Page 88 of Torment

Hunter wanted to rip the asshole’s eyes out, but there was a part of him—a very dark part—that agreed with Rex. If this had been under any other circumstances, Hunter would have relished the sight. He would have loved the control that had been handed to him, to do as he pleased, to witness Scarlet surrendering everything to him.

He felt that familiar tingle move up his spine—a feeling he promised himself a long time ago he would never allow himself to feel again.Power.

Piper stepped in next to him and held a cane in her hand.

Hunter shot his eyes up to Rex. “What the fuck is this?”

“Miss Woods broke one of my girls’ noses—which is why I now have to be satisfied with Piper here who isn’t nearly as skilled in sucking my cock as Carla. So I feel a little punishment is in order.” Rex’s eyes gleamed with amusement, that annoying smirk permanently planted on his face.

“There is no fucking way I’m going to punish her,” Hunter seethed. “Besides, as her master, she didn’t disobey me by breaking one of your girls’ noses. In fact, I would have given her permission to if I were here.”

Rex glanced at the man with the rifle, and the man lifted the weapon, aiming at Scarlet.

“If you don’t want to punish her, I will. But I can promise you, I’ll enjoy punishing her far more than you would, and that would be a real bad thing…for her.” Rex winked, and the only picture Hunter could form inside his mind was Rex’s head on a fucking stick.

Rex shrugged. “I think twenty lashes would suffice, don’t you?”

Hunter snorted. “Twenty? No fucking way. Five.”

“Five?” Rex’s eyebrows almost touched his hairline. “She broke Carla’s nose. That deserves at least fifteen.”

Not that this was either the time or the place, but deep inside, Hunter couldn’t help but feel proud. Scarlet hadn’t lost her fight. Even after everything, she still had the strength to fight and break a woman’s nose.Nice.

Hunter took the cane from Piper. “Ten. Ten lashes, but that’s it.”

Rex narrowed his eyes like he was thinking it through, and then finally he nodded. “Fine. But don’t let me suspect you’re holding back.”

Piper walked over to Rex and sat down on the floor beside his legs. Rex reached down and started rubbing her head like she was a fucking pet—which, in his eyes, she probably was. This was insane.

Hunter swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and fucking prayed. He prayed for the strength to get through this—that Scarlet would be able to get through this. He prayed that this wouldn’t be the last shit that would finally send Scarlet spiraling over the edge.

When Hunter started nervously pacing, Scarlet turned her head to him, the chains rattling from the movement.

“Do it.”

Hunter walked up, bringing his face inches from hers, and whispered, “You will need to give me control, Scar. All of it, or he will not buy it. Can you do that? Can you fully submit?”

He saw the hesitation in her eyes and the color drain from her cheeks. She bit her lower lip, pinching her eyes closed for just a second.

“Can you do this, Scar?”

She opened her eyes, and what he saw almost took his breath away. Resolve, determination, strength, it was all there burning behind those iced-blue irises. “Yes,master,” she whispered. And then she said a little louder, “I am ready for my punishment, master.”

She was going with it, she was playing along. And by the way she kept her gaze on him with so much intent, he knew she would be able to do this. She was strong…and she was his in every way.

Hunter wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and then rolled his shoulders. Even though Scarlet tried to assure him that she was ready, he didn’t know whether or not he was ready for this. Sure, he loved spanking her beautiful ass whenever they got it on, but this wasn’t like that. He knew the amount of pain a cane could inflict, and he wasn’t sure if he could do it—not to her.

But he had to. If there was any hope for them to walk out of there alive, he just had to do it.

He walked over to his jacket that was on the floor and pulled out the collar James had handed to him earlier. He didn’t want to. Scarlet wasn’t some kind of fucking animal. She was a woman—hiswoman. But it was the only way. Their survival depended on this, and if he had to tap into the deepest, darkest parts of his soul, he’d just have to do it and pray the damage wouldn’t be too great.

Positioning himself behind her, he placed the black collar around her neck, purposefully brushing his fingers against her skin, wanting her to feel just that little sense of comfort. Just as he fastened the collar, he softly placed a kiss on her shoulder as he glided his hands down her arms.

Hunter grabbed ahold of all his self-control, all his strength, and then pulled his shirt over his head before starting to pace behind Scarlet, rubbing his hand vigorously through his hair.

How was he supposed to do this without feeling like he was taking advantage of her? Because God knew that was not what he wanted to do. He wanted to take her in his arms and lay her down on satin sheets while he made love to her like he had never done before.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this,goddammit. Punishing her with a cane while tied with chains and hanging from the roof was not supposed to happen. But here they were…about to play.

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