Defending it All: Dark Romantic Suspense (Punishment Pit Book 5)

by Livia Grant

  Lukus caught her, lowering her body gently to the carpet where she knelt, leaning her ass back on her heels. They were both silent as Lukus wrapped her gold choker collar from her first visit to The Pit around her neck, latching it so the 'MLM' pendant dangled against her skin, reminding his submissive she belonged to Master Lukus Mitchell. The warmth of his ownership wrapped around her, helping to comfort her in spite of the coming punishment.

  He had never attached a leash to her collar before, so when he reached to his back pocket and returned with a black length of leather, Tiff's face flushed red. She'd witnessed other subs on their master's leash and wondered how it felt. The clinking sound as he linked the clasp to the ring on her collar left her tethered to him like a treasured pet.

  Only when he started walking towards the lift, leading her with a tug, did she panic. She crawled across the floor behind him until the carpet turned to tile.

  Surely Lukus wouldn't lead her downstairs naked? True, The Punishment Pit was closed right now, but there could be employees lingering who might see them.

  As the doors closed on the elevator, Lukus answered her unspoken question by pushing the button to take them to the first level of the building. She knew better than to hope he would stop in his private office when they exited the elevator. She couldn't contain her distressed whimper as she reached out to hug his legs tightly. "I'm really sorry, Lukus. Please don't do this. Let's go back upstairs."

  "What did I tell you about addressing me?" he said, lacing his fingers through her long locks, holding her tight against him. "I will not remind you again."

  "I'm sorry, Sir," she said, kicking herself for having forgotten. In that moment, she realized she was headed to her first punishment center stage and could only say a prayer Lukus would be the only witness to her certain loss of control.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lukus

  Lukus luxuriated in the feel of Tiffany's long blonde hair sifting through his fingers. The silky softness calmed his nerves, preparing him for the harsh punishment session that lay ahead. At least he'd let go of his fear that Jake had gotten hold of her. The fifteen minutes during which he had believed her kidnapped had been a living hell for the Dom.

  He'd used his time in the bedroom wisely, to plan out the kind of punishment that would leave a lasting impression on his future wife. He was a reasonable man, but Tiffany needed to learn early on that he wouldn't allow disobedience to go unpunished, particularly if it led to her life being in danger. It was the most important of the rules Tiffany had agreed to follow, and he would be leaving tangible reminders on her luscious ass to ensure her safety in the future.

  He tugged her to her feet, allowing them both a long embrace before he pulled the leash to lead her through his office, around the punishment furniture of the backstage dungeon, and out onto the dark expanse of The Punishment Pit's main stage.

  The two-story high curtains were open, exposing the stage to anyone who might walk through. As a showman, that suited Lukus just fine, he knew the mere possibility of a witness would further punish his novice submissive.

  He left her center stage to flip on the low lights. He then pushed a heavy spanking bench from the back to center stage, just to Tiffany's left. Her ocean blue eyes widened as he issued his stern order. "Lie yourself across the spanking bench, baby. Place your hands in the most forward grips and your legs on the widest leather pads."

  Dominance coursed through his body as he watched Tiffany struggling to obey. Her tentative movements resulted in her beautiful ass being lewdly displayed; her hands stretched forward as she kneeled, willingly presenting herself for her punishment.

  Lukus secured her to the heavy furniture with thick leather restraints meant to immobilize even the strongest of submissives. When he buckled the wide leather strap across her back, pressing her waist tight against the bench and locking her ass into that vulnerable position, Tiffany let loose her first sob.

  The sound of her crying left him conflicted. Tears from a punished submissive used to leave him feeling powerful, but with Tiff he more often found himself waffling between feelings of protectiveness and a foreign tendency to be lenient, something he had never even considered before meeting Tiffany. There would be no leniency today. His adorable fiancée had earned every single tear.

  Lukus massaged her exposed bottom until she calmed, warming her skin for the lashing that was coming. "Tiffany, tell me why you're tied down to the spanking bench, about to be punished long and hard."

  Her voice was laced with guilt as she responded. "Because I disobeyed you and went out without telling you where I was going and letting you know I was safe."

  "Yes, and you didn't have your cell phone with you like you're supposed to at all times... and you didn't take a bodyguard with you. What the hell made you think you could leave and put yourself in danger like that?"

  He couldn't see her face, but he heard the submission in her voice as she responded to his lecture. "I just didn't think you'd like me to go to lunch with Aiden after last weekend. After all, you two threw punches at the lake."

  "Tiff, I may not like the bastard, but he's your brother. I'm not going to block you from seeing him, even if I would like to lay him flat for putting you in danger today. But this isn't his fault, is it? I'm sure you lied to him, too, and neglected to tell him you weren't supposed to leave the loft, didn't you?"

  She hesitated, "Yes, Sir... but I love him and didn't want him to stay mad at me for choosing you over him."

