She closed her eyes, trying to move past the pain, to work through it as Liam and Daniel had taught her. But the flogging wasn’t sensual. It was too rough and too fast. And she was too uncomfortable, bound and tethered as she was, a bent pretzel with her cunt and ass so prominently on display.
She began to pant and whimper though she didn’t scream. When every inch of her skin felt as if it were on fire, Anthony dropped the flogger and moved to stand in front of her. “You did well. Now for your reward.”
“Anthony,” she tried again. “Please let me down. I’m not having fun.”
His face darkened and he brought his hands to her throat, squeezing hard enough to make her cough. Jesus, was this how she was going to die?
Thankfully, after a moment, he let go of her throat and stepped back. “It’s not about fun, foolish girl. It’s about submission and obedience. It’s obvious from your undisciplined reaction you’ve had very poor training indeed.” He pulled the crop from his belt and slapped her inner thigh.
“Let’s see how you handle the crop.”
“Please,” she began, but he cut her off.
“Another word and I’ll gag you.” His voice was hard.
The crop landed square on her spread cunt.
Alex screamed, but she couldn’t get away.
He struck her again, even harder than the first time. This wasn’t erotic, it was brutal. The slap, slap, slap of the leather square hitting her flesh became the bass rhythm to the fractured melody her cries. He struck her inner thighs, her cunt, her ass, her breasts, even her face.
Yelping and gasping, Alex twisted and pulled hard against her restraints. Her heart beat so hard it sounded like thunder in her ears. On and on he went, slap, slap, slap. There was no escape from the relentless crop.
At the end of her limits, Alex screamed, “Let me down, let me down! You fucking bastard, let me down! Ow. Ow, you’re hurting me! Stop it. Butterfly! Butterfly!”
Anthony dropped the crop. Thank god he was finally listening to her. What a horrible mistake she had made. God, let me get out of here and I’ll never do such a stupid thing again. Just let me get out.
Anthony released her feet first by unclipping the cuffs from the rack. Before she realized what he was doing, he pushed her legs together and clipped the cuffs to each other. Next he released her arms, but instead of letting her go, he jerked them up behind her back and clipped them together.
Alex lost her balance and fell forward but he was there to catch her. He scooped her into his arms as if she were a sack of potatoes and walked with her to the corner of the room where he dropped her onto the mattress, facedown. She stiffened when she felt his hand on her ass. Something cold and hard pressed against one cheek. She realized it was the heavy gold ring he wore on his right hand.
“You’ll need far more training before you earn my mark. But one day,” he pressed the hard metal into her flesh until it hurt, “I will brand you with this insignia. That way you will never forget who owns you.”
He couldn’t be for real. He couldn’t.
Someone, help me. Alex hid her face against the mattress, trying to keep her rising panic at bay. If she could just keep her wits about her, she could find a way out.
She needed to keep her voice calm and respectful. She felt as if she were trying to soothe a very dangerous animal—a wrong word and he might attack. Taking a deep breath, she dared, “Please, Sir. Will you let me go now? This just isn’t right for me. Please take off the cuffs. I’ll just get my things and—”
“Foolish, impertinent girl,” he snapped, cutting her off. “I’ll decide what you’re ready for, not you. I’ll check back in an hour, at which time I’ll expect an apology for your disgraceful behavior. If I don’t get one, then you’ll stay here as long as it takes. Games are over. You’re mine now.”
The room was plunged into darkness. She could hear him going down the wooden ladder and then the door in the floor slammed shut. She lay there, too stunned even to cry.
This couldn’t be happening. No way was this happening. He’d talked about true submission, about fulfilling her deepest submissive dreams. This wasn’t about submission. This was bullying. This was brutality. It was criminal. She would have the fucking bastard arrested for false imprisonment and assault.
If she could get out.
She pulled at her cuffs, trying to move her arms from their cramped position. “Daniel,” she whispered. “Liam. Come get me. Please.”
But, of course, no one came. She was alone in the house of a madman and not a soul knew where she was.