My resolve wavered as I watched Reed carry off his distressed sub. Maybe my plans to push Lydia were misguided.

“What’s wrong, Master?”

I leaned into her touch without a thought. Her soft fingertips felt so damn good brushing against my rough five o’clock shadow.

No. I couldn’t bear to watch her go through something like what Reed had just done to Katie. I respected his methods, but I couldn’t handle Lydia’s tears. She had shed enough to last ten lifetimes.

I looked down into her hypnotic blue-green eyes. The depth of emotion I found in them was more than just concern for me. Sad resignation dulled the light that usually shone from them. It had lurked within her for the last three days, but she insisted she was “fine” every time I asked about it.

My instincts told me to dominate her and demand her honesty.

But those were base urges. If I wanted to fix this without causing her further grief, I needed to treat her as the partner she was. She might submit to me, but we were equals in life.

“We need to talk,” I told her finally.

A small frown creased her brow. “I’d rather play.”

“So would I, sweetheart, but you wouldn’t like what I want to do to you right now.”

I felt so helpless watching her silently suffer over whatever secret she was hiding from me. I didn’t like feeling helpless. Again, I pushed back the urge to use erotic torment to get my answers.

“What do you mean?” She asked, her voice higher than usual with nervousness.

I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and got to my feet, lifting her up in my arms. I might be willing to talk, but I wasn’t going to give her the chance to run. My inclination to bend only went so far.

“I mean you’re going to tell me what’s been bothering you,” I informed her calmly as I walked toward the private room Derek had so kindly reserved for us.

She pursed her lips, and I fixed her with a hard stare. “And if you don’t talk, I’ll persuade you. I don’t think you want to push me to that point. You’ll be aching for an orgasm by the time I’m finished with you, and you’ll tell me anything if I’ll just let you come.”

She shivered, and her eyes dropped from my burning gaze.

“That’s what I thought,” I rumbled. Although I was relieved at the signs of her capitulation, I couldn’t deny that my threat made my cock stir. I made a mental note to save that particular punishment for a later date. We would both enjoy it.

But she needed a gentle touch now. Harsh treatment might break her, and I didn’t want that. She looked so damn fragile in my arms, retreating into herself. It would be a relief to get this over with. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation.

We reached the dungeon, and I kicked the door closed behind me. I had chosen this particular room because of its menacing aura. I now regretted that decision. She needed tenderness, not intimidation.

I kissed her softly as I sat on the edge of the padded bondage table, keeping her cradled against my chest.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I promised. “I just want to help you. Please talk to me.”

She blinked up at me, and I hated the sight of the tears that glistened in her long lashes.

“You know…” She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “My cousin Trisha is pregnant. Mom called and told me a few days ago. We’re going to see her at Christmas and-”

A shudder ran through her body.

“Don’t you like your cousin?” I asked, not understanding.

“Y-yes. It’s just… You know I can’t get pregnant. Not after…” She trailed off on a soft sob.

My arms tightened around her. It took effort to push back my own surge of emotion at the memory of what that Bastard had done to her. Therapy had helped both of us function again, but it would never erase what happened. And now the damage he had done to her body still haunted her, serving as a reminder of what she had suffered.

“We’ve talked about this, sweetheart,” I said as gently as I could manage. “We’re going to adopt, and we’ll love our child more than anything.”

“I-I know,” she said shakily. “It’s just… Hearing about Trisha reminded me of- of everything. It’s the first Christmas I’ll have with my family since- since they thought I was dead. It’s going to be a little overwhelming. I don’t know if I can handle it,” she finished on a defeated whisper.

“We don’t have to go to Chicago this year,” I assured her. “We can go somewhere else. We could take another trip to Paris and spend the holiday there. Just the two of us.”

I would promise her anything if I could just carry her away from this grief.

Hope flickered in her eyes. “But my parents. They’ll be so upset.”

“They’ll understand. I know they will. And we can go see them for the New Year.” I brushed away the wetness on her cheek.

