Tears sprang to her eyes as the level of discomfort rose. The delicious feeling of his cock ripping in and out of her made her pussy pulse with need. He hadn’t touched either her clit or her sheath, and still she was so close to coming, she had to grit her teeth to keep from doing so.
“Don’t. You. Fucking. Come. Brat. Not. Until. I. Say. So.” His voice was choppy. Clipped. Each word coming out individually as he continued to fuck her ass.
She squeezed her eyes closed tighter as he rammed her over and over.
The pain in her tight hole subsided with each thrust. She doubted she was even injured. Although initially it seemed he had torn her sensitive skin again, she doubted that was the case.
The cut on her hip, however, was another story. He knew exactly what he was doing as he dug his fingers roughly into the cut, reopening the wound.
She could feel the warm drops of blood as they oozed out of the injury.
Suddenly, without pausing his rough fucking, he released her hip and slapped her ass with so much force she nearly shot forward on the bed.
She screamed. “Yes. Oh God. Master…”
The welts on her ass were nowhere near healed from the whip. Each time his palm landed on a new spot, his slaps reminded her how sore she still was.
Deliciously sore.
So many sensations assaulting her all at once. She couldn’t stop the freight train that was her impending orgasm. In fact, she sucked in a sharp breath with each slap, bit her bottom lip, and fought a losing battle for control.
When Theo finally thrust into her for one last time, his cock pulsing in her tight hole, he groaned around his release.
She wanted to scream. She was so close. So many times she’d forced herself not to come, and now he stopped moving.
A whimper escaped her lips unbidden.
He leaned forward, keeping his cock lodged inside her, and wrapped one arm around her belly. His fingers pressed into the cuts he’d made there. “Come for me,” he whispered.
Instantly, she shattered, thrusting her ass tight against his torso, ensuring he was as deep as possible. While she succumbed to one of the most intense orgasms of her life, her Master ground his fingers into the cuts on her hip and belly. That was the only catalyst she had, the pain of her stretched ass and the reminder of the cuts on her body. It was more than enough to send her over the edge into a strange oblivion that left her dripping with her own come as her pussy and clit both pulsed around nothing.
The orgasm was strong, but as she fought to catch her breath, she knew it wasn’t enough.
Damn him.
He knew exactly what he was doing when he left her still bereft of his cock inside her pussy.
She wanted to scream, cry, stomp her feet. But she was too worn out to do any of those things. And besides, she knew perfectly well he would only withhold what she needed longer if she made any comment.
Instead, she held her tongue as Theo slowly removed his fingers from her cuts and his cock from her ass. She winced at both actions.
He eased her onto her side. “Don’t move.”
She had no intention of doing so. She didn’t even open her eyes or brush the thick strands of hair from her face. She simply lay there, breathing shallowly as her Master returned.
Without a word he cleaned the wounds on her belly and hip and applied a cool ointment. She didn’t even flinch when he pried her ass cheeks apart and pressed a cool cloth to her burning hole. And she remained just as still as he smoothed the cream around the edges of the tight throbbing opening and then pressed a finger deep inside her to spread the substance as deep as he could reach.
She should have been humiliated at his administrations.
Instead she welcomed his touch. So gentle. So caring.
She was lost to him.
She fisted her hands as he pulled a sheet over her broken body, brushed her hair away from her face, and kissed her temple. “Sleep, Lucy.” Those were his only words.
And then he left her there.
Alone.
In the dark.
With nothing but her thoughts that ran rampant through her head for only a few minutes before she succumbed to the need to rest and fell asleep.
Chapter Fourteen
They’d been together for over a week, and Lucinda was covered in welts and bruises, and she loved every minute of it. Each night, she’d return to Theo’s house after work, and he still surprised her with what he asked for, what he demanded.
If she mouthed off, there were immediate consequences—most of which involved him withdrawing his attention from her—but he also showered her with praise. As if he hadn’t heard her confession about the horrible things she’d done to Morgan and Julian. As if he actually thought she was worthy of him as her Dom.
