by A. C. Melody
“Are you okay?” he asked, sounding just as startled as she’d been.
Tessa tucked her head behind her bent knee and shook it, not in answer to his question, but because she wasn’t allowed to talk to him. He was British, and she had to wonder if he’d been the one who’d tried to bid on her at the auction the day before.
“Is it bad?” he asked, crouching and reaching for the foot she was still holding.
Tessa moved it away from him with a more deliberate shake of her head, fighting the urge to speak to him, if only to tell him she couldn’t. Then she remembered the bracelet Sir Louis had given her and lifted her wrist to show him.
“Okay, okay, I understand,” he said. “Can I get you some ice? Do you think it might be broken? Just nod or shake your—”
“What the hell is going on in here?”
Tessa’s head shot up to see Felix storming into the room, not realizing until then that the other Dom had left the door wide open in his haste.
“Not anything close to what you’re thinking, mate.” The man slowly stood up and backed away from her with his hands out, as if Felix were holding a gun.
“Try me,” Felix demanded.
“Master,” Tessa intervened, not wanting the situation to escalate out of control over her own stupid clumsiness. “Please, it’s okay, I just stubbed my toe, he didn’t touch me.”
“That's the first time she’s talked since I got in here,” the other dominant confirmed, as he went to the food tray and started dumping ice into a linen napkin. “I think I accidentally scared her. I saw her fall, but she wouldn’t let me look at her foot.”
Felix was on the floor at her side in a blink, pulling her into his lap. His heat and the heat he still carried from outside sank right into her chilled skin. Her body began trembling with it, and the overwhelming relief of him being there.
“I didn’t fall, Master,” Tessa corrected. “I just wanted to make the pain stop.”
“Okay, shh, let me see,” Felix coaxed her hand away from her toe, which was reddish-purple all along the top, but otherwise unharmed. For just a second, the release of pressure smarted worse, before ebbing.
“Here.” The other dominant brought the homemade ice pack over and handed it to Felix. “Doesn’t look broken, at least.”
“How did you scare her?” Felix asked, as he set the freezing, wet napkin on Tessa’s toe, causing her to hiss through clenched teeth again.
Her muscles tensed, but it wasn’t all from the ice. It was because Felix was using the same tone he’d used with her that morning right after she’d confessed to eavesdropping on him and Sir Louis. He was livid, despite both her and the other Dom’s explanation.
“I saw something move through the window and stepped closer to try to get a better look, it startled her.”
“Is that what happened, little fox?” Felix asked.
“Yes, Master,” she whimpered, the coldness of the ice making her toe feel worse. “It caught me by surprise. I turned too fast and slammed my toe right into the leg of the chair. When I tried to grab it to steady myself, I knocked it over, instead. I’m sorry, Master.”
“For what?” he asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But you’re mad.”
Felix was quiet for a moment, before he turned his attention back to the other dominant. “Thank you for the icepack,” he said, his tone a little calmer. “That was quick thinking.”
“Comes with the territory,” the other man shrugged. “I truly am sorry I scared her.”
“Do you accept his apology, my pet?” Felix asked. Tessa nodded, because she believed him. “You may do so, but use your manners.”
“It’s okay, Sir, thank you,” she said politely.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” he said, more to Felix than her.
“Which territory?” Felix asked, before he could make it out of the room.
“Sport and exercise medicine.”
“Thank you, Dr. Evans,” Felix dismissed.
A heartbeat skipped by in utter silence, before the doctor responded. “Of course.”
Tessa had no idea what in the hell had just transpired, but it left her maddeningly curious and anxious again.
“How’s your toe?”
“Freezing,” she replied, unable to feel anything other than the cold.
“Let’s get you upstairs,” he suggested. “Wrap your arms tight around my neck.”
