Page 13 of Absolution

Tucker gripped the edge of the condom’s foil package as he helped her to her feet. They’d been able to start using contraception since Tucker had found a stash of condoms in his bedroom, and she was glad. The heady mix of lust and stress at the cabin had facilitated their unprotected sex, but she wasn’t proud of it. That regret, though, was the last thing on her mind as she rose from the floor. After the last half hour of ignominy and salvation, it was strange to have her hands free and be standing again.

“Yes, sir.” She grasped the marble counter when he walked to the trash to deposit both the condom and its packaging.

What the hell just happened?

The room was spinning as she made herself remember how simultaneously awful and incredible the penalty had been. She didn’t think he’d ever pushed her so hard before, but then, maybe she always thought that after a punishment. So frequent were her so-called crimes, it was becoming difficult to remember.

“Are you okay?” Reaching for her free hand, his fingers squeezed hers.

“I’m a little dizzy.” She gulped at the admission, aware suddenly of how hot she was even without the robe.

“Sit down.” He wrapped an arm around her and steered her to the nearest dining chair, skillfully avoiding the place she’d been made to eat from the floor.

“There.” He guided her onto the chair before he pulled up the one beside her. “Take a minute.”

“That was a lot, sir.” Resting her elbows on the table, she buried her face in her hands.

Of everything he’d put her through, nothing had seemed as intense as the impromptu breakfast ordeal. It wasn’t only that her knees ached on the tiles, especially after he’d released her hands, and she could lean on all fours. It was the mental tribulation that had truly tested her; the fact that she was willing to physically lower herself for him in such a debasing way was taking some getting used to.

Who am I?What kind of woman actually relishes being treated this way?

“I know.” His voice was calm. “I intentionally pushed you.”

“It worked.” Blinking into her palms, she didn’t know what else to say. She doubted she could even form the words.

“Was it too much, little girl?” His tone shifted to something more serious. “Because if it was, please tell me. I need to find a way to stretch your boundaries but still respect your hard limits.”

Hard limits?She scarcely recalled what they were anymore.

Her eyes fell closed. Was she losing her mind? And if so, why did her breakdown have to occur on the same day she was supposed to be meeting her mother? She’d need to have all of her strength to get through what was sure to be an emotionally draining encounter.

“Little girl?”

She heard the noise of the chair against the tiles as he presumably rose to his feet and the warmth of his hand as it rested on her shoulder a moment later, but still, she couldn’t convince her palms to leave her face.

“I’m sorry.” Her instinct to resist the hot tears brimming in her eyes was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of her emotion, and before she knew it, a low sob caught in her throat.

“Come here.” He tugged her chair, pulling her to her feet and sweeping her up into his arms before she could protest. Gripping his arm for support, she buried her face into his shoulder as he started to move. “You need time.”

“But my mum?” She mumbled the words into his sandalwood-scented flesh.

“Won’t be meeting you for hours,” he reassured. “You have time to recover and talk to me.”

Talk?Overwrought with her feelings, she didn’t know where to start.

“I didn’t expect this, sir.”

By the time she lifted her head, they were back in the cooler confines of the bedroom. There was an instant solace inthe new surroundings, the lack of sunlight aiding the looming ache in her head.

“I know.” He held her tightly as he settled on the bed. “It’s okay, little girl. Take your time.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say?” The air was cooler in the new, shadowy surrounds, and it seemed easier to breathe.

“When you’re ready, I want you to tell me if making you eat from a plate on the floor was too much.” He pressed a kiss to her crown, the gesture drawing her focus to her hair, which was clinging to her face.

She lifted one shaky hand to smooth it away, realizing that there seemed to be something tangled in it. Her brow creased as her fingers ran along the tresses.

What is that?

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