While he gave her a chance to catch her breath, he retrieved one of the crops from his closet. When he returned, her eyes were closed as her cheek rested against the ottoman.
He touched the crop to her ass and trailed it over the fullness of her cheeks. Her eyes came instantly open, and she sucked in her breath in anticipation.
“Do you like it when I spank you, Mia?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Does it feel good? All that sharp, edgy pain that skates a precariously close line to pleasure?”
“Yes!” she said louder.
“Tonight I’m not spanking you for punishment. I’m marking your pretty ass for no other reason than it will bring us both great pleasure. And when I’m finished reddening your sweet behind, I’m going to fuck your ass.”
She moaned, and it was a sound that fired his senses. A sound of feminine appreciation, all breathy and sweet.
He bent to carefully remove the plug, and she flinched, making another sound of pleasure as he pulled it free. After putting it away, he once more trailed the end of the crop over her behind before finally administering the first blow.
He was purposely gentle, leashing his strength so he didn’t hit her too hard. He wanted to work up to leaving the beautiful red welts that would stripe her ass. If he began too hard, she’d quickly have too much, and he wanted her begging for more, not begging him to stop.
How beautiful she was, bound hand and foot, spread before him, her hair spilling over her body and the ottoman like the darkest night sky.
The red appeared with every blow, remaining a long moment before finally receding, only to start all over again the moment he administered another strike.
She twisted restlessly, straining against her bonds, all the while arching her ass upward as if seeking and wanting more.
By the time he got to the fifteenth blow, he’d increased the strength of the swats and the red remained longer until her entire ass was aglow with a rosy bloom.
Only a few more and then he would sink into her tight ass and lose himself in the beauty of her submission.
As the smack of the next blow sounded, another sound exploded into the room.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Jace roared.
Gabe’s head jerked up, the haze surrounding him disappearing as he saw Jace and Ash standing in the foyer, the elevator doors closing behind them. Gabe had been so immersed in the scene with Mia that he’d never heard the elevator arrive. Never knew that Jace and Ash were there.
The horror on Mia’s face was a fist to Gabe’s gut.
“Oh my God, Gabe. What have you done?”
Ash’s horrified voice drifted to Gabe just as Jace lunged for him, his fist connecting with Gabe’s jaw.
chapter thirty-eight
Gabe went flying amid Mia’s scream. He hit the floor, Jace on top of him. Jace’s expression was murderous. Fury blazed in his eyes and he punched Gabe again.
Pain exploded in Gabe’s nose, and he rolled away, but he didn’t fight Jace back. He couldn’t.
Ash was bent over Mia, his expression worried as he worked frantically to untie her. Gabe would have gone to her, would have helped, just so they could explain, but Jace loomed over Gabe, his hands grabbing at Gabe’s shirt, yanking him upward as he snarled down at him.
“How could you do this?” Jace roared. “I knew it! You son of a bitch. I can’t believe you did this to her.”
“Jace, for God’s sake,” Gabe bit out. “Let me explain.”
“Shut up. Just shut the fuck up! What the fuck is there to explain? Jesus Christ! How could you do this, Gabe? Is this what you want her thinking a relationship works like? Do you want her thinking that all your twisted desires are normal? What about when you get tired of her just like you get tired of every other woman? What then? You want her going to another man and seeking out something like this and have the asshole abuse her?”
Guilt swamped Gabe and he couldn’t meet Jace’s gaze. Every word, every accusation was like a well-aimed dart into his very soul. Weariness assailed him because so much of what Jace said was so very true. He had taken advantage of Mia. He’d pushed her. He’d taken over her life and he’d allowed her to endure unimaginable pain and humiliation. Not to mention the emotional stress of keeping something this huge from her only family.
God, he didn’t deserve her. Didn’t deserve her sweetness. He didn’t deserve to bathe in her sunshine and have his entire world lit up by her precious smile.
Everything having to do with her, he’d done wrong from the very start. That fucking contract. The secrecy. The way he’d treated Mia. And now he was responsible for a huge wedge between her and Jace, and Jace and himself. One that none of them may ever recover from.