Page 40 of Set In Stone

“Christ, you’re fucking beautiful tied up like this,” I murmured. She was the picture-perfect image of absolute submission. I absently wondered why I had taken so long to tie her up this way. A twinge of guilt hit me as an unwelcomed memory tugged at my subconscious, reminding me why I stayed away from using the cross. It was because I didn’t trust myself. Having her tied up, helpless to my every whim, wasdangerous.

I shook myhead.

No. Krystina will be different. She has tobe.

I loved her too much to hurt her. Yet, as I ran the length of the flogger through my fingers, I hesitated. Krystina’s shoulders rose and fell, her breaths deep and even. She knew what was coming and was preparing herself for the firstblow.

I touched her again and ran my palm over her waist, across the curve of her hip and down her thigh. She was a flawless hourglass. My hand paused momentarily near the top of her thigh-high stockings, torn over whether I should remove them to expose her creamy flesh or leave them in place. When my eyes rested on those fuck-me shoes, blood began to pulse in myears.

I ran the leather through my fingers again, examining the texture. I smacked the whip against my palm, testing it, and the devil inside me came to life. I wanted to rule her. To own her. My desire to see her flesh a beautiful shade of red was overwhelming. With the flogger in hand, I raised my arm and delivered the firstlash.

SNAP!

The sound of leather on her skin was like music to my ears. Krystina didn’t even flinch, all too familiar with the feeling that the first jolt brought to the senses. Her head lolled back as she relished thesensation.

“Eyes on the mirror, angel,” I reminded her. She promptly obeyed, her obedience an aphrodisiac that made me want to fuck her into oblivion. I brought the flogger to her skin again, not bothering with my usual care to make sure I struck in a different place. My need to mark her was too fierce, my dominance taking control. Slowly, lash after lash, I peppered her skin until it was glowingpink.

With every one of her moans, my dick hardened to the point of pain. She was mine, and she was at the mercy of everything I had to give. I eventually lost all track of time and the number of lashings I doled out. If I had been thinking clearly when we began, I would have told her to count them herself. It was no matter. The skin on her backside was already heavily marked, having received enough blows that they would still be visible come morning. I paused and rubbed a hand over her reddened ass. I imagined fucking that ass until I exploded and my seed poured down the lengths of her firmthighs.

I looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were glazed as she struggled to maintain focus, enthralled in the pleasure and pain that I gave her. Endorphins would eventually kick in, but she wasn’t quite thereyet.

Just a little more, angel. I promise it will be worthit.

I channeled my promise to her with a soft caress to her swollen clit. It was hard with need and I itched to sink my cock into her, craving the restriction of her tight walls. I went to my knees and swiped my tongue over her vulva, the soft touch a dramatic contrast to the whipping she had been receiving. I groaned as I licked through her silk and breathed in her scent. Digging my fingers into her hips, I plunged my tongue in and out. I licked inside her, fucking her, feeling her spasm around mytongue.

“Ah!” she cried out, breaking her obedient silence as she tugged on herrestraints.

I pulled my head away and stood up. Wrapping a hand around her mass of curls, I formed a ponytail. I jerked her head close to my lips and looked at her reflection. Her mouth was open and slack. I yanked harder on the strands of her hair and whispered a warning into herear.

“Bequiet.”

Turning the flogger over in my palm, I squeezed it until my knuckles turned white. Sweat began to bead on my neck and back as I probed the handle against her entrance. I watched her in the mirror as she fought her heavy-lidded eyes, absorbing the feeling. She was so worked up, her body responsive to even the slightest of touch. I quickly pulled the handle away, not wanting her to come just yet. Her orgasm would be mine, but not until I was buried balls deep in herheat.

With a flick of my wrist, I brought the leather straps around to strike one of her nipples. I aimed again, this time snapping it against the other one. I watched as they hardened and puckered, all while Krystina quietly whimpered herdesire.

“Does this feelgood?”

She nodded and I lavished more whips, one by one, inch by inch, down her body until I came to her sweet spot. I tormented her with gentle flicks at first, but I needed more. I wanted her to feel the same fire that surged through myveins.

Lose control on me,Alex.

My palms shook with adrenaline as I recalled her words. I ached to slap her, the need to take exactly what she offered burning hot. I wanted to take her. To claim her. To break her. I craved it with every fiber of my being. My breathing became more erratic and I felt my mind begin to slip away, a monster taking control of the restrained manunderneath.

With one swift motion, I snapped the leather hard over her clitoris. She cried out, her words unintelligible. I didn’t chastise her for speaking this time. I wanted her pain. I wanted her screams and desperate pleas. I needed them. My compassion and restraint slipped away as I hit her fiery nub again. Then again, denying her any sort of reprieve betweenlashings.

“Alex! I can’t…I can’t,” shechoked.

“You can and youwill.”

I spoke with more authority than I ever had with her before, the devil inside me now completely unleashed. She was nearing her limit, but I wasn’t finished with her yet. I wielded back, striking her across both cheeks hard, her screams fueling me with unexplainable euphoria. I needed to see the pink blaze that spread over her skin turn to a deep red. Pausing, I ran the leather down the length of her spine. She stiffened under it, her body tensing inprotest.

“No…please,” shewhispered.

I took in her reflection again. Her eyes were glossy and her body hung limply from the cross, almost haggard. Her gaze met mine in the mirror. It was like she was fighting off a sex-induced coma, but not necessarily in a good way. Pain was written plainly on her face. But worse – desperation stared back atme.

My clouded vision cleared, and I staggered a few steps back. I knew that look. I had seen it the last time I had a woman tied to a cross. It wasn’t here, at my penthouse, as I had never used the custom features of my bed before meeting Krystina. I was at ClubO.

If I focused hard enough, I’d still be able to hear the pulsing rhythm of the club music as I ascended the steps to the private suites. I squeezed my eyes closed tight, trying to block out the memories from that night. It hadn’t ended well. I had completely lost control. I couldn’t even recall the woman’s name, but perhaps I had never asked. I only knew that I ignored her pleas for me to stop, and I never heard the safe word that she’d sworn she used. I had crossed a line, one that I vowed to never crossagain.

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