Good. He rested his forehead against the wall, both sets of fingers back above him, curling inward in response to the sensation. It feelslike youre taking ownership of it.
A lmost exactly an echo of what shed felt the first day shed seen it, not knowing then even what it was.
I am, she said. His fingers tightened further, his body rippling with a wave of emotion she could feel. It was overpowering to know they were both feeling something so strongly, even barely touching. He awaited her pleasure, and she could take as long as she wanted to absorb the emotion, savor it. She didnt need to give him anything else until she was ready.
A ll right, she said at last. You should have told me about the brand from the beginning, shouldnt you have?
Yes.
Yes, she echoed, affirming it. You should have told me that you wanted me.
Yes.
You shouldnt have come, because you promised me you wouldnt, not until I said those two words.
No. A s he pressed his forehead to the wall, she saw the fierce desire gripping his expression, making her even more needy for him.
She took a step back, gauging where shed need to be. Does this hurt a lot?
It can, depending on how much strength you use.
Level Ten pain threshold. She remembered that from his program entry, the night of the auction. But still Is there any way I can hurt you incorrectly with it?
Its a good idea, with any tool, to stay above the kidneys. Reaching back, he showed her where with a fingertip pressed above that area on his back. Then he returned his palm to the wall. Best also to stop before you draw blood, though this will only do that if you keep hitting the welts it creates, over and over. The Zone doesnt allow bloodletting without special permission.
A ll right, then. Three strikes. Unless I like it and decide to do more.
He pressed his forehead to the wall again, nodding, and she saw that delicious tremor run through his body. She didnt have to understand why he craved it to be aroused by his response, and that too, was a new and exciting revelation. Hed told her that by giving her pleasure, it would give him pleasure. She hadnt considered how much the reverse could hold true.
Moving away from him, she did a couple practice swings against the lamp, watching how much the rubber gave. The lamp vibrated with the impact when she put a little more strength against it. Nodding to herself, she came back to him.
Im not sure the lamp post did anything to deserve that, the way I have.
She suppressed a smile, and trailed the hoop down his back again, teasing it over the brand. Keep it up, and Ill make it much worse.
Keeping it up isnt a problem. Not watching you walk with your breasts out like that, and glimpses of your pussy through the strips of the skirt. I want to put my mouth on the boots, bite through it to your ankle. Work my way up to the top, and slide my tongue around the edge, behind your knees. Kiss your beautiful, perfect ass. God, please do it, Chloe. Youre making me crazy.
The plea and demand made her put aside rational thought and go for intuition. She swung. The rubber hit with a sharp slap noise in the middle of his back. Shed put some strength behind it, and a curved crescent appeared on his flesh, pain and pleasure both shuddering through him. She did it again, harder, just below it, earning a muffled grunt, his shoulders bunching. Once more made a triangular trinity of intersected crescent marks, radiating heat and pain. She did it twice more, high and low, then once more, in the center, over the original three. The power of his stillness, of his submitting to her torment, of his hunger to serve her, washed over her like a drug. Goddess, shed had a taste of this the night of the carnival, but this was so, so different.
Because this was about their pleasure, not just her dark cravings. She was soaking wet, and it was as much from his response as her own. He stayed against the wall, his hands flat, but the sense of restrained power there was pure lust, waiting to be unleashed at her command.
Even so, as she watched the welts rise on his skin, she felt sympathetic pangs in her own flesh. Setting the hoop aside, she moved in, and placed her palms over them. Heat, as shed sensed, and he drew in a breath at the abrasion of that mere light touch. Reaching around to slide her fingertips down his abdomen, she arrowed into the open trousers to find his cock hardening again. It jumped spasmodically against her touch.
Leaning in, she pressed her lips to the first welt. Then the second. Kissed every one of them, again and again, as his trembling increased beneath the kneading, slow rhythm of her touch on his cock, her caresses to his back with her moist lips.
Im sorry, Brendan.
For what? he rasped.
For not liking to hurt you.
Im going to turn around now. I want to hold you. Is that okay?
Its way more than okay.
He turned then, a blink of time, and had his arms around her, holding her close. They leaned against the wall, her palms folded over his back, keeping the rough texture of the wall from scraping those welts. Please say those two words, he murmured against her hair. Im going to go crazy if you dont.
She closed her eyes, drew a breath and tipped her head back, because she wanted those forest-like eyes so close, his mouth so touchable she had to trace it with her fingertips.