Sophie Oak - Siren in Bloom

“You look very nice, sweetheart. Very nice.” He stared at her nest of dark curls. It took everything he had not to let his fingers roam down and sink into her pussy, rubbing until he got her cream flowing, until she begged for something bigger than his fingers. “But we need to talk about grooming, love.”

She huffed a little. “I know. I was going to shave, but then jerk-face hoodie guy stole my laptop.”

And they were back to the point of the lesson. Damn it . He had a job to do. “You can have a shower after your spanking. Turn around and grab hold of that table.”

She squeaked a little, trying to turn on her heels. He caught her and turned her to properly face the opposite wall. He watched with a smile as she tried to settle down to the right position. She was endearingly clumsy.

Her head turned back, a grimace on her face. “I hope you’re enjoying this.”

“No sarcasm. Five more.”

She grumbled, but didn’t say anything else. Her ass came up in the air as she leaned over.

Heart-shaped. Round. Juicy. That ass was a work of art, and she’d tried to hide it behind punishing spandex. He touched her, needing to show her how gorgeous she was. He ran his hands over her flesh and then did what he’d wanted to do the moment he’d seen her. He pressed his pelvis forward and let her feel the hard line of his cock. “Does that feel like I’m not interested in you? That I don’t find you sexy? Now, I have zero intention of using anything but my hand on your pretty backside, but you need to understand that I greatly prefer you in your natural glory.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He was content with her breathy reply. “Now, pick a safe word. I’m serious about safe words. I don’t want you to be afraid to use it if you’re really hurting or you’re really afraid.”

“I have a safe word. It’s Gucci. I like their bags. I used to have one.”

“I don’t know what that is, sweetheart, but I can remember it.” He stepped back and felt a sweet contentment overtake him. This was their first play together.

Wolf was going to make damn sure it wasn’t their last.

Shelley took a deep breath, waiting for the first strike.

What the hell was she doing? Her ass was naked and in the air, and her slacks were around her ankles, and a man she’d just barely met was touching her and making every cell in her body ache for him.

She had to hand it to him. She wasn’t thinking about the theft anymore. She was one hundred percent concentrated on Wolf Meyer.

Well, maybe not one hundred because there was also a piece of her that couldn’t let go of Leo. When she’d chased after the man, one of her first thoughts hadn’t been to call the police. It had been to call Leo. But he didn’t answer her anymore. She had to move on, and god, she wanted Wolf.

Wolf, who was a taunting bastard because he’d left her standing there for what felt like forever, her naked ass in the slightly chilly air.

And then a loud smack roared through her.

Shelley gasped, whimpering at the pain that rushed through her system.

“I need a count, love.”

He wanted her to count? Asshole . And yet her mouth opened, and she managed to form the word. “One.”

“Thank you.” He sounded as though he was thanking her for passing the salt not for counting out her own punishment.

A second smack hit her like a freight train. Tears blurred her eyes. “Two.”

She could barely breathe as he continued. Torture? Wolf Meyer seemed to understand the word. He smacked her ass again and again. She thought about using her safe word. When he hit her a tenth time, it was right there on the edge of her tongue. “Ten,” she said, and then she was going to say, “Gucci,” but the word didn’t come out.

“You’re doing amazingly well, sweetheart,” Wolf said. His hand rubbed her ass, and for the first time, she felt something beyond the pain. Heat and languor were starting to sink in, flushing the flesh of her ass with an odd pleasure. His words sank in, too. He talked about how lovely her flesh was, how strong she was.

And she felt it. She could handle this. The pain settled into her bones and somehow she turned it into something more, something sweet. She was in control even as her Dom smacked her an eleventh time.

“Eleven,” she said. “Twelve.” The word was easy now. She gritted her teeth against the pain, knowing all the while that it led to something better. Twelve through twenty-four flew by, each smack pushing her to someplace that was just out of reach. She breathed, letting every sensation flow in and out of her body.

“Sweetheart, that was twenty-five. Can you say it for me?”

They were already done? How had that happened? She’d forgotten where she was. She’d simply been. All of her cares had flown away. Even Leo hadn’t been there in the back of her head. She’d been a creature of sensation, and it had been remarkable.

“Twenty-five,” she said with almost a sad sigh. This was what her brother gave Beth, a safe place to forget herself and just be. This was how Beth had finally managed to find her strength.

Strong hands soothed over her flesh. “You look so pretty like this, sweetheart.”

She felt pretty. Strange. The horrible self-consciousness that had plagued her before seemed to have floated away on a haze of pain and pleasure.

“You didn’t use your safe word.”

She shook her head.

“Did you think about it?”

Honesty. She was supposed to be honest with him at all times. She’d signed a contract that had promised him honesty and openness. At the time, it had seemed an odd thing to do, but now she found it freeing. She had to be honest. “Yes, Sir. I did.”

“And why didn’t you?”

Wretched honesty. “Because I decided I liked it.”

She felt something soft press against the small of her back. God, he’d kissed her. He’d kissed her right above her tailbone, his lips as hot as the smack of his hand and even more devastating.

“Thank you for the honesty. Now go and take a shower. We need to be at The Club soon. I’ll run out and grab us some food.” He helped her up.

She kicked out of her shoes. It seemed a silly thing to pull her pants back up when she was just going to get into the shower. She stared up at him. His gorgeous face was hard as a rock, the only softness there in his eyes and the slight uptick of his lips. She wanted him to kiss her.

But he simply pulled her in for a hug. “Be a good girl. Dress comfortably. We’ll change at The Club.”

And he turned and walked to the door. Damn him. He’d left her all hot and bothered. And she could plainly see that he wasn’t unaffected. His cock was a huge bulge against his jeans, as though the thing was trying its damnedest to get out and get back to her. Well, she could just take care of herself in the shower. Yes. She wouldn’t walk into The Club with her pussy aching and dripping wet. That would be a bad idea.

Wolf turned at the door, his eyes narrowing as if he could hear her thoughts. “No touching. Leave that little pussy alone with the singular exception of shaving it. And don’t put on any underwear. Not if you want to keep it.”

He winked and slipped out the door.

She stared for a minute, her body aroused and her mind in a pleasant, fuzzy state.

The door opened again. Wolf’s head popped back in. “Lock the door behind me, love.”

The door closed again.

“Bossy.” But she locked the door.

She wasn’t thinking of anything but Wolf while she showered. The night, despite the stress of the day, was looking up.

Holder shut the door behind him, making almost no noise as he entered the small room. The motel was not his usual. After years of roughing it in the most dangerous parts of the world, he greatly preferred a suite at the Fairmont, but he was trying to keep a low profile.