Authors: Lorelei James
“Not acceptable behavior,” he snapped. “When I say stay put, I mean stay put. You could’ve asked me to turn off the soup. Instead, you chose to ignore my instructions and did whatever the hell you wanted. Bad choice. Get back on the bar as you were.”
When Ainsley peeked up at him with those less-than-remorseful eyes, but didn’t move, he pulled out the whip and snapped it in the air. “Now.”
Another yelp and then she was running across the room, making all of her girly parts jiggle very nicely.
Christ, his dick went hard and he hadn’t even touched her yet. He put the whip, the vibrating butt plug, and the ball gag within her view. He stretched her arms above her head and secured her wrists to the brass rail running along the inside and outside of the bartop.
She didn’t utter a peep when he restrained her legs in the same manner, but her breaths were coming much faster.
“Oh and for the record? This isn’t playtime. You are bein’ punished.” Her body shuddered as his fingertips skimmed the curves of her ass. “Do you know why you’re bein’ punished?”
“Umm…initially? No. Now I know my punishment will be because I disobeyed you. God forbid I put safety first by turning off the stove and preventing a fire hazard.”
“Are you still arguing with me?”
“You have to admit—”
“Silence!”
Ainsley sighed. Wearily.
“You disrespected me at Rielle’s place. Then you flat-out insulted me. That alone was enough to earn you a few licks. But your absolute disobedience after the fact, in your Dom’s home, has earned hefty consequences, Ainsley.”
“I understand. And I am sorry.”
Like hell you’re sorry
. “Since we agreed early on spanking wasn’t a punishment, I’m improvising. By my count you earned forty marks.”
“F-forty?”
“I’ll split them—twenty with the paddle, twenty with the ridin’ crop.”
She exhaled. “Thank you for not…just thank you.”
Ben didn’t like it that she flinched when he touched her. And why was she shaking so hard? “You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?”
“I’m f-fine.”
“No, you’re not. Tell me.”
“Don’t use the whip on me. Ever. Please. I-I’d use my safe word before I’d let you.”
He froze. Hadn’t they discussed her hard limits? Didn’t she know he’d never… Christ. This was fucked up. “Ainsley. Look at me, please.”
She lifted her head, but her hair obscured her face. He gently brushed the silky strands aside. “I’d never use the single tail on you. I know it’s a hard limit.”
“Then why is it on the counter?”
He felt like a total dickhead for using it as a scare tactic. “It was just in the bag,” he lied.
She relaxed slightly. “Okay.”
Part of him wanted to call this punishment off. But a stronger part knew Ainsley needed this lesson.
Why? So the next Dom she hooks up with will reap the benefits?
The thought of another Dom touching her made him insane.
Ben did grant a soft kiss on her forehead as he ran his palm up her bound arm. “Count loud enough so I can hear or I won’t count it. And I better hear respect in that tone, understand?”
“Yes. Sir.”
Using the paddle, he smacked her left butt cheek. The
thwack
bounced off the bar mirror in an erotic echo.
“One. Sir.”
By the time he reached twenty smacks, Ainsley was very squirmy and his cock was painfully hard. What a gorgeous sight, her ass a bright pink border between the white skin of her back and thighs. He traced her butt crack until his fingers connected with her pussy. Her wet pussy. Oh hell yeah. His angel was a sub through and through. She needed this as much as he did.
Pity she’ll walk away from this lifestyle and from you at the end of the night. You’ll just become a memory of the weeks she dabbled on the wild side.
Ben had to toss that unsettling thought aside. He turned the vibrator on the lowest speed, rolling it across those flaming butt cheeks. He said, “Lift up,” and slid the phallus into her cunt.
Ainsley gasped and tried to squeeze her legs together.
He brushed his mouth across the shell of her ear. “Half done. But if you come before you get the next twenty lashes? I’ll give you ten more with my hand, understand?”
