Another heavy sob cracks through the surface and I claw into my restraints. Every time Rayne’s hand collides with my ass I think I can’t take anymore. In fact, I’m fucking sure of it. It burns like nothing I’ve ever felt, but it’s also freeing.
Each count makes me feel lighter, it clears my head until the only thing left is Rayne. His weight on my legs. His hand on my ass. His praises each time I count out loud. It’s intoxicating.
I’m overwhelmed by sensations. The pain. The wetness between my legs. The moments of bliss where I feel like I’m floating. I don’t know what to make of any of it, because I thought I was going to hate Rayne for punishing me. In fact, I was fucking sure of it.
As he dragged me to the bed and tied me down, I was sure I was going to hate every single second. The moment he gave me a safe word, I was ready to say it just to make it end, but the moment his hand landed on my soft skin, I was addicted to the feeling. And then every feeling after it drew me further in.
“Ten,” I rasp. It’s getting harder to concentrate on the numbers, to force words out past the cries. My throat hurts from screaming in pain, or maybe it’s pleasure, I’m not sure anymore.
“You’re taking your punishment so well, Emerson. I’m going to give you five more, but you don’t need to count them and I’ll do it quick, okay?”
“Okay,” I breathe. Or at least I think I do. The lack of control I have over my own body should terrify me. I’m turned on when I should be scared. I’m enjoying having pain inflicted on my body. And I’m growing addicted to the feeling with each time Rayne’s hand lands on my burning flesh.
True to his word, Rayne’s hand connects with my skin five more times, and each one is infinitely more painful than the last. I’m glad he decided I didn’t need to count anymore, because the way my mind seems to float away as my body is overwhelmed with pain, I truly don’t think I’m capable of speech, let alone counting.
I close my eyes and allow myself to float. All the worries that usually litter my mind are gone, and it’s just me and Rayne. His body pressed against mine. Tears streaming down my face. The burning skin of my ass. The throbbing between my legs. I lean into the feeling and it’s like I’m floating above my body, watching the scene before me with keen interest.
“Emerson,” Rayne whispers into my hair as he peppers kisses all over my face. “Come back to me, sweet girl.” His words are sweet and gentle, so at odds with the man I had seen a few hours ago, the man that murdered a man in cold blood because he touched me.
It’s only now I realize I’m not restrained anymore. I’m bundled up in a soft blanket, cradled on Rayne’s lap as he gently strokes my hair and presses kisses to every piece of me he can reach.
“You did so good baby,” he praises and a shiver vibrates through my body. I shouldn’t like those words so much. I shouldn’t be so addicted to them that I would take a hundred more spankings as long as he praises me like this every time. I think that probably makes me certifiable, but I don’t care.
The time I spent tied to Rayne’s bed with him spanking me was the first time since I found out Brad ruined my life that I felt free, that I allowed myself to just be. Even though being with Rayne is a bad idea, even though I know I’m about to become a target because of who he is, I don’t care. Even if everything goes to shit and I’m left with a broken heart, or worse, I can’t see myself regretting my choice to be with him, because he makes me feel whole.
The way he’s holding me is firm, like he’s trying to hold me together. I’m cradled in his arms in such a way that there’s no pressure on my burning flesh as he gently strokes my hair and whispers to me sweetly. If you’d told me that the Rayne I knew, the hard, kind of terrifying, hot as sin man that enraptured my every thought from the moment we locked eyes had a soft side, I would have laughed in your face, but here we are. He’s holding me like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him, and I almost believe that I am.
The look of pure terror when he kicked the door down was enough to tell me I mean something to him.
Rayne wipes stray tears from my cheeks as he gazes down at me with something I can’t pinpoint in his eyes. If I didn’t know better, I would think it was something close to love, but that’s crazy. We’ve only known each other a few weeks, and I still haven’t fully admitted to myself that we’re an item. There’s no way those kinds of feelings are in the mix, not yet at least, and maybe not ever.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you when I was in danger. I didn’t understand… I didn’t…” I choke on the words. I thought I had come down from the high I was riding, but apparently I haven’t.
“I know, sweet girl. I know,” Rayne whispers. “I tried to give you time to accept that you were mine, but that was the worst thing I could have done. It gave you time to doubt my words.”
