“Don’t move,” Luis said. He took a black cloth from his pocket, maybe a bandana, and wound it through my mouth, tying it behind my head. I bit down on it to keep my teeth from chattering. I heard him move to stand by the door.
Then the wait began. Every few minutes panic and terror would set in, rolling through my body like a maniacal wave. I panted and made frantic noises, but I didn’t cry. If tears were the thing that got me in this position, I never wanted to cry again.
I stilled when low voices and footsteps sounded from the doorway behind me. My heartbeats seemed to stop as a chill of apprehension seeped through my bones. Nobody spoke, but I could hear the shuffle of feet and wondered how many were in the room, looking at my naked backside. What were they going to do to me?
When a hand pressed against my back I let out a small scream through my clenched teeth.
Marco’s voice was measured and calm when he said, “Silencio.” His hand went slowly over the bulb of my bottom, rubbing down my thighs and back up, his fingertips grazing the crease of my ass. “You disappointed me, Angel. I do not tolerate tears. I will not allow you to upset my guests.”
I wanted to apologize—to swear I’d never do it again, but I couldn’t with the gag. My body was tensed, on high alert, waiting.
A hard smack landed on one of my ass cheeks. I gasped and clenched my muscles until the resounding sting waned.
He came around to stand in front of me, hands behind his back, a disappointed look on his face. I tried to plead with my eyes, but he wasn’t having any of it. He smacked me across the face and it hurt on several levels. Besides the ringing in my ears and watering of my eyes it caused, being struck on the face was a shameful feeling.
“Lower your eyes,” he demanded, and I did.
Another man came to stand at his side, also in a suit.
In Spanish he said, “Thank you for asking me to oversee her first punishment, Se?or Díaz.” I recognized the deep voice of the man at the table who’d been so interested in me. “You know how I enjoy a good whipping.”
“Of course,” Marco replied.
Whipping. The word echoed in my head, morphing into a pounding headache.
“Cinturón,” Marco said. Belt.
My heart seized. God! Please help me...
From behind me I heard the clink and whir of a belt being unbuckled and pulled from its loops around someone’s waist. My breathing quickened.
Two seconds later a loud thwap followed by a vicious stinging rose up across my butt and I cried out. The pain of it was stunning. Before I could process it another landed a bit higher. I took jagged breaths, the kind you’d take during a sobbing fit.
“Don’t you dare cry,” Marco whispered.
Thwap.
I screamed with each strike against my flesh. My ass was on fire, but I was too terrified to cry. I tried to focus my eyes, only to see the man next to Marco adjusting the growing bulge in his pants. So I shut my eyes and lost count of the stinging hits. I’d never been in pain like this. I lost control of my body as I tried desperately not to cry. I shook all over, and a childlike babbling rose up from my throat—a begging sound.
“Enough,” Marco finally whispered.
I felt my heartbeat in the wounds across my lower back, butt, and thighs. I flinched against the bouts of throbbing pain. And like a dog I panted through it.
Marco walked to my side making soothing noises and running a gentle hand over my arms and upper back. I heard something plastic opening, and then Marco was rubbing a cooling salve against the welts.
“This is your reward for not crying, pretty girl.”
My head hung limply, and I was grateful for my reward.
“Jesús y María, I need to fuck her,” said the man in front of me.
“Not yet,” said Marco evenly. “Tonight. I have something else I need to do with her before then, but you will be my first patron to have her. She is too green to be trusted, so she must stay gagged and bound.”
“Fine by me.”
I couldn’t work up the necessary disgust and fear warranted by the man’s lascivious chuckle. I was too relieved that Marco wasn’t letting him have me now. How sad that I’d come to a point where I was thankful for any small reprieve, even when I knew something vile awaited me later.
“Shall I send Jin to care for you in the meantime?” Marco asked the man.
“No.” I could feel his eyes on me, hear the dark lust in his voice. “I will wait for this one.”
“Bueno,” Marco said. “Enjoy your afternoon, Se?or Feliz.”
The deep-voiced man left the room and silence pervaded for many minutes as Marco cared for my wounds. The wounds he’d ordered. I couldn’t even muster the deserved contempt for him at that moment. He was messing with my head, hurting me then caring for me. And I was falling for it, actually feeling thankful for his tenderness. What was wrong with me?
He commanded for me to be unchained, so Luis swiftly undid the clasps, leading me by the waist down to the floor where I held myself up on all fours. Marco crouched next to me.
I was so tired.