“Oh God. It’s…vibrating right on my G-spot.”
“I know. And be warned, I ain’t gonna go fast with these last twenty. I like takin’ my time with the crop.”
She moaned. And wiggled that pretty pink butt.
“Get ready to count.” He knew these would sting twice as much because the tissue was already swollen and he braced himself for her reaction.
She reared up when the blow landed. “Oh, you bastard, that hurts!”
Ben waited for her to realize her error.
“Sorry. Sir. It just…stung. Crap. That was…ah… One. Sir.”
“Good girl.” Ben smoothed his hand over the hot skin, as if deciding where to place the next mark. Her entire body vibrated in anticipation. The next lash hit the crease of her thigh.
“Oh, I…fuck…you…shit… That’s two. Sir.”
By the thirteenth mark, her body still trembled but she’d fallen into a deeper breathing pattern. Her voice had taken on that dreamy quality as she counted.
At number seventeen, her hips began to bump up and she tried to grind her crotch into the wood. Ben gathered her hair in his hand and raised her head. Her eyes were glassy with that mix of pleasure and pain. He wanted to fuck her so bad he could practically taste the scream she’d release on his first deep thrust. “Don’t come. You come and I start over, remember?”
“Please.”
“No. You can take three more, Ainsley. And these three are gonna sting.”
She shuddered, but whispered, “Okay.”
He’d gone into that Dom zone, where their every breath seemed synchronized. Where he felt sweat breaking out on his body in the same places he saw it on hers. Where he felt each blow travel from the crop, up his arm and down to the exact spot on his body where he’d just hit on hers. He swung. Connected with her flesh. She cried out. Not in pain.
“Come on. Two more.” As much as he wanted to level the blows
boom boom
, he spaced them out, hyper-aware the anticipation would make the release so much sweeter.
As soon as she rasped out, “Twenty,” he shucked his jeans and rolled on a condom. His hands shook as he untied her ankles. She moaned, “No,” when he eased the vibrator out.
Ben crawled up on the bar and hiked Ainsley’s hips into the air. Keeping hold of her knees, he plunged into that tight, wet heat, and an animalistic snarl burst free.
Ainsley whimpered. He pumped twice more and slipped his hand around to finger her clit. Jesus. She was so primed. As he rubbed that plumped nub, he stretched over her lush, bound body, hissing as her scorching hot butt pressed into his lower abdomen.
“Oh God. Yes. Oh please.”
“Come on, baby, take it. You’ve earned it. It’s right there.” He withdrew, slammed home, and pinched her clit at the same time he opened his mouth wide and sucked the sweet spot on the back of her neck.
Ainsley released a primal scream. Her cunt spasmed so powerfully around his cock he thought the contractions might suck the seed right out of his balls. He held on through the fierce bucking of her body, through her gasping sobs, through the potent aftershocks that were clusters of tiny orgasms.
When she lowered her face to the bar, trembling and spent, Ben pulled out of her pussy, gritting his teeth as the muscles clamped down, trying to keep his cock inside.
He ditched the condom and closed his fist around the base of his shaft. His eyes focused on the sexy sight before him. That beautiful red butt in the air, her inner thighs slick with her juices, spread to reveal her swollen sex. His hand pumped harder. Just a couple more. His shaft swelled. His balls tightened. Ben roared as he came, aiming each hot spurt at her ass. He gloried in pure male satisfaction at seeing her so thoroughly, so intimately marked by him. First by his hand and then by his seed.
He could not tear his eyes away from watching those milky spots turning into wet stripes on her pinked ass.
But his knee joint cracked loudly, reminding him where he was. Dazed, he patted Ainsley’s thigh and backed off the bar. His legs were awful damn rubbery as he walked to the kitchen. He washed his hands, his face and soaked two hand towels with cool water. When he returned to take care of Ainsley, the thought of this being their last night together tied him up in knots. Tied him up so completely he thought about calling off the loan. He could get the money from Settler’s First.
