“No. Not really,” she said.
“Good. That was a warning. You’re my submissive, and I expect you to wait until I ask you to speak or give you permission to speak freely.
Her lips curled upward at the corner. “Yes, sir.”
I knew she was trying to be surly, but the way sir sounded as it rolled off her tongue sent a warm rush through me. I continued moving the crop against her bare skin in a slow pattern. The way goosebumps sprouted up in its path was mesmerizing, making her soft skin look so touchable it almost hurt to keep control.
But this was part of what I enjoyed. Waiting to take what I wanted from Andi was only going to make the moment of indulgence that much sweeter. The longer I tormented her, the more I drove myself wild with need.
“Pain is a means to an end. A little injection of pain at the right moment is like a clean slate. Pleasure builds, and builds, and builds,” I said, lowering the crop to her inner thighs and letting it brush her swollen lips. Then I flicked my wrist lightly, giving her another tap on the ass that briefly made her skin turn pink. “And the pain brings you right back to the start line. So that every touch is like the first again.”
Andi was breathing heavier now. The movement of her chest was making her body rise slightly with each inhalation, so I could start to judge how she was reacting.
I needed to read her carefully—almost supernaturally. I needed to know where her line was and help her work her way to that point until a single, light breeze could push her over the edge. I brought the riding crop down again and dragged it in a slow circle between her legs, then used my hand to urge her legs open wider.
She gasped.
My cock was already painfully hard, but when I saw the fabric of her panties slowly darken with her arousal, I had to close my eyes it hurt so bad. I wanted to feel her pussy gripping every inch of my length—to bury myself in her as deeply as I could. I wanted everything she had and more, but still, I waited.
“I’m going to slide your panties down, now,” I said calmly.
Andi’s breathing hitched, but after a few seconds, she was breathing normally again, so I reached for the waistband and pulled them down. I drank in the sight of her, committing every curve and crevice to memory as best I could.
“Now roll onto your back,” I said.
Andi obeyed. It was like in the sensory deprivation room. Her wall of jokes and sarcasm was far thicker and harder to penetrate than anyone I’d ever met, but there was a point where she could submit. She was there now, and God, it was the hottest fucking thing I’d ever seen. Knowing my wild, obstinate Andi was lurking just behind those docile, willing eyes was sexy as hell, even if I couldn’t quite explain why.
I set the riding crop back in the drawer and pulled out a candle and a box of matches. “Now,” I said. “This part is going to sting just a little.”31AndiThe match whispered against the box and hissed to life. It cast an orange glow on Landon’s features, reminding me how many times I’d compared him to a devil.
I thought about how wrong that had been. He wasn’t a devil. He was far from it. Landon was someone more like me than I’d imagined. The difference was I’d learned to protect my heart with a thick tangle of humor. Landon covered his in a false veil of darkness. Anyone who got too close would have their mouth filled with poison, just like I had. But I guess it took a combination of my willful grandfather and my own stupidly stubborn nature to get through it to the good guy beneath it all.
Landon moved the candle lower, drawing my attention. When he spoke, his voice was low and controlled—almost hypnotic. It felt like I was being led through some sort of ritual.
“Some areas of the body are more sensitive than others,” he said, tilting the candle so a little droplet of hot wax fell just below my collarbone. I jolted against the sudden heat, but it passed as quickly as it had come.
I let out a breath, relaxing a little when I realized the pain wasn’t anywhere near what I’d imagined.
“Others,” he said, dripping wax just to the side of my nipple. “Are very sensitive.”
I wiggled against the burn, which took a little longer to subside than the first had. It wasn’t quite unpleasant, and I definitely wasn’t into “yellow” territory yet, but it had gone from barely registering on the pain scale to something that was at least worthy of a little fear.