Sweet Persuasion

“Very good,” he said, but his approval meant nothing to her. It was Damon she sought to please.

He secured her wrists, tightening until she was stretched on tiptoe. Vulnerable didn’t even begin to cover how she felt.

And then her feet left the ground as he rotated the frame so that she lay suspended from the straps at a slight angle. She stared down at the floor, and her mouth went dry. She licked her lips to try and add moisture.

The room spun, and she found herself staring up at the ceiling as Cole flipped the frame until she was stretched on her back. He threaded a wide support belt underneath her back, wrapped it around her belly and attached it to the sides of the frame with hooks. It took some of the strain off her arms and legs and gave her some much-needed relief. She wouldn’t go as far as to say she was comfortable, but it was a hell of a lot better than before.

She jerked in surprise when Cole cupped her breast. He rubbed his thumb over the rigid peak, his expression never changing. Then he bent his head, and to her shock, sucked the crown between his teeth and nipped sharply at it.

When he released it, he looked up and gave her a satisfied smile. “Much better.”

She stared at him in confusion, but before she could voice the question, she felt a sharp pinch followed by a rush of pain and then a burning numbness settle over her nipple. She writhed and gasped in protest and then yanked her gaze down to the throbbing ache.

He’d secured a nipple clamp to her breast. It dug into the puckered flesh and guided the nipple outward. She twisted and pulled against her bonds but they held fast.

“Please,” she whispered. “Take it off.”

Cole ignored her plea and walked around to the other side. She whimpered softly because now she knew what was to come. He gave her other breast the same treatment, plumping softly with his hand before leaning over to suck the tip into his mouth.

She moaned at the hypersensitivity. Though it was the other nipple clamped, she felt each nip of his teeth as though they were the tiny jaws of metal.

After a final sharp bite, he laved his tongue soothingly over the hardened flesh and pulled away. He waited this time. The bastard. Every muscle in her body tensed as soon as his mouth withdrew. And still he waited, a patient smile on his face.

He let her see it coming, guiding his hand with the open clamp toward the burgeoning point. There was no gentle coaxing, no gradual slide onto the nipple. He clamped it hard and let go.

She grit her teeth to prevent the cry of surprise and pain. The hungry teeth bit into her flesh with greedy eagerness. At first it was more than she could bear, and she arched her back, bucking against her restraints.

Then the pain diminished to a hot burn and finally, blessed numbness.

She lay there panting, nearly overwhelmed by the barrage of sensations, first Cole’s mouth on her breasts followed by the sharp teeth of the clamps. Her nipples tingled with the slightest of movements, pushing back the numb.

And suddenly she moved again with one firm push by Cole. Her feet rotated beneath her as she came to an upright position. He pushed a little farther until she was at a forty-five-degree forward angle.

Her breasts bobbed, and the clamps dangling from her nipples exerted a dragging pressure that sent razor-sharp darts straight to her pussy.

She was wet. She could feel the creamy moisture gather between her legs, feel the way her clit pulsed and ached from the tension applied to her nipples.

Hands cupped her buttocks, kneading slightly before spreading the cheeks. Shock raced up her spine, stiffening her muscles as she formed a protest with her lips. Before she could speak, Cole gently applied lubricant to the opening. His fingers smoothed over the cleft, spreading a generous amount in their wake.

Her shoulders shook, and her body trembled. Tiny little shivers, alternating hot and cold. She danced a fine line between fear and desire. Confusion. Hot, edgy need. She didn’t want to be aroused by a strange man’s hands.

One thick finger slid inside her anus. Air rushed past her lips as she inhaled harshly. Back and forth his finger rasped across her delicate tissues, opening her wider as he spread more of the gel.

Another finger joined the first, stretching until she was open to him. His fingers were large, and at first, her passage was snug around his knuckles but he continued to stroke and caress, adding more lubricant to ease his way.

Her vision blurred and she closed her eyes to steady herself. She fought the waves of . . . She wouldn’t say need. Or desire. She didn’t want this man. She enjoyed his skilled fingers, liked the assault he waged on her senses, the wicked, sinful tune he played on her body. It was in part painful, and if she were honest, she feared her response to this pain. For she didn’t find it distasteful. She wanted, craved, more.

And then as quickly as he’d come to her, he withdrew and left. Silence that she hadn’t noticed before buzzed in her ears. There was no sound in the room, and as she lifted her head, she could see that, as on the night of the auction, every eye was on her.

A warm sizzle began in her belly, pooled in her groin and spread rapidly through her veins, humming low and sweet. Damon. She felt him, though she couldn’t see behind her.

She sighed when his hands cupped her buttocks and kneaded, gentle and loving. There was a marked difference between his touch and Cole’s. There was more regard, a respect and tenderness that lacked Cole’s clinical, methodical approach to preparing her.

Something soft, yet firm with the coolness of plastic or maybe rubber, ran lightly down her spine, eliciting a shiver from coiled muscles. It trailed over her buttocks then back up her side and to her shoulder. Damon walked slowly around to her front and she could now see that he held a long crop in his hand. The tip touched her ear, traced a circle around her lobe before stroking softly over her cheek to her lips in a gentle kiss.

He stopped there, watching her with dark eyes, holding the crop to her parted lips.

“Lick it,” he commanded, low and husky. “Pretend it’s my cock. Show me how you’d suck it.”

Her eyes flew upward so she could watch his reaction. She dipped her tongue over the edge of the crop, absorbing the taste and texture of the leather. Growing bolder, she swiped at the flat side with a long lick before catching the flap between her teeth and sucking it inside her mouth.

He coaxed it deeper with a quick slide of his hand, and she savored the supple give as it rolled over her tongue. When he pulled back, she balanced it delicately on her bottom lip before he finally let the crop fall away.

Adjusting his grip, he popped the tip on his leg as he walked behind her. She lost him in her vision, and her breath caught and bubbled in her throat as she entered the unknown.

“Pain can be many things,” Damon said just to her left. “Or it can just be pain. What will it be for you, Serena mine?”

The crop whistled as it sliced through the air. Before she could tense, pain, bright and explosive, sheared like lightning over her skin. Her body jerked in response, and she cried out. Before she could say the first word that sprang to her lips, heat simmered over her buttocks where before fire had flashed.

A warm hum, heady and pleasurable, invaded her veins, making her heavy and sluggish. It was difficult to process this odd pain that turned so quickly to pleasure. She wanted more. Feared it, but craved it in equal measure.

Fire tore through her other ass cheek as the slap of leather met flesh. Before she could suck in her breath and wait for the aftermath, Damon sliced the crop across her buttocks again.

She flinched, and he struck again, not as hard this time and over the sensitive skin just below the curve of her ass. Ribbons of razorblades ran circles over her skin.