I was thankful she didn’t mention meeting someone new because I couldn’t even contemplate that. The thought made my stomach churn. I didn’t want anyone new; I just wanted Erin. I wanted her to be with both Jackson and me. I wanted us to be a family together.
Once I’d settled down, Mistress Valentine told me I could take a nap on the couch. I was too exhausted to leave and was grateful.
“I wish I could stay with you right now, Caleb,” she said, laying a kiss on my forehead, “but I have an appointment with a guest in a few minutes and she needs me.”
“I’ll be okay,” I said, squeezing her hand. “Besides, you’re right, I really do need a nap.”
She smiled and kissed me softly on the lips.
When I awoke, the first thing I noticed was that my brain felt better. I was in a calmer place than I was before I closed my eyes. The pain that filled my heart wasn’t gone, but I felt like I could deal with it for the time being. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was in a dungeon and felt at home, or if it was this particular dungeon, but whatever it was, I felt safer.
I stared at the ceiling, just thinking, when Mistress Valentine came back to her office.
She smiled when she saw that I was awake. “Good, you’re up. I didn’t want to wake you.”
I swung my legs over into a sitting position, giving her room. She sat down next to and asked, “How are you feeling? Did you get some sleep?”
“I did actually,” I said. “Thanks for letting me crash.”
“Of course,” she said with a wave of her hand. “You’ve always known I had a soft spot for you, Caleb. I just want you to be content with your life.”
“I appreciate that,” I replied. “I appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me over the years.”
“I know you do,” she said. Then she grinned. “And I appreciate just how much you’ve paid into the dungeon over the years. It’s helped keep me in business all this time.”
We both laughed.
When our laughter subsided, Mistress Valentine turned to me and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, Caleb?”
I nodded. There was definitely something else she could do for me.
I was strung up, completely naked with my arms suspended above me.
Mistress Valentine had a black leather flogger in her hand and circled me. “You tell me that you want this, but I’m still not convinced,” she said, a haughty tinge to her voice. She was in full-blown mistress mode and I was living for, feeling better than I had in weeks.
I strained against my bonds, desperately wanting her to hit me. I wanted to feel it. I wanted to feel something real. Pain was real. Pain was a way to feel alive.
“Mistress Valentine,” I begged, “I really, really want it.”
“Pathetic,” she said, a look of disgust on her face. She trailed the handle of the flogger down my body, making me shiver. “You clearly don’t care. And if you don’t care, I might as well throw this in the trash,” she said, waving the flogger in my face.
“But I need it, Mistress Valentine,” I cried. I needed to be smacked, hit, spanked so badly that I was nearly in tears.
“Well,” she said, tapping her chin as she thought. “I suppose I could give it to you at least once.”
“Yes!” I shouted. “Yes, please, just once!”
“Alright,” she said, walking behind me.
My anticipation rose until I felt the sting on my back where it landed. I drew in a sharp breath, feeling my endorphins begin to release. Though Mistress Valentine only promised one, she slapped the flogger on my back a second time in the same exact place. My body thrived on it, on the pain. It felt so good and I wanted more.
“Mistress Valentine, please, again!”
She was done being coy and slapped on my back once more. I was in Heaven, I truly was.
My cock was so hard, but I felt no real urge to cum. I just wanted Mistress Valentine to keep flogging me until she was tired. But she’d been a mistress for a long time and I knew there was no way she’d do that. If she’d expended all her energy, that meant the scene would end sooner than intended.
She moved on to another spot on my back, flogging me on the same spot several times. The technique of hitting the same place over and over helped increase endorphins, making them grow and the pain grew.
After she decided I’d had enough, she put the flogger down on a table with the rest of her toys. Then she opened a drawer, pulled out a safety candle and a lighter, and walked toward me.
“Oh, God, yes,” I murmured, feeling my face flush.