Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
He traced the scar. “Maybe I should call you Little Miss Muffett. It reminds me of a Sheppard’s crook.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Or you could call me Buffy because it’s more like a scythe. We share a last name, you know.” She straightened up. “Do the scars make me less attractive to you?”
Oh, he could go cold fast. “You’re gorgeous and you know it. Don’t ever question that in front of me again and don’t pretend like that was anything about me. You can easily tell how much I want you. This is our first session, so I’ll go easy on the discipline until I can read your body better. I’ll leave your mouth open, but in the future, if you question me while we’re playing, you’ll find I have a lovely ball gag purchased just for you.”
“I doubt it was just for me. You didn’t know you were going to hire me until this afternoon.”
His jaw tightened and she realized she was totally out of practice. All the Doms she’d bottomed for in the last few years were “play” Doms. She took them on for a night or they served her when she needed a session. They didn’t take it as seriously as Josh obviously did.
“Hands and knees.”
She shifted position, leaning forward and finding her balance. Her skin hummed with anticipation as he moved around her body. This was part of the play, the uncertainty of what he would do or when he would begin and how hard it would go. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been sarcastic.”
“You apologize a lot, pet. We’re going to have to do something to correct the behavior.”
She heard the strike before she felt it. A whoosh and then a hard crack as the crop hit her backside. Pain, like a lightning strike, boomed over her. It took everything she had not to lose her position.
If that was easy, it would be very interesting to see what he considered hardcore.
As it always did, the pain flashed through, turning into heat and making her skin come to life.
She knew it didn’t work this way for everyone. A person had to be wired a certain way. And it wasn’t as though she enjoyed all pain. She’d had plenty that had done nothing for her. Nothing but eat away at her soul. Nothing but show her how futile and useless she could be.
But this, oh, this set her free.
Another hard smack and then she felt the soft leather tip of the crop running down her spine.
“As a matter of fact, I did buy the ball gag specifically for you. I stopped at a discreet toy store before I came home this afternoon. Everything I purchased was with you in mind. I bought the ball gag and some nice nipple clamps.”
Her body tightened and that was when he struck again.
She hissed at the sensation. He said he wasn’t a sadist? He sure knew how and when to strike.
“Do you like the idea of playing out some heavy scenes with me?”
“Yes, Joshua,” she admitted. “I enjoy scenes. I like how a good Dom can make me work for an orgasm.”
“You seem to come quite easily.”
And wasn’t that a revelation? “That was not normal for me.”
“And what is normal for you?” Joshua asked.
“Being too much in my head to enjoy myself. Struggling to stay focused on my body. I’ve practiced meditation for years and it all flies out when a man puts hands on me.”
“Why do you think that is?”
For good reasons. For bad reasons. “I think I often allow too much time to pass without affection. It’s not merely about sex, though the need for sex is in there. It’s about all the years I went without a kind hand on my body, without trusting touch. I’m damaged, but I can hold myself together. Sometimes when the right person touches me, I forget I’m damaged at all.”
Another hard thwack to her ass had her groaning.
“You’re very open with me right now. Why were you shut down earlier? Is this some kind of play for you? Are you changing tactics to achieve a desired result?”
“Only if the result I wanted was my ass on fire.” She groaned because that brought the crop down again. “I didn’t know what you liked. I thought perhaps you were the type of man who required peace in his life. I wanted to seem tranquil. I’m not, Joshua. I’m trouble, and a whole lot of it.”
“Now see, I know an honest answer when I hear one.” He stepped back. “Let me help you up. You owe me thirty over my lap for the disrespectful questions.”
She opened her mouth to ask what the hell he called the last five minutes if not discipline, but carefully closed it again.
“Excellent. We’re already learning each other’s habits. And that was a warm-up,” he said, practically reading her mind. “That was what it took to get you to a place where you could tell me the unadulterated truth. Now I’ll tell you some of mine.”