Eventually, Asher will be announced as the next CEO of Sanctum International.
And I’ll just be the woman he was once married to.
Another name on his list of submissives.
40
GRACE
Asher pulls me up to standing, my hands still bound behind my back, and I can feel the saliva that coats my lips.
"I'm going to spank you." His words land flat, matter of fact. "I'm assuming you've never been spanked before."
I shake my head.
"We'll start with ten," he tells me.
Ten doesn't seem like too many. I can handle that. Right?
Fear and want colliding, I nod. "Okay."
He stands, offering his hand. "Come here. Over my knee."
I step over to him, letting him guide me over his thighs.
My naked skin prickles against Asher's slacks as his palm rests heavy on my lower back. The air in his bedroom hangs thick, charged with the weight of what’s to come. My heart thuds against the mattress, pulse echoing in my ears. Vulnerability sinks into my bones, raw and exposed, every inch of me aware of his control.
"Color?" His voice cuts through, steady and low.
"Green." The word slips out, firm despite the tremor in my chest.
"Good." His hand lifts, hovering. "You'll count each one out loud. Understood?"
"Yes." I brace, muscles coiling.
The first smack lands across my right cheek, a crack that stings like fire blooming on skin. I gasp, body jerking forward. Heat radiates outward, sharp and immediate.
"One."
He pauses, fingers tracing the spot lightly. "Breathe through it."
The second follows, mirroring the first on my left. It burns deeper, the slap echoing off the walls. I clench my jaw, thighs pressing together.
"Two."
By the third, the sting layers, each breath pulling more air into my tightening lungs. My skin prickles, hot and alive.
"Three."
The fourth cracks harder, right in the center, sending a jolt up my spine. I wince, fingers digging into the sheets.
"Four."
The fifth overlaps the first, a white-hot flare that steals my breath. Pain throbs, insistent, but beneath it, wetness gathers between my legs. I pant, shifting, torn between the ache screamingstopand the pulse building low, craving more.
"Five."
Asher's hand stills, palm cupping the heated spot. "Why are you getting this, sugar?"
