His to Command

She gasped as the leather slashed her skin again, her body arching. Pleasure washed through her, rippling through every cell in her body. He kept on until she wailed her release, riding a wave of bliss that thrust her into pure ecstasy.

She fell against the stone wall, cold and hard. His hand brushed her shoulder and she found herself facing him again, her back against the cold wall.

He stroked her cheek with his finger. “Have you learned your lesson?”

“Yes, Sir.” The words came out in a throaty murmur.

“And what have you learned?”

She gazed into his eyes, revealing her soul to him. “That I belong to you.”

He smiled and she felt great satisfaction in the fact she’d pleased him.

* * *

Kate jolted from sleep. Oh, God, the dream had left her heated and filled with longing. She had to stop herself from leaping from the bed and racing to Matt’s room. Banging on the door and begging him to take her. She could feel the moisture between her legs, desperately wanted him to glide into her with his big, masterful cock.

But she couldn’t do that.

Oh, God, she was being a fool. She couldn’t be with Matt again. Couldn’t give herself to him. The flogging in the dream had been pleasure itself, but she knew from experience that’s not what it was really like.

What was wrong with her? How could she be so messed up?

* * *

For hours Kate lay in bed listening to the rat-a-tat-tat of ice pellets hitting the window and all she could think about was being in Matt’s arms. She’d longed for him so much—had longed for him for the past two years. The dream about Matt had left her confused and full of turmoil. How could she want Matt so desperately after what he’d done two years ago? Emotions swirled through her as she lay in the dark room thinking about that dreadful night.

But it felt so far away now. Being near Matt again, the way he looked at her, the way she felt around him … God help her foolish heart, she found herself questioning if she’d been wrong about him. Maybe he wasn’t guilty of the things Ileana had told her. Could Ileana have lied to her? Her gut clenched. But why would the woman have lied?

Her heart ached. Oh, God, she wanted so much to believe that Matt wasn’t that warped person. That he really was the man she once believed cared about her above all else.

Who loved her as much as she loved him.

She longed to slip from this bed, go to his room, and climb into bed with him. To feel his strong, protective arms around her. And be loved by him again. To be made love to by him again.

Her fingers curled around the edge of the duvet and she clung to it tightly as butterflies flitted through her stomach.

But if she went to him, would he hurt her?

Her thoughts continued in circles as she tossed and turned, but finally the blanket of sleep surrounded her, like a thick, fuzzy wrap that insulated her from the world. As she snuggled into its warmth, her anxiety slipped away.

She felt herself floating. Drifting through nothingness. The silence, mingled with the dark, gripped her, engulfing her. It pressed against the pupils of her eyes, filling her ears, leaving her sightless and deaf because no light or sound could penetrate.

Only darkness. And silence.

The nothingness around her shifted, until she felt hard concrete beneath her bare feet. She opened her eyes. Darkness surrounded her. She blinked several times as, slowly, her eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light. She could barely make out her surroundings. A small, dim room. Stone walls and floor. She became aware of a biting pain around her wrists and an ache in her arms and shoulders. Her arms were suspended above her head and when she tried to pull them down, she couldn’t. At a clinking noise above her, she glanced up. Chains, linked to metal bands encircling her wrists, disappeared into the darkness above her.

The memory of Matt walking out of the darkness, then pleasuring her until she cried out in ecstasy prickled through her brain, but this was different. A chill crept the length of her spine, rippling outward to her fingers and toes.

Someone laughed behind her. A familiar laugh she hadn’t heard in a long time. Deep and frightening. Chilling her to the core.

She heard a snap, then a line along

her back exploded in pain. Another snap and more pain.

“No,” she cried.

The man behind her simply laughed again. The leather whip bit into her flesh a third time.