She buried her face in my chest and cried silently for a long while. I held her and stroked her and reassured her just how much she was loved. What had happened to her would never be forgotten, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t be happy. She had found happiness with me. And I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

Finally, she sniffled and gasped in a deep breath. I gave her a soft smile when she looked up at me, and was relieved when she returned it.

“We can just stay in New York for Christmas.” The relief that lit her features soothed my frayed nerves. “Last minute tickets to Paris will cost a fortune.”

I turned stern again. I wouldn’t allow her to defy me in this. “We’re going.” My hard tone warned her not to contradict me.

“Smith.” She said my name in that clipped way that let me know she was about to dig in her heels. “That’s too much. You can’t do that for me.”

She still didn’t accept the fact that I liked lavishing her with gifts. She deserved to be spoiled after everything she had been through. And seeing her happy was far better than anything else money could buy.

My eyes narrowed, and she shrank back slightly. She knew she was in for it.

“Are you contradicting me, sub?” I asked, my voice silky and a touch dangerous.

Her breath quickened with her budding arousal as her body responded to my show of dominance. Still, she didn’t answer me.

My hand fisted in her silky brown hair. “I asked you a question.”

She took in a shaky breath, but the turmoil that had filled her eyes was gone. Instead, it had been replaced by a playful light. “Yes,” she admitted. The word was hesitant, but she was being deliberately saucy.

She wanted to play? I had the perfect scene planned for her. Now that she was eager for our game, I knew she was primed to enjoy it. I had been right to talk things over with her rather than topping her secret out of her. The conversation had been upsetting, but we both felt better for it.

And now I could torture her without feeling a shred of remorse.

I shot her a wicked grin, and her breath hitched. She liked when I toyed with her. She reveled in the release of her submission. And I fully intended to take her so far into sub space that she could do nothing but mindlessly beg for me to fuck her.

She would agree to Paris. Sooner or later.

I shifted her in my arms so she sat on my lap, and I pressed my lips to hers in a slow, gentle kiss. My hands found the hem of her forest green lace dress, and I eased it up over her hips, sliding my hands along her waist as I peeled the clingy material off her body. I broke from the kiss just long enough to tug it over her head. She compliantly raised her arms so I could strip her naked.

I hardly gave her time to draw breath before I took her mouth again, harder this time. My arm closed around her upper back, pressing her breasts against my bare chest. The feel of her hardened nipples rubbing against me made my cock stir at the knowledge of her mounting arousal.

I broke the kiss and laid her out on the bondage table. She blinked at me in confusion when I stepped away without tying her down.

That would be too easy on her. She was going to restrain herself. Well, that would be the challenge, at least.

My smile sharpened, and she propped up on her elbows.

“Master?” She questioned with trepidation.

“Quiet, girl. I don’t want to have to gag you.”

Her lips popped open in surprise at my sudden brusque treatment. Fuck, that perfect O of her mouth looked inviting. But that wasn’t part of the plan.

I bent and retrieved the spreader bar I had prepared for her earlier. She eyed it nervously, but wisely kept silent.

“Spread your legs.”

Her mouth closed, her lips pursing against any defiant words. She knew I would make good on my threat to gag her. I always followed through when it came to doling out consequences. How could I expect her to respect me otherwise?

My cock jumped when she meekly laid back and parted her thighs for me. We might have spoken as partners a few minutes earlier, but in this, I was definitely in charge. Sexually, she allowed me to dominate her completely. The gift of her submission filled me with pleasure that was more than carnal satisfaction. The power exchange tapped into a deeper need within me. I found peace in her trust.

Finding that trust in her wide eyes, I began to fall into our dynamic. A heady sense of power rose up in me as her body softened with her submission.

My hands were sure and steady as I buckled the first leather cuff around her slender ankle. I applied gentle pressure on the bar it was attached to, guiding her legs further apart so I could secure her other ankle. With her legs spread wide, I ran my fingertips up the insides of her thighs, pausing to tease at the edges of her pussy lips.

