Naked Canvas (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

by Grey, Sadie

  Hot jealousy flashed through me and I shook my head.

  “She’s mine.”

  I retrieved the paddle and walked behind her. The weight of it felt good in my hand. Powerful. I placed the flat of it against her ass. Right on the spot I intended to hit. I drew the paddle back.

  Smack. The sound of the blow echoed in the room, causing both Gillian and I to jump. I hadn’t swung it very hard. It probably hadn’t even hurt her, but the sound of it was intense.

  I hit her again, slightly harder this time. I felt the vibration of her flesh traveling up my arm. She made small whimpering sounds and her body lurched forward with the blow. The skin of her ass was an angry shade of pink.

  I paddled her again. And again. Testing out different intensities and waiting for her reactions. I tried to keep Dominic’s instruction in mind. Pain, yes, but for pleasure, not for abuse. Her skin was redder now, and she cried out with each blow. There was pain in her cries, but something else, too. A sort of satisfaction. Like she deserved the pain. Like she savored it.

  The power I felt was a mad rush to my head. Having complete control over another person was a visceral thrill, and I found myself getting into the spanking more than I could have ever imagined.

  This woman had hurt me. Had called me a whore and a slut. Now she was subject to my whims.

  I paused and walked in front of her.

  “Do you know who I am?” I asked her.

  I stood a head taller than her in my heels. She looked up at me, flushed and breathing heavy. She shook her head.

  I took off my mask.

  “What about now?”

  Her eyes widened in fear, and a grim smile crept onto my face.

  “You called me a whore. Remember?” My voice was loud and full of authority.

  “Yes,” she said. I slapped her breast with my open palm.

  “I didn’t tell you to speak,” I said, taking a page from Dominic’s book.

  I massaged her breast. “Well, who’s the whore now? Speak.”

  “I am.”

  I pinched her nipple hard. “What?”

  “I’m the whore,” she whimpered.

  “You’re the whore, what?” I asked, increasing the pressure on her breast.

  “I’m the whore, mistress,” she wailed.

  “That’s right. I am your mistress. And you are my whore.”

  I rubbed her head like a pet who had pleased me. She looked grateful for the caress, and a devilish laugh bubbled from my lips. I glanced over at Dominic. His face was serious, but his eyes danced with amusement and something else. Pride maybe.

  “Very good.” I ran my finger down her cheek and lifted her chin. “Tell me, whore. Are you enjoying this?”

  “Yes, mistress.”

  “Good. I have a very important question for you, and you better tell me the truth or else you’ll be punished. Understood?”

  She nodded.

  “Are you and Dominic fucking?”

  I looked over at Dominic, afraid that he would stop me. His face remained impassive.

  “Speak.”

  “No, mistress.”

  “But you still want to fuck him?”

  She hesitated. “Yes, mistress.”

  I nodded. I thought about hurting her again, but I decided on a different tactic. Pleasure is pain, I thought with a wicked smile.

  My hand slipped between her legs. “Oh yes, you’re dripping for him.”

  She let out a keening moan as I teased her between her legs. I slipped my fingers in and out of her in a steady rhythm.

  “But you’re mine now. You don’t moan for him anymore. You moan for me. You’re my little slut.”

  I slipped my fingers deep inside her. She moaned into my shoulder. Her warm breath tickled my neck and sent a shiver through me. “Do you want me to make you come, little slut?”

  She nodded. “Please, mistress.”

  I turned to the table with the toys on it. I plucked a pink vibrator from the table and held it in front of her face. My fingers twisted the base and the thing began to thrum in my hand. I pressed it against her hard nipple. Her head lolled back and she bit her lip.

  “Is this what you want?”

  “Yes, mistress, please.”

  I unhooked her wrists from the bar, followed by her ankles.

  “Me first,” I commanded.

  I pressed the vibrator into her hand and pulled my panties to the side. “On your knees, slut. Pleasure me, and I might let you come.”

  Gillian dropped to her knees and pressed the vibrator against my wet slit. My body reacted instantly. The pent up arousal from the time I spent teasing her had kindled a raging fire inside me, aching for release.

  I ran my fingers through her blonde hair and curled my hands into fists, pulling her hair tight against her scalp. She gasped. My hands pulled her face close to my sex as I ground myself against the vibrator.

  “Fuck me, little slut.”

  She plunged the vibrator into me. I hissed and my jaw clenched. Ripples of pleasure surged through me. I turned to look at Dominic. His mouth was open, and I could see that he was breathing heavy.

  The sight of him made me moan. My skin was on fire. Waves of pleasure lifted me to soaring heights. My body throbbed with raging desire.