Tessa did, and reveled in the warmth he provided, not to mention the enticing scents that were ninety-percent him and ten-percent tropical sunshine. After rising from the floor with her secured in his arms, Felix deposited the dripping napkin back on the tray, located her shoes and the cinch pack he’d left there, then carried her from the room. Tessa tucked the side of her face into his shoulder, so she’d be looking at his neck, rather than any dominants they might come across.
“Master, I’m sure I could walk,” she whispered.
“I’m sure you could, too,” he replied, without the slightest indication he was going to put her down.
As luck would have it, most of the other guests were either still at the luncheon or had retired to their rooms, leaving the commons empty except for the random staff member hustling through. When another one jogged past them on his way down the stairs, Tessa couldn’t contain her curiosity.
“Why is everyone in such a hurry, Master?”
“They have to get the terrace cleaned up, then get ready for the auction,” he answered. “Today’s activity is going to take a long time, so the auction will have to be earlier than normal.”
“Oh,” she replied, filled with a large sense of relief.
Had their morning ended differently, she'd be with the other subs right now getting hauled back to the wine cellar and prepared for the auction much sooner than she would've been prepared for. She almost shuddered at the thought, her arms tightening around Felix’s neck to hold herself closer to him in subconscious reflex. It was his reciprocation that alerted her to the act, but she wasn’t sorry for it. More gratitude for him nestled in with the rest, Tessa just wished she could feel the final release of her punishment. He’d yet to verify if it was truly over or not, if she was forgiven. She wouldn’t be able to let it go until she knew for sure.
Once inside the suite, Felix carried her to the end of the bed and lay her down, before rolling her onto her stomach. With a hand braced on the mattress, he trailed his fingers down her body.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked, caressing her foot without touching her toe.
“Not really, Master.”
Tessa had already forgotten that she’d been cold before, until Felix ran his hand back up to the curve of her ass cheek, sliding right under the material of her bikini bottoms to knead her flesh. The warmth from his hand intensified and spread.
“Do you want to hurt, Tessa?” he asked. “In that tormenting way you crave so much?”
She couldn’t deny it, but had to know if it was his desire asking or a need to punish her further.
“Am I still in trouble, Master?” she hazarded, her body aching to move when he continued the sensual massage.
“Far from it,” he replied. “We’re back to a clean slate, little fox, and I really want to scene with you. Right now. I have a need to start leaving my mark.”
Her breath hitched and her mind danced with all the options. Since his attention remained on her ass, it was clear he wanted to redden her bottom, but she wondered which tool he planned to use, if any.
“Does that ease your worries?” he asked, grabbing the string at the back of her neck and untying it.
“Yes, Master,” she whispered.
“Good. Let’s see if we can warm you up a bit more before we start. I didn’t like how cold your skin felt when I came into that room.”
Tessa swallowed her surprise and wondered if that was why he’d been so angry. It made her feel a little better knowing it might have been aimed at the situation, rather than her or the other dominant he’d
called Dr. Evans. Of course, he hadn’t seemed to mind making her skin cold in the freshwater shower—twice—but that had been under his control. She had a feeling the air conditioning had been something he just hadn’t considered.
Felix undressed her at his leisure, using the time to massage her everywhere. On top of warming her skin, she suspected he was trying to prepare her body for the pain, and she appreciated both. Unaware or uncaring of what was to come, her lust responded without pause, swirling through her veins with its intoxicating power. Her breasts swelled with desire when he slipped his hands underneath her and palmed them, taunting her with gentle kneading.
A moan vibrated in her throat, unbidden and needy.
Felix chuckled, but refused to tighten his grip. “My poor little fox, so in love with her own suffering,” he teased.
“Master,” she pleaded, her back bowing toward the ceiling when he pinched her nipples at last.
Pleasure rippled all the way to her clit and got her juices flowing. Despite knowing what he had planned, Tessa couldn’t stop reveling in all the naughty attention he was giving her. Perhaps, it stemmed from their turbulent morning, or spending an hour alone watching him interacting with all the other dominants through a sheet of glass. A lot of it had to do with his confirmation that they were back to good, that she’d gotten her clean slate. She was free to embrace all of the pleasure now, without any guilt diluting it.
