“What did you say this morning about the auction? What would happen when you were on stage?”
“What?” He’s not making any sense, and I can’t seem to shake my nervousness. Plus, the way I’m restrained and the anticipation for what’s to come has my brain in a fog. He’s so angry and being rougher than usual, and it’s so hot and terrifying that my body doesn’t know if it’s scared or turned on.
“Crickets, Charlotte. You said there would be crickets.”
“Um…yeah,” I reply.
He moves across the room and opens a drawer. I try to peer around him to see what he’s taking out. When he turns back toward me, he has a strip of black silk in his fingers.
“Were there crickets, Charlotte?”
“No…” I reply. He stands at the foot of the bed and stares at me with that tense brow of his, gliding the silk through his fingers.
“How much did I pay for this hour with you?”
“Emerson, you can’t really pay that—”
“Lie down,” he barks in a stern command.
“I don’t understand.”
He raises a brow, tilting his head at me. “Do you want me to stop, Charlotte? If you’re scared, we can walk right out the door.”
“No…” I whisper.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Then, lie down.” His cold voice sends a chill down my spine, and I force my lungs to breathe as I recline on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Emerson moves up toward my head and reaches behind me, fumbling with the clasp of my bra. It unhooks and he pulls it off, releasing my breasts. Then, he gathers my wrists together, tying them with the black silk.
There’s a subtle shake in my bones, but I do my best to hide it. And I realize now that if Emerson is mad at me, he’s going to do something to punish me. And strange as it is, that’s what I want.
I watch as he walks back to the drawer and pulls out another piece of silk. “We haven’t established a safe word because we haven’t needed one yet.”
Safe word? My stomach turns.
“If you want me to stop, just say mercy. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
I repeat the word over and over in my head, making sure I don’t forget it.
Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.
But I won’t need it, will I? He’s not really going to hurt me.
“Charlotte, tell me why you think I’m punishing you tonight.”
I take a breath, staring up at him. His features have softened, and I focus on the fabric in his hands, knowing that it’s going to cover my eyes in a minute, and I need to prepare myself for it.
“Because I…um,” I stammer. It’s because of the money, isn’t it? “Because I cost you seventy-five thousand dollars?”
He growls, stepping toward me. As he drapes the fabric over my eyes, he coldly replies, “No.” The room goes black as he ties the silk at the back of my head, and my breathing picks up. Everything instantly becomes more intense, my legs wanting to fight against the restraints because I feel so exposed.
When I feel his soft hands stroking my cheeks, I flinch. “You cost me so much money because you are worth it, Charlotte. I put you on that stage, hoping you would see that for yourself, but I could tell as I watched you up there that you still wouldn’t believe it.”
What? This is about me believing I’m worth so much money? He can’t be serious.
“I don’t like impact play, and if I remember correctly, you didn’t like the idea of being paddled or spanked, correct?”
“Um…yes, I mean…”
He strokes my head. “Relax.”
I have to force my chest to inhale. I just want him to touch me again.
“Luckily, there are other ways of teaching you a lesson. And I’ll admit something to you…”
I hear him doing something across the room—opening a drawer, moving things around, placing things on the bed. I can’t tell what any of it is, but I’m overwhelmed with curiosity.
“What?” I ask.
He brings his mouth close to my ear as he whispers, “I memorized every single thing you wrote on that list.”
Fuck. My mind races, trying to remember what I scored those items, but there were over two hundred of them. Could he really have memorized it?
“Deep breath,” he mumbles against my ear. Right as I inhale, something clamps down hard on my right nipple, and I let out a shriek, twisting and contorting, trying to move away from the pain, but it won’t let up. It takes me a second to realize it’s a nipple clamp.
My chest is heaving as I accept the pain, letting it settle in.
“How much did I pay, Charlotte?”
My brain scrambles for an answer. “Seventy-five…” I breathe.
“Do you think that was too much?”
“Yes.” I sigh, knowing what’s coming before I can even get the word out.
When the second clamp tightens, I don’t let out a shriek because it’s not as surprising as the first, but it somehow hurts more.
Warm, wet lips press against the flesh of my breasts, and I hum in response. “Do you understand why I’m angry?”
“No,” I reply.
His hands draw deep lines down my sides, over my hips, digging under my panties. And I know what’s coming before he does it. With a quick jerk, he tears apart my thong, ripping it easily in two. I’m lying naked, bound to the bed, and being punished. It’s hot and terrifying, and I sort of don’t want it to end.
When his fingers touch me between my legs, I cry out. I’m so turned on already that one touch has me feeling ready to explode.
“Because you are mine, Charlotte. And I don’t appreciate when anyone talks badly about something that is mine. Do you think I have bad taste?”
“No…” I gasp. He runs his index finger between my folds, and I ache for more. Then he presses his finger inside me, as if he’s playing with me, teasing me.
“Do you think I’m stupid for paying so much for you?”
“No!”
He circles my clit, and I struggle against the restraints.
“Are you worth seventy-five grand, Charlotte?”
I’m trying to lean into his touch, hungry for the pressure. But he eases up every time I get close to my climax. “Answer me,” he urges.
“No,” I reply, knowing it’s not what he wants to hear. And the second the word comes out of my mouth, he pulls away. I could have lied. I knew what the right answer was, but for some reason, I don’t want to get out of this punishment.
He disappears for a moment, and I hear him gathering more things, opening drawers and setting something down. Then I hear the unmistakable sound of him lighting a match. The odor of sulfur wafts to my nose. A second later, I hear him blow the match out.
What does he need fire for?
It’s quiet for a moment, then I hear the sound of clothes rustling and his belt unbuckling.
“I wish you could see what I see,” he mutters, and I feel his weight on the bed next to me, “and I hate to punish you for always talking so badly about yourself, but I’m not going to lie, Charlotte. I’m going to enjoy this.”
His mouth lands against mine, our lips tangling as his tongue slips into my mouth. I hum against him, trying to deepen the kiss.
My nipples are numb, and the pain has faded. But something about his kiss has made them ache again.
“Deep breath,” he whispers against his mouth, and I do as I’m told, inhaling a warm breath that smells like him.
He has me relaxed and at ease, just as a burning hot pain lands against my chest, making me scream.
“Shhh… Don’t make me gag you, baby,” he mumbles against my mouth.
“It hurts!” I scream, squirming away from the heat, but it’s already starting to cool down.
Wax. He just dripped fucking candle wax on me!
“Do you need mercy?” he asks, but it takes my brain a minute to catch up. He’s asking if I want to stop. Do I? God, that hurt, but he’s doing this for a reason. And aside all of that, my body is awake, sensitive and a little horny behind the pain.
“No,” I whimper.
“Good girl.” Before touching me again, he sits up and I feel his hands glide up my legs, massaging my hips. “I wish you could see how beautiful you are right now. You are perfection, Charlotte. And I hate to hurt you, but feel what it does to me.”
His hips grind against my leg, and I feel his rock-hard erection. He’s naked, and I writhe, trying to feel him more.
“Do you want me to fuck you, baby girl?”