  I pumped my hips in Gillian’s face as she worked the vibrator inside me. I could feel the pleasure building, pushing me to the breaking point. My body tightened and my orgasm swept over me. I pushed Gillian roughly away to the floor, taking the vibrator with her, and let the pleasure overcome me.

  When the waves of pleasure subsided, Gillian was back on her knees in front of me. Her begging hands were clasped in front of her breasts.

  “Please, mistress,” she said. “Please let me come.”

  I pointed my finger right in her face. “Stay.”

  I made my way to where Dominic stood in the darkness.

  “Has she been paid?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

  “Good.” I walked back to Gillian. “Alright, you little slut. Get your shit and get out.”

  She looked at me with a dumb expression on her face.

  “No more games, bitch. Get out now. Before I throw you out.”

  Gillian scampered to her feet and grabbed the pile of her clothes. She scrambled to put them on.

  “I said now, bitch.” I made as if I was going to lunge at her. She yelped and ran for the door.

  The expression on her face as she left was more satisfying than the orgasm I’d just had.

  I turned to Dominic.

  “Did you enjoy that?” he asked with a smug grin on his face.

  I took two long strides to where he was standing and I slapped him as hard as I could. That satisfied smile evaporated. It was replaced by a look of utter shock. I didn’t care.

  I fled from the room and into the studio, emotion overwhelming me. My eyes blurred with tears, but through them, I could just make out the ticking red numbers. Thirteen hours to go.

  Chapter 18

  I shut myself in the room where Dominic had painted me. It was the only place of privacy in the studio, apart from the bathroom, and I needed to be alone. I needed time to think.

  The candles still flickered in the room. Vibrant swaths of color danced along the walls in a chaotic reflection of the emotions warring inside me. The room seemed to shift and bend, like something out of a nightmare. I flung myself on the bed and buried my face beneath the pillows, desperate to shut the world out.

  But even in the dark with my eyes closed, a single terrifying question burned: What has Dominic done to me?

  When the day began, the whole thing had felt like a naughty game. It was thrilling and provocative, but, ultimately, I felt safe. Dominic assumed the role of master and I was his servant. He handed me an outfit and I wore it. He commanded and I obeyed. That kept me from feeling guilty about any of it, because none of this was up to me.

  But this last scenario was different. It had started out wit
h Dominic in control, and like before, I’d felt safe. He made me wear a mask which made me feel like I was playing a part, like I was an actor on stage.

  Gillian’s face had been hidden, too. The masks, both hers and mine, made the scene dreamlike and unreal. Dominic had called it performance art, and it had felt that way.

  Then the masks had come off, and there was no art to what came next. Face to face with Gillian, I needed no direction from Dominic. My anger and resentment took over and I slipped easily into my dominant role, toying with her, teasing her, and making her beg.

  I had gorged myself on her fear and obedience. The desperation in her eyes was sweeter than summer wine, more succulent than a ripe fruit. I had consumed her fear with a dark satisfaction, forcing her to pleasure me and then denying her that same pleasure. Even now, the thought of it thrilled me.

  Power over another person was a potent narcotic. I wanted more and I hated myself for wanting it. I felt like a junkie itching for another fix. Replaying the scenario in my head made me simultaneously excited and sick, and I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. I knew what I’d done was wrong. I knew what I’d felt was wrong. The woman in that room punishing Gillian was not Angie Cooper. She couldn’t be me. I couldn’t be her.

  Dominic said this day might change me, but this was not a change I wanted. He had transformed me into a stranger. I didn’t want to be this person. I didn’t want to feel these things. What did it say about me that I got off on this?

  And what did it say about Dominic? What twisted game was he playing? All day he had been guiding me with his questions and his lessons. Was this what it had all been leading up to? Are these the sort of manipulative games that bored billionaires play? Turning regular women into sexual deviants?

  There was a perverted logic to it. He had enough money to buy anything in the world so maybe the only things that could excite him were things that money couldn’t buy. Things like the corruption of innocent girls.

  I told myself to calm down. The shock of what just happened was frying my brain. Dominic might be crazy, but he wasn’t a psycho. He’d run me through some intense things today, but at no point did I feel like he had bad intentions. But did his motives even matter?

  Whatever game he was playing at, I was playing my own game. I needed money, plain and simple. I just had to ride out this storm for a few more hours. I could bear anything for a few hours, right? I wasn’t sure.

  In just half a day with Dominic, a stranger had taken residence in my mind. She filled me with unfamiliar desires. Her passions ran hot and untamed, like a wildfire. I watched this stranger with suspicion. She was the woman Dominic urged me to be, but I was unsure if she offered salvation or damnation.

