My legs are actually trembling as I kick off my heels and walk to the closet to take off my dress. Lorenzo sits on the edge of the bed, watching my every move. I wish I knew what was going on in that devious brain on his. When I’m standing in only my underwear, he finally speaks. “Come here.”
I take a deep breath and approach him on shaky legs. What on earth does he have in mind? He pats his knee, and my eyes dart between his face and his muscular thighs, spread out as though he wants me to lie on top of them.
“A-are you going to spank me?” I whisper.
“It’s the quickest form of punishment I can think of right now, and your ass in that dress has me dying to fuck you, so yeah.” He pats his knee again.
I swallow hard.
“Don’t make me ask again, Mia,” he warns.
With trembling everything, I position myself over his lap, my elbows resting on the bed and my ass in the air. I feel like a naughty teenager.
Lorenzo rubs his rough hand over my ass and pleasure sizzles through me. Maybe this won’t be so bad. He’s slapped my ass plenty of times before.
“This is a beautiful ass,” he says, right before he brings his hand crashing down on the meaty part of my cheek.
I yelp even though it didn’t hurt that badly.
“Not even the warm-up, sunshine.” Slapping me harder this time, he continues. “Your panties are still on. Your spanking doesn’t really begin until this ass”—he smacks me again—“is bare.”
“Then make it start, please.” How many times is he going to spank me before the punishment truly begins?
“I’m doing you a favor warming this ass up first.” He slaps me again, and unexpected waves of pleasure roll through me. I can’t stop the moan that tumbles from my lips.
“Warmed up then?” He peels my panties off, and I press my ass up into his hands, desperate for his touch despite knowing it will hurt.
“You’re going to count your punishment, Mia. Okay?”
“H-how many, Sir?” I breathe as wetness drips between my thighs.
“It’s your first punishment, so only eight. We’ll increase the number over time as you get used to it. You ready?”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
He spanks me hard, and I cry out, white-hot need searing through me.
“How many?” he barks.
“One!”
He spanks me again, harder. “T-two,” I pant.
“Good girl,” he grunts and spanks me again. By the time he gets to number seven, my ass is on fire, my pussy leaking like a broken faucet, and my head spins. The burning sensation is unlike anything I’ve experienced. Concentrated in that one single place, it stings and throbs, making me needy for him. But I’m not sure how much more I can take. It won’t be long before the balance tips from pleasure and pain to only pain.
He spanks me one last time, harder than all the rest, and stars flicker behind my eyelids. “Eight,” I scream, gasping for breath. He rubs a soothing hand over my poor inflamed ass, and I press into his palm, longing for his touch.
His hands disappear, leaving me desperate for him. I need to feel him inside me. His cock dug into my ribs the whole time he spanked me, so I expected to be thrown onto my back and fucked as soon as he finished.
“Sir?” I whine.
“Lie on the bed. Face down,” he orders.
I crawl off him and do as I’m told. He leaves but reappears a few moments later and rubs something cooling and soothing over my ass cheeks. Although it feels good, I’m still sore and pissed at him. Wrung out but desperate for him at the same time.
“You did well, sunshine,” he says softly. “Your ass looks even more beautiful after a spanking.”
I don’t respond.
“I can’t wait to use my paddle and my crop,” he says with a groan, squeezing a handful of my ass. “I can’t wait to see you striped with welts.”
Unexpected tears prick at my eyes and I turn away, but he turns me back to him.
“Don’t pout.”
“My butt hurts!”
He arches an eyebrow, and I’m sure I see the flicker of a smirk on his lips. Jackass! “It was a punishment. It was supposed to hurt.”
“You’ve spanked me before and it never hurt like that.”
“This is the first time I’ve punished you though, right? And will you think twice before you talk bad about yourself again?”
I press my lips together, refusing to give in so easily.
“Answer me, Mia.” His hand squeezes my tender flesh.
“Yes, Sir,” I gasp.
“So the correction worked then.” He does smirk now.
“The correction?” I snap at him, annoyance prickling beneath my skin. “You make me sound like a dog.”
All the humor on his face disappears, replaced with a simmering anger that vibrates through every part of him. I swallow hard and my heart rate kicks up at least half a dozen gears. Lorenzo Moretti is a violent and dangerous man, and I played with his last nerve. My blood freezes in my veins as I brace myself for another punishment.
But he pushes himself off the bed and stalks toward the closet. I watch him intently as he takes out two huge blankets and starts to spread one out on the floor beside the bed.
“You think I treat you like a dog?” His tone is calm and collected, but it’s so cold that it makes me shiver.
“I never said …” I swallow again. My heart pounds in my ears.
He nods toward the blanket on the floor. “This is where my dog would sleep.”
I blink at him. “Are you suggesting …?”
“Dogs don’t sleep in my bed. You want to accuse me of treating you like my pet, then I’ll show you exactly how that would feel. Floor. Now!”
