Page 27 of Enslaved By Magic

“Okay,” he said finally. “After the spanking I’ll listen, but I won’t give in unless you can prove you’re making the decision of your own free will. If you can’t, you’re just going to keep ending up here every time you try.” His hand came down again, leaving a matching sting across her other cheek. “But maybe you like this. Do you like being spanked, Amari?” he asked, voice almost purring as his gave her another slap.

“What? No! Of course, I—I…” she stumbled to a stop, fighting the compulsion that pushed her to tell the truth. She was too distracted by what he was doing to be able to focus on giving an answer that was true—but not the whole truth.

“Of course, what?” he asked. Again, his hand flashed down. A smack, and then another immediately after. Each one added to the slowly rising heat.

“O-of course I…” If he would just give her a second to focus, she could answer without giving it all away, but he seemed disinclined to do that, and now he’d slipped into a steady rhythm. “How could anyone like this? It hurts!” And it did, some. It wasn’t unbearable, but the sting seemed to be building quicker this time. Without the denim to protect her tender backside, everything seemed more intense.

He laughed and let his hand rest for a second, squeezing the burning flesh and jiggling it. “Some people enjoy a good spanking, Amari, and they go out of their way to get one. I couldn’t help noticing how flustered and antsy you got at dinner when I threatened you.”

She bit back a moan and tried to ignore it because she definitely didn’t hate that. If he’d pressed her for the truth, she’d have to tell him that she was enjoying the spanking, at least on some levels, but he seemed content to let it go, and a second later the steady smacking began again.

After a few slaps, he said, “Why are we doing this?”

“You already asked that!” she said in protest, twisting so she could frown at him.

“I did, but I didn’t like your answer so think again,” he replied calmly.

She looked away, growling. The spanking she could handle—okay, she even liked it—kind of, but she didn’t want to talk about it. She wanted to let herself go and submerge herself in the emotions of it.

“Suit yourself, but I’m not stopping until I’m sure you know why you’re being spanked,” he said. He sounded amused, but she refused to look back again.

Immediately the spanks began landing at a quicker pace and with more force behind them. A half dozen crashed down across her seat before her legs starting to kick on the bed. “Luke! Not so hard,” she said quickly.

He chuckled. “It’s just going to get harder, Amari, until you answer the question.”

She was stubborn which made her brave, and that was the only reason she was able to hold out as long as she did, but his hand seemed to be made of wood and his arm never seemed to tire. If the sight of him shirtless hadn’t already tipped her off to the fact that he was well-muscled, the way he was able to spank without taking a break as the long minutes went by would have made it painfully clear.

When it had begun, her body had teetered on the verge of arousal. There was definitely a tingling excitement there she’d wanted to explore, but now that had been pushed far to the side, and all she felt was a searing fire that had spread to cover her entire ass and the tops of her legs as well. It was clear he had no intention of stopping until she gave in, so in the end he got his answer.

“Because you said no, and I didn’t listen!” she blurted. The words tumbled over themselves in a rush, and she couldn’t keep the panic out of her voice. She was close to tears. She could feel them itching at the back of her eyes, but she hadn’t allowed anyone to see her cry in a very long time. It would be ridiculous to start now, over something as small as a spanking. To her relief he stopped, at least for the moment.

“And because consent is important. I’m trying to respect the fact that your—your situation puts you in a vulnerable position where your consent can be forced, but that doesn’t mean you get to trample all over my right to say no. Does it, Amari?” The question tacked on the end was emphasized in a way that made it clear what he expected her answer to be.

“No-no, it doesn’t, but if you’d just listen—”

“I will. I told you I would listen and let you try to convince me, but you can’t retroactively give someone permission, so you still earned this,” he pointed out. But he didn’t seem inclined to start spanking again. His hand, warm and solid, had come to rest on her burning rump.

Maybe that was true, but she was still frustrated because it all could have been avoided if he’d listened to her earlier instead of deciding that he knew best. It didn’t seem like the ideal time to tell him that though, or to point out that consent wasn’t really a lesson she’d learned over the years of being forced to obey. “Okay, fine, I earned it—but haven’t I had enough?” she asked in her most hopeful voice. “Please, Luke? I’ve learned my lesson.”

That was no lie; she’d definitely learned several lessons over this. Maybe not the ones he’d hoped for, but she’d learned. Her tone must have convinced him that she’d been spanked enough because he began to gently massage her throbbing backside, soothing the sting until it wasn’t quite so ferocious. The heat remained and she could still feel her heartbeat pulsing at the center of each well-punished cheek, but she could relax now, letting her body go limp as she sprawled across his lap.

His fingernails began to scratch lightly across the skin, and she shuddered in sensual delight. “That’s much better,” she said, voice little more than a murmur.

“I’m sure it is. I think this part is why some women like to be spanked. Well, not just this part, but this is as far as I’m going with you unless you can convince me that you have the ability to consent,” he said.

It was so unfair of him to bring that up just when her body was starting to react in a more erotic fashion—but in a way that was kind of exciting too and she had to press. “And if I do—convince you, I mean. What happens then?” she asked. Her voice had gone low and sultry the way it did when she was turned on.

“If you managed, then my hand might wander down between your thighs. Maybe I’d spread them so I could see if you were excited. Would I find you wet and ready for me if I checked?” he asked, teasing her with his words and with his fingers which trailed down the back of her leg.

Her face burned hot enough to rival her backside. He would have no doubt of how ready she was if he did that, even him mentioning it had caused a sudden trickle to run down the inside of one leg. She could feel it tickling now. “Maybe,” she said.

He laughed knowingly and her leg kicked in frustration. It wasn’t fair to tease if he wasn’t going to follow through. She needed him more than ever now, and if he refused her after this…

“Convince me then, Amari,” he said. “I know I’m a little eccentric and most guys would have been happy to accept what you keep offering; it’s just not how I was raised, but I’m ready to listen. If you can convince me that you’re not attracted to me because of the magic, then we’ll see where we go from here.”

His tone wasn’t condescending, but somehow it still felt smug to her and while she knew he probably didn’t mean it to be, it irritated her that he kept doubting her. She’d never had to work so hard to convince someone she was magic before, and she’d never had to trick someone into bed with her either. “You’re an idiot,” she said, in a low growling tone, mostly muffled because her face was pressed into her arms. She didn’t mean for him to hear her say it, but he did.

“Probably, but I don’t know how smart it is to tell me about it while your bare butt is upended over my lap,” he said, laughing as his hand came down with a swift slap to the heated skin of her upper thigh.

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