  "Well, let's see if you're still glad you chose me after the lesson I'm about to teach you about listening to your Dom."

  Lukus left her alone to think about what he'd said as he stalked to the supply cabinet that lined the wall of the on-stage dungeon. He picked a wide leather paddle and a severe Loopy Johnny to deliver his message.

  He settled into the punishment scene like the pro that he was, letting the first crack of the leather paddle fall against her creamy skin. It left a satisfyingly red splotch in its wake and drew a forlorn groan from his submissive fiancée. Lukus knew better than to short-change today's lesson. He'd be damned if Tiffany would leave this stage with any ambiguity on how he felt about her behavior today.

  The thick leather fell across her ass again and again until she was crying out, jerking in an attempt to escape her restraints. When he lowered his aim to the bottom of her butt where it met her thighs, Tiffany went wild, begging him to stop through her sobs.

  Lukus hadn't had trouble powering through a punishment before falling in love. But in just the few true discipline sessions he'd delivered to Tiff's luscious body, he had learned that punishing someone he'd given his heart to hurt him almost as much as it did her—almost.

  When he thought she was close to learning her lesson, he threw the leather paddle to the floor, moving to caress Tiffany's lower back to calm her, although he refused to provide relief to her burning globes… yet.

  Despite her obvious pain, he reveled in seeing her pussy glistening wet with sexual excitement. He lightly dragged his fingers through her lower lips, eliciting a long groan of desire as he lubricated his fingers liberally. She squeaked when he lifted higher, pressing two lubed fingers into her puckered rosebud. "Oh God, what are you doing?"

  "I'm taking liberties with my naughty sub's bottom and you need to just relax and enjoy it, because this is just an intermission. You have one more implement of punishment coming before we're done here."

  "Oh lord, I can't take any more, Sir."

  "Baby, I'll decide when you've learned your lesson and we won't stop until then. Let's get this finished.”

  Lukus withdrew his fingers reluctantly, leaning down to grab the most painful punishment device he'd used on Tiffany to date. He didn't plan on delivering a lot of strokes, but he would be using the Loopy Johnny only when he had a particularly important lesson for Tiffany to learn.

  She couldn't see the small handled device with three long loops of braided leather that were about to light into her already punis
hed ass. Lukus steeled himself for the scream that was about to fill the air and aimed the first lick across the center of her bottom. Her cry was delayed, as if she'd lost her breath from the sudden laceration the wicked device delivered. When her howl came, it almost leveled him.

  He recovered enough to continue his lecture. "That's one, Tiffany. You'll receive six today and, after each, you'll promise not to leave the loft without my knowledge until Jake Davenport is in jail. Is that understood, young lady?"

  Her answer came through her hiccupped cries. "Oh God, please, Sir, no more. I promise I won't leave the loft ever again if you'll just stop."

  "I'll accept that for your first promise, but I'll finish the last five."

  His arm felt heavy as he swung the light implement through the air to connect a little lower. Her pained shriek lit into his heart, but he steeled himself to be not only her Dom, but more importantly, her Head of Household. They had agreed to the rules and consequences together, and he was damn well determined to live up to his end of the deal.

  It took five long minutes to deliver the remaining lashes. He allowed Tiffany time to calm down enough to speak her anguished apologies after each stroke.

  When the punishment ended, he rushed to release the leather restraints, letting her slowly bring movement into her limbs before lifting her into his arms and carrying her lovingly towards the elevator. Her sobs had lessened to whimpers, and he felt relief when she hugged him close, pressing her lips against the crook of his neck to kiss him intimately. It was a little gesture that meant so much.

  The elevator doors had just closed on their trip upstairs when he brushed his lips lightly against her ear with a vulnerable whisper. "So, are you still happy you picked living with me over your brother, baby?"

  She turned her tear-stained face to look into his eyes. Her guilt was gone and in its place was the most beautiful look of love. "I'll never regret loving you. I may go down there and burn whatever the hell piece of leather that was you just used to light up my ass, but I'll love you regardless."

  Lukus broke out in laughter. "Oh Tiff, even after living through a Lukus Mitchell punishment, I just love that you're still full of your signature sass."

  They let their lips do the rest of the talking. He would wait until after he'd made love to her to break the news that he was flying to California that night to join the Jake Davenport investigation.

  I know I’m supposed to give her twenty-four hours of punishment for breaking a personal safety rule, but there’s no way I’m leaving her for days without fucking her as hard as I just punished her.

  Dylan – In California

  Just after noon, Dylan slid his nondescript rental car into traffic, careful to keep enough distance between him and the piece-of-junk vehicle pulling to a stop at the light three cars ahead. He assumed the air conditioning was broken in her car. What other reason would she have for driving in the eighty-degree midday heat with the windows down?

