Page 180 of Rescuing Ally: Part 1

My body strains against the restraints, my fingers flexing, my spine arching, pressing myself closer to him even while I have nowhere to go.

I meet his stare head-on. Unwavering. Unafraid.

“Yes, please.”

His nostrils flare, his jaw ticking as something dark, something hungry, flares behind his eyes. For a second, just a second, his fingers trail down my cheek. Soft. Reverent.

Then he moves.

Not toward me.

Toward the wall.

My heart hammers.

A shiver of something deeper, sharper thananticipation rolls down my spine as his fingers trace over the neatly arranged implements—familiar ones, ones I’ve felt before.

Then—his hand stops.

I can’t see what he’s chosen, but I hear it.

A whisper of leather as he pulls it free, something heavier, more ominous than the crop.

He turns.

Something dark and wicked gleams in his eyes as he lifts it.

A flogger.

But not just any flogger—this one is different.

Long, black leather strands, thicker, heavier, meant to bruise and mark.

My breath stutters.

Gabe watches me—waiting. Gauging.

Waiting to see if I’ll break before he even touches me.

He gives me one last chance.

A final out.

A single step forward, his fingers tracing my wrist where the leather binds me. His voice dips, low and lethal.

“Ask now, and I’ll release you.” A pause. A flicker of something unreadable in his expression. “But stay, and you won’t leave this room without wearing my marks for days.”

I don’t hesitate.

I lift my chin, meeting his stare. My voice is steady, unwavering.

“I’m not leaving.”

His lips part, a slow breath exhaling, his eyes darkening with something almost reverent.

“That’s my girl.”

He steps closer and swings.

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