Beautiful Tears (Enemies to Lovers - Dark Romance Book 1), page 6
"Oh, you can and you will. For each refusal you'll earn yourself ten swats with the paddle, and if you reach thirty I'll come over there and tear them off myself, and I don't think you'll like that much." He gave me another brutal smile filled with malice before he raised his eyebrows at me in challenge.
"P-paddle?" It was a stupid comment, and I didn't want him to explain, but it was the only delaying tactic I could think of. I couldn't be naked in front of him. My cheeks would burn, and my body would go into meltdown. The last thing I wanted to do was let my body practically beg to be taken. There was only so much humiliation I could deal with.
"That's ten spanks. Care to make it twenty?" He sauntered over to an antique mahogany dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Pulling out a long, thick piece of wood with a tapered handle, he caressed its smooth surface with his hand.
"You can't do that!" I exclaimed, horrified. Although I already knew he could do absolutely anything he liked. It was now dark outside, I had no idea where we were, and there was no chance of running for help. He had me trapped, and he knew it. Obey or face the consequences. My face heated at the thought, and it wasn't the only thing that grew hot, fear be damned.
"Twenty spanks, and I think you'll find I can." He swished the paddle in the air experimentally, and the sound made my knees wobble. In a panic my fingers gripped the hem of my sweater and began to pull it over my head. It was almost a mind-over-matter move because as much as I didn't want to do this, I didn't think my backside would be able to take many more. Already knowing Brandt wouldn't go easy on me, I'd already taken on more than I could probably withstand. As my trembling fingers reached to undo the button on my jeans his eyes glued to my body and my core temperature chose that moment to rocket up ninety degrees. Fear and desire warred for supremacy inside me, and I wasn't sure which one would win.
"Are you familiar with BDSM?" He tilted his head as he watched me slide my tight jeans down my body, wriggling each leg to get out of them.
"I'm familiar with it," I said grimly. My knowledge ran a little deeper than that, but I wasn't about to tell him so.
"Good. That will make things slightly easier." He tapped the paddle against his palm, as if eager to begin. I gritted my teeth, swallowed tightly, and stood there in my grey panties and a bra that was still hanging off me from earlier. Once upon a time the ensemble might have been white, but no longer. If he found the picture I made unappealing, so much the better.
"Strip naked." He eyed me coldly, and his penetrating stare went right through me. I couldn't do this. I had to do this. Staring at him blankly, I stood frozen to the spot. My indecision cost me.
"That's thirty spanks." He moved towards me menacingly, trying to make good on his earlier threat to remove my clothes if I refused, but I was too quick for him. Sliding the straps of my bra down my shoulders, I let it fall to the floor and then frantically wiggled out of my panties. I couldn't have his hands on me. If he wanted to see me naked so badly, then he could have an eyeful. Resisting the urge to cover my nakedness with my hands, I glared at him defiantly.
"There will be no clothes for you in this house after I've burned those rags. You will spend the next five years exactly as you are now." His stare was back, and I felt myself cowering under the intensity of it. "Now bend over the ottoman, legs shoulder width apart, arms straight in front of you."
"And if I refuse?" This was more bluster than anything else, but I wanted to know what the evil bastard would do if I decided not to cooperate.
"What happened earlier when you defied me? You want me to do the right arm? Then you can have a matching pair." He raised his eyebrows at me in challenge.
"You wouldn't," I whispered, backing away from him.
"Try me." The eyes that saw through me said he would do exactly that and more.
"Aren't you even going to let me explain?" My voice wobbled on the last word, and my eyes blurred again with tears.
"You think you can explain away my ten-year prison sentence?" He gave me daggers and then began advancing towards me. "I think not." Grabbing a fistful of my hair he marched me towards the ottoman, before placing so much pressure against my shoulder blades that I yelled out loud before my knees buckled. My left arm throbbed again in earnest. "Do as you're told. When I give a command you obey immediately. Failure to do so will result in a punishment. Do you understand me?" Each word was precise, succinct, and extremely unpleasant as he punctuated them directly into my ear.
