That’s the day I realized that my father was a sick fuck and the cold dark look was echoed in my brother’s eyes.
I down the whiskey and close the laptop at the unpleasant memory, setting it on the ottoman and rising from my seat. I ignore the fact that I feel like an asshole. I’m fully aware that she’s under a different impression of what this is. She shouldn’t be. It’s my fault and I need to fix this.
I look at the clock and see it’s been an hour. The time has clicked by slowly; tick tock, tick tock. I wanted to go to her every minute that she’s been in there, but she needs to learn she can’t top from the bottom. I’m the one with control and she won’t force my hand to get what she wants.
All the punishment she’s received up to this moment have been for conditioning. The punishment was to help her learn how to please me. Although there’s pain, it’s always accompanied by far more pleasure. She takes a simple punishment and then she’s rewarded for accepting it.
Not this time.
Hopefully this will be the last time. But I doubt it will. There is a ferocity in her. A strength that she doesn’t recognize. She may not know how courageous she is, but when most people see me, they cower. She was drawn to my power. That in and of itself shows courage.
My blood rushes in my ears and my body heats as I move to her room. I open the door slowly, peeking in to see her curled in a ball on the floor of the cage. The cage itself is large enough for her to stand. I imagined her in the corner with her knees tucked under her chin, her arms wrapped around her legs.
And that’s just how she is.
She peeks up over her knees as I close the door.
Her eyes are red-rimmed. She’s been crying. Seeing her like this hurts me.
“Are you ready to behave?” I ask her, slowly walking towards the corner of the room. The cage door is slightly ajar, I didn’t lock it, but I know she didn’t leave it. It’s not in her nature.
She can leave if she wants. At any time she could go and break the contract. But she doesn’t truly want to leave. She wants to fight me, she wants me to earn her submission.
And I fucking love the challenge.
This part of it though, I’m not sure I want to do again. I’d rather fuck her into submission.
I crouch in front of the cage, opening the door all the way. She watches me with wide eyes. When the door creaked open her body stiffened, “I didn’t unlock it.” I stare back at her as she continues, her voice soft. “I think you forgot to lock it, Sir.”
“Did you leave?” I ask, as I sit on the floor with my legs crossed. I already know she didn’t. She shakes her head and whispering a “no” “I didn’t forget anything, my flower.” I pat my lap, waiting for her to crawl out to me. “I’ll never lock you in here. It’s in our contract.”
She seems hesitant for a moment, her movements stuttering.
“You did read what you signed didn’t you?” My voice comes out playful. I know she read every word. I know she takes it seriously. Her lips show the trace of a smile, but it quickly disappears as she wipes away the tears under her eyes.
“Yes, sir,” she answers beneath her breath as she crawls out. She doesn’t hesitate to come to me, nestling herself in my lap and resting her cheek against my chest. I comfort her, rubbing her back with firm strokes.
“You know I had to punish you, don’t you?” I ask her.
She nods her head against my chest as her fingers intertwine nervously. “I do.” She clears her throat “I’m sorry sir, I shouldn’t have lied to you. I shouldn’t have tried to push you.”
I kiss her hair, petting her as she apologizes. I hate this. It’s something I knew that was going to happen, but I didn’t expect my reaction. Or hers.
“I-” I clear my throat and shuffling her in my lap. I don’t mind that she came to me. I’m dealing with my fuckface of a brother. He wants the money back. The money they planted on me to set me up. He’s trying to get me back under the familia’s thumb. It’s not going to happen. “I will attend to you when I can. But sometimes you have to wait.”
Lilly nods her head diligently.
I hook my finger under her chin, looked her in the eyes as I tell her. “Trust me, I would have much rather been spending time with you.”
I kiss her, the taste of her tears touching the tip of my tongue as she gives into me, parting her lips. Her eyes are still glassed over with unshed tears. I brush my thumb along her cheek, and kiss her again. I say the only words I know that will make her smile again.
I brush my nose against hers and say, “I think you need to be punished, my flower.”
I knot the rope at her wrists, tying them tighter. Her lips part, gifting me that beautiful sound.
Testing the give of the rope, I pull slightly, her small body falling forward. She’s on her ass on the floor. Naked and waiting for me to command her.
I’m running out of these stupid rules. It’s not about training her anymore, it’s about pushing her limits and simply enjoying each other’s touch.
I pull her closer to me, her arms bending as my lips brush against hers. My heart seems to slow when I open my eyes and find her pale blue gaze shining back at me. There’s a look there I should fear. Something that tells me I should end this. But I don’t want to. I refuse to.
Chapter 19
Lilly
I let out a groan, rubbing soothing circles on my right ass cheek as I stop in the hallway outside of Joseph’s room.
I’m sore all over. From being used. Deliciously used. But I need more of whatever it is he rubs on my ass after he’s done spanking me.
Over the past several days, Joseph’s given me nothing but sessions of rough, pleasurable sex. At this point, I can’t tell if I’m aching from one of his spankings or his thick cock. I smile at the memory of this morning. No doubt the spanking when it comes to my ass.
It’s a good problem to have. And I could definitely learn to love it. I just wish I didn’t feel it right now. It’s getting in the way of my snooping. A mischievous grin slips into place. I know I’m being a bit bad, but technically there’s no rule against it.
For the past hour, I’ve been looking around the house, trying to figure out what Joseph’s hiding. I know he’s hiding something. A part of me is scared to find out. And the other part of me is hoping that I’m just being paranoid. I bite down on the inside of my cheek. He won’t tell me about his past. Or whatever the hell makes him hideaway in his study. I’m sure as fuck not gonna sit around waiting.
The wooden floor creaks in the hallway under my weight the second I slip out of my room. Dammit. I’m not the best at being quiet. My heart stills and I stand frozen in the hallway, glaring at the wooden floorboards. After a moment, I straighten and continue on into his room. I practically tip toe, my tongue stuck between my teeth as I sneak into his room. I love it in here. It’s so ... him.
Furtively, I’m looking around, wondering where I should start first, my heart pounding in my chest. I don’t have much time. I don’t know when Joseph will come out of his study, so I need to move quickly. I should hear him. I keep telling myself. I will definitely hear him when he comes up the stairs.