Page 70 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

“You’re out of your mind. I don’t apologize. Especially when I haven’t done anything.” The air leaves my lungs. Because I finally realize that I underestimated Archer. He’s here to deliver on his threat from earlier.

He yanks the covers off me, and he sucks in a breath. “Such a good girl.”

Yeah, I’ve been sleeping in my underwear since the night he ordered me to. I don’t know why I kept doing it. Maybe I hoped he would come back to me and offer a bit of release.

“Tell me you’re sorry for acting like a brat.” He braces his hands on his hips, a long vein bulging along his forearm.

“No.” I lift my chin, not bothering to cover my chest.

In one fluid motion, he wraps his fingers around my ankles, pulls me toward him, and flips me onto my stomach. What the hell? I face plant on my duvet with my ass up in the air. Heat rushes to my cheeks when he hooks his thumbs in my panties and yanks them down to my thighs. I glance over my shoulder to demand that he stop, but the words don’t come.

His hand lands on both my butt cheeks with a sharp clap.

“Hmmm.” I fist the sheets and moan into the covers.

“Apologize.” His tone is lethal.

“No.” I shake my head.

He smacks me again. The pain vibrates just above my entrance and reverberates at my core. I’m instantly at the edge of the precipice ready to jump. As if he can read my thoughts, as if he knows what this is doing to me, he spanks me again, then once more. He waits for the sharpness to dissipate, then he palms my ass to ease the pain. The sensation is sublime. I don’t want it to stop.

“Apologize, Little Dove.”

I shake my head in response.

“I can do so much worse,” he warns me.

I bury my face in the covers and tense. He braces a knee between my thighs, gripping my hips with both hands. I melt into the mattress because I’m sure of what’s coming next. I desperately need to feel his length inside me. His ragged breath is the only sound in the room. And I know he’s at the brink of insanity, same as me. I arch my shoulders and push my butt toward him. Beyond offering myself up to him to take me already, I can’t do much else. I can’t beg. I have to somehow hold on to the last shred of dignity I still have.

He runs his thumbs up my spine in a languid motion that he follows all the way up. He grips my hair at the base of my skull, then hovers over me. “Apologize. Say the words, and I’ll stop.” He presses his lips to my ear. “Say it,I’m sorry I acted like a brat.”

“No.” I clench my teeth. For one, I don’t want him to stop. And two, I’m not acting like a brat. He’s being a stubborn ass. “Archer.”

He fists my hair tighter, pulls gently and slaps my butt cheek again. “You want this, don’t you? You want to come like this?”

My skin is tender and hot from his ministrations, but my pussy is begging for more. He can’t leave me hanging again. I will hate him forever. I hold my breath while I wait for him to make up his mind. I refuse to beg though I’m seconds away from doing so.

“Like this?” He tugs at my panties from where they hang halfway down my legs.

As soon as they’re off, he hooks my knee on the edge of the bed and then the other. He delivers another blow, while his fingers grip my hair tight.

I’m hanging for dear life.

“Such a pretty pussy.” He skims the pad of his finger down my slit. “It’s too bad you’re a brat.” Again, his hand comes down on my ass.

I don’t know how much of this I can take. At this point, my entire backside is on fire, and my pussy is screaming for some release.

“Please.” The covers muffle the word.

“I didn’t catch that, Little Dove.” He tightens his hold on me and lifts my head. “Was that an apology?”

“I need you.” I meet his gaze.

He looks at me with hooded eyes for what feels like an hour. Then he claims my mouth with the same desperation I feel. I take what he’s willing to give, hating myself for my lack of self-restraint. Yes, I want to come, but I also want him to let me in.

“Let me touch you,” I beg when he comes up for air.

There’s so much agony in his eyes. What’s stopping him? Why can’t he love me? Why won’t he let me love him?”

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