Perfect. That nebulous idea she strived for but never quite seemed to reach. Warmth spread through her chest, not just at the words but the truth she could hear ringing in every syllable. “Thanks.”
“I was going to strip you entirely, but for now I think we’ll leave the stockings in place. They are an excellent touch.”
“Yeah?” She grinned up at him. “I thought so, too.”
“I’m going to have to buy you more. Maybe make you wear nothing but the stockings and this sexy little contraption holding them up around the house.”
The thought of being so on display for him had heat pooling low in her belly. “Maybe. If you’re a good boy.”
A low growl rumbled in her ear a moment before his hand fisted in her hair, tugging her head back. “Watch yourself, princess, or I’ll be forced to remind you who’s really in charge here.”
“Oh no, that sounds scary,” she shot back, keeping her voice deliberately bored despite the pounding of her pulse in her throat.
“My naughty little princess wants to be scared?” Another of those low, wicked chuckles reached her, sending a frisson of the fear she was pretending not to feel racing up her spine. “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
Taking her hand, he guided her… somewhere. And before she could even try to reorient herself, his hands were around her waist, lifting her in the air, the move startling a squeal of terror from her before she could even think to stop the sound.
Her knees hit something soft and leathery. The silver throne, she realized, the one that had looked not quite right for sitting but she hadn’t been given a chance to really figure out their first time in the room.
That same soft leather locked around one wrist, then the other, trapping her in place. Rather than an altar to be worshiped at, now she felt more like a sacrifice, bound and on display to appease some hedonistic god.
Appropriate, really.
When his hand cupped the soft flesh of her ass, she had to bite back a moan at the flash of pleasure between her thighs. “Sometime after the baby is born, I’ll bring you back here and introduce you to the violet wand. Lochlan is a fan of electrical play, and I’ve picked up a few things from him over the years.”
“You want to electrocute me?”
“Just a little bit.” His words dripped with amusement as he leaned in, dropping his voice to a low growl. “You did ask me to scare you, after all.”
Well, he’d certainly succeeded. But the idea didn’t horrify her as much as it should have. If anything, her clit was positively throbbing at the thought of him tying her down and making her scream as he ‘tortured’ her. “You’re going to have to try a bit harder than that, O’Rourke.”
The hand on her ass disappeared, and then there was an explosion of pain as his palm connected sharply with her bare skin. “What is my name when we’re in the club?”
Logic said she should be a good girl so he wouldn’t punish her anymore.
She wasn’t feeling very logical. “Master O.”
Several more swats landed, pulling a series of low whimpers from her as the burn spread across her entire backside. “Let’s try this again. What did I tell you to call me while we’re in the club?”
When she didn’t answer quickly enough, he landed another series of burning swats to her ass. Arousal dripped down her thighs as she gasped and squirmed on the chair. “Daddy! You said to call you Daddy or Sir!”
“Good girl.” His hand, which had been so punishing only a moment ago, stroked her aching flesh. “So, what do you call me?”
Again, logic and reason said to give in. To be a good girl so he would lavish her with praise and pleasure instead of more pain. And yet… “All right, Daddy-O. You win.”
Silence filled the room, and it took every bit of willpower she had not to burst into laughter. Even more so when he finally spoke. “Did you just call me Daddio?”
“Well, if everyone else calls you Master O then it makes sense I should call you Daddy O. Don’t you think?”
A dozen more swats fell, heating every inch of her ass while she fought not to squeal at the stinging pain. “I absolutely do not think you should call me anything of the sort, little girl. But keep being a fucking brat if you want. I promise your ass will wear out well before my hand or any of the implements hanging on that wall.”
“You can’t use those on a pregnant woman!”
“Not the paddles, perhaps. But the floggers and canes are fair play. I had Naomi check with Dr. Byrd this morning just to be sure.”
Fuck. She hadn’t taken any of that into consideration when she’d baited him. But she couldn’t very well back down now just because he’d upped the ante on her. “I’m not scared of you, Daddy-O.”
Time seemed to freeze around her, as if the very air itself was holding its breath, waiting to see what happened next.
