Her Millionaire Master (16 page)

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Do you have any idea how much danger you’re putting yourself in by not locking your apartment door?”

“I do. I’m sorry.”

“You’re going to be even sorrier, Bella. I don’t want you to forget this lesson for a long time.”

“OK.” Her voice was tiny.

“Good. Shall we start?”

“Yes,” she said, though she wasn’t sure at all it was what she wanted.

Kane brought the brush down hard, right in the middle of both her cheeks, and she gasped at the pain. The next spank was lower, landing on the inside of her spread-wide cheeks, and she moaned in pain but also at how it made her pussy throb even more.

“Hold still,” Kane warned when she jumped at the next spank.

It took all her strength to stay in position while Kane rained spanks, over and over, with the hairbrush. When he finally finished, when he set the brush down in front of her on the couch, she was weak with the effort of staying in place.

But as he said, simply, “See you on Friday, Bella,” and left her apartment, the real reason she found it hard to stand was the torturous throbbing between her legs. As soon as she heard his steps descending the stairs, she locked the door, then leaned against it, her hand finding her clit. She came almost at once.

* * *

As soon as Bella got out of the shower, she sat down gently on the couch with a cup of coffee. Claire had returned home while Bella was in the bathroom, and Bella was grateful Claire hadn’t returned earlier. What would her roommate have thought if she’d walked in on the scene between Kane and Bella just half an hour earlier?

Claire looked up from her phone and smiled at Bella. “So, where were you last night?” she asked, giving Bella a curious look.

For the past three weeks, Bella had told Claire that she’d spent the night at a guy’s house. She’d said it was just some random guy she was seeing, and Claire hadn’t pried. It wasn’t unusual for either one of them to casually date a guy that the other never met. But she felt like she needed to come clean with Claire, mostly because she was craving someone’s advice and input. But she was nervous. It was a strange situation, and she wasn’t sure how Claire was going to react.

“Claire, I have to tell you something. And don’t judge, OK?”

“Uh oh. You’ve got me worried. And intrigued.” Claire set her phone down and rubbed her hands together excitedly.

Bella took a deep breath. “OK. So you remember how I spilled that bottle of expensive scotch and wrote that check to Kane?”

Claire nodded.

“Well, he didn’t cash it.”

“What did he do with it?”

“Well, here’s the weird part. Remember how you said I should just ask him to spank me instead, and you were totally joking?”

“Oh. My. God.” Claire’s mouth dropped open as she stared at Bella. “He didn’t. Did he? I can’t deal! Seriously!”

“I don’t even know how to say this!” moaned Bella. “We worked out an arrangement. Five
sessions
and we’d be even.”

“Wait. Sessions? What does that even mean?”

“He gets to punish me five times.”

“Jesus, Bella! Like what kind of punishment? Does he seriously spank you? Like, hard? What’s going on?”

Bella put up her hands in defense. “It’s… it’s hard. But really? I like it.”

Claire shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say. My mind? Blown.”

“The problem is that I kind of like
him
now, Claire. I mean, we have this agreement, which I know is weird and unconventional, but I have actual feelings for him suddenly. I don’t want to, but I do.”

“Unconventional? Uh, yeah.”

“Forget about that part, Claire! I just don’t know what to do. We’ve actually slept together too. Twice. But it’s really physical. It’s
fucking
without a trace of
making love
. Which is fine, if that’s all there is to it. But I’m having a hard time separating my attraction to him from my feelings for him. I like him. A lot. Even though he’s distant and arrogant.”

“Oh, Bella, I’m sorry.” Claire’s eyes were filled with sympathy. “What happens if you end the agreement early? Get out now to save your feelings?”

“He’ll cash the check.”

“Can you just get through the rest of the
agreement
, which I think is really weird, by the way? Put up, I don’t know, barriers around your heart or something?”

“I guess that’s all I
can
do.” Bella sighed and sipped some more of her coffee.

“Or. You could tell him how you feel.”

Bella almost spit out her coffee. “Oh, my god, no. That’s the last thing I would ever do. He’s so… Honestly? He’s really an asshole. Charles, his business partner, told me that Kane’s never had a serious relationship with a woman. He sleeps with them, and
plays
with them, but that’s about it. He doesn’t
do
relationships. And he’d probably laugh in my face if I told him how I feel. So you’re right. I’ll just finish the agreement and move on. Buy the house. Be happy.” Except she didn’t feel happy as she said it. She felt numb and sad.

