“No problem at all. We just needed to confirm you’re okay. Since you’re an adult, you’re absolutely within your rights to take some space. Just to be thorough, I need to ask. Are you safe right now and able to speak freely?”
I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. The officer means well, it’s not his fault that my parents are freaks. “Yes, Officer. I’m absolutely safe and right where I’m supposed to be. Thank you for checking, though.”
“It’s my job, ma’am. Thank you for confirming you’re safe. If anything changes, don’t hesitate to reach out. Have a good rest of your day.”
Sighing, I get on my knees in front of Mikhail and offer him the phone back. He takes it and turns it off. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
He smirks. “You’re the one who’s in trouble here, Doll. Good job on the phone. Later, we’ll call your parents, too, to tell them you’re quitting school and moving away. And if they cause more trouble, I’ll deal with them. Don’t worry,” he adds at my startled look, “I won’t kill them. I haven’t even killed the fucking little twink you kissed. I’m just…rehoming him.”
Oh damn, I hope I didn’t get poor Justin in trouble. And what’s that aboutrehominghim? “He’s not—”
“He’ll be just fine, and this is the last we’re talking about him, is that clear? Now…” He grabs the coiled rope, a wicked smile spreading over his face. “Let’s get to the fun part, shall we?”
Chapter 40
Grace
Even after spending what feels like ages in a scalding shower, a shiver crawls up my spine as I watch Mikhail uncoil the rope. At the same time, my pussy clenches and I resist the urge to rub my thighs together to ease my need. Knowing my Master, I won’t be getting any relief for a long time, and that’s okay, because I deserve a punishment.
“I apologize for doubting you again, Master,” I say, keeping my head down.
Hooking a finger under my chin, Master makes me look up, and the hurt in his eyes punches the air out of me. “I fucking love you, Grace. You’re it for me. I burned down the world for you. There’s no way I’m ever leaving you, whether you want it or not.”
“I… Y-you…” I stutter, my brain stuck on the first sentence. He loves me? Like, really loves me? Oh my god. “I love you too, Mikhail. You’re my whole world, and when I thought I’d never see you again, I just lost myself. I really am sorry for hurting you, and I only hope that one day, you’ll be able to forgive me.” I don’t want to think about the alternative.
“Oh, Grace.” Sighing, Master cups my face and kisses me, his lips meeting mine for a brief moment before he pulls away again. I whimper and follow his mouth, but he stops me. “No. Punishment first. I need to hurt you, Grace. I need your tears. I need you to fucking understand that you’re mine, forever, and that nothing is going to change that. Get on the bed.”
“I’m yours, Master,” I promise as I climb onto the soft sheets. Mikhail directs me to lie on my stomach and then ties my hands to the headboard and my feet, spread apart, to the foot of the bed. Taking a deep breath, I relax the best I can. The strikes will only hurt more on tense muscles.
The leather creaks as Master wraps the end of the belt around his hand. “As much as I’d love to hear your screams, I don’t think other hotel guests would appreciate them, so keep it quiet. You may cry, but nothing louder than that. I will have all your lovely screams later when we move to our house. Ready?”
“Yes, Master.” No sooner do I say the word than the belt lands on my thighs. There’s no gradual warm-up, just firm, stinging strikes as the leather lands on my skin again and again. I whimper and cry, biting into the sheets to muffle the screams needing to escape.
“You’re mine, Doll,” Mikhail repeats, punctuating every word with a strike. “Mine. Forever. I can’t fucking believe you doubted me again. And that you went and kissed someone!” I cry out as the belt lands on an already existing welt. “Jesus fucking Christ, Doll! If you’re going to start kissing other men the second I letyou out of my sight, I will chain you to a fucking wall and never let you out again, is that clear?”
“I-I’m s-sorry,” I whimper, overwhelmed by the sharp pain. Easing back on the strikes, Mikhail moves to my back, leaving no part of my body untouched. Grateful for the brief reprieve from the punishing strikes, I stutter out, “I-I thought you weren’t coming back. I couldn’t… I didn’t know what to do. Nothing felt real. I needed… I needed something. To feel something,” I say, desperate for him to understand. “I felt like I was going to vanish if I— ARGH!” I scream out when a brutal strike lands on my ass. Something wet and hot trails down my skin.
“If you didn’t fuck someone?” Master grits out.
Grinding the sheets between my teeth, I swallow another cry. “N-no, Master, I swear. I just needed to feel. I needed you. And you weren’t there,” I add quietly. It’s a bad idea to mouth off when he’s already angry, but I can’t keep that hurt inside. Yes, I made a mistake and did something stupid, but I’m not the only one to blame. I needed him, and he wasn’t here.
I expect shouting and more pain, so his sigh catches me off guard. “I know, Doll,” Mikhail replies, sadness seeping into his voice. “I’m sorry for that, but there was no other way. However, I didn’t know I had to state the ‘do not kiss or fuck other men’ rule out loud! If we ever get separated in the future, not that I plan on letting you out of my sight for even a fucking second, you will not even look at other men. Or women. Is that clear? You won’t kiss or touch anyone, and if you even think about fucking someone else, I’ll kill you, then kill myself, then fuck your ghost for all eternity.”
“Yes, Master,” I whimper, powerful emotions making my heart swell. He loves me. He wants to be with me forever. Why do I keep doubting it? Is it because my parents never seemed to love or even like me? I grew up thinking I was unworthy of love unless I worked really hard for it, and Mikhail’s unconditionalacceptance seems baffling to me, but there’s no doubt it’s real. Even now, angry with me, he gently runs his hands over my swollen skin. He even apologized, for god’s sake! No one has ever apologized to me. “I love you,” I whisper, because it’s true, and it needs to be said. It needs to be said every day for the rest of our lives.
“I love you too, silly Doll,” Master replies affectionately. “Now, roll over.”
He unties my legs so that I can roll onto my back. The pain shooting through me as I put weight on my bruised backside makes me hiss through my teeth, but I’m grateful for it, because Mikahil’s smiling now. He’s not done punishing me, but he’s not angry anymore, which is all that matters. The restraints come back, and I cry through another round of belt spanking. My thighs and tits bear the brunt of this round and, while Mikhail is being gentle compared to when he was spanking my ass, I know I will feel the welts for days.
I know better than to feel relief when he finally drops the belt, and with good reason because instead of untying me, Mikhail grabs the short cane. “Are you wet, Doll?” he asks, running the blunt tip between my soaked pussy lips. “For me, or for someone else?”
“For you!” I exclaim, squirming as I try to get some friction on my clit. “Always for you, Master.”
“I should hope so.”
I cry out when he brings the cane down on my pussy, my arousal roaring to life at the same time as the pain hits me. Laughing, Mikhail adds a few lighter strikes on my mound before untying one of my legs.
At the first strike of the cane on my sole, I instinctively try to jerk away, but Mikhail grips my ankle, refusing to let me escape. The pain is different from when he hit my ass. Even though the strikes aren’t as hard, they still hurt terribly, as if I’d stepped onhot coals. I struggle and squirm, my sobs echoing in the room, but Mikhail doesn’t relent until every square inch of my sole is screaming in pain. Then he moves to the other foot. At that point, I’m incoherently begging for him to stop. “Please. Please, Master. It’s…it’s too much. Please. Stop, please, I can’t handle it!”
