Beautiful Seduction

My old jeans.

The drawer had been filled with jeans and tee shirts, the only clothes I’d found comfortable during those hard weeks.

I rubbed my jaw, finally controlling my breathing. Cassidy needed this. I would do what was necessary. “Place your hands against the tree and spread your feet.”

“You’re frightening me.”

“You should be frightened of me, Cassidy. I’m a very bad man. I thought you knew that. Now, do as I say.”

Everything about the woman surprised me including that she didn’t argue or hesitate to obey me, shifting closer to the tree then leaning forward, planting her palms against the bark before opening her long legs.

I allowed my gaze to the sandals, concentrating on them for a few seconds before slowly returning my eyes to the silhouette of her face and full lips.

“Now, we begin. Then you’re going to tell me who you’re working for.”

* * *

Cassidy

For all the pain I’d endured in my life, nothing had prepared me for this moment. It wasn’t about the agonizing sting as Valentin snapped his wrist, the thick switch slicing across my naked bottom, but the ache in my heart that I knew wouldn’t fade easily.

The moment I’d looked across the courtyard, the sight of him in faded blue jeans and an old tee shirt with a college logo, I’d swooned like a lovesick girl. But as soon as I’d come closer, I’d realized that something had changed, information learned. I wasn’t surprised he seemed to know everything about me, only that he’d learn the only secret that mattered.

The light had vanished from his eyes, the passion that had exuded from him disappearing. In its place was the kind of detachment that sent shivers dancing into my core. I’d gone way beyond feeling fear around him, but the uncertainty of which man would approach kept my stomach gutted.

He was furious with me, the early lie followed by hiding the truth about my family too much for him to take. And the fact my brother had taken it upon himself to investigate the man felt like a betrayal. The coldness of Valentin’s words indicated just how furious he was. So I accepted the punishment, ready to endure whatever pain he found necessary to provide.

Maybe a small part of me felt as if I deserved it. Everything was weaved together from the last few days into something I couldn’t comprehend, the emotions yanking me to another plateau. As much as I wanted to hate him, I couldn’t pull myself to those levels.

The dangerous side of him excited me, the darkness dwelling in the pits of whatever soul he might have left churning my insides, making me hot and wet as always. Just the sight of his erection straining against his jeans was enough to make my mouth water, but he was determined to make me pay for his continued concerns.

And for the past.

I could feel it. I could sense it.

He brought the switch down several times, the sound unlike anything I’d ever heard, more ominous than the belt. When he brought it down against my upper thighs, I bit back a cry, strangled by the lump in my throat.

Even worse than the agony of the round of punishment was the silence. He didn’t say a single additional word as he snapped the switch against my skin over and over again.

I bit back every cry, at least at first. Then I lowered my head, digging my nails into the bark, allowing the pain to sweep through me like the tidal wave of pleasure had in what seemed like so long ago. I wanted his arms around me, holding me against his chest, not to feel the harsh wrath of punishment.

When I kicked my leg out, the anguish shooting down the back of my legs, he stopped, taking several ragged, deep breaths. Then he brushed his fingers down my spine, taking his time to caress my aching bottom, shifting the tips from one side to the other. I sensed so many emotions riddling him. He was a tortured man, what we’d already shared weighing on him heavily. The need to curl my body around his continued even as he continued the switching.

With every hard strike, my entire mind and body was shifted into the kind of burdening desire that yanked me from reality, shoving me into the same need I’d felt before. No longer with the switching feel the same, nor in my mind was the experience intolerable. I remained thrown by how much the man affected me, releasing what was left of the chains holding my inhibitions inside.

I lost count of how many he issued, but when he tossed the switch away, I sucked in my breath, uncertain of what to expect.

Seconds later, he spun me around, cupping both sides of my face.

“Do you not understand what that man at the restaurant or those inside my club had been sent to do to you? Was I not clear enough before? They would have killed you if I hadn’t intervened, taking you from everything you loved. They would have tortured your body in ways that you can only imagine in your worst nightmares. They would have… taken you away from me. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Not then. Not now. Not ever.”

“Tell me why, Valentin. Why? I should mean nothing to you. Right? I’m a weakness and you can’t get close to me. I know those assholes were hunting me. I know it,” I hissed, my throat tightening as I wrapped my hands around his wrists, my fingers shaking.

“How? Tell me!”

“Because I’ve been threatened. If I’d known they were following me to fucking New York, I wouldn’t have come, but it was my nephew’s graduation. My family. You do understand family, don’t you? Yes, I almost accepted an interview, but I’d decided I couldn’t. I just… I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

His eyes were wild, almost unrecognizable. “They threatened you?” His voice was little more than a growl.