I bury my face into his chest and breathe him in, using his woodsy scent to ground myself. Being surrounded my Rayne is overwhelming, but it’s also comforting. He feels like home, which is totally insane, but hell, so is the rest of my life.
Rayne reaches to his side and brings a bottle of water to my lips. “Have some water for me and then we can get to the fun part.” He smirks.
I drink greedily from the bottle. The inside of my thighs are wet and sticky with my arousal, and the idea of Rayne playing my body as he had a few nights ago gives me fresh energy. Strangely, I feel better after my punishment. It gave me the chance to purge the feelings I thought were going to tear me apart. The memory of Russo’s man with his hands on me still turns my stomach, but it doesn’t send the same sense of dread and panic through my body. It’s more like a nagging thought now, a distant memory that makes my heart beat a little harder but doesn’t really scare me anymore.
Maybe it’s temporary. Maybe the tears I cried as part of my punishment would give me a few moments of peace before the feelings returned. But somehow I don’t think that’s the case. I think by Rayne punishing me, by him following through with his threats, it’s made me feel safe. Rayne will not let anything happen to me. He’s told me that time and time again, but each time I’ve fought against him. But how can I now?
I could have been taken tonight. I could have been kidnapped and delivered to Russo and there wouldn’t have been a damn thing I could have done. Rayne probably would have found me eventually, but God only knows what Russo could have done to me in that time.
Once I’m finished drinking, the bottle disappears from my mouth and his thumb brushes across my bottom lip gently. “What’s the second part of your punishment, Emerson?”
I feel my face heat as his words replay in my mind. “I’m not to come until you tell me to,” I say quietly.
“Exactly right.” Rayne smiles. “I’m not going to tie you up for this part, so I want you to be a good girl for me, okay?”
I nod quickly. “Okay.”
That same emotion I can’t quite place crosses his features before he repositions me in the middle of the bed. My limbs feel boneless as I sink into the mattress, but this is far from over. As much as I would love to curl up in this incredibly soft bed in Rayne’s arms, I know it’ll be a while before I have the chance.
Rayne leans over me, his face hovering just above mine as he unties the robe still wrapped around my body, his fingers light as they brush across the skin he reveals. He pushes it open and reveals my nakedness, his eyes trailing over every inch of skin as he reveals it. “Fuck,” he groans, his head dipping to kiss my neck, then my collarbone, and then a path to my bare breasts. He laps at one nipple, then the other, occasionally nipping at the sensitive nubs.
Every time his tongue touches my skin, it sends jolts of pleasure to my core, my pussy throbbing with need. He wants me writhing for him before he even thinks about touching me where I need him, and then he’s going to make me wait, make me beg.
His mouth continues soft paths over my skin, kissing and licking, nipping and sucking as he explores every bit of bare flesh he can reach. If I wasn’t so fucking turned on, I would find it relaxing, but the need to squeeze my legs together, to relieve the pressure between my thighs is unbearable.
“Is my girl needy?” Rayne asks before his teeth sink into my hipbone, eliciting a sharp gasp from my throat.
“Yes,” I admit on a moan. My thighs squeeze together again, hoping for relief but all I get in return is a sharp slap to my sensitive pussy. I yelp at the sensation that’s not altogether painful.
“I’ll give you relief when I see fit and not a moment sooner,” Rayne growls. The softness he had as he held me melts away, and the man that remains is the man I’m used to. The cold, demanding version of Rayne that turns me on way more than he should.
Before I can respond, he has resumed his slow torture of my body. He’s driving me crazy with each flick of his tongue, each scrape of his teeth, each press of his lips. It’s intoxicating and maddening, and I can’t get enough.
I moan and writhe beneath him, only held in place with the hand he has on my hip. The sheer power behind his grasp should scare me, but his bruising hold only serves to make me squirm more. There are a lot of things that should scare me right now, and the irony of the situation isn’t lost on me. A few hours ago, I was held against my will. A man used his size and strength against me and very nearly violated me. And yet here I am, soaking wet from being punished and held down by Rayne.
