?” I asked, my tone silky smooth. “Were you so eager to see the rest of it? I’m more than happy to show you.”
She shook her head wildly. “I didn’t… I don’t… I just want to go home.”
“This is your home now.”
My cock was rock hard by the time I reached her, and I didn’t waste another second before pressing it into her soft belly, letting her feel my arousal. I slid my fingers through her hair at her nape, pulling her flush with my body so she was undeniably aware of the dark desire coursing through me.
She trembled, but her next words were sharp with accusation. “You weren’t really asleep.”
“Clever and curious,” I remarked with satisfaction. “No, I wasn’t asleep.” I leaned in, my cheek whispering against hers as I spoke low in her ear, letting her feel the insidious weight of my words. “You can’t escape me, Samantha. There’s only one way out of this penthouse, and it’s barred to you. I don’t have to keep you collared and chained to trap you here. I just like it. I like knowing you’re naked in my bed, waiting for me.”
“You’re sick,” she said shakily.
A soft, cruel laugh rolled from my chest. “You’ve called me worse already. Do you really think your little insults wound me? I’m going to tame your barbed tongue because I enjoy training you, not because it’s capable of hurting me. If you continue to defy me in this, the only time you’ll be allowed to use your tongue is when you’re worshipping my cock.”
I’d finally get to punish her in the way I’d craved ever since I’d seen her bound to that chair in my basement. Her sexy little sounds of distress had called to my more sinister nature. I’d never punish her without cause, but she’d more than earned her discipline with her futile escape attempt. Now, I could indulge in all the perverted things I wanted to do to her.
“But you wanted to see the rest of my home,” I continued smoothly. “Let me show you.”
“I don’t want to,” she squeaked out. She squirmed against me, accomplishing nothing but stimulating my cock. It jerked against her belly, demonstrating my sadistic anticipation.
“Please,” she begged. “I’ll go back to bed.”
I clicked my tongue at her. “The time for being a good girl has passed. You’ve been a curious gatita. You know what happens to curious kittens, don’t you?”
She shuddered in my arms. “You said you wouldn’t kill me. Your brother wants me alive.”
My hand tightened around her nape, my fingers digging into her neck. “This is about what I want,” I snarled. How dare she mention him when I held her trapped against me? She was mine to torment, not his. “I don’t want you dead. I want you crying out and begging for mercy. My mercy. Don’t talk about my brother. Don’t think about him. He’s not your concern. I am.”
I’d show her who she needed to fear. She’d tremble and weep for me. My brother would never touch her. She belonged to me. Her tears were mine. Her fear was mine. Her body, her soul, were mine.
She’d never forget it after tonight.
Keeping my grip on her neck, I forced her to walk toward my playroom. She stumbled, her feet dragging on the carpet. Her small show of resistance was nothing against my superior strength. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t avoid her fate.
She stalled when we reached the door. “Please. I don’t want to go in there.”
“You don’t even know what you’re scared of.” Mild amusement rose, and some of my possessive rage ebbed.
“Whatever it is, I do’'t want it. You wouldn’t want to take me in there if it were anything good. You’re scaring me.”
“You should be scared. You’ve been very naughty, trying to escape from me.”
“But you just said I can’t escape. I can’t use the elevator. You don’t have to hurt me to keep me from using it,” she babbled.
Spurred on by her desperate pleas, I reached for the knob and pushed. The door swung open into darkness.
“Don’t,” she gasped out as I propelled her forward.
I flipped the light switch, and crimson lighting flooded the room, revealing all my kinky toys and furniture. I’d introduce her to each piece, each whip. I’d strap her down and lash her until she cried for me. Until she surrendered to me.
She gasped and tensed at my side, and I stalled, allowing her to take in this part of her new home. She’d be spending a lot of time in here.
“This isn’t like Dusk,” she whispered. “It’s not. Dusk is Safe, Sane, Consensual. This isn’t. I don’t want this. Not like this.”
My rage resurfaced, surging back to burn through my body. I was familiar with Dusk, although I’d never been there myself. My brother planned to deal Bliss at the club. He’d gotten the idea from the Russians, who’d done the same with fetish clubs in New York. A sex club was a prime location to move the sickening product. What better place to distribute a drug that induced uncontrollable lust?
I might be very aware of Dusk and the perverted activities that took place there. But Samantha shouldn’t know about it.
Not unless she’d lied to me from the very beginning. My ire flamed in my chest at the thought of her deception, at the loss of the idea of her innocence.
