Page 42 of Unveiled

“You,” Ainsley starts, pushing her finger into my chest as she puts the attention on me. The minimal contact shouldn’t be comforting to me, but it is, even if she’s reprimanding me. “I can fight my own battles. I appreciate you standing up for me, but next time, let me do it. He’s your brother, and he’s still my best friend, even if he’s being an ass.”

She turns her fury away from me and locks on Ethan, though she doesn’t push a finger into his chest. She stays right next to me, drawing strength from my presence even in her anger.

“And you. I don’t even know what to say to you.”

“Ains -”

She cuts him off as she holds up a hand. “No. I don’t want to hear it. When you’re over yourself and ready to talk like rational adults, I’ll be waiting. I don’t want to hear excuses or empty apologies. For now, you’ve been punished enough.”

He hangs his head like a scolded dog, but to my surprise, he doesn’t argue with her or try to get back in her good graces. He takes her words like he’s actually absorbing them and listening to her.

She turns her attention back to me, looking exhausted as she does so. “I’m tired, I’m sore, and I didn’t get to finish my dinner. Can you behave yourself long enough to get in the car and drive away?”

With a chuckle, I tell her, “I think I can do that.”

The glare she sends me in response has the chuckle dying in my throat, though the smirk on my face stays in place. She walks away from me, not waiting to see if I’m following as she makes it down the sidewalk and to the car.

As I climb in the car, I pull out the vibrator I tortured her with all night from my pocket and place it between us. “We’ve got about ten minutes until we’re home. Would you like to find out how many times you can come before then, or would you prefer to come on my cock all night?”

“That thing is not going back inside of me,” she answers, looking at it like it’s going to bite her. Lucky for her, I’m the only thing in this car that bites. “And you lost your chance when you beat up Ethan.”

My hand lands on her thigh as I pull the car away, feeling her muscles tensing underneath me as my fingers skim her leg, searching for her warmth. “It’s cute that you think you have a choice, little one. The only choice you have is how I make you come, not if you’re going to come.”

Her thighs are sticky from my cum running out of her, and at the feel of it, my cock stirs in my pants. When my fingers dip inside of her panties, feeling the wet heat of her pussy, I almost pull off to the side of the road just so I don’t have to wait any longer.

“So, you can choose, little one,” I tell her as my finger plunges inside of her and she spreads her legs wider to give me access. “I can make you come all over my fingers, or I can wait until we get home and you can ride my cock all night long. What’ll it be, baby?”

Her head falls back into the seat as she moans, “Cain.”

That’s all the answer I need. My thumb circles her clit as another finger pushes inside of her. It’s taking all of my willpower to pay attention to the road, but the sooner we get home, the sooner I can be inside of her.

“Tonight, you won’t escape me. Tonight is about reminding you why you fell in love with me, but also punishing you for making the conscious decision to forget everything that happened between us. Do you understand?”

Ainsley whimpers in response as her hand wraps around my arm, and her nails dig into my flesh. “I’m sorry,” she breathes.

She’s come far tonight, but sorry isn’t good enough. A simple apology will never fix the ache in my heart from hearing her tell me she’s done with me. A simple apology will never fix the knowledge that if I hadn’t succeeded this week, I may have lost her forever.

There’s no life for me without Ainsley. I’d be lost; turned into the cruel monster most men believe me to be. Ainsley is the reason I have even a single gentle bone in my body, even if it’s only purpose is to show her love.

“Apologies won’t fix this, little one.”

Her muscles contract around me, pulling my fingers deeper as she gets closer to her orgasm. My cock is pressing so hard against my zipper now, there’s going to be an imprint left.

“What do you want me to do? Do you want me to shout to the world that I’m yours? Or, maybe walk around with a backless shirt, so everyone can see your name permanently carved into my skin? Tell me what you want, Cain, and I’ll do it.”

While both options sound appealing, neither of them are quite what I have in mind. “I’ll give you two options.” Her eyes open as she tries to focus on me through her pleasure. “Option one, you can wear my ring and agree to be my wife.”

By the look on her face, I can tell that one’s not going to happen. Not yet, at least.

“Or, option two, you can take your punishment like the good girl I know you are. You’ll take every second of my punishment, because you know that what you did to us was wrong. And when the sun rises in the morning, there’s going to be no more lies between us. I won’t be the monster in your nightmares, and you’ll never deny that you belong to me again.”

She pulls my arm away from her, my fingers slipping out of her as my arm moves. She’s denying her own orgasm this time. “What I did was wrong, but it was necessary for me to survive. When you can understand that, then we can discuss options for punishment. But, not until you can admit that I’m not the only one who deserves a punishment.”

The car swerves off the road as my foot slams on the brake. No one is around, not on these back roads, but I still pull off the road as much as possible. Anger is flooding my system. Anger at her and her words, for assuming something she’s refused to even ask about this entire time.

“Do you think I haven’t been punished enough, Ainsley? Every day that you were gone, I hunted down the men that had anything to do with your captivity. Every day, I went home and carved your name into my skin to remind myself that I don’t deserve to be happy until the world is a safer place for you. And when night time finally came around? I barely slept, but when I did, I was plagued with nightmares of you telling me what a terrible person I am, or how I’ve ruined your life.”

Shame burns in her eyes as my voice gets louder, echoing through the car. “Cain -”

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