Page 41 of CHASE: Captive to the Dark

I placed my knee on the edge of the bed, reaching up to buckle the cuffs. To say I was surprised that she was being so obedient was an understatement. I expected her to fight me just as hard as she had when I brought her down her. It was something else messing with my mind.

Blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders while she lowered her head to look down at the bed. Waiting. Yes, she was ready. Why, was what I wanted to know. I couldn’t stand that she was so calm. Sure, she was shaking, but she wasn’t trying to get free. She wasn’t begging me not to use the crop on her. Hell, she had fucking started for the cross so acceptingly that it left my brain sputtering. I knew she was aware of this life—probably more than I was at the moment. All I really had was instinct. But…what were her motives behind the submission? Did she want it for the pain? For the release? The sex? No, that probably wasn’t it. I couldn’t stand not knowing.

My hand tightened on the crop and I rose from the bed, coming to stand at the bottom. Seeing her bound with her arms above her head and her knees spread wide drove me to stalk her even more. I studied her breaths, watching the rise and fall of her breasts while she sat so quietly.

The first strike of the crop against her thigh barely produced a flinch. I hadn’t done it hard. It was nothing more than a warning for her to get ready. And still, she didn’t move.

Whack!

“When I give you an order, you follow it. You don’t think about it.”

Whack!

“You don’t contemplate whether you should do it.

Whack!

“You turn off your mind and you listen to me.”

Each hit was harder than the last and a small sound escaped her as I used the last to connect with her ass.

“You say you fear the dark. I say you should fear me. And you will, little one.”

Whack!

“Do you seriously believe some phantom ghost is going to hurt you anymore? Do you? Answer my question.”

Whack!

“No,” Kit cried out.

“No,” I repeated. “Your past may be triggered and come back to you at times, but what you neglect to see is that if that bastard was still alive, he wouldn’t stand a chance against the hell I’d bring his way. I’d make him suffer a million times over for every time he violated you. For every time you cowered at his touch. As I will do to anyone who hurts you again. I am the only one who will touch you or break you down. Me. Not Peter, not Rory, or Palo with his name-calling. Me.”

Whack!

“From now on, when I touch you, you’re going to appreciate it. When I flog or crop you,” Whack! “you’re going to relish in it. Why? Tell me, Kit.”

Her silence had me moving from her ass to her thigh.

Whack!

“I’ll tell you why. Because everything I do is what’s best for you. If I say eat, you eat. It’s best for you. When I say bathe…you bathe. It’s best for you. When I say, do not fear something, you what?”

“I will not fear it,” she said, letting her eyes rise to mine.

“That’s right, you will not fear it. But, why?”

Kit’s fingers fisted as she peeked at my face. “Because you won’t let anyone hurt me. You’ll protect me.”

“Yes,” I breathed out. “Tell me why I’m doing this. Why am I hurting you now?”

Whack!

A cry filled the room, but she didn’t try to move away. “As punishment for disobeying in your bedroom. And…because you like it.”

The smile that surfaced on my face couldn’t be hidden. It pulled at the corner of my lips, reminding me how sadistic I truly was. I brought my hand back, giving her thigh one last sting. “Yes, little one. I do. Luckily for me, I have you. And you need a man like me to take care of you. I can see it in your eyes. Such longing for someone to take control. To save you from the chaos within yourself. You feel it, don’t you? I bet it tugs at your very soul and pleads for relief. You want relief. You want the life I’m forcing upon you. Admit it.”

“I will not.” Her voice was so low, my head had to tilt to the side to make out her words. But they weren’t what I wanted to here. I knew what I felt to be true. This wasn’t just me. Kit wanted this. She may not have realized yet, but she would.

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