Page 56 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

“Because... I want to belong to you.”

He smirked, and pulled me against his chest.

Reuben and I laid therefor some time. I fell asleep with my head on his chest and his hands on my back like a weighted blanket and woke up with a little bit of a headache. He helped me sit up and made me drink some water, which helped a little, and then went downstairs and brought me some apple juice and a sandwich. I lay on my stomach and nibbled on my sandwich while he gently massaged some lotion into my abused ass.

I peeked back to watch him. He was staring at my butt with a satisfied, calm smile on his face while he rubbed the cream in. He looked like a completely different person.

And the welts on my ass? Oh, man. They were gorgeous. I got all fuzzy and happy looking at them and sighed and laid my head down on the bed, enjoying the feeling of his strong hands on my body.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, I’m great,” I mumbled into the bedspread, giving him a thumbs up. “Five stars. Ten out of ten would recommend.”

He chuckled. “Are you going to keep being a brat in church?”

“I won’t need to if you keep spanking me likethat.”

He gave me a playful, and very gentle pat, and then laid back on my bed, folding his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. I flipped over to watch him, and then scooted up beside him.

“So, what does this mean for us,” I asked quietly.

“I’m sorry, Alice. I lost my mind and jumped into this far too fast, and skipped all the important parts. You’re probably confused as hell right now.” He looked a little guilty, and the serene look on his face started to fade.No, I like chill and happy Reuben. Bring him back.

“Trust me, it’s not the most confused I’ve ever been in a relationship. I had one playmate who turned out to be a serial killer.”

Amazingly enough, Reuben did not even blink an eye at that. “I want you to come over tomorrow evening. I’ll make you dinner... we have a lot to discuss.”

“Ooh, you’re going to cook for me?” I grinned and climbed closer to him, pressing one of my legs against his. “You must really like me.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re alright I suppose.” But he gave me a wink.

“What are we discussing,” I asked, and threw one leg over him so I was kneeling over him. He seemed unaffected by my position.

“Rules. Limits. Safewords. The usual.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” I smiled. “You’ll definitely need a safeword with me.”

He huffed, like he didn’t have the energy to actually laugh. “Oh yeah, why is that?”

“Because I’m in charge, obviously.” I made to sit back on his hips so I could grind on him a little, but his hands flew out from under his head and grabbed my hips, catching me before I did so. He flipped us over so he was on top of me, and then repositioned himself so he was holding my hands down above my head. I felt trapped, pinned down by the weight of his body, paralyzed by the hungry look in his eye.Oh, this is a good place to be.

“Are you sure about that?”

I bit my lip and shook my head just a little.Nope. You are totally, definitely in charge. Fucking finally.

“Say it, Alice.” He brushed a finger across my lips so lightly it tickled, and I shivered. “I want to hear you say it.” His voice was proud with that tiny touch of cruelty that I loved.

“You’re in charge.”

“Good girl.” He said it with such conviction, like he really meant it. Like he believed it.

I squeezed my eyes closed at the words. Idid notwant to hear that. Unexpected emotion welled up in me and I couldn’t stop it, and my eyes spilled over with forbidden tears. I hiccupped and held my breath to try to stop, but I couldn’t. After a moment, I found myself shaking and falling, spinning out of control.

I couldn’t breathe. I was lost in my head, and nothing felt real, and the only thing I could hear were those words while I squirmed and struggled–

Something sharp hit me in the face and my eyes flew open. Reuben had slapped me just hard enough to bring me back, though I was dizzy from hyperventilating. He sat up and pulled me into his lap, holding my face in both of his hands and forcing me to look at him.

“Breathe with me, Alice. Come on.” He kept my eyes as he leaned forward and pressed our foreheads together, and I struggled and fought to steady my breathing, matching my inhales and exhales to his, choking down my sobs. “You can do it... that’s right... just like that.” He held my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs against my cheeks in a slow, steady rhythm.

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