Page 24 of He Hate Me

I kick my feet immediately and he laughs, his smile almost indulgent.

“I meant I’ll stop and give you a breather. You need to take your punishment like a good girl, okay?”

I nod. My heart is thudding in my chest. Brandon reaches down and hooks his thumbs inside the elastic waistband of my pajama pants. He slides them down my legs, then over my feet. I’m left in nothing but a camisole and underwear.

“I’m going to spank you over your panties,” he says, “as a warmup.”

My forehead crinkles at his words. Spank me as a warmup? A warmup to what? He doesn’t appear to notice my reaction.

He flips me over so that I’m facedown across his lap and positions my arms so they’re resting above my buttocks. The cool air hits my bare skin and goosebumps rise across it. His hand rests lightly on my ass through my underwear, and it feels like a branding iron even before he starts spanking me.

Nothing happens for a moment, and I swear I can feel my skin tightening, the tiny hairs on my body standing up like there’s static in the air, and then his palm lands on my ass with a sting no sharper than the smack of a ruler against your bare arm. My skin doesn’t even warm, and my breath saws out of me like a soft sigh.

“One,” Brandon says.

I want to ask why he said that, but his hand comes down again and this time the pain sinks past my skin into the muscle below. It hurts less, in a way because there’s no sting, but also more deeply. The next swat comes as he keeps counting, this one fast and sharp on the fullest part of my butt, the next diffuse but forceful on the curve where it meets my thighs. He’s varying his technique, like he’s trying to keep me from getting comfortable, or maybe like he’s trying to figure out what works best. Whichever it is, my ass grows warmer with each blow, my skin starting to prickle and burn.

Now, when his palm lands, I can’t help jerking. He’s saying a number, but all I’m really aware of is the moment when his hand comes down and then the too-long anticipation of the next hit. Half a second or five, the intervals feel like a held breath, but when the waiting ends what blooms aren’t flowers, but pain, spreading over an area that grows more and more sensitized.

My ass isn’t warm now. It hurts. It really hurts, and each time he spanks me it gets worse. The room starts to spin a little bit. Tears leak out from behind my closed eyelids and drip onto the comforter below. So why does it feel almost…good?

“Breathe!” Brandon growls, sounding angrier than before. I gasp for air, sucking it in through my nose and willing myself not to cry too much. He may have control, but that doesn’t mean I have to let him see me weak. “And when I’m done, you’ll thank me for this.”

I glare at him through my tears. If looks could kill, he’d be reduced to ashes on the floor. He gives me a final sec to regain my composure before continuing. “You ready for the real punishment, princess?”

I should shake my head but I hesitate for a second too long, the desire for him to stop warring with anticipation of more. A desire for more? What’s wrong with me? It’s not even like I’m turned on right now. It’s just that the pain itself, every sharp blow, erupts like a little explosion of light behind my eyelids. Like something fascinating. And satisfying.

He wedges his fingers into the elastic of my panties and pulls them down to my knees. Cool air settles over my heated cheeks, and I can feel him staring at me, probably enjoying my humiliation. Vulnerability has never been my strong suit, but here I am, nearly naked in front of the guy I love to hate most. Well, maybe love isn’t exactly right... Lust? Hate lust?

His hand slowly extends toward the bedside table, his fingers wrapping around a wooden spoon. He takes his time repositioning me on his lap. “This is where you stay until I tell you otherwise,” he says, running the cool wood along my now bare bottom.

The first swat would have shifted me off his lap if it weren’t for Brandon’s grip on my waist. The spoon makes forceful contact with my ass, the pain more concentrated and intense than his hands. The second one stings just as bad, if not worse. It comes down again and again. I try to twist out of his hold, but his grip only tightens.

“Stay still,” he growls in my ear, before delivering another series of spanks. Tears stream down my cheeks faster now. The spoon lands on my cheeks again and again, creating a rhythm that would be almost hypnotic if it didn't hurt so damn much.

The pain builds, my nerve endings on fire as he covers every inch of my ass with hard, stinging swats. My muscles clench and unclench involuntarily. My toes clench, the pleasure-pain of it making my head spin. Another thwack makes me flinch and moan at the sting that shoots through me.

"You like that?" Brandon pauses, his breath hot against my ear. I shake my head, feeling his hand firm at my waist, but he doesn't believe me. He chuckles darkly before continuing. The pain is unbearable, but so, so good. And now, my hips across his thighs, his hardness poking my belly, everything gets twisted up in my head. Somehow his causing me pain becomes him causing me pleasure and his body being so close to mine turns something that shouldn't be sexual into something that is.

I'm getting turned on more and more each time the spoon bites into my skin. Brandon drags the spoon down the back of one thigh, his breathing heavy. The bowl is smooth and almost soothing as it slides up the inside of my thigh. Is this still punishment? He taps it lightly against the inside of my leg, and it feels like a threat. The edge is high up on my thigh and I'm acutely aware of how close it is to my vulnerable crotch. Without warning he delivers a stinging slap to my inner thigh. When I flinch, I feel him jerk against my belly. Another hard slap, this time to the crease of my ass, right where my thigh meets it and I'm super sensitive. He's not counting anymore, just bringing the spoon down on my tender skin. I jerk and try to close my legs, but he holds them apart.

He reaches up and peels the tape from my mouth, not gently this time. "How does it feel," he says, his voice rougher than before. "Tell me."

"It hurts," I snap, trying to wriggle away. He holds me fast, breathing as if he's been running and not just keeping me in place. I'm athletic, but my strength is no match for his. I hear something thud against the floor, his hot breath on my back.

"You don't like it?" he asks, his hand spanning my thigh, his thumbnail pressing lightly where he's just slapped me twice in quick succession. It feels like the sharp edge of a knife.

I should say yes. It should be easy to, but we both know it would be a lie. I can smell my wetness, and it's not my hand that's inches away from it. His sharp nail presses into my skin, the bite more thrilling than the pain of the spoon. It feels like a blade eager to breach my skin. My breathing is ragged now, too, matching his.

I can't deny it anymore—I'm hot, needy and soaked between my legs.

Brandon's breathing is labored as he lifts me onto my feet and presses himself against me from behind, his arousal evident. He grinds against me, his cock hard and throbbing against my ass. His hand glides down my side, gently caressing the same cheek he just spanked minutes ago. The pain has been joined with an insatiable need for him—a need that I can’t find the will to fight. He whispers in my ear, “Can I kiss you?”

Under the thrall of this unfamiliar feeling, I nod. Brandon traces my lips with his thumb. His lips are fierce and hungry when they meet mine. His tongue teases, devouring me like a starving man.

His hands roam, fondling my breasts through my thin camisole. He pinches my nipples, causing me to moan into his mouth, and the sting shoots straight to my core. The pain feels so damn good. His fingers slip under my shirt, finding my naked breast while his other hand cups my ass, squeezing the punished cheeks.

The pain and pleasure meld together into a sensation that lights up my body even as it shuts off my brain. I can't get enough of him—his taste, his touch. I have never in my life just done what I want like this, and it’s glorious. Our tongues twine together as he deepens the kiss, probing and exploring every inch of my mouth.