She wanted this too much. Wanted the full power of Jace’s desire. No more holding back. No more carefully orchestrated restraint.

She turned her head to the side, seeking him out, but she couldn’t find him with her gaze. But he was there. Close. She could feel him. All that coiled tension seething for an outlet.

She flinched when the tip of the crop touched between her shoulder blades and then trailed a seductive line down her spine to the cleft of her ass. It left her and she held her breath, but he didn’t strike her right away. He waited until she was forced to exhale and then fire cracked over her buttocks.

She gasped and tensed and then closed her eyes when the burn turned into euphoria, warm and sinfully pleasurable. A heady buzz entered her bloodstream, invaded her mind, her very soul.

“Talk to me, Bethany. I want to know what you’re feeling. Every step of the way.”

Jace’s husky voice made her eyes open. She blinked, struggling to even find the words. How could she?

Another blow, harder, more forceful this time. Her cry caught in her throat and before it could be transmitted to one of pain, it morphed into a moan of pleasure, humming from the deepest part of herself.

“Tell me,” he ordered again.

“It’s pain,” she said, a catch in her voice.

The crop left her ass where it rasped over sensitive, marked skin.

“Too much?”

There was worry in his voice. A promise that if she said the word, he’d stop.

“No!”

Her protest was immediate. A denial. She didn’t want him to stop.

“It’s pain and then it’s pleasure,” she whispered. “Beautiful, exquisite pleasure. Like nothing I’ve ever felt. The pain is just pain. But the pleasure is indescribable. It makes me crave the pain because I know what will follow.”

“And you want me to give you that? You want me to give you more?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Please. Please.”

He leaned down to kiss the burning flesh over her ass. His lips pressed against the soft skin, sending a shiver quaking through her body. Then he pulled away and the crop descended, giving her what she wanted. Pain. Heat. Burning fire that reached underneath her skin and spread to every muscle and joint.

She went weak as the heady rush of pleasure pulsed like wild fire. Unpredictable. Sudden. Overwhelming.

“You like the pain,” he whispered. “I like giving you pain. But giving you pleasure, seeing you arch for the kiss of the crop, is magical. I ache to give you more.”

She sighed, closing her eyes as she waited for the next wave of pleasure. He rewarded her with another lash of the crop. Harder this time. Punishing and yet so very pleasurable.

“Let’s see how much you can take.”

His voice was unimaginably sexy, stoking the fires inside her higher. Until it was an inferno, blowing wilder, brushing across her skin. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t escape. She was his captive. His willing captive. And she gloried in every demonstration of his dominance.

He peppered her ass with varying lashes. Some harder, some softer. Never in the same place twice. He brought her to a frenzy until she was panting, begging, pleading over and over, and she wasn’t even sure what she begged for.

Pain had long since fled. There was only the sweetest of pleasure. Ecstasy like she’d never imagined. No one had ever taken her on such an amazing journey.

Then strong hands cupped her ass, kneading over super-sensitized flesh. Parting, spreading. His cock touched the opening of her pussy and nudged inward, pausing as he stretched her around his width.

She sucked in her breath and reveled in the sensation. Stretching. Burning. So deliciously full.

He pushed inward, his hands sliding to her waist, holding her, not that he needed to hold her down. She was prevented from moving by the ropes. Her legs were stretched wide, her arms pinned over her head.

But his fingers dug into her waist and then slipped down to her hips, gripping as he thrust deeply into her body.

He wasn’t all the way in. He stopped, breathing raggedly, his fingers pressing into her skin, marking her just as the crop had marked her ass.

“Okay, baby?” he whispered.

She didn’t answer. Couldn’t. But she didn’t say no and so he powered the rest of the way into her, sealing their bodies together as his balls pressed against her mound.

At first he fucked her gently, withdrawing only to ease his way back in. But as she went wetter around him and his entry grew easier, he picked up his pace. His movements became more powerful. Her entire body jostled with the force of his thrusts.

His hips smacked against her ass. He pushed deep. Touching a part of her that hadn’t been touched before. Every time he stroked over that one spot, her entire body jumped and pleasure rocketed through her system, flinging her perilously close to release.

It was as if she had no control whatsoever over her own body. He commanded it. He owned it.

He pressed into her with a deep groan, straining upward and inward, his body mashed so hard against hers that her legs were pulled taut by the rope.

“Are you close, Bethany? I want you with me, baby. Not coming without you.”

Her heart melted. So much of this scene was about him. His wants and desires. And yet he was absolutely focused on her pleasure. He’d checked constantly to make sure he wasn’t pushing her too far, that she was okay with everything he was doing.

The flutters of her orgasm had begun long ago. She’d likely have come already if she’d given in to the urge. But she gritted her teeth and warded it off, wanting to come when he came. Together.

“I’m close,” she said faintly.

“Tell me what to do, baby. Tell me how to help you.”

“Just touch me,” she whispered. “And take me hard, Jace. Don’t be easy. I need it hard and fast. I want you deep.”

His growl echoed through the room as though her blunt words made him lose the last vestiges of control. He was like a crazy person. Frantic. He began pumping into her as hard and as fast as she’d asked for.

The room went blurry around her and her orgasm built and built and, impossibly, built some more until her entire body was one giant rubber band at full stretch. Oh God, she couldn’t take much more. She needed release and yet the explosion hadn’t occurred. It was still climbing, higher and higher until she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t process anything but the excruciating tension that coiled in her belly.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Her fingers curled into tight fists above her head. Her knees locked and her back bowed as she raised her head up, trying desperately to achieve relief from the vicious ache assailing her.