My breath hitches in my throat as I stare at him. He’s serious. I should tell him to go to hell. Use my safe word, maybe? This has gone too far. So why do I slip out of bed and lie on the blanket on the floor? Because this feels like a test. Everything feels like a test with him, and I don’t want to fail so soon.
Tears prick my eyes and I swallow the emotion knotting my throat. “Don’t I even get a pillow?”
He places the second blanket over me, and although he’s mad and this is a punishment, he does it so tenderly that it makes me more emotional. “My dog wouldn’t even get a blanket.” Then he climbs into bed without another word.
I put my hands behind my head and stare at the ceiling. The blankets are thick and soft, but they do little to negate the hardness of the wood beneath me. This isn’t the worst place I’ve ever slept, but sleeping on the floor isn’t the most difficult part of this, at least not for me. It’s not being close to him that hurts. Not being able to touch him at all as I drift off to sleep, that’s the true punishment. And I’m sure the jackass knows it.
I listen to his steady breathing as I lie in the darkness. Needy for his touch. Wet from his teasing in the car and even from the spanking. His hands on any part of my body make me yearn for him. Is he awake? I bet he fell fast asleep the second his head hit the pillow. Correction: arrogant jackass! My back starts to ache and I shift onto my side.
“Sir?” I whisper.
“Yes?” His deep soothing voice cuts through the thick tension like a knife.
I smile because he’s awake just like me. Does he miss my touch as much as I miss his? “Am I a bad sub?”
He sucks in a breath, and my heart stops beating while I wait for his answer. “No, just a new one.”
I smile wider. “Sir?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know. Get some sleep.”
Footsteps rouse me from my fitful sleep. It took me hours to finally doze off on this damn floor. Opening my eyes, I see Lorenzo, fully dressed in his suit and tie. He crouches down beside me. I swear if he pats me like I’m a dog, I’ll bite him like one.
But he doesn’t. He scoops me into his arms and places me gently on the bed. “What are you doing?”
“Even bad dogs get to sleep on the bed sometimes,” he says softly. I feel the retort on the tip of my tongue but amusement dances in his eyes, and I don’t want another fight. He takes away my blanket and tucks the duvet around me before sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I’m going to be out all day. I won’t be home until after dinner.”
“Okay,” I whisper. I don’t know how to do this yet; how to act normal with him after he spanked me and made me sleep on the floor. I’m used to tension and conflict being resolved with shouts and fists. At least I knew how to handle strife with Brad, even if it was a nightmare to live through. I don’t know how to move past this with Lorenzo.
“I missed you,” I admit.
He dusts his knuckles over my jaw, and I press my cheek into his hand, desperate for his affection. “I missed you too.”
“Did I mess it all up on our first date?”
A deep frown furrows his brow. “No.”
“You’re not still mad at me?”
He rolls on top of me, his forearms on either side of my head and the weight of his body pressing me into the mattress. “No, sunshine. The point of the punishment is not only to correct the behavior, but to enable us to get past whatever the issue was. Once the punishment is over, it’s done with and we move on. No holding onto any negative shit, and if you are holding onto any, then talk to me about it.”
“I didn’t like sleeping on the floor.”
He runs his nose along my jawline and goosebumps prickle over my forearms. “I know. I didn’t like you sleeping down there either.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You already apologized.”
“Hmm. It’s an old habit.” I shrug.
“Another one I’m going to break,” he says before he trails soft kisses over my neck.
I whimper like the desperate little sub he’s turning me into. “You smell so good, sunshine.”
“So do you, Sir.” Catching the scent of his expensive shampoo and his cologne, I moan.
A deep, guttural growl rumbles in his throat. “I have to go.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and lift my hips, rubbing along his rock-hard length. “Can’t you stay for ten more minutes?”
“No.” He nips at my neck and pushes himself up. “Besides, ten minutes is nowhere near enough time for all of the things I’m going to do to you.”
A shiver runs the length of my spine.
“After dinner tonight, I want you to come straight to bed and wait for me.”
“Naked?” I bite my lip.
He fixes me with a steely glare. “Of course.”
“Of course.”
“You can shower when you get up today, but that’s it. Don’t shower before bed.”
I frown. “Really?”
“Really.” A wicked glint flashes in his eyes. “And no touching yourself.”
“W-what?” I stammer. “That’s so unfair. I’m a woman on the edge here.”
“And whose fault is that?”
Drat! I sigh. “Mine.”
“So be good today and I’ll take care of you tonight.” He gives me a soft kiss on the forehead and stands, straightening his jacket.
“How long will I have to wait for you?” Five minutes will be too long. I need him back in bed with me now.
“As long as it takes.”
My lower lip juts out, but I don’t want to get in trouble for pouting, so I pull it back in. “Can I read in bed while I wait?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
With an unintelligible grunt, he leans down and kisses me, parting my lips with his tongue and making me moan softly into his mouth. All too soon, he pulls away again, leaving me wanting. “Be good, sunshine.”
“I will, I promise.” Maybe I can do this submissive thing after all.