Felix returned to her ass, kneading and massaging both cheeks for a moment, before placing a kiss at the base of her spine and leaving her. Tessa turned her head to watch him gather items from the play area, not in the least surprised at the cuffs and chains. It was the long, narrow paddle made of solid wood that had her eyes growing round as saucers.
“God, Tessa, that panic looks so good on you,” he commented, too pleased to sound playful.
Her mouth dried and all the simmering arousal faded away. She’d never had a paddle like that used on her before. It looked even scarier, when he laid it on the comforter right in front of her face.
“I have a confession, little fox,” he said, as he fastened cuffs around her ankles. “One of the reasons why I didn’t spank you for punishment is because I thoroughly enjoy it.”
That made sense, and wasn’t a shocker. She’d yet to meet a dominant who didn’t enjoy giving spankings. With both hands, Felix plied at all of her naked flesh again, before guiding her off the end of the bed to her feet. Tessa spread her legs at his prompting, so he could attach the chains of her ankle cuffs to the corner posts. They were long enough that her feet weren’t too far apart. The purpose for that became clear when he placed another wedge-shaped cushion on the mattress and bent her over it. Felix cuffed her wrists together, then pulled the chain so taut she had to rise onto her tiptoes when he connected it to the headboard.
He stopped behind her once more and traced her birthmark on a satisfied hum. “Absolute perfection, my pet.”
Tessa had no doubt. She was beginning to believe that when it came to bondage and all the ways to restrain a sub, her Master was the Master. Her torso wasn’t even settled on the bed anymore, but hovering just enough to feel the tease of material against her nipples.
“What’s your safe word, little fox?” he asked.
“Red, Master,” she whispered, as he slid the paddle from the bed.
When he placed it against her right butt cheek, her muscles jerked. His hand settled on her lower back.
“Shh, easy, pet,” he soothed. “I don’t expect you to last long with this particular paddle and that’s fine. I want you to use your safe word, Tessa. I want to become intimately familiar with all of your limits, so I can help you push them further. Do you understand?”
Tessa released a shuddering breath, forcing her muscles to relax again. “Yes, Master.”
“Good girl.”
For a moment, all he did was rub the paddle over both cheeks. Tessa relaxed more, as the wood change from cool to warm against her skin. Her muscles tensed when he lifted it away from her, but then he started caressing her with it again. She understood he was trying to keep her body lax, rather than tight with anticipation, and it worked. The first strike was unexpected and snagged her breath. A burning sting splintered over her right cheek and rippled up her back to her shoulder, but she wouldn’t claim that it hurt. He hadn’t put any force behind it, which allowed her muscles to unclench almost right away.
“Remember, pet, don’t fight it,” he encouraged. “Embrace it.”
She knew that. This wasn’t a new experience for her, just a new kind of instrument and Dom. She trusted Felix, there was no denying it. He’d done nothing but prove she could, so it made it easier to draw in a calming breath and mentally brace herself for the rest of the scene.
The second swat was a bit harder, causing her fingers to curl into her palms and the burn to penetrate deeper into the tissue of her butt cheek. Tessa breathed through it, but before she could relax all the way, he landed a third and fourth at the same strength and in the same exact spot. Fiery heat licked over her skin and burned deeper within, holding on longer than before. Tessa panted, her eyes watering. Her muscles grew restless with the desire to escape the intensity.
Felix groped her left cheek, rubbing and gripping it with his hand. She wasn’t sure if he’d done it to let her know he was moving there next, or if he simply wanted to. Either way, the paddle struck her left cheek with the weaker force he’d first used on her right. She was a little surprised to find the warm, tingly sting pleasant, and a breathy moan emerged without thought. More of those might actually be nice, she decided.
