novelraw Chapter 125: Punishment
Chapter 125: Punishment
Oliver’s POV
"Red," she whispered.
That one word was supposed to be a safety net, but to my wolf, it sounded like a challenge. I stood up from the armchair, the leather creaking under my weight.
I was burning up inside. Only an hour ago, I had offered her tea and a quiet life in the packhouse. I had offered her my heart, and she had looked at me with boredom. But now, standing before the mask, she was breathless. She was shivering with a dark kind of excitement.
"Red," I repeated, nodding. "Remember it, Aurora. If I go past your limit, you say it."
She nodded, clearly excited.
I stepped toward her, my heavy boots thudding on the carpet. I reached out and gripped the hem of that high-neck sweater—the one she wore to hide the marks I’d left last night.
"Undress," I commanded. My voice was cold and sharp, leaving no room for argument.
I didn’t wait for her to move. I turned my back on her and walked back to the heavy leather armchair. I sat down, sinking into the seat, and spread my legs wide. I rested my gloved hands on the armrests, watching her through the emerald lenses of my mask.
She didn’t hesitate. I watched as her fingers grabbed the hem of that high-neck sweater. She pulled it over her head, her hair falling in a wild mess around her shoulders. Then came the rest. Piece by piece, her clothes fell to the floor until she stood completely naked before me in the dim light of the room.
My breath hitched behind the mask. My eyes moved over every inch of her—her firm, full breasts that rose and fell with her heavy breathing, her flat belly, and then her neatly shaved center. She looked like a masterpiece, glowing in the darkness.
Fuck.
A part of me—the Oliver side—ached to stand up, wrap my arms around her, and carry her to the bed just to make love to her. I wanted to kiss every inch of her skin and tell her how much I worshipped her. But that wasn’t what she came here for. That was the man she had just walked away from.
Why does she want this? I wondered, my heart aching with a bitter kind of jealousy. Why does she need the submissive and dominant display? Why isn’t my love enough for her?
But as I looked at her, I saw the spark in her eyes. She wasn’t just scared; she was alive. She was thriving under my hard stare in a way she never did when I was being "gentle."
"On your knees, Aurora," I commanded. The words felt heavy as they left my mouth. "Crawl to me. Now."
I watched her sink to the floor. She didn’t argue. She didn’t look away. She moved across the carpet on her hands and knees. My heart pounded hard against my ribs. I hated that she was doing this for Raymond, but my wolf was drunk on the sight of her total surrender.
When she reached my boots, I reached into the drawer beside the chair and pulled out a soft leather cord. I grabbed her wrists, pulling them together in front of her.
"Hands up," I said roughly.
I wound the cord around her delicate skin, binding her wrists tight. I made sure it was firm—enough to remind her she was trapped, but not enough to leave a mark she would have to explain later to oliver.
I leaned down, my mask inches from her ear. "Since you wanted to show off for Mike, you’re going to get the punishment you’ve been begging for. You’ll be flogged until you remember exactly who you belong to."
I stood up and pointed to the heavy wooden table in the center of the room. "Go over to that table. Lean over it. I want your heels down and your back flat."
She obeyed, her breath coming in short, excited gasps. She walked over, her bound hands resting on the wood as she bent forward, offering herself to me.
I picked up the leather strap from the table. I ran my tongue along the edge of the cool, dark leather, the salt of my own skin mixing with the anticipation in the air. I walked up behind her, the heavy thud of my boots the only warning she had.
Swish—Thwack!
The first strike hit her right across the curve of her ass. It wasn’t enough to break the skin, but it was enough to leave a bright red mark on her skin.
"Count, Aurora," I hissed, leaning over her shoulder so she could feel the heat radiating off my chest. "Every time I hit you, I want to hear your voice. If you lose track, we start over."
"One," she gasped out, her fingers clenching the edge of the table.
Thwack!
"Two..." she whined, her body arching slightly.
"Again," I growled, bringing the strap down with a bit more force. "Show me how much you wanted this. Show me why you left the King for me..."
Thwack!
"Three!"
I kept the rhythm steady, the sound of the leather hitting her skin echoing in the small, dark room. With every strike, my anger at her rejection of ’Oliver’ faded, replaced by a dark, possessive need to mark her so deeply she would never feel ’bored’ again.
"Four..."
"Louder," I commanded. Thwack!
"Five!" she shrieked, her head falling forward as her breath hitched.
I paused, the strap hovering just inches above her skin. I reached down, my gloved hand stroking the heat I had just created on her body. "You like this, don’t you? You like that I don’t care if it hurts. You like that I’m not careful with you."
I didn’t wait for an answer. I raised the strap again and hit her.
"Six," she whispered, but it sounded like a moan... fuck, was she enjoying this?
I paused, the strap still hovering in the air. The room was silent except for the sound of her ragged, broken breaths. Her skin was a map of angry red welts now. I could smell the heat coming off her—the scent of her arousal mixed with the sharp tang of the leather.
My wolf was pacing, his claws digging into my mind. He wanted to claim her right now, to tear off this mask and show her who was really marking her. But I stayed still. I stayed Raymond.
I slowly set the strap down on the table and stepped closer, my chest almost touching her back, but I didn’t give her the comfort of my weight.
"You’re shaking, Little Bird," I said softly, my voice vibrating against the back of her neck. "Is it the cold? Or are you turned on by my punishment?"
I reached out. I didn’t grab her. I didn’t hit her. I used only the very tips of my gloved fingers. I started at the back of her knees, tracing a slow, agonizing line up the inside of her thighs. The leather of my gloves was cool and slightly rough against her burning skin.
I felt her flinch, her muscles jumping under my touch. She arched her back, her bound wrists straining against the wood of the table as she tried to lean into my hand.
"Don’t move," I commanded, my voice dropping to a low growl.
I moved my fingers higher, dragging them over the softest part of her inner thigh. I was inches away from her—so close I could feel the damp heat radiating from her—but I stopped. I traced the edge of the red welts instead, circling the pain I had just given her.
"Is this what you wanted?" I whispered, leaning down to lick the shell of her ear. "To be treated like a toy? To have a man who gives you both pain and pleasure?"
My fingers danced back to her thighs, ghosting over the skin. I could see her shivering now, her hips beginning to twitch in a desperate, involuntary search for my hand. She was wet, her body showing exactly how much this punishment was turning her on.
"Please," she whimpered, her head falling back against my shoulder. "Raymond... please."
"Please what?" I teased, my fingertips brushing the very edge of her, but never going further. I moved back down to her knees, starting the slow climb all over again. "Tell me exactly what you want from me. Tell me why the King’s touch wasn’t enough to keep you home."
The question was a blade in my own heart, but I needed to hear it. I needed to know why she needed this darkness.
I dragged my thumb along the line of her sit-bone, pressing just hard enough to make her gasp, then retreated again. I was denying her the one thing her body was screaming for, leaving her suspended in a state of pure, raw need.
"I can’t... I can’t think," she sobbed, her bound hands white-knuckled on the table. "Just touch me. Properly. Please, I’m begging you."
"Begging isn’t enough," I hissed, my hand moving back up, hovering just a hair’s breadth away. I could feel her pulse thrumming against the air. "Tell me who you belong to. Tell me why you are here and not with your perfect alpha king."