A low chuckle rumbled up my throat as I spun the knife on my palm. Cadence was no wilting flower. She wouldn’t make this easy on me.
Unfortunately for her, I reveled in the challenge.
I lowered the blade to her bodice, snagging the edge of her dress with the tip as I slowly cut the material from her body. My movements were precise, careful not to break her skin. By the time I was finished, her gown was in ribbons, and she lay bound and exposed before me.
My breath caught, because no matter how many times I saw her like this, the raw beauty of her naked form undid me.
“You are the most exquisite thing I have ever seen in my vast years on this plane, Temptress.”
I leaned forward, placing a kiss on her mound. She moaned as she shifted beneath me, and a wicked grin spread across my face.
“I will give you one chance to confess, sweet Cadence.”
My eyes moved to hers. She turned her face away from me, her lips pressing into a thin line, announcing her refusal.
I wasn’t angry. I preferred it this way.
“Very well.”
I dragged the flat edge of the blade along the inside of her thigh, watching as goosebumps rose across her skin. Sheshivered despite herself, and I didn’t miss the way her breathing quickened.
“Why don’t we start with Lord Barrington?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Her voice was steady, but her pulse hammered against her throat.
Stubborn woman.
I traced the dagger higher, letting it press against her folds. This time, she couldn’t hide her reaction. Cadence whimpered, her teeth sinking into her plump bottom lip to stifle the sound.
But it was too late. That one murmur betrayed her desire.
Cadence wasn’t afraid of my depravity, she welcomed it. My wife took everything I gave her, meeting me in the darkness where she belonged.
“I know you killed him, Temptress. I want to know why.”
When Cadence remained silent, I clicked my tongue, flipping the dagger around so that I held the blade instead of the hilt. I dragged the handle along her entrance, parting her glistening lips, and coating the metal with her arousal.
Cadence sucked in a breath, and I pushed the dagger inside her.
Her back arched off the bed, my shadows straining against her wrists, holding her in place. I thrust the hilt deeper, watching her body respond to my invasion. As I twisted the handle, her face contorted with unwilling pleasure, and her hips rocked against the knife in search of more.
The sight of her writhing against the blade had my cock straining painfully against my leathers. This was supposed to be a punishment for her, but I was being tortured right alongside her.
“I’m not hearing your confession,” I said, as I leaned down to capture her earlobe between my teeth once more. “Tell me why you ended him.”
I thrust the dagger deeper, and Cadence’s eyes fluttered closed. A moan escaped her before she could stop it.
“You’re so fucking wet for me, wife. Even when you’re defying me.”
She buried her face in the pillow, but I caught the flush spreading across her chest, the way her nipples tightened into hard buds.
Withdrawing the blade, I brought the hilt to my lips, and her taste exploded on my tongue. I groaned, readjusting myself as I returned the dagger to her entrance.
With slow, shallow thrusts, I fucked her with the handle. My palm was slick with blood from the many cuts I’d inflicted, but I hardly felt them. Cadence bucked and writhed, trying to force the knife deeper, but I kept it in place. Pleasure bloomed with each thrust, but it wasn’t enough to send her over the edge.
She hadn’t earned that yet.
