Page 29 of Joined By Magic

Fear spiked, and I tugged against the magical bonds on instinct. Leo stroked my hair, a soothing motion that warred with his words. “Am I clear, Liv?”

“Yes,” I managed. His fingers lingered on my cheek before he rose and pushed the silky slip up to my waist. He made a low, approving noise at my lack of underwear and rubbed his hand over my ass once before collecting the cane.

He stood back, and I tensed, awaiting the blow. The swoosh and crack arrived first, then, a moment later, lightning tore across my skin. I howled and flailed against the bonds as the pain hit, harsh and brutal. Harder even than Adante had struck me. As it faded slightly, I forced out, “Leo, please, I can’t—”

The second strike landed, cutting me off as I yelled again. It scared me, and I screwed my eyes shut, body tensed to fight or flee. “Please—”

Another, lower, and this time, I choked out a sob. No break between strikes, no recovery time, no teasing to take the edge off and make it better. A punishment. Something to be endured. Just as Leo had promised.

He worked methodically, delivering the blazing strikes with workman-like regularity. I lost count, swept away in the overwhelming pain as I twisted and sobbed. Too much. I couldn’t take it.

I didn’t have a choice.

Finally, he stopped. As soon as the last blow fell, the bonds disappeared and he pulled me onto his knee, into his arms. I hissed at the pressure on my sore skin but clung to him anyway, the last sobs bubbling out against his shoulder before I calmed. The steady rise and fall of his chest and the soothing motion of his hand on my back lulled my racing heart into a softer rhythm.

I pulled back to look at him, and his face was tight. He brushed my tears away and spoke with an intensity that resonated through me. “I don’t enjoy hurting you, not like that, but I’ll do it again if I have to. When it comes to your safety, you obey me. Can I trust you?”

I sniffed and nodded. “Yes.”

He studied me hard and seemed satisfied with what he saw. “Okay. That’s an end to this, then. No more anger, no more guilt. It’s finished. We can move on. I love you.”

Relief washed through me, and I curled into him. My mind came back together, rational thought replacing the buzz of panic. I examined my feelings. He’d hurt me, but not in a wild, uncontrolled way. I didn’t have the same empty, lost sensation I’d had the evening of the harvest parade, when he’d punished me in anger. Instead, I felt oddly cherished, and calm.

The thoughts I’d spent the night mulling crowded in. I lifted my head from his chest. “Leo?”

“Yes?” He shifted so we could talk more easily but kept a tight grip on me, as though he didn’t want to let me go.

“There’s so much I miss about my old life. When I was captive in the palace, I daydreamed about it all the time, and I still don’t have most of it back. There’s so much I can’t do.”

He nodded. “It’s restrictive. Life in the public eye is like this.” He sighed. “I know you never asked for it.”

“I don’t want to mope anymore. The hardest thing is feeling as though I’m wasting my days. Can you imagine going to bed knowing you’d done nothing? Achieved nothing?”

He paused, then said quietly, “I’d hate it.”

“It’s what made me take that stupid risk yesterday. I wanted to do something. But, I’ve been thinking. The other Assembly wives and partners, they’re busy, aren’t they? Working for charities and foundations?”

He smiled, and it warmed me. “Yes. And they never stop pestering me to attend their events.”

“I want to get involved with something that I care about. A children’s educational charity. A group I could be helpful in.”

His body stiffened beneath me, and my heart sank. I knew what his objection would be before he spoke it.

“I can arrange it, of course, but those women are bitchy as hell. They’ll give you the hardest time.”

“I’m not stupid. I know what they’ll think of me. But they’ll get used to me eventually, and I’ve got a thick skin.”

His fingers tapped on my thigh as he considered. I tensed, prepared for a no, until he nodded. “Okay. There is an education committee, and Celia Griffin runs it. Ellory’s wife.”

The vice commander. According to Leo, a weak yes-man.

“She’s sensible, and she should be able to keep the others in line. I’ll ask Helen to organize it, if you’re sure.”

“Yes! I am.”

It was perfect. If there was any area I could be useful, it was education. All I had to do was convince the women I wasn’t the gold-digging harlot the circulars portrayed me as—a low-class girl who somehow got her claws into the territory’s most eligible bachelor.

I shifted to relieve the pressure on my sore skin. If anyone knew a tenth of what went on between me and Leo, they’d melt into a puddle of shocked, disapproving goo. It would almost be worth the shame to see the looks on their faces.

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