Page 18 of Fatal Bonds

Breath trapped in my lungs, I do as he says, my hands shaking as I white-knuckle the dark lip on either side of his desk. His fingers slide up beneath the hem of my hoodie, his touch surprisingly soft, and I shiver as they curl around the waist of my leggings.

“What are you doing?” I gasp, my pulse racing a mile a minute as I consider what kind of punishment he has planned for me.

“Don’t worry, little rabbit. I’m not the kind of man who forces himself on a woman,” he says darkly.

“Could have fooled me,” I snap as he continues to inch my leggings down my hips.

Maks leans forward, his voice soft and husky by my ear. “Trust me, I would make you beg for it before I ever fucked you. But you’ll need bare skin to feel the full impact of your punishment. I want to make sure it properlysinks in.”

Cold fear floods my body as a molten heat blossoms in my core, and I close my eyes as he drags my leggings down my hips and past my ass, exposing the thin string of my thong. He leaves the elastic waistband tight around my thighs, and it presses them together. I gasp as his warm hand smooths across my ass cheek, massaging the cold flesh. Mortification tightens around my throat as the heat of his palm sinks into my skin, soothing the chill from being outdoors. Then my stomach knots as I catch the distinct sound of a buckle and the hiss of leather slipping through belt loops.

My eyes snap open, and I look over my shoulder at Maks in horror. “Youcannotbe serious.”

“The only words I want to come out of your mouth until your punishment is over are the number of strokes,” he says. “And if you’re a good girl and take your punishment well, I might even reward you after.”

That shouldnotsound as sexy as it does. But the heat of his voice awakens something dark inside me. He doesn’t sound angry anymore. He sounds ravenous, and my core throbs as I realize he’s turned on by the thought of punishing me.

“Is that what you think you’re doing while you’re groping me?” I hiss, wanting to lash out because this is so demeaning.

“That’s for your benefit, little rabbit. The belt hurts a lot more if your skin is cold. Now count.”

That’s all the warning I get before the sharp snap of leather streaks across my skin. I yelp, my hips jerking forward against the desk as the stinging pain sears across my flesh. My fingers grip the wood so hard they hurt, and salty tears burn against my eyelids.

“Count, Lindsey,” Maks reminds me, his deep voice soft.

“One,” I whimper.

I tense this time, before the second strike meets my skin, and though I’m determined not to give him the pleasure of knowing it hurts, I can’t entirely suppress the whimper that rushes up my throat. “Two,” I choke out.

“Good girl,” he murmurs, and my core clenches as a wave of desire blindsides me.

“Three!” I gasp as his belt draws a line across my ass before I have time to process my reaction. It hurts like hell, and at the same time, I feel a tension building inside me—something very similar to the feeling I get as I’m approaching an orgasm.

“You’re doing so well, little rabbit,” Maks murmurs, his large hand softly kneading my tender flesh. “You’re almost halfway there.”

A moan bubbles up from my chest, but it’s dangerously close to a sound of pleasure, and I bite my lip as I realize Maks’s punishment is actually turning me on. I’m shocked and more than a little appalled at how much I like it—maybe even more so because he’s so much older—but something about an older man bending me over his desk to spank me feels dirty and wrong andsinfullyforbidden. It’s one of those dark fantasies I would never admit to having but secretly crave, and having a man as gorgeous and dangerous as Maks punishing me turns me on in a way I never knew it could.

His warm palm leaves my skin, and he brushes the cool leather of his belt across my flesh to prepare me for my next spank. Then he snaps it across my ass.

“Four!” I cry, pressing my thighs together as the pain unleashes a wave of pleasure that floods my panties. I can feel the fabric clinging wetly to my sensitive skin, and my face burns.

“Five.” It comes out on a whimper as I feel my arousal climbing, the biting sting across my bare ass driving me toward the precipice.

“You’re taking your punishment so well,zaya,” Maks says, his voice low and enticing.

“Six!” I moan when the belt sears across my flesh again. I’m going to come. I can feel it as my clit throbs, my core clenching with anticipation. It’s mortifying, but the pain feels so good, I’m losing my mind.

“Last one,” he growls, then snaps the belt against my skin.

I scream as an orgasm rips through me, igniting my body in liquid flames. I shudder violently as my walls throb, seeking something to fill me up. My clit pulses, and I pant as the tingling relief washes out to my fingers and down to my toes. My knees give out from the intensity of it, and I cling to the desk, pressing my cheek against the smooth surface to keep me from sliding onto the floor.

“Did you just come?” Maks purrs, tossing his belt onto the chair beside me.

The heat of humiliation returns in full force, and I press my eyes closed as I feel the sudden urge to cry. I can’t lie to him. He would see right through it. Besides, he knows. My cry of pleasure couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. Willing my legs to hold me, I jerk upright and yank my leggings back up over my raw ass.

My eyes accidentally lock with Maks’s, and a smirk spreads across his lips. “You like being punished,zaya?” he presses, humor glinting in his gaze.

“You’re an asshole,” I snap, spinning toward the door before he can see my tears.

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