Page 55 of The Devil's Spawn

“I’m glad you can see that now,” I said.

“But if you ever leave me like that again…” He shook his head, jaw rigid.

“So I’m to be punished then?”

“What do you think, Kayla?”

“Am I not allowed to have feelings?” I angled to face him head-on. “What about space? Is that out of the question too?”

“You’re allowed to have feelings. But space? Fuck no. Not only are we married, but you belong to me. If you need space, I’m happy to put you in the cage for a while. You can have all the time in the world to think things through in there.”

I gulped. “Gage, please.”

“Please, what?”

“Please don’t hate me for what I did.”

He glanced at me, raising incredulous brows. “That’s not even possible. Jesus, Kayla. I’m upset that you bolted like that, but I don’t hate you. I could neverhateyou. I’m so fucking in love with you that I can’t see straight.”

“You might want to tone down the love a little, so you don’t wreck the car.”

He laughed. “Fuck, you’re crazy, and I love you for it.”

“When she told me those things, Iwentcrazy, and I doubted you.Again. This nasty voice in my head told me you only wanted me to get at him, that I’m only a possession to you. A thing you use.”

“You’re everything to me.”

On that note, with those words echoing in my mind in the soft way he’d spoken them, we rode the rest of the way home in silence. By the time we reached the driveway and rushed to the front steps, the sky had opened, but we beat the worst of it by seconds. Rain pounded the windows and danced on the rooftop.

And something smelled delicious. My stomach growled, reminding me that Gage’s arrival had interrupted dinner.

“Come,” he said, reaching for my hand. He escorted me into the dining room where a man I’d never seen before readied the table for us. A full Thanksgiving dinner had been set out.

“Dinner is served, Mr. Channing. Do you require anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

The man made himself scarce, and a couple of moments later, I detected the front door open and close.

“You knew I’d come back.”

“I was hoping.” His mouth tilted up in a halfway grin. Bringing a hand to his tie, he loosened the knot before reaching into his pocket. “First things first though.” He fisted a set of clover clamps—the worst kind I’d ever been punished with.

“If you weren’t pregnant, you’d have a date with my bullwhip in the anal stocks right now. Lucky for you,” he said, coming closer, “your womb is growing my baby and making your belly sexy as fuck.” Stopping in front of me, he cocked his head to the side. “Just how sensitive are your nipples these days?”

I covered my breasts on instinct until he flattened his mouth into a firm line. Slowly, I let my hands drop and dangle at my sides.

“Good girl,” he said, beginning with my left nipple.

“Ow!”

“It hurts, does it?”

“What do you think?” I said, scowling.

“Good. Now address me properly before I change my mind about the stocks.” He raised a thoughtful brow. “Or you could spend some time in the cage after dinner.”

“No, Master. Please. I’ll be good.”

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