Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“Jesus,” I mutter, my heart slamming in my chest. “When did you come out here? And who the hell told you to get out of bed?”
She shrugs and her cheeks pink. “I wondered where you went,” she said. “And what’s the big deal about me leaving the room?”
“I told you to stay,” I say with a frown, taking her by the elbow. “You need rest.” The real reason is that I want her tucked away and kept apart from this place. I love Verge, but it’s no place for a beautiful, innocent girl like her.
She lets me lead her back into the main bar area, but she’s frowning. “And I listen to you why?” Her eyes are a little wide, though. She’s trying to give me shit but she’s a good girl and it doesn’t come naturally to her.
“Because I have every tool at my disposal,” I tell her. I’m barely resisting the urge to sit on a bench, swing her out and over my knee, and spank her full, beautiful ass right here and now. For talking back. For coming here. For being even more beautiful than I remember.
She frowns, but the pink in her cheeks deepens, as we make our way to my room. When we get to the dungeon doors, however, she freezes.
“Show me, Noah?”
“Axle,” I correct. “Noah’s dead.”
She blinks and nods. “Okay. Axle,” she says haltingly. “Since no one else is here, will you show me around the dungeon?”
Hell no.
“Not tonight,” I tell her. “You need rest, and so do I.”
Her full lips turn down in an adorable little pout. “Please?” she asks.
God, the power this girl has over me. She gives me puppy dog eyes and I almost cave.
“No,” I say, more firmly this time. “And I’ve had enough of the back talk, little girl. Off to bed with you.”
“I’m an adult, you know,” she reminds me, but she allows me to lead her down the hall. She shrugs my hand off her elbow, though. “And we might be in a BDSM club, but I don’t remember saying I’d submit to you.”
“And I don’t remember making that an option,” I say. I rear my hand back and smack it against her ass. The second I do, I regret it. It wasn’t even a conscious decision. My palm tingles and my dick hardens. God, I want to punish her so damn bad my mouth waters. It’s breaking every BDSM club law in the book, not having her consent, but hell, there’s something innate that calls me to her.
“Noah—Axle,” she corrects in a whisper. She swallows hard. “You…” but her voice trails off. She wants to tell me off, but it’s like she can’t even talk.
I sigh. God, I remember how things used to be with her. It’s probably my fault she’s even into this shit. She was young and innocent, and I stole that from her. Showed her how delicious the loss of control can be with bondage. Awakened her inner submissive with punishment. Rewarded her with pleasure when she obeyed.
She liked it, though. And hell, I can tell just by the way she’s looking at me, she likes it now.
“Bed,” I say sternly, pointing at the door to my room. My conscience tugs at me, though. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” she says, then stifles a yawn. “Just tired.”
I open the door to my room and tug her in, then walk her back to bed. “Good. Now get some rest.” I release her, pull down the blankets, and pat the sheets.
“I should maybe undress?” she says, but she doesn’t meet my eyes. I nod, then turn around to give her some privacy. The sound of a zipper. The rustle of fabric. I swallow hard and ignore the growing need inside me when I let myself imagine what she looks like undressing. I hear the bed creak and release a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
Climbing back into bed, she lays her head on the pillow, and I tuck the blanket up around her. She fidgets a little but doesn’t say anything. My mind is teeming with memories, and I can’t stop them. I wonder if hers is, too. My heart squeezes. Some of those memories are painful. So damn painful. Even though it’s against my better judgment, I lean over and stroke my hand through her thick, silky hair. Her eyelids flutter shut, and she sighs. I sit on the side of the bed, stroking her hair and rubbing her back until her breathing slows and her shoulders lift up and down in soft slumber.
This is wrong. So damn wrong. But I have to atone for my sins.
Chapter Five
Chandra
I’m sitting on the steps, crying. I want to be alone. I’m nineteen years old and live in a proverbial ivory tower, a gilded cage no one can enter. I wasn’t allowed to go to college. I haven’t been allowed to do anything. My mother and father have predetermined my future spouse already, and the knowledge kills me. I’ve never even kissed a boy, and yet I’m to be married.