"Yes," I bleated. "Yes." The pressure on my shoulder subsided. His hands moved to my back, pressing my body into the folds of silk beneath me. They felt like they were burning a hole through my skin. I wanted to jerk each time he touched me, but somehow I managed to control the reaction.
"Why would I believe the words of a liar, anyway? What could you possibly tell me that could take away the pain I've endured these last few years? My family has disowned me. I now have a criminal record that will make getting a decent job almost impossible, and you've ruined my marriage prospects. If that were all that you'd done, then maybe I could forgive you. But your actions reached far wider than that."
His fingers delicately traced a path down my back. He explored my skin slowly, pressing firmly against each nodule of my spine, and I had never felt so fragile.
"Some of your time here, Harper, will be spent going through similar things that I experienced while in prison." Both his hands then caressed me from my shoulder blades all the way down to my waist, and I couldn't help a soft whimper of defeat.
"You're about to discover what happened to me, while I was locked away in a little cage for you. They're the things I can't forgive you for. You have a lot to look forward to, my little liar." His hands continued to caress my body, up and down, until my bones melted and my heartbeat ran ragged in my chest. I waited for the first strike of the paddle, my body burning with heat, but he seemed in no hurry to deliver it.
"Do you want to the know the first thing that happened to me?" The toxicity of his voice scared me. What had happened to the Brandt I knew five years ago; where had he gone?
When I didn't answer he merely chuckled to himself. "No problem, Little Thief. I'll show you."
The sound of something snapping jolted me into awareness, and my head turned sideways to find the fingers of Brandt's right hand covered in a white plastic glove. Twisting my head back around, I buried it in the soft white duvet in front of me. I couldn't watch this.
"You know what I'm about to do, huh? Well, I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I did." There was another snap as the second glove was donned. He then left me for a moment, and I heard the sound of a drawer being opened again. Sorely tempted to sprint from the room, shoot out the front door and keep on running, the only reason I stood my ground was because I knew he would be right on my tail and that he would catch me.
When he came back he placed a bottle of lube in front of my face, just in case I hadn't already guessed what was coming. I scrunched my eyes tightly closed. If this was a nightmare, it was by far the worst I'd ever had.
"You don't get to enter prison unless you've had a body cavity search. You'd be surprised what you can hide inside the human body." I shuddered. I wished this were a nightmare. If it was, I stood a reasonable chance of waking up one day.
"I'm not hiding anything, Brandt. You know damn well there's nothing inside me," I said through gritted teeth.
"That's what I said to the officer who was doing my search, but do you think he took any notice?" Brandt ran a gloved hand slowly up my inner thigh, using his index finger to stroke the smooth flesh he found there. My clit pulsed between my legs. I would have given anything in the world to stop the reaction, but there it was. It couldn't be controlled.
"Which hole would you like me to start with?" His fingers crept higher up my thigh, but I wisely kept silent. I wouldn't have been able to utter a word in any case. When his hand reached the juncture between my thighs and brushed up against me I squawked and bucked upright. He'd been expecting the move and held me down.
"Shall I tell you which hole they searched first?" His lips, so close to my neck, sent electrical current shooting through my brain. My circuits were fried with panic, fear, desire, and arousal. The combination was toxic. Suddenly all hands left my body, and I gratefully sucked in a mouthful of air. He then appeared by my head with a small pen torch. "My mouth. So that's where we'll begin."
Chapter 12 - Harper
"Open wide." I didn't bother fighting him. It would be pointless. He must have weighed at least twice what I did, probably more. If he wanted to force my jaw open wide I had no doubt he could, and I didn't need any more injuries to add to my already numerous woes. So I opened my mouth, and I closed my eyes, trying to erase both Brandt and the world around me.
"Oh no. You're not taking the coward's way out. If I could face my ordeal with open eyes you can face yours the same damn way." When I didn't immediately comply with his demands he barked, "Look at me, Harper! Tell me you feel some remorse for what you did." My eyes forced themselves open and promptly drowned.
