Beauty in the Broken

“Come for me, Lina.”

It hurts. The last smack draws my tears. I don’t come, I explode. My back arches, my upper body lifting off the desk. Shockwaves ripple through me. He makes me ride the orgasm so hard I go on tiptoes to escape, but there’s no escaping Damian. He manipulates my body until my thighs quiver, and my knees buckle. Only then does he gently pull the invasive object out. The paddle hits the floor with a thud. If I weren’t braced on the desk, I would’ve fallen to my knees. Unable to move in the aftermath of the violent climax, I lie still while he drags his palms over my globes, spreading them a little, and plants a kiss at the top of my crevice. His fingers dig into my bottom as he splays and kneads me, pulling me apart and pushing my flesh back together as if I’m clay in his hands.

Turning my head sideways, I look at him while perspiration trickles down my temple. The concentration on his face as he studies my body makes my cheeks heat. How quickly and hard I came makes my whole body burn with humiliation, but he doesn’t rub my weakness in with victorious words or knowing smirks. He only pulls my panties up and my skirt down before gripping my hips to help me stand. With my legs still wobbly, I have to lean my back against his chest. I’m overly aware of his erection pressing against my lower back. I want to pull away, but he’s holding me too tightly. His study smells like sex and me, a one-sided victory.

Running his nose over the arch of my neck, he inhales deeply. “Your punishment is over.”

This was punishment? “You didn’t hurt me.”

“I know.”

“Why not?” I ask snappily. I hate that I came. I hate the suspense. I prefer to get the unsavory parts of my new life out of the way. The quicker I know what he has planned for me, the better. I’ll deal with it because it won’t be forever. I’ll find the evidence that will set me free. “I know you wanted to.”

I can hear him smile, so calm and collected, nothing like the mess he made out of me, when he says, “Not today.”

The answer is mild, but the meaning sets a tornado off in my head. He’s the cruelest of cruel. He’s giving me what I dread more than pain—the awful suspense. I suck in a breath. I want to ask when, how, where, but before I can construct a meaningful sentence, a knock falls on the door. With my nerves are already shattered, the sound makes me jerk. Damian’s body tenses against mine. Before he can give his permission, the door flings open. At the same moment I register the beautiful woman on the threshold, Damian pushes me away.

Chapter 5

Damian

Of all the timing in the world, Annemarie chooses now. I’m trying to get around why I made Lina come instead of cry, and it doesn’t help that I’m fighting a raging hard-on. What just happened is private. It’s intimate, however warped our intimacy may have been. Lina didn’t come for me by choice. I manipulated her body into climaxing. I don’t want to humiliate Lina by allowing another woman to witness the aftermath of this twisted lust, which is why I put a little distance between us. It’s what any gentleman would do.

When I step aside, Lina’s face turns blank. With the way she folds her hands and draws back into herself, the small distance may as well be a gorge. It’s as if I didn’t watch her orgasm a moment ago or tell her I most definitely want to hurt her, only not today. I’ve just admitted to being a sick son of a bitch, and now my wife’s attention is fixed on the woman standing in the doorframe. Anne’s gaze settles on Lina before it shifts to the paddle on the floor.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

Anne’s green eyes shimmer with hurt. “I came for some of my things.”

Goddammit. “You were supposed to do it before.” Before I brought home my bride.

“I have no place to keep my clothes.”

“My conditions were clear.”

“Damian, please.” She runs across the floor and throws herself at my feet. “Please don’t kick me out. I beg you.”

Letting her stay, even for one night, was a mistake. I shouldn’t have given in. Housing a single, beautiful woman with revealing clothes who easily goes down on her knees is the kind of tabloid news that will make a public spectacle out of any new wife. I took responsibility for Lina when I married her, and I take my responsibilities seriously. Hurting Lina to feed my lust behind closed doors is one thing. Publically dishonoring her is another. There’s enough of the crazy gossip going around as it is.