You’re gonna gamble this chance to own the land your family has always wanted for a piece of ass? Even a prime piece of ass? Wrong. You can have this scenario every weekend at the club. It’s nothing special. The land is. Get with the program. Stay on track. Stay focused.
Ben shut out the warring voices in his head and focused on his sub. He wiped her clean with gentle strokes as his free hand caressed her hair. He released her restraints and helped her find her balance as she slid off the bar.
Ainsley leaned on him as he led her to the couches in front of the TV. He draped her across his lap, nestling her head into a cushion, offering her a bottle of water, which she declined.
When he placed the cool towel on her abraded skin, she hissed. Then sighed.
“Anything I can get you?” he asked, drawing random patterns on her back.
“No.”
He brought her down from the orgasmic high with soothing touches and gentle caresses. Eventually he urged her to turn on her side so he could see her face.
Ainsley looked at him without his asking.
“What?” he asked.
“Will you kiss me?”
Ben leaned over and captured her mouth. He fed her flirty kisses, tickling kisses, kisses laced with passion, kisses tempered with sweetness. When he nibbled on the inside of her lips, she pulled him closer. Threading her fingers through his hair, holding him in place as she took a hungry kiss. All at once she remembered her place and abruptly released him.
“Sorry. I just needed…you to anchor me.”
“I’m glad you asked me for what you needed, instead of making me guess.” Wasn’t it ironic she opened up to him on their last night together? He brushed his hand over her silky hair, from her scalp to where it curled against her shoulder. “We’ve come a long way in a few weeks, haven’t we?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Ainsley pressed the side of her face against his chest. “I’ll miss this.”
It hit him then, the finality. It wasn’t just the Dom/sub relationship he’d miss; he’d miss her. Everything about being with her.
They stayed wrapped together for so long the room grew cold and Ben knew the fire had dwindled to cinders. He smooched her forehead and slipped away, covering her with a fleece blanket.
Ben restocked the wood stove. He crouched and warmed his hands, his thoughts racing a million miles an hour. His gaze moved to the loan paperwork waiting on the counter. It wasn’t too late. He could toss the envelope into the fire. They could continue exploring this thing between them.
Then what happens? You spend time together and you fall for her even more than you already have? You’ve no guarantee she won’t end it anyway, because you know she’s not convinced this is sustainable. She hasn’t acted like she’s bothered you’re ending it, besides the snippy comments she made at Rielle’s. So either way, you’ve still lost her and you’ve also lost the land.
“Ben?”
He turned around. “Someone took a little cat nap.”
“Sorry.” She yawned. “Did you eat?”
“No.” He seemed to have lost his appetite. “Are you hungry?”
“Not any more. But I’ll leave it for you.”
“You’re taking off?”
She nodded and wrapped the blanket around her nakedness and headed for her clothes, which he’d picked up and placed on the chair. As she finished dressing, her gaze landed on the envelope on the counter. “Did you finish the paperwork?”
“Yep.”
“Will you be around tomorrow if I have specific questions?”
“Should be.”
She grabbed her purse and hastily threw on her coat.
Go to her. Tell her how you feel.
But he couldn’t.
“Goodbye, Ben. I’ll let you know when I hear about the loan.”
“I’d appreciate it. Drive safe.”
Then she was gone.
And for the first time in his life, his dogs didn’t provide the companionship he needed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
She’d probably get cauliflower ear from the hours she spent on the phone. Ainsley rubbed the sore appendage and switched ears. She didn’t get a chance to leave her office until lunch, and when she returned she noticed the blinds in Leslie’s office were closed, which was unusual. She knocked and heard a scratchy, “Come in.”
Leslie looked awful. Pasty skin, vacant eyes, red nose. She started to say something and ended up having a coughing fit. But she waved aside Ainsley’s concern and croaked, “Just a cold. Nothing to worry about.”