“Oh, Bells. You don’t deserve to get hurt. If there’s anything I can do, tell me, OK?”

“I’m fine, Claire,” said Bella, forcing a smile onto her face. “Seriously.” But she wasn’t at all sure that was true.

* * *

On Friday, Bella put on one of the dresses Kane had bought for her. During the week, his driver had delivered all the clothes and shoes to her apartment. This dress was a simple dark blue, with a filmy skirt and fitted top. Bella noticed that all the dresses and skirts were fluttery, and she guessed it was because they’d be easier to lift up for a spanking than a tight skirt would be. Thinking about that made her heart pound, as it always did when she thought about Kane spanking her. Like he undoubtedly would tonight.

She headed over to his house and rang the bell. He opened the door, and Bella couldn’t help the small gasp that left her lips. Although she’d seen his chest before, it was hard to ignore how sexy it was, muscled and hard, his six-pack of abs so perfect. He was wearing a shirt, but it was unbuttoned, giving her a perfect view of his gorgeous body. Today he had on a pair of jeans that rode low enough so she could see the beginning of the trail of hair leading down…

“Hi,” she said, trying to rid herself of those thoughts.

“Bella. Come in.” He closed the door behind her. “Let’s go to the office.”

She followed him down the now familiar hallway and into the office.

“Sit down,” he said, gesturing at the couch. He sat in the armchair across from her. The same one, she realized, that she’d been in, legs spread wide, last week. “This is the second to last session we’ll have. And it’s occurred to me that although I’ve been punishing you, you’ve been enjoying these sessions. Is that true?”

“Well,” she said, “the punishments do hurt…”

“And yet you’ve orgasmed every time, have you not?”

Bella felt her cheeks grow warm. “I have.”

“Tonight, Bella, you will not orgasm. Do you understand? I will punish you. Hard. And there will be no pleasure.”

Bella felt stricken, but she managed to keep her face as calm as possible. “I understand.” It was his right, she knew, yet it felt so cold. So mean. Worse than the fact that he was going to spank her.

“Strip and lie face down on the bed,” he ordered.

Bella stood, turning away from Kane as she began to unzip the dress.

“Face me.”

Head down, she turned to face him, then continued unzipping the dress. She let it fall to the floor, then picked it up, hastily folded it, and set it on the coffee table. She unclasped her bra, folding it on top of the dress. Finally, she stepped out of her panties. She didn’t look at Kane the whole time, but kept her eyes on the floor. When she was done, she walked to the bed, aware that he was watching, and climbed up onto it, then lay down.

She could hear him go through a drawer, then felt him grab her right hand. He began to tie something silky around it. “I’m going to restrain you tonight, Bella,” he said, his voice low. He gently tugged on the silk tie, and when she glanced up, she saw him tying the other end to the metal eyelet at one of the corners.

“I’ll hold still for you, Kane,” she whispered.

“Perhaps,” he said. “Your punishment is going to be particularly hard tonight, though.”

She shuddered at the thought, but despite the fact that his actions confused her, despite her mixed-up feelings, heat rushed hard and fast between her legs.

He secured her left hand next, then her legs, which he tied to the ends of the bed so they were spread wide. She felt his fingers playing softly between her legs suddenly, making her jump in surprise.

“How does it feel, Bella, to know that you’re not going to come tonight?” he whispered in a low voice.

“Um, not good,” she managed to say.

“You like to come when I spank you, don’t you?” he asked, his fingers moving more quickly.

Bella squirmed as he massaged her clit. “I do,” she moaned.

“Tonight I won’t let you,” he said, withdrawing his hand suddenly. “Now let’s begin your punishment.”

Without warning, his hand landed on her right cheek, and she jumped and cried out, more in surprise than in pain. He spanked her left cheek next, then began alternating between the two, moving higher and lower as he left stinging redness all across her ass. He kept going, spanking her butt hard and fast with his hand, until she was moaning and whimpering in both pain and desire. But try as she might, there wasn’t enough friction between her clit and the silky bed to bring her anywhere near orgasm, as turned on as she was.

