"Do you have any idea the danger you'd put yourself in? We could have lost you!" His voice broke on the last sentence.
My eyes burned with the tears I refused to shed. I couldn't take this. It was too much. With every minute my punishment continued my guilt somehow became less but my hunger... only grew.
"And lastly," his hand pressed low on my back, holding me still, his voice roughening, "for making us worry for your safety, for tearing us apart with the thought we might never see you again."
The final smack landed, fierce and resonant, leaving me gasping. Then his hand stayed, cupping the heated flesh with a tenderness that undid me completely.
"There now, Lisa, darling. It's all over. You took your punishment so well."
The words of praise were so contradictory to what I'd just endured... enjoyed... that my shocked gaze jumped up to him to see him smiling at me. Not with cruelty but with a soft pride that made my chest burn.
Leighton leaned forward, eyes shimmering with emotion, and brushed the damp hair from my brow. He lifted me with practiced ease and set me on my feet as though I were preciousand breakable. "Come, love,' he murmured, fussing with the hem of my sleeve before taking my hand in his.
Magnus's fingers lingered once more at the small of my back before he stood, a slow exhale escaping him. "Now that's done, sweet little filly, we can reward you for being such a good girl," he said, the promise in his voice sending another shiver down my spine. "Time to take care of you."
I didn't want to feel this way. Didn't want to be a hungry, achy mess. But he was right.
After my punishment, Ididfeel better. Most of my angst and guilt had somehow taken a hike. But there was still something left unsaid...
"I—" I paused and swallowed past the lump in my throat. "I owe you both?—"
Leighton silenced me with a kiss to the forehead. "No need, love," he said softly. "Everything is forgiven. Now we'll retire to our rooms, and take proper care of you."
They led me down a short corridor to a large suite that was obviously the master bedroom. Leighton shut the door and drew the curtains, and for an instant the world narrowed to the soft glow of the lamp and the two men who had reshaped my life.
I knew I should be nervous, or at the very least rethinking my life choices, but I couldn't make myself care.
All I wanted in that moment was to be owned. By my Daddies.
All Ineededwas to be ruined. Ruined in the best way possible.
Proper society and its perceptions be damned.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The room was dark, the only source of light a gas lamp in the corner on a small table. The fire was banked, but there wasn't much need for it anyway. Not with how hot I felt already.
My body was flushed, my skin itchy and my coreaching. If I weren't fully aware where all these feelings were coming from, I'd have been worried I was coming down with something.
But I knew.
I knew, and I wasmorethan ready for the antidote.
As ready as I was though, it didn't take away the nerves building in the pit of my stomach.
Magnus stepped up behind me, his hands working on the laces of my dress as his mouth came to my neck, his hot breath sending a shiver down my spine. "You've been so good for us, little filly. Now it's time for your Daddies to be good to you."
Resting my head against Leighton's shoulder in front of me, I closed my eyes and lost myself to the sensation of his hands on my back. The loosening of the dress and then the corset before he slipped the dress from my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.
Leighton's chest rumbled with a soft growl. "I've been dreaming of this soft, silken skin."
Two, rough, warm hands clasped around my waist, steadying me as Magnus's mouth feathered across the nape of my neck. Leighton's palms slid lower, patient and adoring as if he were unwrapping something precious.
"Daddy." The word was soft and reverent as I lost myself to the sensation of hands on me.
"Look at her tremble," Leighton murmured against my hair, voice threaded with a want and need that echoed my own. He eased me backward until my back pressed against Magnus, anchoring me. "So ready and eager for her Daddies to show her everything."
My only response was to take a deep, steadying breath. The ache between my legs tightened, urgent and raw. I had told myself I'd be brave, that I'd be able to justdothis. But in the moment, even with all the crazy emotions and sensations building inside me, the biggest part of me was still worried that this would go wrong.
