Page 21

B rynn had no idea the truth in my words, and if I could help it, she never would. It wasn’t as if she actually believed me right now, and I guess with the way I’d been acting around her lately, it made sense for her to think I was simply teasing. Another truth was that I never kidded about anything, even before I had become the monster I now knew myself to be. Before Aria had lost her life at my hands. Before Blair. Before what could be several others I didn’t want to think about at this time.

I needed a distraction more for her than for me. The last thing I needed was for her to pry which was a natural thing to do. After all, I had taken her to dinner then back to my place to decorate a godforsaken Christmas tree. The very sight of it made me want to hurl it off the balcony of my penthouse, but as I’d done with the miniature sized monstrosity in my office, I’d keep it long enough to humor her. As soon as I woke up on Christmas, it would be sent away to become mulch.

“You’ve gotten quiet. Is everything okay?” She asked.

I looked over at her, then gave a slight nod before answering her. “I was thinking about something.”

“You were thinking about how great this tree looks in this space, and how you might want to reconsider your stance on a year-round tree?”

This time, I could tell she was teasing me, but I narrowed my eyes at her. “Absolutely not. If you want to know what I was thinking about, I will tell you.”

I shut up at that moment, and she arched one brow at me. “And that would be?”

I closed the distance between us, and when just a hairsbreadth apart, I grinned down at her upturned face. “On second thought, it might be better to show you.” Before she could say anything in response, I grabbed her throat but didn’t squeeze.

At least not at first. I heard the sharp hitch in her breath the second my long fingers wrapped around her neck. Brynn was very responsive which was something I’d always liked in a masochist. Their pain and pleasure would usually drown out the sound of my own miserable thoughts. Granted, they’d become fewer and farther between in recent weeks, and the only change in my life had been...

“You,” I rasped as I stared down into her eyes.

“What about me?” She asked, her voice somewhat strained as she tried to speak despite my hand cutting off part of her air supply.

“I have no idea what it is that you’ve been doing to me, but it’s time to either reward or punish you for it, Karma.”

Something flared in her eyes at the mention of her username. A soft moan also escaped and I closed my eyes. I was instantly reminded of the different nights we’d spent at Lotus together and even some of the things we’d done in my office.

My cock hardened more than it already was, and I knew I had to have her. Tonight. Now. A feral need to possess her overcame me, and I tightened my grip on her neck at the exact moment my mouth came down on hers. Ever the obedient submissive, her lips parted to allow me entry, and I took it.

My tongue swirled against hers as I drew it into my mouth, nipped down on it, before releasing it. She brought her dainty hands to my arms, gripping them before letting me go, and I knew she was waiting for some instruction. I never had sex without it, except with her. The worst part was that I likely needed it more with her than with anyone else in my entire fucking life. Recognizing that, I tore my mouth from hers, then released my hold on her neck allowing her to suck in large mouthfuls of oxygen.

“Get on your goddamned knees,” I instructed, then watched as she quickly dropped down onto them.

Brynn’s submission was beautiful, and no matter how many times and ways I’d taken her, she was still so damned innocent. Large doe eyes looked up at me for a brief second or two before she dropped her head.

I reached down to tousle some of the dark silk, and found myself wanting nothing more than to wrap it around my wrist as I fucked her. She’d also look damn good on her knees with my cock in her mouth, but I didn’t want that right now. I wanted to be inside of her, but even that would have to wait.

After removing my T-shirt, I spied the desk chair off to the side. I moved over and sat down, steadily watching her as I did so. To Brynn’s credit, she remained in place like a good...

“Good girl, Brynn.”

The voice was my own, but the woman was very different from the one on her knees. Or were they? Blair Carter had tried to change me... To make me something I wasn’t... And as I continued to stare at Brynn, I realized I was changing into someone I didn’t even recognize anymore, and all on my own. Sure, this submissive provided the inspiration, but was that all it was?

Unwilling to even entertain the idea of this being anything more than a genuine sense of caring for a woman who’d been through a lot in recent months, I shut off all thoughts except the ones I needed to focus on. As those took precedence, the need to taste her became overwhelming.

“Come here, Karma,” I instructed, and the moment she went to get onto her feet, I growled. “No, crawl to me.”

Brynn looked over at me, then fell forward onto her hands. I watched as she crawled as instructed, and I smirked when she reached me. From there, I extended one hand out to her which she took, then tugged her onto her feet.

“Take your clothes off for me.”

The instruction was simple enough, and as she started to remove her own clothes, I rose up from the chair enough to pull my sweatpants off. I did remember to keep the condom within arm’s reach, then I returned my focus to Brynn who had just taken off her last piece of clothing.

