I woke, tied facedown to a bed. It looked familiar, soft, crushed red velvet pressing against my flesh, almost like a comforting hug. My breasts felt sore and my throat felt scratchy. I couldn’t remember how I got here.
Vague recollections of fires and wax played at my senses, but I didn’t know if they were real or just figments of my imagination. I laid my cheek against the soft quilt, fighting back tears as I tried to figure out what had happened to me and my life.
It was hopeless. I couldn’t remember much at all.
All I could pull forth was fragments of memories. Donna. Nicole. My job. All of them felt far away, like a dream or perhaps something I’d made up some time ago and forgotten the details. The only thing that I was sure was real was Markos.
The skin at my neck throbbed hotly and I remembered how he’d bitten me there. The memory of the moment I had realized that he was a vampire was clear as day. I’d remembered how the heat of his touch had singed my skin, how the stubble on his chin had scratched at my tender flesh, and the pain and pleasure that raced through me the second his teeth had pierced into me.
I closed my eyes, wishing I would just wake up, but unsurprisingly, I didn’t.
I pulled one arm and then the next, but my wrists were tied to the bedposts. It was the same with my ankles. I was spread open, my thighs parted. Underneath my hips was a thick pillow, which only served to bring my ass up high in the air. I swallowed, wondering if Markos would spank me again. My pussy convulsed with arousal at the thought.
I groaned. This couldn’t be happening. When was I going to wake up?
I was entirely naked. Not a single stitch of clothing covered my body. I shivered, wondering what was going to happen to me now.
Completely captive and at Markos’ mercy.
My breath drew in and out of my lungs, each one shaky and unsure. Mentally, I felt totally off balance. He’d shattered each and every one of my defenses and now, I was utterly vulnerable to anything he wanted to do to me.
“Kassandra,” he murmured softly behind me.
He’d been there the whole time, watching me struggle in my bonds. I should have known. He got off on my shame.
A desperate, terrified keening sound emerged from my throat. It horrified me.
His fingers curled around my ankle. He remained out of my sight though, and my fear escalated with every passing second.
“I want to punish you.”
I cried out, panic and dread rising up from the very tips of my toes. No matter what I did, I could
n’t quell the surge of emotions inside me and I struggled against them.
The sound of a whip cracked loud overhead and I stiffened.
“No! Please. Don’t!” I cried, even though I knew my words were falling on deaf ears.
“I know you crave this, little warrior. I can see that ravenous cunt of yours clamp down wildly at the sound of my lash. I can see just how soaking wet you are. You hunger for this, don’t try to deny it,” he said firmly, and I moaned low in my throat.
My body was a fucking traitor.
His fingers traced up the back of my leg, over the curve of my ass and up my spine until his palm rested at the back of my neck.
“You poor little soul. You have no idea what’s happening to you, do you?” he whispered, and I trembled. What did he mean? Had I done something wrong?
“Please don’t whip me. I’ll obey you,” I said quietly, trying to figure out what I had done to anger him.
He didn’t answer, and the ensuing silence was so tense that it made even the air around me heavy and difficult to breathe. Instead, he walked around the bed, toward the side where my head was turned. I saw his pressed, professional-looking black slacks first. By his side, he held a long, dreadful-looking bullwhip. I stared at it for a long time, both in anticipation and fear. It dragged along the floor, a menacing, evil promise of more pain to come.
His hand fell away from the back of my neck and the one holding the terrifying implement left my sight. I held my breath, trying to prepare myself for what was to come.
The whip cracked again, only this time, it connected with my vulnerable, naked backside. At first, I didn’t feel anything, shocked by the terrible loud sound, but then a single line of blazing hot fiery pain sliced through me. I felt my skin rise, welting from the harsh blow of the leathery hide. The more it rose, the more it hurt. Over time, it built higher and higher and I keened in shock.
Nothing could have readied me for that.
A crescendo of pain and pleasure twisted my insides to their desires. Every muscle in my body tightened, trying to fight against this harsh punishment, but the ropes held fast. I couldn’t slip my fingers through them or loosen them in any way and I moaned forlornly at this discovery.