Page 22 of Reluctant Surrender

“If I have to get out my restraints, things are going to get bad for you,” he warned while hauling me back to the edge of the bed where my ass was on full display.

“I’ll hate you forever,” I promised as I threw both hands behind me to protect my ass.

“I’ll live.”

The jangle of his belt buckle sent a shockwave of electricity through my veins. The loud zip of his belt running through the loops of his jeans made my stomach clench, but worse, my clit swelled.

“Put your hands in front of you, Maggie.” His voice dipped. The drop of humor he had moments ago was long gone, leaving a stone-cold tone that didn’t suggest I make any wrong moves.

“Please, Lukas.” I splayed my fingers over my smooth flesh. It was cool to the touch now, but it would be hot and raw by the time he was done if I didn’t get him to be reasonable.

“You need to understand something, Maggie.” He bent over my body, his warm chest pressing down on my back until I was smashed into the mattress. He pushed the hair from my ear. “Once this belt comes off, there’s no going back. You lied to me. You put yourself in so much goddamn danger that I’m not sure I can even think about that right now. You’re getting this ass blistering, the only thing you can do is behave and not make it worse.”

I closed my eyes, letting his words sink in. Lukas could be relaxed and playful when he wanted to be, but when he turned off the charm and went all business it was all business. He was relentless, he was ruthless. And at that moment, I was sitting in his crosshairs.

“Now.” He pushed off me, the bed bounced slightly from the shifting of his weight. “Put your hands in front of you and don’t bring them back here again. I only want to hit your ass, and if you reach back, I could hit your hands.”

Another plea danced on my lips, but I shoved it away. Slowly, I moved my hands away from my ass and folded them beneath my cheek. A lone tear slipped down the side of my temple and rolled into my hand.

I waited for the sound. The little whisp of air that would warn me when the leather would strike. But there was nothing. No warning. No alarm bells. Just a white-hot lash landing across both my cheeks.

I bit down on my bottom lip. Fisted my hands and shoved them against my mouth. He could have his moment, but I would not give him a single yelp.

Again, the belt lashed me. On the third strike, I stuck my foot out.

“Foot down,” he demanded.

“Please, Lukas. That’s enough,” I said between gasps for air.

“Foot down or I get the restraints and we start over.” He was determined to get through this his way. And unless I wanted to move back to square one, I would have to follow his lead.

Slowly, I moved my foot back to the carpeting. I clenched my eyes, knowing the heat was coming.

The fourth lash landed across my thighs, and I rolled to the side, but he merely pushed my hip back down and continued. He gave me no reprieve, no moment to catch my breath or try to make sense of all the pain spreading throughout my ass.

Strike after strike, he laid a fire across my ass.

“Lukas!” I cried out, fat tears rolling down my cheeks. “I’m sorry! Really!” I leaned forward onto my hands.

Twice more he laid the belt across my ass before he dropped it to the floor. The tension in my shoulders eased, but the quiet sobs that racked my chest continued.

The bed shifted as he sat beside me, one hand lightly stroking my hair. “I won’t allow lies between us, angel. If I have to take my belt to this sweet ass of yours every single day to make you understand that, I will.” His voice was soft, almost soothing.

I turned my face toward him, and he wiped the hairs that were stuck in my tear tracks.

He looked back at my ass, moving his fingers across my cheeks. “You’ll have a bruise or two, and there’s a welt here that will bug you tomorrow.” He moved his hand lower.

I buried my face into the comforter of the bed, unsure of what I wanted to do next. Part of me wanted to dig my claws into him, the other wanted to climb into his lap. But I had to fight that side. Once this was all over, when the Bertonelli situation was fixed, Lukas would go back to being just Lukas. And I’d go back to being just a member of his sister-in-law’s family. He’d go. And I couldn’t let myself believe anything else.

His hand slid between my legs, dragging his touch upward inside my thighs.

“Do you hate me still?” he asked as his fingers wiggled between my legs, searching out my pussy. I clenched my body, trying to hide my response to his authority from him. It was only a biological response. I had no control of it.

“I should,” I muttered into the comforter.

“Do you want to see how wet your pussy is right now?” He dragged his fingers through my folds, easily getting past my paltry defenses. “You might be mad, but your body knows what it wants, what it likes.”

He pushed two fingers into my entrance, catching me off guard. I let go of a deep gasp when he curled his fingers, striking the very spot that would be my undoing.

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