Page 25 of Becoming His Pet

“Do you understand the rules?” He stood in the doorway, giving her no hope of getting out of the room.

“No. I don’t understand any of this.”

“It’s simple. If you tell the truth, we’ll figure all this mess out. If you lie to me again—because you’ve been doing nothing but that since we met—you’ll get your ass lit on fire and you’ll spend some time thinking about what you did wrong.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her.

Most women when faced with his disappointment quickly came to terms they had nothing but to do except submit. Either they quickly apologized, and everything moved forward, or they at least accepted a punishment was coming. But those women knew him. They were aware of his stern side. It’s what drew them to him in the first place.

Nora wasn’t those women. She’d probably never seen a spanking bench before yesterday, and now she was being threatened with having her ass tanned and being locked up in a crate. He probably looked like a madman to her, but she didn’t have good coloring over her character at the moment either.

And if he was going to get in this and go balls deep into protecting someone again, he had to be damn sure he knew who they were. He had to fucking know he could trust every word uttered from those pretty, pink, pouting lips of hers.

“I already told—”

“That’s one. Not a good sign, Nora. Now, tell me the real reason you were working at the flower shop. What do you know about Antonio?”

Her stare worked over him, searching maybe with too much hope that she’d find the little crack to burrow her way in. It wasn’t going to happen.

After a long stretch of silence, Greg dropped his hands and walked over to the wall with the floggers. He plucked up the lightest of the bunch; holding the weight of the handle in his hand calmed him. This was something he could do. He knew well how to do this.

“One more chance, Nora,” he said, turning to her. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d run from the room, but she hadn’t. She’d stayed right where she was, though the redness was back in her cheeks. But he doubted it was because of any timidity that might be lurking in her soul. No, the girl was getting herself all wound up.

Because she was going to have to tell him the truth? Or because she was going to have to face the consequences of lying?

He didn’t really care in that moment, he only wanted her obedience, her fucking honesty.

“You can’t hit me with that thing,” she stammered, pointing at the black flogger he held. The falls were pretty light compared to the rest of his collection, perfect for a first timer like Nora.

“Of course I can. I can spank you with it, whip you with it, punish you with it, pleasure you with it. It’s quite the multi-tasking tool.” He held up the handle, so the leather falls cascaded down over his arm.

“I don’t understand.” She shook her head again, wiping the heels of her hands across her eyes. Like maybe if she could clear the fog from her eyes the situation would be different. It wouldn’t work, but he couldn’t blame her for trying.

“Here’s the thing, Nora. I had hoped to get you safely away from those assholes, set you up with a detective that was completely clean and trustworthy, and get you paired up with a personal security detail until the whole thing was over.” He stepped toward her. “But, I got some information this morning that tells me it’s probably better not to get the cops involved yet. And the personal security—well, turns out it’s going to have to be me.”

Her top lip disappeared into her mouth, pinched between her teeth.

“So, last chance and then you’ll be spending some time with my flogger before getting another one, what were you really doing working at the flower shop?”

Nora’s gaze flickered between the flogger in his hand to his face. He knew the signs well; she was panicked, and going to run.

Part of him hoped she did.

The dark part. The part he promised himself he would work on controlling, on keeping deep inside. Being a sadist didn’t bother him, he’d learn to accept the urges, but this—this need to see her broken. It made his cock hard, his heart race with adrenaline. It made him feel alive.

“There’s nowhere to go.” It was obvious. She had to have seen that when she saw all the woods surrounding the cabin. She wore only his shirt, no shoes; even if she had on full running gear it would take hours to get somewhere useful.

“I won’t let you do this.” The forced bravado impressed him. She could have easily gone with sobs and pleas for mercy. He liked that she had some fight in her. It would make her fall all the sweeter.

“I’m not giving you a choice. You threw all that away when you lied and kept lying. Now all you can do is give me the truth. Or, climb over that bench over there.”

She looked at the door, then back at the bench.

“If you run, I’ll catch you and we’ll start all over again.”

“Dammit!” She stomped a foot. “I was just working for him to get information.” The words tumbled out in a loud, frustrated blob.

“Keep talking,” he urged, taking another step to her.

“That’s it. I was just trying to get information. I already told you, for—”

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