“I can hear you thinking from here.” Rayne bites hard into the soft flesh of my stomach and I cry out. “Am I not giving you enough, sweet girl? Am I so terrible at holding your attention?”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “It’s just been a… big night.” I choose my words carefully, not wanting to set Rayne’s rage off when we’re just getting to the good part. I know he won’t hurt me. No matter how angry he is with me, no matter how mad I make him, he’ll never hurt me. That much I’m sure of. But I don’t want to ruin the moment, not when I’m finally going to feel him inside me.
Rayne’s features soften and the hand gripping my hip moves to cup my cheek. “I know. But I want you to focus on me, on what I’m doing to you. Can you do that for me?”
I nod. I couldn’t deny this man anything even if I wanted to. “I can do that.”
Rayne smiles down at me. “You are so fucking beautiful, Emerson. Your body, your taste, the little gasps you let out, it’s addictive.”
I let out a breathy moan and he smirks above me, seeing just how much he affects me. I’m starting to think I may be able to come from his words alone. Each time he speaks, I feel myself grow slicker. He’s toying with me, whether he realizes it or not.
Rayne moves down the bed, kissing and nipping as he goes until he’s laying between my thighs, his face close to my aching core. I’ve never felt so needy, so on edge, and I have to grip hold of the sheets to stop myself from dragging his face into my pussy. He said I can’t come until he tells me to, but I’m worried the moment his tongue makes contact with me I’m going to combust, and I have a feeling the punishment for coming without permission is going to be a hell of a lot worse than a spanking and some denial.
“Rayne?”
He looks up at me through hooded eyes, the darkness swirling with as much emotion as I feel in my chest. “Yeah, baby?”
“I’m worried I’m too sensitive,” I whisper. I can’t outright ask what the consequence would be, so I’m going to skate around the question and hope he tells me anyway. I don’t want to break the rules, I don’t want to disappoint him, but the way my body reacts to every touch, I would be remiss not to add some extra incentive to ensure I don’t.
“Is my girl worried she won’t be able to hold off her pleasure?” Rayne drags his tongue through my folds lazily and my body jolts.
“I want to,” I rush to defend myself. “But every time you touch me, I’m on edge.”
He swipes another languid lick from my entrance to my clit and a moan tears from my throat. He’s barely touched me and I’m already so close to the edge a stiff breeze could probably make me come. “You won’t come without permission. Do you want to know how I know?”
I nod slowly, unable to form words as his tongue draws soft circles over my clit. It’s heaven and hell wrapped up with a pretty bow, and I don’t know how I’m going to survive.
“Because if you do, you won’t be coming for a month.”
“A month?” I jerk back into the pillows, prying my pussy from his face. I am not risking a month without an orgasm.
Rayne chuckles before dragging me back down the bed and slapping his palm down on my sensitive clit again, making me yelp. “Yes, a month, sweet girl. A month of endless teasing. A month of me fucking you right to the edge and then pulling you back again. A month.” He nips at the sensitive nub at the crest of my pussy before soothing it with his tongue, the contrast between the pleasure and pain takes my breath away. “Now, I am going to let you come tonight. I want to feel how sweetly your cunt grips my cock as I fuck you, so you are guaranteed at least one orgasm as long as you don’t do it without permission.” Rayne looks up at me, a glint of menace in his eyes, the softness that filled his gaze moments ago has disappeared and has been replaced by the brutal man I know he can be. “And if you do tip over that edge without permission, you better believe I’m going to ruin it, sweet girl.”
My eyes widen at his words. As in ruin my orgasm? As in not only would I be tormented for an entire month, but I wouldn’t even get to enjoy this one? “Rayne,” I whine.
“It wouldn’t be a punishment if it were easy.” He shrugs before resuming the long, lazy licks of my pussy. Each one brings me closer to the edge I know I can’t fall from and I alternate between holding on to the pillow for dear life and gripping onto Rayne’s dark hair to guide him where I need him. The second part doesn’t really work because he’s going to give me exactly how much he wants and not an ounce more, but you can’t blame a girl for trying.
Every swipe of his tongue takes my breath away and leaves me gasping, but he doesn’t give me enough to get me there. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would think he wants me to succeed. Rayne is the kind of guy who wants absolute control at all times, so it stands to reason he would want to control my orgasms as well, but he’s not pushing me like I expected him to. I mean, don’t get me wrong, every time he touches me it feels like my entire body is igniting under his touch, but he doesn’t appear to be setting me up for failure… yet.