  A voice in my head told me to stop fighting and just go with it. It compelled me to stop being so serious and uptight. It said forget about your doubts and take a risk, consequences be damned. I wanted to listen to that voice, but it sounded suspiciously like Dominic’s. I still wasn’t sure if I trusted him. The only person I had ever been able to trust was myself, and I didn’t feel all that reliable at the moment.

  I knew I was too uptight sometimes, but it was because my ambition drove me to be the best. I wanted to succeed, and the only way to do that was to work longer and harder than anyone else. So maybe I wasn’t the fun girl or the cool girl. Maybe I didn’t date much or take risks. It was a worthwhile sacrifice to achieve my goals. Wasn’t it?

  Indecision tore at me. The money I would make today was literally life changing. It bought me another year of college. It brought me one step closer to starting a career. One step closer to the security I so desperately needed. But to get that money, I had to risk losing myself in the process. The girl who needed that money might not exist by the time she went to collect it.

  I had to leave. I had to get out while I still knew who I was. I had to get out before there was no turning back.

  I heard a soft knock at the door.

  “Angie. Are you all right?”

  I wasn’t, but I didn’t know how to tell him that. I’d never been great at confrontation, and with Dominic in particular, I found myself unable to say no. Just hearing his concerned voice through the door shook my confidence in the decision I’d just made. Frustration welled up in me for being so weak.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  I emerged from beneath the pillows and glared at the door. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

  “Please,” he said.

  “Fine,” I whispered so softly I didn’t know if he even heard me.

  The door slipped open and Dominic walked in with a troubled expression. I didn’t want to talk to him, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. I couldn’t be timid anymore. Enough was enough.

  “Some reunion, huh?” Dominic said with a crooked grin.

  “You think this is funny?”

  “I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”

  “How can you act like this is no big deal?” I asked, jumping out of bed. I began pacing around the small confines of the room.

  “Hey, calm down.”

  “Calm down? I feel sick.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because of what you made me do,” I said. “And with her of all people.”

  “You looked like you were having fun.”

  “Fun?” I asked, almost spitting the word at him. “That was not my idea of fun. I’m not into all the sick shit you’re in to.”

  “You could have fooled me.”

  “That’s just it. This whole day, I’ve been doing things I don’t want to do. I’m not into bondage. I’m not into spanking. And I’m definitely not attracted to women. But you keep pushing me into these situations, and you’re turning me into something I’m not.”

  “You don’t understand. That whole set up was a gift. It was supposed to make you happy.”

  “Well, it didn’t feel that way. It felt like a punishment. Like torture.”

  “That wasn’t torture,” he said. “That was redemption. Gillian wounded you. She took something away from you. And I gave you a chance to take it back.”

  “I didn’t need your help with that. I don’t need your help with any of this. Stop trying to fix me. Stop acting like you know who I am or who I should be. I’m not a fucking child.”

  He flinched like I had slapped him. His eyes had a hurt look to them. Then his expression turned fierce. “No, you’re definitely not a child. I don’t think you were ever a child. Children know how to have fun. They know how to laugh and not be so damn serious about everything.”

  “There you go again. All you ever do is criticize me. Can you go five minutes without lecturing me about everything that’s wrong with me?”

  “I’m not trying to criticize,” he said sullenly.

  “Well, then you’re failing, okay?”

  “Okay, I guess it’s criticism, but it’s constructive criticism. I’m just trying to help.”

  “I don’t know how else to say this. I don’t want your help, and I don’t need your help. In fact, I don’t want any of this. I’m done.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked, shocked.

  “It means I’m done. I’m leaving.”

  I pushed past him into the studio, making my way to where my regular clothes sat piled neatly. Dominic came chasing after me.

  “You can’t leave,” he said.

  “Just watch me.”

  “But we’re so close.”

  I rounded on him. “So close to what?”

  He mouth drew down into a thin line. I waved him away and turned back to my clothes.

  “If you go, you’ll leave with nothing.”

  I shed the sexy tank top and threw it at him. It struck him squarely in the face. “I’ll leave with my pride, at least. It won’t pay my bills, but it still has value.”

  Dominic growled in frustration. “I don’t understand why you’re freaking out like this. You clearly enjoyed yourself in there. You’ve been having fun all day. I think you’re just too scared to
admit it.”

  I slipped my sweatshirt over my head. I felt mildly ridiculous arguing with him in a sweatshirt, panties, and thigh high fuck me boots, but I had to get changed and get out of there quickly. Dominic had a way of talking me into anything, and I knew that if I let him, he could convince me to stay.

  “You’re taking me down a road I don’t want to travel,” I said. “You’re the devil on my shoulder, guiding me down a dangerous path. You’re like, ‘Hey little girl, just put on some dirty outfits, just let me tie you up, just spank this girl, just be this crazy sex slave for me.’ Well, I’m done listening to you.”