He thrust again. Hard. Almost savage. Hell, it was savage. Each powerful push took her breath until her lungs screamed for mercy.

She ground her teeth together, tensing from head to toe. It had to come now. She couldn’t take any more without breaking.

And then in a tumultuous flash, it roared over her like a tidal wave. Fierce. Powerful. All-consuming. Her body went flying in a dozen different directions. Something inside her snapped loose. Relief from the incredible tension.

She sagged into the bed, her cheek pressing to the mattress. Eyes closed, body limp, she lay there as Jace continued to pump into her body. Each thrust sent a delicate shiver, almost unbearable, through her pussy. She was hypersensitive. So much so that every movement was a delicious sort of agony.

She whimpered and Jace went still deep inside her and then she felt him pulsing wetly. She was slick with his semen, but still, he held himself there, his cock twitching until the very last of his release was wrung from it.

He leaned forward, his body pressing warmly to hers. He kissed the center of her back just between her shoulder blades as his hands skated hotly up her sides and then back down again to cup her hips.

“So beautiful,” he murmured. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight than you tied to my bed, pussy open, waiting for me, your ass red from my crop.”

She shivered underneath him and then he pushed upward, withdrawing wetly from inside her. He left her, his footsteps disappearing in the distance.

She lay there, sated, exhausted, her body humming in the aftermath. She drifted off, existing in a haze between awareness and unconsciousness. Unsure of how much time had actually passed, she was roused when Jace’s hands slid back over her ass. When he leaned in, his cock was rigid again, surprising her. More time than she’d realized had to have passed.

He wanted her again.

Her arms and legs ached from being pulled so tight with the ropes, but she didn’t complain. He would take care of her afterward. He’d never push her too far. He seemed very in tune with her limits and he’d exhibited extreme patience while working up to this point. She trusted him.

“Going to fuck that sweet ass,” he murmured close to her ear. “Been dreaming about it. You’re in a perfect position. Legs spread. On your belly. Helpless. Not a damn thing you can do. Going to come all over your ass. Inside, outside. I’ll be in you so deep you’ll feel me in your belly.”

A full-body shiver worked its way from her shoulders to her feet. Chill bumps broke out and raced across her skin until every part of her tingled with awareness.

He lifted himself off her again and left her only to return a few seconds later. Something warm dribbled over the crack of her ass. Then he spread her cheeks and squeezed more over her opening. His fingers glided over the area, spreading the lubricant, pausing over her entrance before pressing inward.

One finger slipped easily past the barrier, coating the opening and just inside. Then he added more lubricant and gently pushed another finger, stretching her to accommodate both digits.

She moaned softly, the burn in her ass edgy and sharp. Not unlike the crop. Both pleasurable. Just in different ways.

“I should spend more time preparing you,” he said in a strained voice. “But I can’t. Want you too badly. I need you to relax and work with me, baby. I’ll try to go slow.”

His fingers withdrew and then he added more lubricant, smoothing it around the opening. Then the blunt head of his cock pressed against the entrance. Pressure built as her body resisted, refusing him entrance.

A low growl sounded in his throat. She shivered again, aroused, on fire, burning. Just for him.

“Let me in, baby. Relax. Don’t fight it.”

She sucked in her breath and let it out in a long exhale as she tried to force herself to do as he’d commanded. She let out a whimper as he pushed relentlessly forward, opening her body to his advance. She clamped her mouth shut, worried he’d stop. But he didn’t. He seemed too far gone to heed any sign of distress from her.

He continued to exert steady pressure, pushing, pushing, until finally her body gave way and he sank halfway in. His hands tightened at her waist, his fingers flexing spasmodically.

“God, baby,” he groaned.

He pulled back, his cock dragging over super-sensitized, distended flesh. Withdrawal was potent, extremely pleasurable, the relief enormous. But then he pushed forward again and her body’s natural resistance to the invasion kicked in, making it difficult and painful as he pressed in all the way to his balls.

“Fuck me,” he said in a strangled voice. “Take me whole. Goddamn, Bethany. What you do to me.”

He dragged himself back, slowly retreating, her opening quivering around him. He nearly left her, only leaving the head of his penis tucked inside her opening. He waited for the opening to close, fitting snugly around his cock head, and then he ruthlessly opened her again, thrusting forward, his strength overcoming her resistance.

Her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her breaths rushed from her nostrils and then, not able to suck in enough air through her nose, she gave up and gulped in mouthfuls, her chest heaving against the mattress as she fought the bombardment of divergent sensations.

Pain. Pleasure. Fear. Arousal. Powerlessness. Strength. Unrelenting pleasure.

Safety.

Comfort.

His possession.

“I’ll take care of you afterward,” he murmured as he leaned forward, his cock stroking through her distended opening. “This is for me.”

And then he began to pound against her ass, his thighs slapping against her cheeks, each thrust sending a shockwave through her body. He palmed her cheeks, pushing upward to make her ass more accessible. The movement stretched the opening around his cock tighter and he let out a low moan.

He levered himself up and over her, positioning all his weight so he was atop her fully. Blanketing her. Covering every inch of her back as his hips worked in and out, driving deeply into her ass.

His teeth grazed her shoulder. His hands reached over her head to find hers, cupped his palms over the wrists that were bound and he gripped her tight as he continued to hump himself over her body.

Hot spurts of semen exploded into her ass. He continued thrusting, each forward motion depositing more of his release deep into her body. On and on, in a seemingly never-ending stream, he pumped more into her until finally he collapsed against her, his body heaving with exertion.