“No.”
I jumped out of my chair. “How can you be such a cold-hearted bastard?”
Displaying an irritating air of calm that nicked at my anger, Gage rose from his chair and crossed the dining room without a word. He halted in front of the tall hutch in the corner and withdrew something from a drawer. My stomach sank when I recognized the ball gag in his hands, similar to the one he’d used the previous night. He closed the distance between us and held it to my mouth. I clinched my jaw, displaying one last hint of fiery anger, then parted my lips. Fighting him would only make things worse—I was beginning to understand this game he played.
Gage grabbed my hand and led me back to the basement. He took a seat in an overstuffed chair and pointed to the floor. I gave him a questioning look, as I wasn’t sure what he wanted.
“I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you, Kayla.” He raised a brow. “You know your place by now, so stop being stubborn. Obey me.”
I dropped to my knees.
“We’ll discuss phone privileges another time, perhaps when you’ve found a way to reign in that mouth.”
He didn’t speak to me for the next hour. Drool trailed down my chin, dripped onto my breasts, and my knees ached and burned. He sat, a perfect picture of calm, reading a book while I suffered in silence. The stubborn part of me refused to give an inch. I wouldn’t move, wouldn’t shift and squirm or make a sound. I’d match him calm and raise him in strength any day.
6. FORBIDDEN RELEASE
Dinner went much more smoothly than breakfast. I managed to make it through the entire meal without a cross look from Gage or a punishment. Upon returning to the basement, he led me straight to the bench. My composure shattered.
“What are you doing, Master?” I resisted, which only caused him to firm his hold on me. “Why? What did I do?” I made him drag me across the room, thrashing the whole way.
“Knock this off right now!” He bent me over and spanked my ass. “Now crawl onto the bench before I issue a repeat of this morning.”
I climbed up and got into position, and like the night before, he strapped me in. My body shook, from the chill in the room, from my absolute vulnerability. I jerked when his hands kneaded my ass.
“Don’t hurt me, Master.”
His hands smoothed up my back. “You need to learn to trust me. I won’t punish you unless you deserve it. Have you done anything to deserve it tonight?”
I hadn’t thought so.
“Answer me.”
“No, Master.”
“This isn’t about punishment.” He swept my hair to the side, then trailed his fingers down my spine. “We’re going to explore anal play,” he said. “I don’t want this to be traumatic for you, so we’ll ease into it by using a butt plug, but eventually I want to fuck your ass.”
“Don’t do this.” My voice broke.
“If you want me to stop, you have the power in one little word, Kayla.”
I whimpered as he spread my cheeks. Oh, God, it was going to hurt. He was bigger than my ex, and when Rick had forced himself into that tight space, I hadn’t been able to sit down for days. I’d been a week postpartum, and he hadn’t wanted to wait for me to heal after giving birth.
He moved away and opened a cupboard, then returned a few moments later. His cool hands slid over my butt again. I felt trapped, absolutely helpless. I could do nothing to stop him, short of saying the word that would void our contract. We both knew that wasn’t going to happen. A squirting sound broke the utter quiet in the basement, and Gage applied a cold, jelly-like substance.
I automatically tensed as he dipped a finger inside.
“How does that feel?” he asked.
I gritted my teeth. “It burns, Master.”
“Relax your ass.”
I willed my mind past the pain and concentrated on releasing the tension in my body.
“Better?” he asked.
Surprisingly, it was. “Yes.”
He used his fingers for a while before introducing the butt plug. “You need to stay relaxed. If you don’t it’ll only hurt more.”
“Please, Master, don’t. I’m not ready for this.”
“Yes, you are. You’re only fighting it because you’re scared. I won’t hurt you, but you’ve gotta loosen up.” He slowly inched in the plug, and I let out a screeching cry.
“Stop,” I sobbed. “Please . . . stop.” I fought against the restraints until the leather cuffs bit into my tender skin.
“Relax your muscles,” he said again. The pressure in my rectum increased as he shoved it all the way in. He reached between my legs and circled my clit. “Let your body adjust to it.” Something about the husky quality of his voice caused tingles to spread through me; I was stunned to find myself aroused.