“I liked it,” she blurted out before she could talk herself out of it or second-guess her decision.
“Liked what?”
“The pain,” she admitted softly, timidly, nothing like the girl who had once boldly joined a club none of her family knew aboutand took what she needed without shame. “I wasn't shaking because I was cold. I was shaking because I was turned on.”
Those violet eyes studied her, trying to figure out if she was telling him the truth or trying to spare his feelings.
The thing was, though, for once in her life she was putting her own feelings first.
No one could deny she was spoiled, with six big brothers it happened, but she’d always been a people pleaser, always looking for ways to ease others’ burdens, to make them smile and laugh, and bring a little brightness to their day. Sometimes, in doing that, she lost herself a little along the way. Learned to keep quiet when she should have spoken up, to portray the character she believed others wanted her to play.
It was time she stopped acting and became comfortable being herself.
“Smell me,” she ordered.
“Smell you?”
“So you can see I'm telling you the truth. I like it rough, Dragon. I'm sorry I can't be the sweet and innocent girl you want. I can't get off that way. I've tried, it doesn’t work. I need more. I need to be held down, need my partner to take what they want. I want to feel pain, I want to feel dominated, I want to have my body used in the most deliciously dark ways. I want to see bruises the next morning, I want to see my blood paint my skin red. I want someone to take control and use me.”
Her rambled words hung between them like a barrier. Cassandra braced herself for the coming disbelief, then disgust as she described the horrors her mother had lived through and admitted that she liked it. Not what had happened to her mom, that was wrong, and she fully understood the difference between rape and consent. Her mom hadn't given consent, and no one had stopped when she said no. That wasn't what turned her on, Cassandra never wanted to go through what her mom hadsuffered. But she wanted to hand over her consent and her trust for someone to do whatever they wanted with her body, then experience the intimacy on the other side through aftercare and cuddling.
It was too much to ask.
She was being greedy.
Hoping for the impossible.
Then all of a sudden, the arm bracing her backside moved and Dragon’s hand circled her neck, while keeping her wrists pinned to his chest. The only thing keeping her from slipping to the ground was Dragon’s big body pressed against hers, trapping her against the tree trunk. The bark pressed harder into her skin, and she sighed as that fire between her legs raged.
Leaning in, he touched his nose to her neck, behind her ear, and she felt him drag in her scent. Trailing down the column of her throat, he shifted the hand around her neck enough that the tip of his nose could brush across her pulse point.
When he pulled back, the hand on her neck tightened. “You enjoy pain,” he said like he almost couldn’t dare to hope that it was true. But that couldn’t be right, could it? Dragon liked herbecausehe thought she was soft and sweet.
Nodding as best she could with his hand pinning her in place. “I-it’s wrong,” she stammered.
“Wrong?” Dragon cocked his head, his expression clearly demanding an explanation.
“My mom was … and I like it …”
Cutting her off with a snarl. “It’s not the same, and you know it. Consent means everything, little rabbit.”
“Before I learned about my mom, I used to agree. I knew it was different, even if people might not get it. But then I found out how I was conceived, and now it’s … wrong. I'm wrong. There’s something wrong with?—”
“If you finish that sentence, it’s going to come with a punishment,” Dragon warned as the hand on her neck tightened until she could barely draw in any air.
Instead of panicking, her body heated all over again until she could hardly stand it. Cassandra whimpered as her hips sought any sort of friction that would help.
“You need some pain, little rabbit?” Dragon asked as the hand pinning her wrists let go and grabbed one of her breasts, kneading it harshly before pinching her nipple and making her yelp.
The sting seemed to send little electrical currents straight between her legs, and she whimpered again, needing a whole lot more than he was giving her.
“You really like that.” There was wonder in his tone as though he had never considered this as a possibility, and yet was so glad it was.
“Mmhmm.” She nodded, feeling both heavy with desire as well as light with lust.
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a pair of plastic zip ties, making her laugh.
“Why do you have those on you?”