“Oh, that’s my girl,” Felix praised, sounding as surprised as she was.
Then he upped the ante again, each swat growing gradually harder and landing in the same spot, until both cheeks felt burning hot.
Tears trekked down her face and dripped, even though she wasn’t actively crying. More than anything, Tessa was trying to remember to breathe, scolding herself for her inability to embrace the pain. If she could just get herself into the right mindset, she knew she’d be able to handle more. How much more, she couldn’t say, but she didn’t want to give up too soon.
Then Felix spanked her with the paddle right across the crack of her ass. The pain was like a line of hot needles stabbing right into her skin and she cried out with the first actual sob to grip her.
“Is that red, Tessa?”
It took her a second to find her breath again in order to evaluate. By then, the pain had begun to ebb, leaving a fiery prickle and bruise-like ache.
“Yellow,” she answered, knowing she wasn’t done yet, though close.
“Are you sure, baby?”
“Yes, Master,” she trembled on another sob when he caressed his hand over the worst of it.
He landed another, identical swat just above the last and Tessa broke, crying beyond control. She couldn’t even feel the bite of her nails digging into her palms, as her feet danced with the urgency to move. If she could just get past those initial stabs of piercing pain, she’d be able to embrace it, she just knew it.
The paddle cracked over her ass again and she swore her skin split wide open with blistering, scorching fire.
“Red! Red!” she screamed, crying and trying to jolt higher than the tips of her toes to escape the paddle.
Felix was at her side in less than a heartbeat, placing a warm hand in the center of her back. It startled her at first, an irrational reaction that she had no control over. A heartbeat later, it turned around and became the comfort he’d intended, settling the worst of the chaos shaking her limbs.
“Shh, baby, it’s okay, you’re all done now,” he soothed, his hand repeating gentle strokes down her spine, continuing to ease her muscles and calm her crying. “I’m going to release the cuffs, okay?”
“Okay,” she stuttered through the last of her sobs.
He unlocked the chains from the headboard first, then made quick, but gentle work of the cuffs on her wrists. As always, he kept a physic
al connection with her as he moved down the side of the bed, breaking contact only when he had to for the corner post. Then, his hands were on her again, sliding down her legs as he crouched to release the cuffs from her ankles. He spent some time massaging his way back up her legs and she was not unaffected by the way his thumbs slid so close to her pussy when he finally reached the top. His fingertips traced the bottom of her ass cheeks, which were relatively unscathed, and around the outsides up to her hips and over the top, encircling his marks, outlining the heat that felt like it was actually radiating. More warmth stirred to life low in her gut.
“You did so good, little fox,” he praised. “Taking eleven spankings from a paddle you’ve never had used on you before. Such a good girl.”
Tessa’s chest filled with pride from his praise and she was a little dumbstruck and awed by that number. She’d been too distracted to keep count, and that seemed quite a bit higher than she would’ve guessed. In all honesty, it felt as if she’d wussed out after only a few swats, certainly not eleven. Felix didn’t give her time to dwell on it, though, as his warm breath fanned across the stinging heat of her skin, just before his lips had the air exploding from her lungs.
Being the brilliant Dom that he was, Felix had anticipated her reaction by gripping her hips to hold her in place. Then, he continued to lick and kiss all over her ass cheeks. Tessa couldn’t breathe right. Air hissed through her teeth as she tried to figure out if she was in pain or getting pleasured. There was no control over the grunts and groans rattling in her throat from the combination of both, or the inability to remain still.
“Oh!” she cried out, startled when he used his thumbs to pry her ass cheeks apart.
Then, his wet tongue lapped right over her core and her next breath emerged on a moan. She lost any and all desire to stop him. Even the stings of his marks couldn’t detract from the pleasure that rapidly bloomed through her sex and continued to spread.
“Master!” she pleaded, wincing when he lost all gentleness and tongued her harder, trapping her between the two distinct sensations of pleasure and pain.