“You’ve been to a BDSM club?” I didn’t release my harsh hold on her neck, but I stepped in front of her, so my full wrath could bear down on her. “I thought you were my innocent little virgin. Did you lie to me, Samantha? I wondered when I didn’t feel your hymen intact. But those can be broken in other ways, and I thought your surrender was genuine.” My scar drew tight as my jaw ticked. “I wasn’t the first man to touch you. If you think you’ve suffered under my hand before, that’s nothing compared to what’s about to happen to you.”
“No!” she sobbed. “I wasn’t lying. I am a virgin, I swear.”
“Then how do you know about Dusk?” I demanded, not yet willing to believe her, despite her wide-eyed panic.
“
I went there one time,” she gasped out. “I was looking for Dex. I followed him there. I wanted to see him. I wanted him to see me. But he didn’t. He never does. I got drunk and left. I didn’t do anything but drink at the bar. I promise, I didn’t do anything. I didn’t lie to you. Please, don’t hurt me.”
I didn’t know who this Dex was, but he obviously wasn’t a threat if he’d been so stupid to ignore the allure of the pure woman I held so cruelly.
I eased my hold on her nape, massaging away the bite of my grip in gentle, circular motions.
“All right, sirenita. I believe you. I don’t think you could lie convincingly if you tried. You will explain more about this later. For now, you have a lesson to learn.”
“I just want to go back to bed.” The first tear slid down her cheek. I wiped it away, relishing the warm wetness on my thumb. She’d give me far more tears tonight.
“I’ll put you to bed when we're finished in here. You must be punished for trying to escape. You need to understand that your behavior has consequences.”
A harsh sob tore from her chest, then another. Her delicate body convulsed.
I frowned. This wasn’t what I wanted. I might enjoy her trepidation, but I didn’t want this terror. She couldn’t focus on me if she was mindless with panic.
This was my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten angry. It wasn’t like me to lose control of my emotions, especially not when training a woman.
I took a breath and exhaled the last of my ire.
“Come here.” I pulled her into a firm embrace, tethering her to me as I continued to massage her nape. “It won’t be so bad. I’m not angry with you.”
“It will be,” she insisted, her voice hitching. “Just because it would be worse if you were angry doesn't mean it won't be bad. This place is… It's not right. I don't want to be in here.”
She shuddered against me, so I stroked my hand up and down her back in a reassuring motion.
“You'll get used to it,” I told her calmly. “We are going to spend a lot of time in here. I think you might even enjoy it, in a way.”
She’d responded so well when I’d spanked her. I wondered if her pussy would get wet when I whipped her, too.
Even if she didn’t become aroused, she’d attain a different kind of release in surrendering to me. There was peace in submission.
“Take a deep breath,” I ordered softly. She complied. “Good girl. Another.”
I waited until her even breaths matched mine. She stopped shaking, and I decided she was ready.
“Come with me.” I finally released her neck and stepped away, taking her hand in mine so I could lead her across the dungeon.
She appeared dazed, her eyes slightly glassy and her features slack. I was relieved that I’d managed to calm her, but I didn’t like her unfocused gaze. I’d call her attention back to me soon enough.
She stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes finally landed on our destination: the spanking bench. Her mouth gaped in horror, and I knew she must recognize its function.
Fascinating.
I had so many questions for her. How did my innocent little virgin know about such things?
“No.” She distracted me with her staunch refusal.
“You don’t get to say no. This is your punishment.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me.” She tried in vain to jerk her hand out of my vise-like grip.
“I said I wouldn’t harm you,” I corrected her. “This won’t leave any permanent marks. Although, I’m interested to see how easily your pretty skin bruises. I do like seeing my marks on my pet.”
She shook her head in wild denial. “Stop it! Stop. I’m not your pet. I don’t want be marked or bruised.”
“How else will you learn?”
“I don’t need to learn anything. I just need you to let me go.”
“You don’t know what you need. I know what’s best for you.”
“You don’t know shit,” she spat. “You’re fucked up. You’re so fucking messed up. Fuck you.”
She continued to curse at me as I pulled her inexorably forward. She wouldn’t get any tender treatment from me until I tamed that filthy mouth.
My silence seemed to make the expletives come faster. While the disrespect rankled, the insults didn’t raise my wrath. She’d practically been begging for a punishment every time she’d used foul language with me. It was past time to discipline her.
I was careful not to bruise her as I maneuvered her body, bending her at the waist so her torso pressed against the bench. I buckled her wrists in place at either side of her head. I didn’t grant her any lingering touches as I worked on her restraints. I wouldn’t use violence against her to make her comply; my movements were firm but methodical. The pain I planned to administer would be controlled, deliberate. I was more than capable of securing her without resorting to brutal force.