He’d told her she needed to let go of the past and move forward. And every day, she felt the ground grow more solid beneath her feet. She’d brought him the whip twice in the past week, and both occasions, he’d done her bidding, no questions asked, just like he promised. For the first time in forever, she thought she might have finally found the right person to be with.
She glanced at her watch as she was exiting the pottery studio on Wednesday night. Six o’clock. Plenty of time to shower and get changed before she was to meet Theo at Exotica. He wanted to do a scene with her publicly, and she couldn’t wait.
But the grin on her face disappeared the minute she stepped onto the sidewalk.
“Lucy, baby girl, we’ve been waiting for you. Surprise!” Her mother’s twang pierced through the street noises and hit Lucinda right in the gut.
“What are you doing here, Mama?”
“Well, baby, your daddy and I haven’t seen you in such a long time. We thought it was high time we came up here, met your friends, saw how your life here was.”
Lucinda narrowed her gaze. Her parents hadn’t ever been to visit her. They made it very clear how they felt about the “North” and that if she wanted to see them, she needed to come home. They expected her to come home, because that’s what good Southern girls did. The past few years had been a waiting game for them. And every time she’d seen them, they had asked if she had gotten the Twin Cities out of her system yet.
“Mama, you’ve never wanted to come visit me.”
Her mother batted her hand as though the point was irrelevant and stepped forward to give Lucinda a breath-stealing hug. “You look good, baby girl.”
“Where’s Daddy?” Lucinda asked, pulling away.
“Back at the hotel, resting. He’s going to meet us for dinner.”
“I have plans tonight, Mama.”
“Well, baby, you’ll have to cancel them. Your parents are in town. I’m sure whoever you’re meeting will understand.”
She wasn’t sure Theo would understand. More, she wasn’t sure she wanted to give up a night with him at Exotica for a painful and stilted meal with her parents. But guilt creeped up her spine, and she knew she would cancel.
She pulled out her phone and shot him a text as her mom waved down a cab.
Lucinda: My parents surprised me with a visit. Can’t make it tonight.
Short and sweet. She wouldn’t tell him how she felt about not meeting him. She wouldn’t tell him about the sick feeling in her stomach at the idea of sitting through a dinner with her judgmental parents.
She slid into the cab with her mother and looked at his return text on her phone.
Theo: Please call me before bed tonight. Be safe, sweetheart.
Her heart skipped at the endearment. God, she missed him already. What the hell was happening to her?
Her mother chattered about all the different things going on at home, but Lucinda paid little attention as the cab worked its way through traffic to the hotel on the bank of the Mississippi River. When they arrived, she helped her mother out of the car and walked numbly to the hotel restaurant where her dad sat.
She froze when she saw him. He looked terrible. Pale, waxy skin, deep sunken eyes. And he’d lost a
good deal of weight. The imposing man who’d dominated her childhood had turned into a shell.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, as he gave her a weak hug.
Her mother shuffled to the other side of the table and sat. “Sit down. We’ll talk over dinner.”
Lucinda couldn’t take her eyes off her father as they ordered. While his voice was still deep and authoritative, the rest of him looked fragile. She could barely stop the questions as their drinks were delivered.
“Tell me,” she said to her father.
He sighed. “I have pancreatic cancer. The prognosis…isn’t great.”
The breath whooshed out of her. “How long have you known?”
“A few months now.”
She felt like she’d been smacked. “And you’re just telling me now?”
Her mother interrupted. “We didn’t want to worry you. Wanted to figure out what we needed to do and what the treatment would look like.”
“And?”
Her dad sighed. “Chemo. Radiation. Only a ten percent chance of recovery.”
“Oh Daddy.”
Her mother lifted her chin and folded her hands in front of her. “That’s why we came, Lucy. We need you to move home and take care of your father.”
