She complied and didn’t fight as he cuffed her arms to the headboard. The scent of new leather filled her nose as she settled back down on the bed, her knees tucked beneath her.
“You called me a dom on the phone,” he said quietly.
“You are when you want to be.”
“You want that side of me right now, Oakley?”
“Only if you want to give it.”
He hissed out a breath. “You don’t even realize how submissive you sound and what that’s doing to me. You’re fucking beautiful.” His hand cupped the back of her neck. “Tell me your safe word.”
“Oklahoma.”
His grip on her neck eased her head all the way down to the bed until her ass was in the air and her cheek pressed to the cool sheets. “Tell me what you need tonight, baby.”
“To not think.”
“You sure Rae isn’t going to come down here?”
“She’s sound asleep. If she needs me, she’ll ask for me on the monitor. And she can’t hear anything from her room. I’ve checked because of the phone calls.”
Pike glided a hand down her back and then he went to the box. She couldn’t see what he grabbed, but she found out soon enough. He touched her back entrance and stroked. “I’m going to take you here tonight.”
She groaned, unsure if it was from fear or anticipation.
“You lit up last time, baby. I can’t ignore such a sexy reaction.” Cool liquid moved over her opening. “But let’s start with the plug.”
Pike lubricated her thoroughly, dipping a finger in and then replaced it with the plug. Her eyes wanted to roll back in her head. The feeling was so goddamned decadent. Pleasurable in a way she never would’ve suspected before he’d touched her there the last time. He turned on the vibration and she pressed her forehead into the bed. “This thing’s going to kill me.”
He chuckled and then she heard the clink of metal. She peered over at him as he pulled his belt out of the loops of his jeans. He folded the black leather in his hand and tucked the buckle into his fist. “No, but this might.”
A hard shudder moved through her. “You said you weren’t a sadist.”
He took the belt and drew the loop of leather over her backside in a slow, gentle stroke. “I’m not. But I’m addicted to hearing those noises you make when I get rough with you, so I’m beginning to see the appeal in meting out a little pain. Knowing you like it gets me hard.”
He stalked around the bottom of the bed, and she turned her head to follow his progress. But before he appeared on the other side, she heard the slice of the leather through the air. The belt hit her with a burning-white sting. She arched against the sheets and clenched her teeth together, buffering the volume of the cry that escaped.
A few seconds passed as she panted through the pain.
“You good, mama?” Pike asked after she caught her breath, his voice deep and gritty as his fingertips traced over the mark he’d surely left on her skin.
It took her a moment to respond because she wasn’t sure of the answer. The pain had been sharp and sudden, but now the burn was spreading over her skin, making everything pulse with heat, making the vibrator feel even more intense. “I’m good.”
“You’re perfect.” He swung again, hitting high on her thigh and then followed up with a stinging blow across the middle of her ass—each stroke harder than the first. The pain was breath-stealing, and her mind blanked for a moment. She pressed her face into the mattress, restless, hungry. She wasn’t sure for what.
He paused for a few seconds, not making a sound and not touching her.
Anticipation for the next strike filled her, like the feeling before the drop on a roller coaster. Tense thrill. “Pike, please.”
“Please what?”
“More.”
The word surprised her. She didn’t understand it. But the rougher he got, the more she could feel the mantle of stress she carried dripping off her like melting snow, the tension breaking down and morphing into something entirely different, singular. Want. Need. Pike. Everything else became white noise.
He hit her again, three more times, no break, enough force to make a cracking sound in the air. Her brain buzzed, thoughts popping out of existence like soap bubbles. She shifted, writhing and rolling a little to her side. Pike’s hand went to her hip. “Easy, baby. We can only do this if you stay on your knees. I don’t want to risk …”
Her mind was fuzzy, his words not registering. “What?”