I’d give anything to brush my cheek against his suit and breathe him in one more time. All those times I’d imagined his weight pressing me into a plush mattress covered in thousand thread count sheets were for nothing.

Forever a fantasy.

“You understand our dynamic has shifted,” he says.

I shake my head. “It hasn’t. You’re still in control of this situation. Of everything.”

“I can’t take your virginity, Bellamy.”

“Why not? It’s just sex. And I’d rather my first time be with a man who knows what he’s doing and not some awkward, virginal husband on my wedding night.” I fold my arms, then add a quick disclaimer. “Not that I intended on waiting until my wedding night.”

“If I take your virginity, and I’m not saying I will, it’s not going to mean anything. You know that, right?”

“You’re afraid I’m going to get attached. Believe me, I’m not looking for love or fireworks or anything meaningful.”

“You think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that?”

“I’m not going to beg. If you don’t want me, you don’t want me.”

A wolfish smile claims his lips. “Who said anything about not wanting you, Bellamy? I want you. Fuck, do I want you. I want you on all fours. I want you spread eagle. I want you on your knees. I want you tied up. I want your ass so red and raw you can’t sit for days. I want you screaming my name and surrendering to me every hour of every day until you forget there was ever a time we were strangers.”

I’ve stopped breathing for a moment, and Dane releases me from his grasp.

“And you will beg, Bellamy. You’ll beg every minute of every hour of every day in my presence. And you’ll continue to do so until I’ve decided what I’m going to do with you.” He cups my chin, leaning in and angling my lips in his direction. “Consider yourself in punishment. Redemption is possible, but it won’t be easy.”

A large lump presses against my throat. “Okay. Yes.”

So he’s not done with me.

Thank God.

Dane leans in even closer, the heat of his lips radiating against mine. “You’re going to be begging for a sweet release by the time I’m done with you, and I’m going to love every fucking moment of it.”

I nod once before licking my lips. I want him to kiss me like he did last week, by the window in his office. A toe-curling, panty-melting, lip-smashing kiss.

But he releases me and backs away, causing my heart to sputter and cough. We were so close.

“I need to be punished,” I say. “I fully accept that.”

“Never lie to me again, Bellamy,” he says heading toward the door. “I want to help you. I’m going to help you. But you need to be honest with me about everything, even if it terrifies you. Or else we’re done. And that’s a promise.”

“Yes, Master.” I struggle against the smile that tugs on my lips, my relief threatening to shine from every atom in my exhausted body. If this is going to work, I have to take it seriously. I need to do everything he says because every part of me believes his promise.

“Clean yourself up,” he says, pulling the door open. “Come to my office in two hours. No sooner, no later. I have some work to finish.”

TWENTY-ONE

DANE

A clear glass dildo is centered on my desk.

I end my call with a Midwest wind turbine supplier just in time to hear a knock at my door.

“Come in.”

Bellamy slips in and shuts the door behind her.

“I appreciate that you remembered to knock.” I stand up and make my way to her, cupping her face in my hand and examining her flawless makeup. The mascara streaks are gone. The disheveled hair is combed into place. A fresh spritz of perfume wafts from her warm body. “You clean up well.”

“All the better to please you.” Her gaze travels past me and lands on the glass cock.

“Yes, Bellamy. That’s for you.”

“May I?”

I nod, watching as she reaches for the nub-covered wand.

“It’s freezing,” she says, trailing her fingertips across the varying bumps and swirls that cover the exterior of the seven-inch dildo.

“You don’t miss a thing.” I smirk. “And it’s not frozen. It’s lightly chilled. I believe it makes for more of an intense experience.”

She warms it in the palm of her hand.

“Don’t do that.” I take it from her. “You’re going to be warming it up a different way.”

Her mouth curls up on one side.

“Do you think this is funny?”

Her expression ashens, and her lips form a straight line. “No.”

“Disrobe.” I step around her.

Bellamy chews on her bottom lip as she slips her blouse over her head. With delicate fingers unsnapping the back of her bra, she lets it fall. My fingers graze the side of her left breast, skimming across her nipple until it comes to a hard point. She works her pants, letting those fall to the ground as well. Two fingers slip beneath the waistband of her pink lace thong, wiggling it down her hips and kicking them across the room. When she’s all finished, she wears nothing but the look of a woman who’s confident she’s just pleased her master.

That’s where you’re wrong, my sweet Bellamy. Redemption isn’t going to be that easy for you.

I drag a finger down her stomach, past her hips, and veer to the delicious warmth emanating from between her thighs. Her stance widens, and perhaps it’s her silent way of inviting me in, but today isn’t about her pleasure.

Well, it is, and it isn’t.

My hand jerks from her the second she releases a soft sigh in response to the grazing of my thumb across her clit.

“Closet door.” I lead her to the doorjamb restraints, the ones I haven’t touched since the day I gave her a little sample. She assumes the position, lifting her wrists high and waiting patiently as I restrain them. I’m sure she’s thinking this is too easy, that she’s got this in the bag.

But that’s where she’s wrong.

“Spread,” I command, grabbing the cool glass. “You’re to keep this inside you until I say you can release it.”

“But…how?”

“You’ll figure it out.” I grab the base of the graduated dildo and press the narrow end against her clit but only once. She releases a distant moan and her chest rises and falls. “Ninety-one lashes, and if this glass cock slips out of you one time, we start over.”

The mushroom tip of the dildo presses between her seam, and I push the first of the seven inches inside followed by the second inch.  Judging by the ease in which it’s going in, she’s already wet. It’s going to be a challenge for her to keep this in, and I’m going to love every fucking minute of it.

“Why ninety-one?” she asks, her breath rushed as her eyes squeeze. Her fists clench against the restraints as I glide two more inches in with little resistance.

“Because we met thirteen days ago,” I say, pressing the final three inches in with one fluid insertion. “And because seven is my lucky number.”

She releases a guttural moan through pursed lips, and her thighs squeeze together before her feet cross at the ankles.

“Ninety-one gentle reminders that lying to me will only get you so far,” I say, reaching for the leather paddle hanging in the back of the opened closet. “Turn around and bend.”

I realize I’m asking her to do something damn near physically impossible, but I know it can be done, and if she desires to please me as much as she purports, then she’ll do it.

With her creamy white ass at my hip level, I smooth the palm of my hand across her soft hide. It’s flawless. Pale. Unmarked.

Whack!

Until now.

Whack!

“Count, Bellamy,” I remind her. “And don’t let it fall.”

Whack!

A blush of redness spreads across her left cheek, so I give it a rest and smack the other. Three more on the right cheek and then I alternate. Back and forth. Back and forth. Faster. Quick zings. Brusque blows that surely sting.

Whack!

She doesn’t complain. She doesn’t utter her safeword. I keep going, resisting the urge to run my hand along the red welts to offer a temporary moment of relief. That’s not what this is about, and she’s yet to earn such a privilege.