Page 46 of Surrender

“Oh, that. Well…” Fox reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the knife. He holds it up to me. “Here. I guess I don’t deserve to have it right now.”

It’s really fucking clear what he wants me to do with the knife, though.

I want to see your skin as red as your hair, drawing beautiful patterns through it.

The thought of Silvano marking him up like that has me seething again.

I take the knife, and for a moment, I contemplate doing exactly that—marking him up like he so clearly wants to be marked up. But this isn’t the place to spill blood. If I’m going to carve into his skin, I’m going to do it slowly, carefully, where I can make sure every tiny cut scars.

“No, you don’t,” I say, trying to regain some semblance of self-control. “You don’t deserve anything from me right now. Give me one good reason not to just leave you in here the rest of the night.”

Fox looks down at his naked cock. “That isn’t enough?” He laughs at my glower and holds up his hand. “Okay, okay. How about… if I don’t get any from you, who knows whose cock I’ll end up tripping and falling onto.”

I grit my teeth hard, trying to calm my breathing. I feel like a fucking rodeo bull, and even though I know he’s provoking me on purpose, I can’t seem to let it roll off my back. It would serve him right if I locked him in this room the rest of the night, but I can’t guarantee no one else would find their way in.

There’s no guarantee Silvano wouldn’t find his way in.

“Do you want me to be your Daddy, Fox?” I demand.

“Yes,” Fox answers immediately. “I… I do.” His voice trembles, and I wonder if that’s him being manipulative again.

His eyes have softened though, and I’m reminded of how he looked when I’d praised him.

“You’re not going to be able to sit down for a week when I’m done with you,” I say grimly. “Apologize to me.”

Fox meets my gaze, hesitating. What is going through that mind of his? I don’t know what I’ll do if he tries to provoke me again, though, because I know how counterproductive it would be to give him what he wants.

“I’m sorry,” Fox says in a quiet voice. “I didn’t want him, anyway.”

I take a deep breath, staring at him as I let it out in a slow exhalation. “He’s my friend,” I say. Or I thought he was, which is part of the reason this is getting to me so much. “I know that doesn’t mean much in this line of business, but I’m prepared to pledge my loyalty to him when his father steps down. For fuck’s sake, Fox! Of all the people you could’ve picked!”

Fox averts his gaze and shrugs. “He approached me first. I was right that he’s gay. It seemed like a good way to get more information out of him.”

“Then why the fuck did you go out of the way to provoke me about it?” I ask. “I—” I hold up a hand, shaking my head. “Never mind. Jesus, Fox. I thought…” I almost laugh. I thought what? That this would be a real thing?

He pulls his legs together and looks at me again, smiling just a little. “I thought you were really fucking hot, getting all angry and possessive.”

I groan, rubbing my hand across my face. “Of course you did,” I mutter. “Well.” I stare at him. “I don’t tolerate that kind of bullshit. If you want my attention, you fucking ask for it from now on. Do you understand me, boy?”

“Yes, Daddy.” Fox grins widely. “May I have some attention please, Daddy?”

“Brat,” I say, but I can’t help but smile back. “Well. Since I have you all alone, and I’m sure you can manage not to scream… I guess we should get your punishment out of the way, shouldn’t we?”

“Daddy, we can’t! At a party?” Fox gets up despite his mock-horrified words, unashamed of his bare cock, and leans over the side of the armchair. “But I can definitely try very, very hard not to make any noise.”

“You should’ve thought about where we were when you decided to provoke me like that,” I say. I slowly unfasten my belt, pulling it through the loops and folding it in half. That’s all the warning I give him before I lash out with it, leaving a red stripe across his ass cheeks from the force of the blow.

Fox gasps softly in surprise, but his eyes flutter shut, and he juts his ass out farther. I stroke the new welt, pushing against it just to hear Fox moan.

“Is that you being quiet?” I ask, pressing harder.

Fox inhales sharply. “Sorry, Daddy. It just feels so good.”

“Then I must not be doing it right,” I say. “This is supposed to be a punishment, not a fucking reward.” The next time I hit him with the belt is in a different spot, and it’s much lighter.

Fox makes a disappointed noise. “Daddy… I can take more than that.”

“Punishment,” I remind him. “I should just fuck you and leave you wanting. I’m being generous giving you my belt, aren’t I?”

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