Despite her cuffed hands, she tried to push up off the padded bench. I drew a thick leather strap around her waist and buckled it in place, pinning her down. All she could do now was shift on her feet, and I quickly stilled even those efforts by spreading her legs and cuffing her ankles wide apart.
She was completely exposed and vulnerable to me, her pink pussy and tight asshole on display. She continued to jerk and writhe against her restraints, her curses becoming more high-pitched as she realized her helpless predicament.
She didn’t seem to notice my brief withdrawal as I went to the far wall, where all my implements for torment hung in neat rows. I selected what I needed and returned to her.
On her final curse, I took advantage of her open mouth, slipping the ball gag between her lips. Her teeth offered some resistance, but shock made her pliant. I buckled the leather straps at the back of her head, forcing the gag deep. She’d barely be able to move her tongue, much less cuss at me.
She thrashed, trying to shake the gag free. It wasn’t going anywhere until I decided to remove it.
That wouldn’t happen for quite some time.
I gripped her hair, tugging her head back to still her shaking head. She cried out at the little bite of pain as I forced her to become aware of my presence where I loomed over her. Her shocked cry was muffled by the gag, the smothered sound making my cock jerk back to attention.
I stared down at her, watching as she struggled for breath. After a few seconds, she learned how to breathe through her nose, but my harsh hold on her hair kept her head tipped back, further restricting her airflow.
She finally quieted, her gaze focusing on my face as I took full command of her attention for the first time since she’d slipped into her little tirade.
“That’s better,” I praised, tracing the line of her lips around the red rubber ball. “Very pretty.”
A fine tremor raced through her, and my cock stiffened further. There were other ways I wanted to train her tongue, but now was the time for punishment. I had enough self-control that I could suppress my own base desires.
She relaxed against the bench, tears glittering in her aquamarine eyes as she surrendered fully.
“You’re so beautiful when you cry,” I murmured, stroking the wetness on her cheeks with reverence. “Don’t you feel better now? You don’t have to yell. You don’t have to fight. Your Master is in control, and you don’t have to pretend otherwise. Not when you’re strapped down and spread wide for me to play with. All you have to do is submit. All you can do is submit.”
She couldn’t even nod in response with her head tipped back, her hair wrapped around my fist.
I didn’t require a response. If she didn’t understand now, she would soon enough.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. Confusion threaded through my mounting high. When I’d trained women in the past, I’d used my mouth to tease and torment, but not to show tenderness.
I shook off my worry and centered my attention on her, my lips lingering against her soft skin. “Time for your punishment, gatita. You’ve more than earned it.”
I held her there for a few
seconds longer before finally straightening to my full height and releasing her hair. Her head dropped forward, and she meekly rested her cheek on the red leather beneath her.
I settled my palm on her lower back, letting the heat of my hand sink into her. “Good girl. I’ll be right back.”
I forced myself to break contact and retrieve what I needed from my wall of toys. I didn’t have to keep touching her. I had to discipline her. I needed her cries of pain and supplication, perhaps even more than she needed her naughty behavior corrected.
What I had in mind for her would achieve both ends.
I selected one of my heavier floggers, with two dozen thin leather falls. The swinging weight would thud deep into her flesh, while the smooth leather would leave a fierce sting on her skin. This wasn’t the time for a soft, lightweight deerskin flogger. She might enjoy that too much.
This was punishment, and I wouldn’t show any leniency.
When I approached her, I noted that her eyes were closed, her breathing regulated. I hadn’t expected the gag to be quite so effective at calming her, but it seemed to have silenced her racing thoughts as well as her crass words.
I simply watched her for a while, waiting for her to start squirming as the tension built. It didn’t take long for her brow to crease with worry.
Satisfied that she was hovering on the edge of fear once again, I touched the falls of the flogger between her shoulder blades, allowing the cool leather to tickle her skin.
Her eyes flew open on a shocked yelp. Her gaze focused on the flogger, and recognition flashed in her eyes as a shiver raced through her body.
“You know what this is?” I asked, fascinated.
I trailed the leather falls down the length of her spine. She whimpered and nodded, with no thought of refusing to respond. I enjoyed watching her slip into submission despite her efforts to deny me. She couldn’t resist her nature. She couldn’t resist me.
“But no one has ever flogged you before.” It wasn’t really a question; I already knew her answer. But I wanted her to admit it. I craved confirmation that I’d be the first to torment her this way.