“Bella, my hand is getting tired,” said Kane suddenly. “I think I should switch to the leather paddle. What do you think?”

“Um, yes?” she said.

“Good then.”

She felt him drag the leather over her already sore ass a few times, and she quivered in anticipation of how it would feel. She didn’t have to wait long. In a few seconds he slapped it down, right in the middle of her butt. Then he began a slow but steady rhythm of spanking her with the paddle, moving over her entire ass, not missing a single spot.

“Ow, Kane! That hurts!” she cried out.

“You know, by now, that it’s supposed to,” he replied, his voice so calm it almost made the punishment worse, or more embarrassing, at least. Then he stopped. “Ah. I almost forgot.” His tone let her know he hadn’t forgot anything, that this was all planned out.

A second later, she heard a buzzing sound. “Lift up,” he urged her, and she felt his hand near her right hip. Although it was hard to maneuver her body while stretched out, she managed to lift up her hips. He reached underneath her, and she felt a vibrator against her flesh as he nestled it right over her clit.

“Back down,” he ordered.

She let her body lie flat once more. “I can’t, Kane,” she mumbled. “I’ll come this way.”

“Don’t.” His voice was harsh.

“I can’t help it,” she insisted.

“Resist.” He brought the paddle down again, harder this time.

“Ouch!” she yelped. It hurt. Her ass was so sore already, and he was spanking harder now, so hard that she jumped with the pain of each smack. But the vibrator he’d forced between her legs was making it worse. Worse because she felt the sensation growing, both the spanking and the vibrating increasing the feeling of desire second by second. She wasn’t sure she could stop the orgasm. Wasn’t sure she could hide one if it came. Wasn’t sure what the consequences would be.

“Oh, god, Kane. Please,” she moaned. “I’m going to come.” She was growing closer and closer.

And then he stopped spanking her. Roughly, he reached between her legs and pulled the vibrator away.

“The belt, now,” he said, and she could hear him unbuckling it, then pulling it out of the loops of his jeans. A second later, she felt the hard, sharp sting as the leather bit into her ass.

“Fuck,” she hissed at the pain, her body writhing on the bed, but there was nowhere for her to go. No way for her to stop the spanking.

He brought the leather down again. Hard. So hard it felt like it was cutting into her. She knew it wasn’t, because he’d said he never break skin. But the pain was severe and for once, she didn’t feel even a hint of pleasure.

He whipped her with the belt again and again. Mercilessly.

It was too much. Bella knew she couldn’t handle it. She couldn’t identify how, exactly, but the punishment had crossed over into a different realm, one of relentless torment without any bliss. Kane was hitting her harder than ever before, cruelly and viciously. And Bella couldn’t take a second more.

“Stop, please, Kane.”

Once again the belt fell.

“Whiskey!” she cried out, uttering the safeword she hadn’t used up until now. The word that, somehow, she’d trusted Kane wouldn’t ever make her use. She’d been wrong. And foolish.

He stopped. Silently he untied the silk from the eyelets at the corners of the bed. And he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Bella stayed where she was for a long time, moving only to use her right hand, the silk still tied around it, to rub her ass, which was so sore. He hadn’t broken the skin; she peered over her shoulder to check. But it hurt, the sting taking a long time to subside.

Eventually she sat up, cross-legged on the bed, working the silk ties loose and tossing them onto the floor next to the bed. She’d never felt so empty. So alone. Yes. This was a real punishment. Exactly what she’d signed up for. But for the first time it really
felt
like it.

“One more week,” she thought, as tears filled her eyes. “Just one more week.” She slipped under the covers and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The bad feeling from Friday night lingered through the weekend, so that everything she did the following week was tainted by the sadness and anger she felt toward Kane. She wanted to hate him. And part of her did. But she couldn’t help the fact that she still felt something for him. Something dangerously close to
liking
him.
Loving
him, if she were being completely honest. How that was possible, despite the fact that he was, for the most part, a jerk, she wasn’t sure. He was so hidden. So closed. So arrogant and brusque and unkind. Yet the tiny glimpses she’d had into who he was as a person, into the sadness in his past, were enough to make her want more from him. And as her grandmother had always said, “Your heart’s going to love who your heart’s going to love.”