Page 58 of Dauntless

When I woke again, I was on a bed. All my clothing had been removed, but I wasn’t cold. Though there was a thin blanket underneath me. I moved my hand over my bare skin to cover myself and moaned. That briefness of touch felt good. Really good. Why?

A low laugh erupted from behind me, and I stiffened.

“No, please go on,” Dimitri said. He was seated on the bed next to me. “You thirsty?” he laughed.

I closed my eyes and didn’t answer. “You drugged me.”

“Yes, I did,” he confirmed. “E-comply. You’ll come to depend on the good feeling. I like to start by showing you what a small dose will make you do. This will help you adjust to obeying me. I am now your Simon, and when I say do something, you do it. You eat, drink, sleep at my will. If you don’t, then you’ll be punished.”

He was no longer playing the friendly companion. He was setting up his authority over me. What he’d learn quickly about me was that I wasn’t Loren.

“Do whatever you want to me,” I said. “You want to hurt me, go ahead. But I’m not going to be your puppet.”

“Brave. You’ll learn not to make requests like that,” Dimitri said. “I agreed not to maim you, but I am capable of doing things to you that you won’t like. Hit, drug, and fuck you. I don’t want to do them, but I will. You’ll be a sex addict after I’m done. You don’t want that, do you?”

“Where are my clothes?” I asked.

“You didn’t bring them.” His tone implied it had been my fault or choice not to bring them. “You wasted our time in your house,” He slid me over his lap, and my breath hitched. I bit my lip hard to mask my own pleasure, then tried to wiggle free, but that only made me more aroused, and this time, a moan escaped my lips.

“That was kind of cute,” he said in a bored tone. “I like a little struggle, but this won’t only be fun for you.”

Placing his leg across the bottom of my own, he secured my movements. One of his arms placed across my back to keep me in place. I bit my tongue to try to suppress the moan that came as his hand slid over my buttocks and stopped.

No. I suppressed a whimper. My heart sunk as I realized I couldn't resist his touch. But then came a hard swat across my buttocks. It wasn’t his hand. He used a paddle I hadn’t seen.

I cried out in pain and shock.

He laughed hardily. “Now that was sexy. I’m starting to like you already.”

I could feel his erect cock through his trousers. He enjoyed doing this. He hit me with the paddle again, and tears threatened my eyes, but I fought them back.

Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. One after another. I would not cry for him.

“Still no tears?” he groaned. “Stubborn. Well, if pain doesn’t give me tears, I’ll try pleasure.”

I thrash loose on his lap, but he held onto me tight and laughed.

“You fuck two men, but now want to play hard to get with me?” he said and scoffed. “You try to shut yourself off, but you still showed me something. I know what you don’t like now and what to use should you refuse to obey me.”

He massaged his hand over my buttocks, and I shuddered. “There is a camera in this room. What would rent-a-cop Elliott think if he sees you moaning and writhing for me?”

He held onto me so that I couldn’t escape. I swallowed but didn’t answer him. If all I’d known about Elliott was true, I was sure in my heart that he’d know Dimitri bent me to his will. He’d know I was drugged, and I endured to survive. He’d be proud of me. That gave me strength. I was sure Dimitri sensed it.

He pushed me off his lap, and I tumbled onto the musky, coarse Berber carpet.

“You cold, defiant whore,” he spat out. “There’s the woman that thinks she’s smarter, tougher than a man. There’s the woman that thinks she deserves something while she makes a man like Patrick beg for help.”

I eased to my side. “He cheated on me,” I said to him again.

“You keep saying that as if that’s an excuse. It’s not,” he said morosely. “You’re to blame.He didn’t want to divorce you, but you forced him. You emasculated Patrick by taking almost all the money and contacts you knew he needed for his re-election, and then tried to ruin him by embarrassing him with two men. All you whores are the same. You take until you get what you want and then you think you can walk away. Well, you won’t. I’ll make sure Patrick gets his revenge.”

His voice was loud in the small space, and I fought not to cover my ears to its effect. Now knowing how much he hated women and how committed he is to making women suffer, there was little chance he’d change his mind, and let me go.

My mind struggled with what to do next, but then I heard the strike of a match. My gaze shot over to where he stood, taking a drag on a cigarette. “You know, one of my favorite scars on Angel was the row of burns I scarred on her side. For you, I’ll put it on your spine.”

I sluggishly scooted across the carpet, but not as fast as I wanted to. “Don’t… you promised not to maim me,” I stuttered.

“Don’t move,” he ordered and crossed over to where I was on the floor. My breath bursting in and out as I tried to curl on my side away from him in an attempt to make myself as small as possible. From what I could see, the room was small, and there wasn’t much chance of getting away from him.

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