Page 26 of Red Velvet

"Thank you, sir."

I want to believe that it's mere surprise spreading through my chest, rapid like a shock wave following an explosion. But the feeling is driven by something else, something deeper. Something I'm not ready to accept.

Focus. I need to fucking focus.

Pulling myself away from her intoxicating gaze, I rise to my feet and return to my previous spot. She lets out a sigh, still hollowing her back for me like a good little girl, possibly expecting another series of blows to darken the color on her ass even more.

But that's not what she's getting from me.

I'm done giving for now.

It's time for me to take.

Chapter 14

Lila

I had no idea. No fucking idea.

I never thought this could hurt so much. That flogger looked so harmless, small, soft, not threatening at all. I picked it because it looked the least frightening among all the utensils lined along the wall. And truth is it didn't really hurt at first. It was more of a demanding caress, little more than affectionate fondling.

But it turned into so much more. Something vicious.

Heturned it.

He dealt the flogger in a way that transformed the innocent-looking tool into something truly ferocious. The tails felt more like molten iron, giving meaning to the phrase ‘burning like hell.’ The pain was terrible, blazing hot, overwhelming, a fiery reminder that I’m alive.

I've never felt anything like this. Nothing even close. It was brutal, vital and bracing like a storm. It made me want to scream, not with pain but with gratitude for everything I have and am. Gratitude for him, for the handsome man who’s still a stranger but also the one opening this door for me, the one introducing me to a world I never knew I’d been missing.

That's why I said it. That's why I thanked him out loud. But the words felt wrong as soon as they left my lips, and his reaction only confirmed that assessment. He didn't look happy, the smile vanishing from his handsome face as he rose to his feet.

I'm getting ready for another series of whipping as he positions himself behind me once more, still holding the flogger.

But he obviously has other things in mind. I jerk in surprise when I feel his hand on my bruised behind. My skin is in flames, still throbbing with the heated afterburn from the torment he unleashed upon me. I'm so sensitive that even a feeble caress feels like a hot knife burning into my flesh.

I wince, biting my lip to stop from groaning too loudly. I don't think he would mind; he seems to appreciate any sound leaving my lips, always seeking a reaction from me to draw conclusions. Even now as he moves his hand across my aching cheeks, it feels like he’s testing, searching, moving so slowly and with such caution it’s as if he’s afraid to hurt me.

Oh, the irony.

"Arch!"

His voice thunders through the room, making it impossible for me not to obey. I arch my back as much as I can, hoping for his approval, which he gladly grants me.

"Good girl."

A smile spreads across my face as I let those sweet words echo within my chest. They bring a comfort I never knew before, easing the shame that follows when his fingers glide between my legs toward my exposed core.

Fuck.

No matter how gentle his touch, the electric spark it sends through my center has no equal. He barely grazes the sensitive area between my lips, only suggesting the proper contact I crave. I find myself leaning into him, moving closer to his playful fingers while he teases me by withdrawing.

"So eager," he comments, only adding to my delicious humiliation. "And so fucking wet."

I yelp out in surprise when he shoves a finger between my lips, his palm pressing against my core while he stretches me.

"Why are so fucking wet?"

I groan in lieu of a verbal response, squirming while he moves his finger inside my channel, toying with my arousal.

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