Brandt had always been beautiful. Before, it had been in a kind of polished way. His short dark hair had always been immaculate, his clothes were always designer, and his eyes sparkled with humour. He was even more beautiful now but in a completely different way. Now he had an air of darkness around him. There were sharp, spiky edges to his hair, his body was rippling with muscles, and the edge of a stark black tattoo peeked through the collar of his white shirt. Trying to speak around Brandt had always been difficult, but when he was this close to me it was almost impossible. The throb of desire running through me left me mute, and the hum of electricity fried all my neural circuits.
"No remorse, huh? Let's see if a few days in Glemham Hall doesn't cure that attitude." His eyes flashed with something unnameable as his fingers pried my lips open wider. Shoving the torch in front of me, he flicked it from left to right and then up and down. "Raise your tongue." I did as he ordered and there was another flash of the torch.
"Well, that's hole number one. Have a guess where I'm going next?" Moving behind me, his hands were back on my body. Just the lightest of touches, but they seared me. My hands formed claws in the duvet to try and control my body's reaction to his touch, but it was utterly useless. Heat licked me from every angle, reminding me how little control I had around this man. Once upon a time I would have followed him like a little lap dog, given half a chance, and now? Now I was his little lap dog. The thought was terrifying.
"Is the attraction still there, Harper? Will I need this lube in front of me or will your pussy be beautifully wet, begging for my fingers to explore its depths?"
The gloved fingers moved back between my legs, and it was all I could do not to groan out loud. "Hmm, let me see." One by one his fingers trailed up my thigh in slow, lazy steps, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to slam my legs shut or open them wider. As his fingers reached higher the decision was taken from me, because I couldn't move a muscle. My body lay poised in wait, wondering whether he would be rough or gentle, and almost uncaring as to which.
Sliding a beautifully long finger smoothly inside me, he chuckled. "Ah, so the attraction is still there. You can deny it all you like, but your body can't lie. Poor Harper. How does it feel to be imprisoned in this house, alongside a monster whose body you can't resist?" He began thrusting the single finger back and forth inside me until I had to bite the duvet to stop from groaning.
"You'd be such an easy lay, Harper. All I'd have to do is flip you over and make you beg for my cock." His other hand reached for my cheek, drawing circular spirals around it. I wanted to rock back into his fingers and pant in heat, but somehow I kept it together.
"Be a good girl, Harper, and you might even have a reasonably pleasant time under my roof. If I could manage five years with good behaviour, there's every chance that you might be able to do the same, given the right encouragement." One finger became two and the maelstrom going on inside me was exquisite. Five years ago this would have been my ultimate fantasy, but now it was a hideous caricature. Brandt wanted to exploit me, crush me, and punish me - and he wouldn't stop until there was nothing left.
Two fingers became three, and my body begged to be able to move. All I wanted to do was give in to the sensations flooding me and embrace them, but I knew better. I would fight Brandt every step of the way until he gave me my freedom back.
"Taste yourself." A gloved finger positioned itself in front of my mouth, covered in glistening fluid. I shook my head. No.
"Have it your way. I'll get out the paddle then." Lingering for a moment longer, waiting to see if I'd backtrack, he finally removed his finger. His face then disappeared from view for a moment, before the big paddle was retrieved and paraded in front of my eyes.
"You know this will hurt, right?" He tugged on a lock of my hair as if to make sure I was paying attention.
Yes. I knew it would hurt, but damned if I was going to give him the satisfaction of hearing it from my lips.
Rubbing his hand over the twin globes of my ass, as if appreciating their beauty, he squeezed one before moving backward. Gritting my teeth I waited for the first strike to land. When it did the contact made my eyes pop wide, and the resulting sting swept through my body in a torrent of hormones and adrenaline. Another one followed smartly in its wake, then another, and another. I barely had time to catch my breath before another one crashed into my bottom. Left cheek, right cheek, left, right, always perfectly aimed at the exact same spot they'd struck last.
"That's ten. Are you ready to taste yourself now, or should I continue?"
