The soft tone with which he spoke sent a shiver down her back. Her anger ebbed. She glanced at him. “I am not used to it.” Her insides warmed when he smiled at what she’d said.
“Then perhaps you should practice.” He turned her head and made her look at him again.
The way he looked at her melted something inside her heart. Holding onto her resentment suddenly seemed impossible. Her lips parted when, for a moment, she thought he might lean in and kiss her.
What is wrong with me?
He slapped her bottom, but this time in a far more gentle, far more playful way.
She blushed and shied away nonetheless. “Have I upset you?” she asked. She was astounded at the almost coquettish tone in her own voice.
“You forgot to address me correctly again.” He smacked her other cheek with slightly more force, and the sharp sting plucked at something in the center of her, sending a thrill through her body. He gripped her bottom in his hand, massaging it possessively, rubbing the bite of his spanking into her skin.
“I’m sorry, Master,” she said quickly, though the heat burned through her in a delicious way.
A confusing twist of feelings threaded through her. Guilt at feeling any pleasure from Sedrak’s rough treatment. A desire to return to some normalcy, the life she’d lived just days ago.
Sedrak was absorbed in his own thoughts now, moving his hands over her body, squeezing her possessively. His finger slipped to her sore bottom hole, touching her lightly, igniting the raw soreness and the emptiness she felt now that the plug had been removed. She could feel her body longing to havehiminside of her, even if she did not understand completely how such a thing would work. Even though she knew it would mean that she had crossed a line she could never return from.
He made slow circles on her breasts with his other hand, and her nipples hardened. A faint smile developed on his mouth, and he looked up at her eyes.
She waited, body humming, for anything—anything at all. Secretly she hoped he would take her. She had no choice, after all, but at that moment she craved for him to do it.
His lips were near hers, and then they brushed over her mouth. She felt his manhood pulse against her leg, beneath his furs. Her hands moved of their own accord, over his muscled chest. His lips were dry and warm, and through their touch it seemed as something flowed straight into her, making her feel like she had dissolved.
But just as suddenly, he pulled away, and his fingers retreated from the tender places on her body. He sat upright, all but pushing her aside.
His expression was hardened when he looked down at her. He tilted his head slightly to one side and gazed into her eyes. “Is that what you crave?” he demanded. “To return to your homeland?”
She opened her mouth to answer but for some reason the word ‘yes’ was impossible to speak.
“Speak,” he urged impatiently.
Leola’s mouth moved but she found no words. Only hours ago, she would have answered this question in the affirmative, without hesitation. But while the words fluttered in her chest, they would not come from her mouth.
“I… do… I cannot… I do not…” she stammered. “I do not… know what—I think I cannot!” she said, suddenly finding her voice. She looked at the ground. Why, when he had seemed so desirous of her, was he suddenly cold again? She was confused, as much by herself as by him.
“You said you are a maid, did you not?” he asked gruffly. “If that is all that your Southern marriages require, then you remain a maid still.”
Leola had no idea what to say. Her body throbbed with disappointment, the sudden wrenching of Sedrak’s touch from her skin. The pulse of her desire consumed her, drowned out all thoughts from her head.
She had displeased him again, and she did not know how. Or why she cared. This was madness.
Was this not cruelty?
“I… I… I do not…” she said.
“Tell me, do you wish to return to your terrible land, and your terrible uncle?”
She stared at him, her heart thumping in her chest with such force she could hear it in her ears.
“I do not… understand… I have… displeased—”
“No lies,” he growled. “Answer the question. Do you wish to return to your land?”
Leola was nearly crying with exasperation. “I do not… I do not know what you are asking of me, why you are asking this of me!” she cried. She also didn’t know why she was incapable of answering.
Sedrak’s face softened again. He touched her cheek, his fingers moving to her lips. Then his eyes narrowed.
