Something inside me bloomed. I had trusted him, but doubts had lingered in my mind like mosquitos I couldn’t swat away. Now I knew that he was truly worthy of that trust. He had pushed me to an edge but hadn’t violated my faith in him by taking it somewhere I wasn’t ready for yet. Even only knowing me a short time, he knew how far to take it, how to push yet still protect the shaky confidence that was trying to build into something more solid inside me.
I closed my eyes and kissed the crop.
An audible breath whooshed out of him, and he lowered the crop. “You humble me, angel.”
My mouth curved, and I met his gaze again. “Well, if you ever get the urge to kneel at my feet, I won’t stop you.”
His smirk lit his eyes with humor. “Maybe I was wrong. You are a brat.”
“Is that bad?” I asked, beginning to understand that the term must mean something significant in this world.
“It can be for some. But I have to say, I’m kind of liking your smartass side. Gives me more opportunity to do this in repayment.” He snapped the crop against the tender underside of my breast.
I shrieked in surprise, both at the pain and the pleasure that chased right up to my nipple afterward. The ropes creaked as I shifted my weight in response to all the sensation. “Ah, God.”
“Yes, now may be the time for prayer. You have one more punishment to handle.” His grin was pure male promise. “Forty-nine to one, angel.”
I wet my lips, eyeing the riding crop and developing an instant love-hate relationship with it. How could such an innocuous-looking thing dish out such a sting? Taking its bite on my back was one thing, but there were so many more sensitive areas on the front of me.
“I don’t hear counting,” he chided.
I braced myself. “Forty-nine.”
The leather landed on my hip, making me press my teeth into my lip to keep from crying out. Wow, that was a different level. I breathed through it, still counting, trusting that like the welts on my back, the wallop would turn into a pleasant burn.
“Still green?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” I said, though my teeth were clenched a bit this time.
“Tough girl. I like it.” He stood in front of me, his eyes raking over my form as he held the crop in his right hand. Everything about his stance and the look on his face screamed power and sex and utter confidence. I couldn’t remember ever being so captivated. Having all that lust and attention zeroed in on me was headier than all the tequila shots in the world.
He lifted the crop, and holding my eye contact, snapped it right against my mound—lighter than the other hits but enough to get the attention of every cell in my body. I bowed up in the ropes, fighting hard to keep my focus and continue counting. My sex clenched, and my clit throbbed like it’d developed its own heartbeat. Jesus, that felt . . . I couldn’t even describe it. Shocking. Harsh. Fantastic.
Foster didn’t pause. He continued the blows on every exposed tender spot—my breasts and nipples, the tops of my thighs, my hips . . . Snap. Snap. Snap. My skin lit with fire and liquid heat soaked my panties. I rocked in the bindings, the twinkle lights in the trees starting to blur. Then he was back at the apex of my thighs, the hits from earlier turning into taps perfectly centered over where I needed it most. I had to start counting over again twice because my brain began to haze, all focus narrowed onto the need for release.
“Please,” I whispered in between the last few numbers. “Please.”
“Do not come,” he warned.
I groaned and tilted my head back, fighting against the tide. Finally, I hit the number one and to my utter dismay, Foster stopped the stimulation. No! I balled my fists, tugging against the bindings, squirming with the need for release.
“Easy, Cela,” he said, going to the ropes and untying. “Pull too hard and you’ll get rope burns.”
“I’m going to die,” I declared. “Sir.”
He chuckled—the bastard—and went to my other arm. “I promise, lack of orgasm won’t kill you.”
I wasn’t so sure.
After he’d unfastened me from everything, I realized my legs were weak beneath me. He kept a firm hand on my elbow and helped me ease down to my knees in the flower bed. “You all right?”
My body was pulsing and hot everywhere, and my brain couldn’t hold on to any thoughts for longer than a second. The chanting call for release was all I felt. “Yes, sir, but I need to come.”
He cupped my cheek, smile grim. “Welcome to your punishment.”
I blinked. “But we did that, you just—”
“And you enjoyed every minute of that flogging. That wasn’t punishment. This is the part that will make you think twice before you lie to me again.”