“I’ve been in Abelaum since 1902.” Despite his gaze across the room, his voice whispered directly in my ear. “Over a hundred years, Raelynn. A hundred years of servitude. Coming and going only when summoned. Killing when ordered. Fighting when commanded. No sleep. No safety. Months and months in the dark, inconfinement.”
His eyes vanished. I shuffled around, my hands outstretched, trying to find the stairs, the couch, a wall, anything to center myself. “Leon, I’m sorry, okay? I get it, I do, I shouldn’t have tried to trap you.”
“I offered you a deal.” His voice was above me now, sounding even deeper and more inhuman than ever. “A damn good deal. And I’m being very generous, because that deal still stands. I’ll tell you a secret, Raelynn.”
A little light returned: gray and cold, just enough to see my breath form clouds in front of my face.
His hands grabbed me from behind, one around my waist and the other around my throat, hugging me tight against him as his tongue licked my ear and he hissed, “I really fucking want your soul, Raelynn. I want it so goddamn badly it makes me sick. I want toown you, from now until eternity.”
His teeth nipped at my skin and his tongue played, teasing that sensitive spot just behind my ear until I was twitching.
“You deserve to be punished,” he said. I managed to nod as his hand gripped my jaw.
“I know.”
His hand around my waist moved lower, gripping my hip so hard his claws pierced through my jeans. “What did Ifuckingtell you about wearing panties?”
He shoved me forward, and I stumbled but caught myself. I immediately stripped out of my jacket, pulled off my shirt, and began to peel my tight jeans down my legs, stumbling from foot to foot. I could see only his silhouette in the dark, watching me, eyes bright.
“Trying to be a good girl now, are we? Suddenly so cooperative. Do you think taking your punishment so eagerly is going to make me go easy on you?”
With my jeans around my ankles, he seized me again and pushed me against the wall, his body pressed close to mine. Some bizarre mixture of fear and need made me moan as his thigh pressed up between my legs. Hearing him speak about his captivity had been like needles slowly stabbing into my heart. The guilt was eating away at me. I’d acted out of desperation, but I’d tried to take advantage of him in the process.
Demon or not, he didn’t deserve that. He didn’t deserve to have felt trapped where he’d thought he was safe.
I deserved whatever punishment he decided to mete out. I needed it to make this awful guilt go away.
“The little doll wanted to play at being master.” One claw traced down my cheek as he shook his head. “How did that work out for you?”
I gave a frantic shake of my head. “It-it didn’t…didn’t work—”
“No, it didn’t work at all.” There was a rumble to his voice that shivered through my belly. He leaned over me, pressed his forehead to mine, and asked softly, “Mercy?”
I knew what I’d done. I knew what I absolutely deserved.
“No. No mercy.”
He chuckled darkly as he stepped back, giving me a little room to breathe. “Good answer.” He unbuckled his belt, the metal clinking, the leather making a smooth sound as he slid it out of his jeans. He ran it through his hands as he doubled it over, and snapped the two sides together. “No mercy.”
I watched wide-eyed as he raised his hand and curled his finger at me. “Come here. Now.”
I obeyed with slow, shuffling steps. I dreaded it. I wanted it. I needed it. I knew exactly what he was going to do, what I was going to let him do. I stood before him, naked except for the panties he’d scolded me for wearing, and my bra. He paced around me slowly, taking his time, snapping the belt intermittently and chuckling when I jumped.
“You’re looking a little nervous, doll.” He stood in front of me again, and tapped the belt up under my chin, tipping my face up toward him. “Tell me, do you know what is about to happen?”
I gulped. “You’re...you’re going to spank me.”
He grinned. “I’m going to whip you, Rae, until your ass is red and you’re begging me to stop. Then I’m going to put you down on your knees, and you’re going to gag on my cock until you prove just how sorry you are.”
My body was on fire. Guilt, humiliation, and desire made for a truly heady cocktail. I nodded. “I understand.”
“Bend over.”
A whimper escaped me as I obeyed. I felt so much more vulnerable like that: bent at the waist, reaching toward my ankles, nearly naked. His arm looped around my waist, pinning me close to his side, and the smooth leather belt trailed lightly over my skin.
“This is a very important lesson, doll,” he said, and the belt drew back from touching me. “Don’t piss off a demon.”
The belt smacked down, cracking across my skin with a bite that made me yelp. I didn’t try to stand up nor did I struggle. A second lash came, landing right where the first had left me tender. My cry was louder that time, and I bit my lip.