Page 216 of Safe Word

‘Green?’ he asked, lower.

Relief and something warm, something irrevocable washed over me. For all his rage, for all his ferocity, he was still making sure I enjoyed every second of this torture. It took all of my strength not to rip the fabric out of my mouth and kiss him. But this was a game. This was a punishment. And I would let him have it. I would revel in it.

Because I needed it, too.

Nodding, unable to speak, I closed my eyes as he rolled his hips harder into me.

‘Cry.’ The command curled through me, low and unwavering, as he dragged the belt over my skin again like a slow, teasing caress – before—

Crack!

Number three landed. The force rocked me forward, my knees trembling as my body betrayed me, caught between pain and pleasure, between defiance and submission.

The leather burned on the outside, but the ache in my belly was more vibrant than the pain. It dragged a moan from somewhere dark and desperate. I hated how much I needed the next one.

He leaned in, his breath a warm ghost against my ear.

‘Cry for me, little angel.’

I wasn’t far from it. Emotion and sensation tangled, twisting like a vice from within. My body pressed back against him of its own accord, seeking more.

‘You’re only allowed to cry for me, is this clear? Nod,’ he said. And I tilted my head. ‘You’ll never cry for anyone else. Just for me. Cry.’ The word was followed with the fourth snap over my thigh. And my tears spilt. He leaned his cheek against mine, bathing in the dampness of my own, his rhythm quicker. I moved slightly against him.

Cain inhaled sharply, the ragged sound of a man unravelling, his control unravelling thread by thread.

I moved again, just a slight shift, a slow roll of my hips, and his restraint shattered entirely.

His hand slammed into the wall beside mine, the belt still coiled in his grip, grazing plaster like a threat not yet released. His other hand seized my hips, yanking me back against the length of him.

A guttural curse tore from his throat as I ground against him, satisfaction breaking over me in waves every time he filled me.

And then – he lost it.

His grip tightened, his body caging mine as he took what was his – no gentleness, no order, just pure possession – steadfast and absolute.

A strangled sound wrenched out of me, pleasure and pain crashing together in a violent rush as he fucked me hard. The echo of our bodies meeting in this beautiful darkness crawled beneath my skin and took root.

Each thrust landed like a heartbeat, reminding me exactly who I belonged to.

The sting of the earlier punishment mingled with the sheer force of him.

Then the belt dropped, discarded. An afterthought. His fingers found my chin, turning my face to him, his breath hot against my cheek as he yanked the silk from my lips.

‘You going to lie to me again?’

The words were a growl, vibrating against my skin as his teeth scraped over my pulse, as if branding me from the inside out.

I could feel him everywhere – the heat of him, the weight of him, the way he held me, in the delicious way he tore me apart.

His grip never loosened. If anything, it tightened, his fingers branding my skin as though marking, claiming, holding me exactly where he wanted – where I needed to be.

The last threads of his control unravelled with every punishing, relentless motion. My body clung to him, pleasure so sharp it blurred into something darker – something consuming. Every nerve burned, stretched taut, trapped in the exquisite agony of too much, not enough.

‘I never lied.’ The words broke from me in a gasp. Desperate.

Cain groaned, raw, half-feral. His teeth grazed my jaw before biting down, sharp enough to sting, to punish me one last time.

‘I believe you,’ he whispered.