Tease Me Once by W. Winters

Declan

Prequel

“I said, get on your knees.” My repeated command is murmured in a voice as soft as the dim light in the room.  The dark wooden bench beneath her lets out a creak as her trembling limbs move ever so slightly.

She’s still shaking from the last of her orgasm, but it isn’t enough.  There is no amount of pleasure I could give her at this moment that would steal the thoughts from her pretty little head.

At least that’s what she told me; that’s what earned her this punishment.

“You pushed me, Braelynn.  What did you think would happen?” The question comes with the leather paddle moving from my right hand to my left.  As the light shines down on her, her bare skin is highlighted.  With my hand splayed on her stomach, I move her myself, but she’s weak.

The sleepless nights of worry and all the ways this is going to end have destroyed the woman I know.

The curious woman who wanted to play with fire no longer looks back at me with the desire she once had.  She’s broken and burned.  And it’s all my fault.

Her back rises and falls with each deep breath she takes, her belly pressed against the bench and her fingers gripping the wood beneath her.  Is she purposely disobeying?  Or is she so lost now that it doesn’t matter what I say … maybe she’s given up.

I haven’t prayed in what feels like an eternity, but if God ever listened, if he ever cared, I pray she isn’t so destroyed that I mean nothing to her anymore.

“On your knees, my little pet.” My words are spoken with a softness that draws her doe eyes to mine.  Tears fall from the outer corners of her eyes.  Trailing the paddle up the curve of her ass and then higher, her thick lashes lower as she shudders.

Fuck.  My pulse races and I swallow thickly from the sight of her.

She doesn’t cry from the pain.  It’s because she can’t escape.  She saw something she shouldn’t have, and the terror has never been more evident than it is tonight.

She’s slow to move, and just when I think she’ll obey, she’ll give me control, she’ll let it all go and forget about the harsh reality, submitting to the pleasure I can give her, her shoulders hunch over and she buries her face between her forearms on the bench.

The leather paddle clatters to the floor at the same time a sob hits her, ruling this woman in a way I should be.  Her cries take over, and the apology she utters is strangled as she covers her face.

Fuck.  Not my Braelynn.

Fuck!

With one arm slipping around her waist and the other cradling her reddened ass, I lift her to my bare chest, needing the skin-to-skin contact, heat to heat.  My bare feet pad quietly on the floor as I kiss her hair and move us both to the antique canopy bed.  The one she picked out.  Like everything else in this room, it’s for her.  It’s all for her.

The mattress protests as I lay her down gently, careful with my motions as her ass rests against the sheet.  Even that gentle graze causes her to wince, but it’s hardly noticeable.  All I can see is a woman desperate to stop.  For it all to end and for what happened to disappear.

That’s not the way my world works.  And I selfishly dragged her into this.

Reaching up, she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling herself closer to me even though I know damn well pressing against the bed like that is only exacerbating the pain she’s feeling.

Again, I remind myself, it’s not the physical pain that’s done this.  It’s the threat of what’s to come.

With her breasts squeezed against my chest, her small frame pulled together tightly as she attempts to nestle every bit of her she can against me, I do what I can to calm her.

Shushing her, kissing her hair, rubbing soothing circles on her back.  I hold her as close as she needs.  As she settles, her body relaxes slightly, but she never stops clinging to me.

“I will protect you.”  My promise to her is whispered at the shell of her ear and she stills.  My little pet looks up at me and I’ve never felt so cold in my life.  Helpless, alone.  I’ve never felt like a failure and less of a man than I do when she doubts me like she does.

She doesn’t believe I can protect her.  I can barely breathe as the realization takes hold.

“They’re your family,” she whispers.  Her gaze says it all: she thinks if they want her gone, I will choose them over her.  She’s wrong.

Chills travel up my spine and I rip my gaze away from hers, hating the sight of her uncertainty in me.  The only thing that moves in this damn room is the fan, the blades turning over and over as everything else darkens and blurs.  Never stopping.  None of it ever stops.

With my body cold, my anger coiled and every emotion running on high, I grit my teeth and give her the harsh command, “Get on your knees now.”

Shock lights in her deep brown eyes and she’s quick to move, her dark disheveled locks spilling over her shoulder.  Not a bit of her touches me as she assumes the position. Her knees are spread the width of her shoulders, with her back perfectly arched the way I crave, so I can fuck her deeply.  The groan of the bed matches the one of desire that runs through my chest as I climb off and then grab her ankles, moving her to the edge of the mattress.  She gives the smallest of yelps at the sudden movement.  Her initial instinct to grab hold of the sheets soon gives way to her obedience.  With my feet on the floor, and her ass at the perfect height, I let my fingers trail down her slit.  She’s not ready for me, so I’ll take my time.

With my fingers toying with her clit, I give myself the time I need as well.

A gentle moan of pleasure leaves her as her head falls slightly.  My left hand splays on her hip, holding her there as a gentle reminder.

This is the deal.  She’s mine. Mine to do whatever I want with.

The possessiveness that runs deep in my blood heats as I lean forward, gripping her ass and feeling her cunt tighten as I do.  The mix of pain and pleasure finally give her what she needs to submit to me.

Dragging my fingers up her back, I grip her nape with my left hand as I spread her arousal with the opposite hand.  “That’s better, my good sweet girl.”

She rocks back gently and I’m quick to reprimand her, fisting her hair at the base of her neck and pulling slightly, which forces her back to arch.  She’s fucking gorgeous like this, at my mercy and weak for me.  Waiting on me. Trusting me.

I love her like this.

No. My heart beats once, heavy and exacting.  I love her.  I won’t let them take her from me.

As I line up the head of my cock at her entrance, I lower my lips to her neck, nipping once and loving the chills that run along her skin.  At the sensitive spot there, knowing my warm breath will cause her to shudder, I whisper, “I would kill for you.  I would kill anyone for you.”

It’s not just a promise.  I will kill for her.  I will do whatever I have to for her.

It’s only a fraction of a moment that passes before what I’ve said hits her and the realization reflects in her body language.  With that I thrust inside of her deeply, all the way to the hilt and I take her savagely, fueled by her tortured cries of pleasure, reminding her exactly who she belongs to.