My ass was on fire. The blistering heat prickled in dizzying waves, but that wasn't the worst of it. Don't ask me why - I have always been wired like this - but sexual-style pain makes me go wild. It was the last thing Brandt needed to know. The knowledge had gotten me into enough trouble as it was. My only dilemma was I didn't know which would turn me on more; his fingers in my mouth or another twenty swats with the paddle. All I wanted to do was crawl into a dark place, calm my hammering thoughts, and hide from the world.
"I'll take that as a no." The paddle flew down on my backside once more, and this time its touch was scalding. Although I tried my best to wriggle away from its unerring aim, he still managed to hit the same spots. My breath now came in fast little pants, and my clit had a pulse all of its own. Fight it. But there was no fighting this. After he'd delivered another ten strikes my body ignited in the worst way.
"Stings, doesn't it?" His hand came down to squeeze my ass again, and I jumped. "Thought so. Want another ten or do you want to suck my fingers? It's your choice, Harper. One way or another you'll suck them before the evening's over." He sounded very sure of himself, but then, why shouldn't he? Everything was in his favour. "Going to stay mute, Harper?" There was another squeeze of my ass that had me gasping before the paddle began again with renewed vigour. Each smack went straight to my clit, and all I could think about was climaxing there and then. All I would need was the tiniest bit of stimulation, and the thought began to take over my head. Fight it, fight it, fight it. I didn't want to fight it, though. I wanted to embrace it, live in the moment, and accept the consequences later. Burning up with need, when the paddle finally stopped I almost mewled in disappointment.
Brandt moved around to the side of the bed, staring at me. I stared straight back at him. He'd removed his shirt, and all I could see was a wall of muscle... and the ink. Oh my God, the ink. His arms and torso swirled with a thousand intricate black lines, forming Celtic knots and patterns, dragons, eagles... I could have studied his body for days on end and still not found each and every design that decorated his skin.
"Like what you see?" he drawled. Swallowing gently, I slowly risked a glance upwards to see him glowering at me again. "You put these here," he said, pointing to his chest. "You and your lies."
My eyes closed in response as guilt flooded my body. I had done so much damage. This Brandt was almost unrecognisable to the man I'd known five years ago. There was no excuse for what I'd done, and now I'd ruined two people's lives rather than one. Why hadn't I been stronger?
"Look at me, Harper. Look at me." His hand closed around my neck, putting pressure against my windpipe, and my eyes shot open, wondering what he was about to do next. "Ahh, that's caught your attention, hasn't it?" His thumb feathered over my Adam's apple, and the glint in his eye was dangerous. "How easy would it be for me to end your life, Harper?" My pulse went mad under his fingertips, and breathable air became a very important commodity. Remaining as still as a mouse, I waited to see would he would do next.
"Tomorrow you will go to a police station and testify that it was you, and not me who stole that package. Then maybe we can come to some arrangement around here." His fingers tightened, forming a rigid band around my throat. "Just one little word, Harper. That's all I need to stop this. One little word." When I didn't make a sound he raised his voice and barked, "Say it!"
"No." The truth wasn't something I could give him without scarring myself. If he wanted to strangle me, so be it, but I would not be confessing all at a police station. That was how bad a mess I was in.
His eyes darkened at my defiance. He hadn't expected it. He had thought I would bend over backwards to get out of this situation and had it been anything else other than a confession, then he might have been right. Looking ready to commit murder he was now so angry his hands were shaking, and I had reason to be afraid. His control was snapping.
His next move surprised me. His other hand shot between my legs, plunging deep inside me, moving back and forth with vicious speed. I had to bite my lip to keep a lid on my moan. Then just before I thought I would climax he withdrew his hand and thrust it in front of my face.
"Open that mouth and taste yourself, little Liar, before I decide to cut off your air supply permanently." The fingers around my neck tightened sharply, as if in warning. A single tear fell down my cheek as I open my lips. If I wanted to live I would have to play his game, and I'd already antagonised him enough this evening.
