Page 23 of The Sadist and the Brat

He cupped her breast again to hold it steady and smoothed a thin layer of gel over the small burns. She was still under his touch, like a small prey animal trying not to draw attention to itself. But she couldn’t quell the pulse fluttering in her throat, or the way her nipple went from soft and pale to tight and flushed. And when he could linger no longer and dropped his hands, the breath she let out sounded suspiciously like disappointment.

“All done,” he announced, and tossed the tube of gel back into his bag. “Any other ouchies that need attending to?”

“No,” she squeaked, and he knew she was in rough shape when she didn’t smirk at him for sayingouchies.

“You sure? The clothespin was pretty tight on your nipple.” He tapped the nipple in question, watching her face carefully. She jerked slightly at the contact, her breath catching and her eyes flaring in either pain or pleasure. Maybe both. “Sore?”

“Some,” she said in a thin and throaty rasp. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Hmm.” He traced a finger around it gently, watching the areola pucker even further before nudging the blanket aside to expose her other breast. “What about this one? I didn’t tighten the chopsticks as much as I could have.”

“It’s fine.”

He knew she didn’t mean it as a challenge, but he had a hard time not taking it as one. Promising himself that there would be plenty of time to test both of their limits later, he shifted his attention to the tiny little welts on the undersides of her breasts, their edges already turning blue. “These will bruise,” he told her, and skimmed his fingertips over them. Her breath hitched at his touch, making her breasts bounce lightly. “Some anti-bruising cream will help.”

“I have some at home,” she said, and he nodded. He had a tube in his bag, but he still had a Q&A session to get through, and he’d probably pushed her enough for one night.

“I’m going to go do the Q&A. Finish the water, and the almonds, then you can have the chocolate.”

A spark of her usual defiance joined the arousal in her eyes. “It’s cute that you think you’re in charge.”

“It’s cute that you think I’m not,” he countered and tapped the end of her nose in admonishment. When her mouth dropped open in surprise, he turned and walked back to the crowd. Most of the audience had dispersed, but a good dozen people remained. He snagged an empty chair and turned it around to straddle it. Forcing Sadie to the back of his mind, he smiled. “Thank you for your patience, everyone. Are there any questions?”

Chapter Three

Sadie almost decided to skip the nuts and go right to the chocolate, just to see what he’d do. The demo had left her feeling edgy, aroused and restless, and she was tempted to push it. But she wanted the protein, and Jack made her just nervous enough to hesitate. So she dutifully finished her water and all the nuts, then dug out the first piece of chocolate.

She rolled it around in her mouth, savoring the bittersweet flavor as she watched him take questions from the small group that had remained. She was too far away to hear what anyone was saying, but she could read body language well enough. He was attentive, listening to questions with focus and answering with an easy smile, Resting Dick Face nowhere in sight. He looked relaxed, a state she envied.

She was too horny to relax.

She reached for another piece of chocolate and tried to ignore all the places on her body that wished the demo wasn’t over. Her breasts felt heavy and tender, her pussy swollen and slick. She had little twinges and throbs on her thighs, back, and butt from all the slaps and smacks and hits—even her feet were sensitized from standing on the plastic mat, and it annoyed her to realize she didn’t hate it. Her whole body buzzed with arousal, and since she wasn’t in the mood to put on a show, she was going to have to wait until she got home to do anything about it.

And on top of that, she’d lost the bet.

“Who knew Resting Dick Face had it in him?” she muttered and shoved the last piece of chocolate into her mouth.

“Who had what in them?” Jack asked.

She squeaked in surprise, nearly choking on the chocolate, and scrambled to her feet. And promptly tripped over his toy bag.

“Whoa.” Jack reached out to steady her. “Easy.”

She shook her foot to dislodge the strap she’d stepped in and swallowed the chocolate before clearing her throat. “I’m fine. Q&A over?”

“All done.” He kept his hand on her elbow. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she repeated, and tried to ignore how warm and firm his hand felt on her arm. “Um. Did you see where my clothes went?”

“I’ve got them.” He dropped her elbow and crouched, reaching under the table and pulling out a neatly folded bundle of clothing. He dropped it onto his toy bag, then plucked her dress from the pile and stood, looking at her expectantly.

“What?”

“Don’t you want to put this on?” he asked, holding the dress out.

“Oh.” Feeling foolish, she put her right arm through the sleeve, then the left. He lifted the garment into place, smoothing his hands across her shoulders. Warmth seeped through the thin, diaphanous material and made her want to sink back into him.

“Get it together, Bloom,” she muttered, and rolled her shoulders so his hands dropped away.

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