Claimed by the Beast(28)

He set her on her feet but with a hand at her jaw, he kept her at the  wall. He looked at her there for a while as water poured over both of  them. "If I hadn't come in time, they would have taken you," he said.                       
       
           



       

She put her hands to his face, her fingertips touching his lips, his  cheeks, but she still did not speak. He reached his mouth to hers and  kissed her once before resting his forehead against the wall beside her  face, their cheeks touching.

"I love you, Rachel," he said, his hold on her softer now.

She turned her face to his and kissed his cheek, touching him, forcing  him to turn, to look at her. His eyes felt hot and he cradled the back  of her head in his big hand. She kissed him, a soft kiss. "I'm sorry,"  she whispered.

He reached behind her to switch off the water, then opened the door.  Grabbing two towels, he wrapped her in one first, then dried his hair  with the other.

"Don't bother getting dressed," he said. "Just dry off so you're not cold."

She had just been patting herself dry but stopped to look at him,  understanding what was coming. "You're going to spank me, aren't you?"  she asked.

He nodded once.

"But … "

"There's a reason I told you to stay in the house. They had been waiting  in their car and spotted you or your car when you went to the grocery  store. I just happened to have seen you when you left the house-I was  just getting back-and so I followed you. I can't trust you to do as I  say, Rachel. What if the next time I'm not in time?"

She opened her mouth to speak but he held up a hand.

"I want to make sure there isn't a next time. Today is going to do that.  Go into the bedroom and get ready for me. I want you bent over the foot  of the bed, waiting."

"But, Marcus," she tried again.

"But nothing, Rachel," he said, his tone making sure she knew it was  final. "Tell me something, were you supposed to leave the house?"

She shook her head, looking guilty as her gaze swept the floor.

"And what did we talk about during your last spanking? What was that about?"

She glanced at him but turned her gaze back down. "I needed to do as you said."

"Do you understand the seriousness of our situation Rachel?"

She nodded and a huge tear fell to the bathroom floor. "I do," she said, looking up at him. "I just don't want to be spanked."

He smiled and turned her, stripping the towel from her and walking her  into the bedroom. "And that is exactly why you are going to be. It will  teach you to obey in a way words can't." He stood her by the foot of the  bed. "Bend over. Legs at shoulder width," he said, standing back to  watch.

She swallowed and turned to face the headboard, then bent forward, her  stomach in knots but her pussy oddly aroused by the act. She leaned  forward onto her hands.

"Good. Now down on your elbows and hollow out your back."

"Yes, sir," she said.

He smiled at that. In a way, it was her acceptance of his role as well  as her own. He stood back, looking at her presented as she was, her legs  spread, her round, pale ass cheeks waiting, her pussy pink and  glistening, and the tiny bud of her asshole just visible. He was hard  again but forced himself to pick up his jeans. He pulled them on and  tugged the belt out of its loops loud enough that she had to turn  around, her eyes wide as she registered what implement would be used to  punish her. He held her gaze and doubled the belt over, laying it across  her low back.

"Face forward and think about why you're being punished while you wait  for me," he said, waiting until she turned to face away from him,  glancing once more at her ass. It took all he had to walk out of the  room.



* * *



Rachel didn't know how much time had passed. She lay her head down on  the bed, anxiety building, the weight of the belt Marcus had laid across  her back seeming heavier. The silence that filled the space around her  felt dense, the only sounds coming from the kitchen those of coffee  brewing, of Marcus' footfalls on the floor, his feet bare and their  sound soft. She imagined the sight she made and even as embarrassment  made her face warm into a deep blush, arousal tickled another part of  her and she felt the swelling of her pussy, the moisture collecting  between her legs, wetting her thighs. Then she would remember the belt  and her bottom would clench in anticipation. This was going to hurt.

Rachel turned to peek behind her when she heard Marcus's voice. "Hey Kayla, it's me."

There was silence while Kayla spoke on the other end of the line.

"Yes, okay. Listen, I need to talk to Elijah as soon as possible. Have him call me. That's fine. All right, good bye, Kayla."

Rachel quickly turned back to face the headboard when his footfalls  signaled his approach. She heard him set something down on the dresser  but didn't know what it was.                       
       
           



       

He came to sit on the bed beside her. He brushed her hair off her face and caressed her back while she looked up at him.

"I don't want the belt," was all she could say.

"I imagine you don't," he said, rubbing her back. "What happened today-I can't overlook it. You know that, I think."

She looked away for a moment, then nodded. She did know that.

"Take your spanking now and learn from it, don't make me do this again."

"You don't have to do it now," she said, her eyes pleading with him. "I understand. I do."

He patted her head and stood. "This punishment will only solidify that understanding."

She rubbed her face with her hands.

He lifted the belt off her back. She glanced back to watch him fold it over in his hand, keeping the buckle in his palm.

"Marcus, I'm sorry. I promise to listen better next time."

He looked at her, his expression torn. He sat back down and lifted her  so she stood facing him as he held onto her arms, rubbing them. "I  didn't think I would survive those years in captivity. I'm not even sure  I wanted to," he said, his eyes darkening a little at the memory. "I  watched them slowly kill my brother-every day, just a little more was  stolen from him. From us. The men that did this, they deserve to die,  every one of them. But I didn't want to be the one to do it. In the last  year, I shifted exactly once. It was too much, I didn't want it  anymore. I realize now, however, that this is who I am. It's a part of  me. Of us. I'm not willing to lose you again. I plan on spending the  rest of our lives together and that timeframe-well, I'm not willing to  shorten it or give up even one day of it."

She nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek that he caught and wiped away.

"You leaving the house …  They found you because of it. My name can't be  traced here, the house belongs to an old woman. If I hadn't come back in  time, they would have taken you. We wouldn't be standing here together.  A part of me just wants to take you and run, but we can't do that to  Elijah, to Kayla and the baby. We have to stay and fight. But I need to  keep you safe and in order to do that, you have got to do as I say. I  know you didn't think it was a big deal to run to the store, but that  small thing led to three men dying. Three men who would have done  terrible things to you, to us, but three men I had to kill. I need you  to understand the weight of this. It's not a game. We're not on  vacation. We're not a normal couple. You and I, we're in trouble right  now and we're going to get out of it, but for now, I need to know for  sure what happened is not going to happen again. That's why I'm going to  punish you hard today, do you understand?"

Tears streamed down her face and she nodded.

He stood. "Bend over, elbows on the bed."

Rachel slowly bent forward, laying her elbows on the bed. She looked over her shoulder at him.

He stepped to the side of her, gripping the belt in one hand, the length  of it resting against his leg. "Face forward, let's get this done."

Her heart raced and she spared one last glance at the belt before turning forward.

The flat of his hand was on her low back as she settled back onto her  elbows. It was a light pressure but she knew it was just a reminder for  her to remain as she was throughout her punishment.

The first crack of the belt across her bottom made her gasp. The sound,  the pain that followed then intensified, had her squeezing her bottom  together. The second one landed just as she began to rise up, her hands  flying back to cover herself.

"Ah!" she called out with the next one as he caught her hands in one of his and pushed her back down onto the bed.

"Stay, Rachel," he warned, lashing her three more times in quick succession.