Kayden's fingers find my chin, tipping my face toward him. His gaze is dark, burning, molten with something that looks like possession. His fangs have dropped, barely restrained.
"That's it," he murmurs, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. "Feel it."
Crack.
A third strike, perfectly placed. My eyes widen. The sound I make is more guttural, deeper. Kayden watches my expression,the tremble of my lips, the shiver that ripples down my back. I know he's drinking it all in like a substitute for blood.
"Three," I say, louder this time.
Asher doesn't speak. Doesn't waver. He delivers the punishment with the same unwavering rhythm, neither cruel nor kind. Just controlled.
Crack.
"Four," I gasp, the sting sharper now.
My skin feels fever-hot where he's marked me, the pain building into something else. Not just tolerance, but a craving. The ache inside me blooms like a bruise, dark, aching and somehow right.
Crack.
The fifth lands lower, right across the tender backs of my thighs. I cry out, the jolt sparking arousal that feels forbidden.
"Five," I choke out, tears rising.
There's a pause.
Kayden leans in, his lips brushing my ear. His hand ghosts down, tracing the welts, his touches both reverent and cruel.
"You think you can make two vampires fall for you, rip their hearts out, and just… walk away without paying for it?" he whispers, his voice low and dangerous. "That's not how this works, sunshine."
His palm presses over one of the welts, applying just enough pressure to make me flinch. Satisfaction simmers in his eyes, and something inside me answers.
This dark edge they both carry—the way Asher dominates with silence and precision, the way Kayden devours with heat and chaos—speaks to a part of me I've barely let breathe. The part that doesn't want to escape even when it hurts.
It wants to be claimed. It wants more.
Kayden's hand continues sliding over my welted skin, his touch a cruel caress, both soft and taunting. Every stroke ignitesthe nerves Asher just punished, sending electricity across my body. I'm trembling not just from pain and arousal, but from the weight of their presence, from the way they hold me in the moment.
Crack.
The sixth strike lands, and I cry out sharper. My grip on the bedpost tightens, knuckles white.
"Six," I gasp, my voice cracking.
Kayden's lips press to my shoulder, heat and fangs grazing. "You take pain beautifully," he murmurs, tongue flicking over my skin. "Makes me wonder what else you'll take for us."
Crack.
"Seven," I breathe, my thighs clenching, legs shaking. It lands on a fresh spot, high and searing. I can feel how raw my skin must be now and still… I want more.
Kayden moves to the other side of me, his hand curling in my hair, pulling my head back until I'm looking up at him. His eyes glow with something feral.
"You want us to forgive you?" he says, voice a low rumble. "Then earn it."
Crack.
"Eight." My voice is barely audible. My body jerks, spine arching.
His hand doesn't leave my hair, holding me still as Asher delivers another.