The floor dropped out from beneath Lucinda. “What? I mean, Daddy, of course I’m worried about you and will do everything I can to help. But my life is here. I have a job and an apartment.”
Her mom swatted the air again like a gnat wouldn’t leave her alone. “Your job and your apartment don’t matter. You need to come home. Your daddy needs you to take care of him.”
Her eyes widened, and she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What about you?”
Her mom’s gaze didn’t even falter. “I have responsibilities at home. My club and my charities. I can’t leave them. I’ll, of course, be around, same as I always am. But your daddy needs his daughter.”
Lucinda couldn’t even process all that had been said in the past five minutes. It was too much. She couldn’t imagine the world without her imposing father. And she ached for him. But she also couldn’t imagine giving up her whole life to take care of him. Her mom had always been terrible when any of them got sick. It was like for all her trophy mother accomplishments, she couldn’t deal with the really hard stuff. Lucinda remembered the time she’d had mono in high school and her mom told her it was a little cold, pushing her to return to school until she’d gotten so sick she ended up with mono-induced hepatitis. Her dad had been the one to stay with her in the hospital as she was given IV fluids and told to stop pushing herself so hard.
“Mama,” Lucinda started. “I can’t…”
“This is your father, baby girl. He needs your help. Please do not tell me you’re so selfish that you refuse to come home and care for him.”
“What about Emma? She lives next door.”
Her mother shook her head. “She’s got a baby. She can’t.”
Lucinda bit her lip, but then blurted, “Their ‘baby’ is seven. She goes to school full-time. Emma doesn’t do anything with her days. She doesn’t work. She goes to lunches with her friends and spends Jackson’s money.”
“Don’t talk about your brother or sister-in-law that way. This isn’t up for discussion. Your daddy needs you home. Sort out your affairs and fly back with us.”
“What? Sort out my affairs? Like I can give my job and my landlord two days’ notice and all will be well?” Not to mention Theo. Jesus. How could her mother think it was all this easy?
“Tell them it’s a family emergency. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
Lucinda blinked back tears and turned to her father. “Daddy?”
His face was a mask of defeat and sorrow. “I miss you, baby girl. I’d be happy to have you home.”
Lucinda felt her whole world begin to shift and crumble beneath her. She nodded and didn’t say another word about it for the rest of the meal.
»»•««
Theo paced back and forth across the hallway connecting the living room to the kitchen. Unexpected visit from her parents? He couldn’t imagine the state she’d be in. Three different times he considered going to her apartment to wait for her, but he stopped himself. He’d wait for her call.
By ten o’clock, he was almost frantic, but then he heard a car pull into his drive. He looked out the window and saw her step out of a cab. She moved slowly to his front door, and when he pulled it open, his breath caught in his throat. She looked wrecked.
“What the hell happened?”
She shook her head, and he swept her into his arms. He placed soft kisses on her head and rubbed her back as she cried into his shirt. Minutes later, she scrubbed the last tears away and looked at him.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. I need…”
She grabbed her bag and began to rifle through it. He stopped her. She was looking for the whip. He knew it. But her body wouldn’t be able to handle the intensity of the welts over those he’d given her last night. She looked up at him with wide eyes bracketed by her red hair. “Theo,” she whispered. A question and a plea.
“Do you trust me?”
“With everything I have, Master.”
He placed her bag on the floor and swept her into his arms, carrying her up the stairs and into his room. He placed her seated on the bed, and she looked at his space.
“So all it took for me to finally see the inside of your room was my life to fall apart? I’ll have to remember that for next time,” she said, but the joke fell flat.
“Explain,” he said, crossing his arms and taking in her splotchy face.
“Later. Please. I need this first.”
He regarded her another minute and then nodded. “Take your clothes off. Lie on your back.”
