Page 169 of Villainous Rise

I guided her to the center of the room, raising her arms to strap her wrists into the padded leather cuffs of the suspended spreader bar. I knelt, securing her ankles to the bar bolted to the floor. Spread wide, she was a perfect canvas waiting to be ruined.

I positioned myself behind her, forcing her to stare at her own reflection. At the way her body was displayed.

“You hid yourself behind another man’s ring tonight,” I said, my voice low and vicious in her ear. “You hid yourself behind fake smiles. You pretended to be something you’re not.”

She glanced down and I gripped her jaw, forcing her head up to meet her own eyes in the mirror.

“You’re going to fucking watch yourself. You’re going to see who you really are when all those lies are stripped away.”

At the wall of instruments, my hand hovered over the heavy leather paddle before wrapping around the grip. I carried it to the steel table beside her and set it down with a deliberate clack. Her spine snapped straight at the sound.

I stepped up behind her and caught her breasts, squeezing the soft flesh before pinching her nipples hard. I tugged them sharply and Annie cried out, her back arching, grinding her ass against my cock.

“Look at yourself,” I commanded. “Watch how your body responds to me.”

I dragged my hands down her stomach to slip them between her thighs. She was already soaking wet for me. I slid two fingers deep inside her, hooking upward, and her hips jerked.

“See that?” I pumped my fingers into her cunt, watching her reflection. “That’s not the perfect little Keeper. That’s a woman who needs to be fucked. A woman who needs to be fucking owned.”

She tried to close her eyes, tried to escape what she was seeing.

“Eyes open, Sparks,” I warned, nipping her shoulder. “You’re going to watch every second of what I do to you. You’re going to see yourself come all over my fingers, on my cock. No more hiding.”

I worked her faster, my thumb circling her clit.

She whimpered as she climbed closer to the edge, her inner muscles beginning to flutter around my fingers.

I pulled my hand away and she slumped forward against the bar with a frustrated sound.

“Truce,” I said, the word tasting like ash in my mouth. “That’s your safeword, same as before. It’s the only mercy I’ll allow you tonight.”

I didn’t wait for her to acknowledge it. I picked up the paddle from the table, tested the weight of it in my palm, and brought it down hard across her right cheek.

Crack.

Annie sucked in a gasp, her body jerking sharply. Her ass flushed red instantly. I didn’t give her a second to recover. I swung again and again, the heavy leather biting into her flesh.

After the fourth strike, I dropped the paddle and plunged my fingers back inside her cunt. She gasped, her head falling back as the sharp sting of the leather melted into the crushing wave of pleasure.

“Look at how wet you are,” I said, my voice rough as I pumped into her. “Look at your cunt dripping down your thighs while I mark your ass. This is who you really are, Sparks. Not that pristine Keeper in her pressed uniform. This.”

I curled my fingers inside her, finding that spot that made her legs shake. Her whimpers turned into hungry little moans, her hips rolling shamelessly against my hand.

“That’s it,” I murmured. “Fuck my fingers. Show yourself what a desperate thing you become for me.”

Then I pulled out and grabbed the paddle again.

Crack.

“This is for letting that fucker put his hands on you,” I snarled, bringing the leather down again. Crack. “For wearing his ring.” Another strike, harder. “For playing the perfect little Alliance pet while your pussy was already wet thinking about me.”

I stepped close, pressing my chest to her back. “How many strikes is it going to take for you to forget all about Valor?” I asked. “How many strikes will it take to erase his hands from your skin?”

She shook her head. “Don’t stop,” she begged, the words tumbling out in a desperate gasp. “Please, Cipher. Don’t stop.”

I dropped the paddle and it clattered against the table. My fingers wrapped around the stiff, unforgiving handle of the riding crop. I dragged the leather tip slowly across her skin, tracing the dip of her waist, watching as she shivered.

“I know you can take this,” I whispered. “The pain will bloom across your skin like art. My mark on you.” I trailed the tip of the crop along her spine, watching goosebumps follow in its wake. “Beautiful. Fucking perfect.”