  While they were stopped at the light, he checked his phone for emails and texts, relieved when he found none. He was expecting a flaming message any minute from his partner. He glanced in his rear-view mirror again, triple checking that no one was following them.

  Five minutes later, Hannah slowed down to parallel park in a rare free parking spot just a few doors down from her destination.

  Dylan drove past Bloomer's Florist, whipping into a nearby automotive shop to turn around, lucky to find another open spot on the opposite side of the street. He parked, turning off the car and scootching down low in his seat. He was close enough to watch her lock her car, constantly whipping her head around to check the surrounding area as if she were expecting the boogieman to jump out and grab her.

  Unfortunately for Hannah, Jake Davenport is more like the Devil, Freddie Kruger, and Jeffrey Dahmer rolled into one.

  Dylan was frustrated that he still hadn't been able to figure out why Davenport had such a hard-on for the part-time bartender and florist. He was happy that she seemed to take her safety seriously as Hannah scanned her surroundings, briefly pausing her scan on his car, before rushing into the small, but popular, flower shop in downtown Palo Alto. He heaved a sigh of relief when she made it safely inside.

  His phone rang seconds later. Glancing down, Dylan wasn't surprised to see his partner calling. He considered pushing 'cancel' to let it roll to voicemail, but decided he'd rather take the ass chewing he was due over the phone than in person when he got to the warehouse.

  "Where the fuck are you? I'm here to relieve you, and you're once again MIA. I thought Davenport beat your ass again."

  "Aw, Z. It's so nice to know you care." Dylan loved to yank Z's chain every chance he got. He suspected few people were brave enough to take the man on, which was what made it all the more fun.

  "Don't give me that shit. You're watching that chick again, aren't you? What is it about her? Are you fucking her, or what?"

  "Hey, I've told you, it's not like that," Dylan retorted.

  "Well you could have fooled me. You're acting like a damn puppy dog chasing after her. I told you, if you care about her at all, you'll stay as far away from her as possible."

  "Listen, the only reason I'm tailing her is because she's our best lead to bring Davenport down. She's an innocent. He has something on her, but I know she has the information we need. I just need to keep her alive long enough to get her to trust me," Dylan argued.

  "Fine, I get that, but if I know you're trailing her, you can bet your ass Davenport knows, too. You do realize that you've pretty much put a bull's-eye on her back? Davenport has proven he loves to play with his food. Mark my words. He's gonna go after her hot and heavy, if for no other reason than to mess with you," Z warned.

  Dylan had been preparing to argue back, but Z's argument stopped him cold. Could his trying to protect Hannah actually be putting her at more risk?

  "All right. You might have a point there. I'll leave her alone for now, but I'm warning you; the first time I see Davenport trying to force her into that warehouse, we're gonna have a major problem."

  "We'll deal with that when we need to. Right now, I need you to meet me back at the war room. Lukus wants to run through the newest evidence. He’s flying in later and wants to make sure we’re ready to hit the ground running" The call dropped.

  Dylan weaved his way through traffic, trying to get the pictures of the taboo websites he'd spent hours poring over the night before out of his head. Videos of vulnerable, broken women being forced to engage in painful and humiliating sexual acts that turned the stomach of even a hardened war veteran like himself.

  There is no way I'm letting any more innocent women set foot into that hell. Jake Davenport's days of terrorizing women are numbered. I'm coming after you, asshole.

  The end, for now… This season’s episodes of The Punishment Pit will be concluded in Protecting it All.

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Livia Grant lives in Chicago with her husband and furry rescue dog named Max. She is fortunate to have been able to travel extensively and as much as she loves to visit places around the globe, the Midwest and its changing seasons will always be home. Livia's readers appreciate her riveting stories filled with deep, character driven plots, often spiced with elements of BDSM.

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  Also by Livia Grant

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  Black Light Series

  Infamous Love, A Black Light Prequel

  Black Light: Rocked

  Black Light: Valentine Roulette

  Black Light: Rescued

  Black Light: Roulette Redux

  Complicated
Love

  Black Light: Celebrity Roulette

  Black Light: Purged

  Black Light: Scandalized

  Black Light: Roulette War

  Black Light: The Beginning

  Black Light: Rolled - coming November, 2020

  Punishment Pit Series

  Wanting it All - Now Available

  Securing it All - Now Available

  Having it All - Now Available

  Balancing it All

  Defending it All

  Protecting it All

  Expecting it All - Release 12/1/20

  Stand Alone Books

  Blessed Betrayal

  Royalty, American Style

  Alpha’s Capture (as Livia Bourne)

  Blinding Salvation (as Livia Bourne)

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  Black Collar Press is a small publishing house started by authors Livia Grant and Jennifer Bene in late 2016. The purpose was simple - to create a place where the erotic, kinky, and exciting worlds they love to explore could thrive and be joined by other like-minded authors.

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