She removed her jeans and T-shirt and then slipped out of her bra and thong. His breath still caught at the sight of her gorgeous body covered in his marks. He pulled off his shirt and jeans, his cock full and hard against his stomach. He walked to the side table and pulled out a condom, rolling it on as he spoke. “You on the pill, Lucy?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I hate these things. Not going to use them after this.”
She nodded.
“Anyway,” he continued, “I’ve been taking Aikido for several years. The discipline and training are intense, but it has helped form who I am.”
She nodded and licked her lips. He stifled a groan and continued. “One of the things I’ve learned is how to render an attacker unconscious.”
He kneeled on the bed, straddling her hips. Her eyes glazed as she stared at his cock, and she licked her lips again. He tipped her chin so she met his gaze.
“Being on the brink of unconsciousness makes every feeling more intense.” His hand slid down to her neck, and she gasped.
“Breath play, Master?”
“Air chokes can be very dangerous, sweetheart. Highly debated in the community.” He nudged her knees apart. Without warning, he surged into her, and she moaned. So wet, so hot and tight. She was magnificent. Everything he wanted. Everything he’d waited for all these weeks.
His hand tightened slightly on her neck, and she whimpered.
“Blood chokes are safer. They happen faster. You’ll be out within ten seconds.” He thrust into her again, ramping her up with his cock and his words. “But they won’t compromise your trachea.”
“Please, Master,” she whispered, clutching her pussy around him. He drove in faster.
“You’ll panic, and when you come to, you won’t be sure where you are. I’ll be here, and I’ll take care of you.”
She lifted her head, almost straining to get him to tighten the hold on her neck. Her pussy was so tight and wet he feared he’d spend himself before he even got her there. But he could tell by her raspy breathing and her glazed eyes, she was close.
“Don’t lift your head. Relax. Let me get you there.”
“Master. Please,” she begged again.
He thrust harder,
and she wrapped her legs around his hips. She clawed at his chest, and he felt her nails break skin. He pounded into her harder, taking her right to the brink, but no further. She panted and tipped her hips up, matching his thrusts.
“You’re going to panic. And you’re going to fight. You need to trust me. Do you?”
“Yes.”
He surged forward and kissed her deeply as his cock slammed into her heat even faster. “Ready, love?”
She could only cry out. The beginnings of an orgasm starting to shake her. He pressed his thumb over her carotid artery, remembering all the things the sensei said, and held. Her body started to convulse, from the orgasm or the blood choke, he didn’t know. But it caused a matching sensation in him, and he roared as he came, releasing his hold on her neck as she slumped into unconsciousness.
He dropped to her side, slipping the condom off and dropping it into the trash, and then he wrapped his arms around her. He’d never felt this way about anyone in his life. Whatever was wrong, he’d fix it. He’d do anything for her.
When she came to, she cried out, thrashing in confusion.
“Sweetheart, I’ve got you. Relax. I’ve got you.” He wrapped his arms tightly around her and waited.
“Theo?”
“Shh, yes, love. I’m here. Relax.”
The tension in her body began to seep out of her. “I’ve never felt anything like that.”
“I know, love. Me either. You were incredible.”
She turned in his arms and looked at him. “I love you.”
He pulled her into a tight hug, too moved to respond. Could he really have this? Before he could say anything, her body went slack again, and she fell into a soft doze. He twirled her hair between two of his fingers and pulled her in tighter to him. He’d fallen in love with his brat. Not totally unexpected, but certainly not something he’d planned for.
He pressed a kiss on her forehead. “I love you too, Lucy.”
He followed her into sleep, a wide smile on his face as he snuggled contentedly into her softness.
When he woke up, she was gone.
Chapter Fifteen
It took everything she had to slip from Theo’s arms and escape his room. She padded silently into the bathroom in the room she’d been calling hers until last night. She looked disheveled—tear-stained cheeks, fingerprint bruises around her neck—but her eyes were brighter than they’d ever been. She told him she loved him, and he didn’t reject her. He took the gift of her trust and made it perfect. Everything she could ever need.
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