“Good,” he said on a shaky breath. He fingered the edge of her blouse. “I should have removed this before I tied your hands.” He was nervous.
He shut his eyes and took three deep breaths. When he looked down at her again the tortured creases bracketing his eyes were accompanied by hard lines of determination. He pressed his hands into his hips. “Liberty, I think I can help you. So help me God if I make this worse I’ll never forgive myself. I want you to know I’m only doing this because I love you. When you call my name it’ll all be over.”
She told her head to nod so he knew she understood even though she had no idea what he was talking about. She somehow sensed he was trying to help her. She forced her muscles to move and could swear her head moved, but knew she hadn’t budged at all. Sean squeezed his eyes shut and uttered an oath. Then she was on her belly with her hands over her head. Sean straddled her thighs, his weight something she craved.
His palm coasted over her soft flesh as he mapped out her curves. Sharp pain suddenly lanced through her rear as a crack of flesh hitting flesh rent the air.
“One,” Sean said as she cried out in shock.
He spanked her. She had never been struck like that in her life. Her flesh burned and her body quivered. Another crack sounded and white hot pain shot through her other cheek.
“Two.”
What was he doing? He was hitting her. Fear suddenly trembled through her. Her hands were tied and he had her pinned. Mason wouldn’t be home for hours. And why was he waiting so long for the next one. Two wasn’t enough.
“Three.”
Fire filled her veins and her flesh prickled. A deep throb began in her belly. Something about that third slap against her ass settled something inside of her. One thousand invisible needles pricked her skin in the shape of Sean’s hand.
“One.” He struck again. This time a little harder or perhaps it was just that he was now slapping already abused skin.
Her flesh felt as though it was plumping beneath the surface, feeling larger than it was. Visions of pink and red filled her mind and something small opened up inside of her.
“Two.”
She cried out. She visualized that small hole that had opened up. It was like a bud, forcing its way open from within the claws of a tightly knit stem. Glowing, burning shades of gold and amber in a storm of blackness.
“Three.”
The intense fire that lit along her flesh rushed through her pores, up her spine and into that small bud. An explosion of graceful vines burst forth in her mind, coiling around her psyche like arms holding her tightly together. Squeezing, choking away the hurt. Something was happening to her, something terrifying, beyond her control, yet just on the cusp of it. She feared this thing that grabbed hold of her and at the same time feared Sean would stop.
His thighs slid down her legs and then a fresh patch of pain lanced into her flesh.
“One.”
Ah, another set of three. She took comfort in the perfect number, its dependable cycle taking hold of her once more.
“Two.”
Hot. Burn. Sear. Penetrate. Deep. Encompassing. Craving. Holding. Hijacking. Dispersing. Throbbing. Aching. Wanting. Comforting. Her mind was a collision of emotions, so many contradicting feelings yet all of them uniformly right.
The intricate bud in her mind forced itself out into a radiant flower. It was something unique and new, something she’d never imagined or thought of before. Tendrils of sparkling vines twisted and turned within her, pulling her all together, holding her there so that she wouldn’t come apart. She felt incredibly safe, warm, and centered.
“Three!” The crack of Sean’s palm coming down on her flesh split the air.
She sobbed, much like she would at the peak of a climax. The flower burst into a thousand stars. Light flickered within her, winking in and out of her vision, a kaleidoscope of crystallized raindrops pouring over her, marking her with tiny prisms of light that would create new buds of pleasure. This must be what it was like when a star burst into a galaxy.
She was suddenly free, as if she were falling, but at the same time wrapped in a tight nest of feathers. Her senses awakened and the pain washed away. Her flesh burned in a way that centered her, made her feel as if she had come full circle. There was no shame. There was only this incredible, all-encompassing sense of rightness. A feeling she welcomed. She shut her eyes and dove into the sensations, letting them swallow her whole.
The delicious ache enraptured her entire being. Her mind let go. Her fears diluted, seeming suddenly silly and small. Every part of her was alive, mind, body, soul. Her heart beat steadily in her ears and she could hear Sean breathing heavily behind her. Not just Sean. She was panting as well.