His to Command
“Please. Stop.” Tears ran from her eyes at the biting pain. Still he slashed the whip against her back. Her legs gave out and she hung from the chains. The metal bands bit into her wrists, tearing at her flesh.
He whipped her again and again. The agony lanced through her, finally leaving her numb.
Matt was responsible for this. He had heartlessly arranged this. Planned to do the same thing to her himself later. But for now, he wanted this man to inflict pain on her. To teach her to submit fully. To make her understand what punishment she would suffer if she did not submit completely.
The man turned her around and pushed her against the wall behind her, slamming her wounded back against the cold, hard stone. She cried out at the pain.
He stared at her with cold eyes and pressed his arm against her throat until she couldn’t breathe. She struggled against him, trying desperately to suck in air, but she couldn’t. Panic gripped her as she felt blackness surrounding her. Terror arched through her and a scream welled within her.
* * *
Kate bolted upward as the scream tore from her throat. Her head jerked around as she tried to comprehend where she was. Moonlight streamed across the room and she realized she was sitting up in bed.
“Kate, what the hell?” The door flung open and Matt stormed into the room.
His gaze locked on her and he raced toward her.
She skittered back until she was pressed tight to the headboard, her eyes wide. As Matt closed in on the bed, she shook her head in panic. “No.”
Matt halted, staring at her with a narrowed gaze.
“Kate, what’s wrong?”
“I…” Suddenly, all the pain and anguish from that horrible ordeal burst through her and tears flooded from her eyes. “How could you do that to me?”
He sat down on the bed and reached for her, but she shifted sideways, putting more distance between them. His hands rolled into balls. “Do what, Kate?” He gazed at her with kind, tender eyes. “It was just a nightmare.”
“No.” The word came out hoarse and shaky. “It wasn’t. It really happened. You made it happen.”
“What, Kate? What do you think I did?”
“That night … at the party … you…” She sucked in a breath of air, steadying herself. “You sold me to that man.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Kate flinched at his sharp words.
“Kate,” he said more softly, “I really don’t know what you mean. Why do you think I sold you to someone?”
“Your friend … the hostess…”
“Ileana?”
She nodded. “She told me it was part of the role-playing that evening. That you had arranged for me to submit to a man named Victor.”
“Was that the man you disappeared with that night?” he asked with gritted teeth.
She nodded again.
“What did he do?” Matt’s voice was nearly a growl.
“He … took me to a room. Like a cell with stone walls. It was in the basement of the big house where the party was.”
“Did he hurt you?” Matt’s dark blue eyes blazed with anger, but she knew it wasn’t at her, and confusion swirled through her.
She nodded. Then she couldn’t look at him anymore. Despite her swirling emotions, the indignation in his eyes made her insides churn. Oh, God, could she have been wrong about Matt’s involvement? But both Ileana and Victor had confirmed that Matt had set up the whole thing. And Ileana was Matt’s friend. Why would she lie?
“Kate, believe me, I would never have allowed such a thing if I had known. That night, Ileana spirited you away to show you the house, then other than seeing you dance briefly with that man, I didn’t see you again. Ileana told me you left with him.”