“Spread your legs,” I told her as I tapped the inside of her thigh. Once she did, I brought two fingers through her already wet slit. “This pussy is made to be touched... To be toyed with... To be tasted,” I told her while watching her lips part.

I quickly thrust three fingers inside of her, and this time, she did moan aloud. Since I knew exactly where and how to touch Brynn in order to get her off, I curved the tips then began to stroke her to the very edge. Once there, I quickly removed my fingers which earned me a frustrated sigh.

“You remember your safe word?” I asked her, and she quickly rattled it off to me. “Very good.”

There was a hint of a smile on her face, and as I slowly dropped my gaze, my eyes narrowed in on her breasts. They were not the largest I’d ever played with, but they were the perfect size for my hands. As I brought both to them, I squeezed roughly until she gasped.

“These tits are missing something,” I told her, and when I looked back up at her, I could sense her confusion. “They need to be adorned with jewelry, and I know the perfect kind for a festive night like tonight.” Her eyes widened, and I chuckled. “If we were at Lotus, I’d pierce them right now, but I can’t here because I don’t have everything need.”

Her relief was visible and had me grinning wider. She might’ve avoided one kind of pain, but she wouldn’t completely avoid another. Sliding backward enough to rise from the chair, I got out of it and walked back over to the table which still contained several ornaments. Two of the small bulbs would be gorgeous hanging from her nipples, but I’d have to go with a plan B.

I picked up two of the bows which had a metal clip on each. I also grabbed an extra string or two of lights, as well as some natural looking garland. The last thing I grabbed on my way back over to her was my belt which I had removed not long after returning home.

She slightly trembled the moment she saw the items in my arms fall onto my nearby desk. I picked up the two bows, then took my seat once more. As I held them in one hand, I crooked my finger at her with my other. As soon as she came closer, I leaned in and quickly covered one of her nipples with my mouth.

I wasn’t gentle with her as I laved my tongue around the taut bud, then clamped down on it with my teeth. “Adrian,” she whispered. I ignored her breathless word and continued to assault her nipple before tugging it with my teeth enough to clamp it with the metal clip from one of the bows. The second the teeth closed down on it, she cursed under her breath.

“You haven’t even begun to feel pain tonight,” I warned her as I quickly prepared and clamped the other nipple in the same fashion. Once done, I leaned back and flicked the fabric bow with my fingers. “Move over to the pillar near the window, then turn toward it and raise one of your legs.”

She hesitated which made me slap the outside of her thigh. That got her moving, and as she scrambled to follow my order, I picked up the string of holly garland. There had to have been at least ten or twelve feet of the damn stuff. I would certainly have enough to do what I wanted to do with her tonight.

Just like I would do with rope, I knelt down and started at the one ankle, before slowly wrapping the greenery around both her and the pillar, making sure to leave ample space between rows so I could later mark her. I had my belt, but I also wanted to mark her in another way as well.

I reached the apex of her thighs, then I rose back up so that I could go and retrieve a large butcher’s knife from the expensive marble block on my counter. I always liked to test the weight and sharpness first, so as I lightly touched the edge, I knew it was perfect. This type of utensil was different than those I used at Lotus, but it felt very familiar nonetheless. As unwanted thoughts of why started to creep back into my head, I shut them down with the force of a door.

I returned and cut off the remainder of it, leaving only enough to tie it to the top row of holly. I raised her other leg a bit higher so she would have to strain to stay in that position, then I made quick work of wrapping the garland around that leg and pillar too.

I dropped what was left of it to the floor, then brought the strings of light over to her. I spent the next several minutes getting it wrapped around her – from head to toe- then plugged it into the nearby electrical outlet.

She was now encased in light and shining even brighter than she ever had before. This submissive was the light to my darkness, only she could never know it. If I told her how much she had come to mean to me over the course of these last several months, it would destroy everything. It would especially destroy me.

I moved away from her, then back to the table to get one last bow. This time, I pulled her hair behind her, and pinned it up like I had done to so many other women at Lotus. After, I stepped back to admire my handiwork. She was a stunning beauty, but there was too much light in here.

I quickly remedied that by turning off every light in the penthouse, leaving only the brightness of the stars and the clear string lighting to illuminate the place. As she stayed tied in place, I quickly sheathed my cock with the condom, then brought both the knife and belt over to her. The blade was placed on the floor as I cracked the heavy leather strap behind her.

Brynn flinched more than once, and it wouldn’t be the last time I’d make her do so tonight. I stepped back, then brought the belt forward to strike her ass. She cried out, unable to do more. Her hands and legs were tied to the pillar, and she couldn’t even drop her head forward. There was nothing more she could do than take what I had to give her.

I smirked at that, then cleared my throat. “Get ready to count, and don’t miss a single number or else we’ll start back over.”