She was already wet for me. Smirking, I blew a stream of cool air across her heated sex. She let out a little shriek and tried to close her legs. Her muscles jerked, but there was nothing she could do against me.

Her shriek softened to a whine as she realized her predicament and surrendered, recognizing her helplessness. Her skin pebbled, and I looked up to find that her nipples had hardened to tight peaks.

I moved my mouth away from her pussy to tease her breasts, placing soft kisses around her areolae, flicking her nipples with the tip of my tongue. After a few seconds, she groaned in frustration and her hands sank into my hair, tugging my mouth toward her needy flesh.

With a warning growl, I sank my teeth into her sensitive nipple. She cried out, and her fingers slid free from my hair. Satisfied that she had received the message, I released her and kissed away the sting of my bite.

I left her breasts and grasped the spreader bar, pulling it up so her knees were forced to bend. I didn’t stop until her thighs were nearly pressed to her torso, her ankles splayed in the air so that her pussy and asshole were exposed for my use.

“Hold onto your legs,” I ordered. I had intentionally left her hands unrestrained for this purpose.

Her fingers wrapped around the backs of her thighs, just above her knees. I let go of the bar, confident that she would hold herself in position for me.

And just in case she wavered, I would provide extra incentive to obey.

I quickly retrieved the silvery clover clamps and chain from my kit bag. Her eyes instantly focused on them, and her chest began to rise and fall rapidly as her breathing quickened.

I kept my silence, drawing out her anticipation. The chain slid through the ring fixed in the center of the spreader bar with a metallic clinking. The clamps were attached to either end of it, and comprehension dawned on my sub’s face when I pulled them toward her nipples. The action tugged the spreader bar back further, and her fingers bit into her thighs as she held them to her more tightly.

My clever girl already understood the game; if the spreader bar shifted away from her, the chain would pull on the nipple clamps. The design of the clover clamps would ensure that they tightened when the chain went taut.

She hissed when I secured the first clamp. The silver pressing into her delicate pink bud was very pretty. But not nearly as breathtaking as the erotic pain and pleasure that warred on her face. Her lips trembled and her eyes squeezed closed when I clamped her other nipple, her expression torn between discomfort and arousal. She took in a few deliberately steady breaths, and the tension slowly eased from her muscles. When her eyes opened again, the lines around them smoothed away, and she looked up at me with such complete trust that my heart did a funny little twist.

A few beats of intense silence passed between us as I practically felt her will bend beneath mine.

“We’re going to Paris for Christmas.” My voice came out a touch deeper than usual. “I don’t want to hear another word of protest. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“Good girl,” I rumbled my approval and bent to reward her.

The first taste of her on my tongue made me groan my pleasure. Her answering moan as I licked her pussy morphed into a cute little yelp when her legs jerked, pulling on the chain attached to the clamps. I couldn’t hold back my cruelly amused chuckle, and she writhed at the vibrations against her labia. The movement only made her cry out again at the resultant torment on her trapped nipples.

“Please, Master,” she whimpered.

I knew she wasn’t begging to be released. The bite of pain and my control over her got her hot. Her swollen pussy told me that much. It was soft and silky and waiting for me.

Beautiful.

She had earned her orgasm.

I drove two fingers into her and sucked on her clit, grazing it with my teeth. She cried out as pleasure slammed into her. Her legs jerked, and her raw shout let me know that the hit of pain to her nipples only heightened her release. Her greedy pussy contracted around my fingers, and I curled them against her g-spot, coaxing more ecstasy from her.

Her back arched, and I looked up to study the rapture that lip up her features. She screamed out her orgasm, the chain pulling against the clamps to tug at her nipples as her body shuddered its pleasure.

The power I wielded over her entire being flooded me, overriding coherent thought and taking my mind to a less civilized place. The need to fuck her was almost overwhelming, and my cock ached to replace my fingers.

With a rough curse, I withdrew from her pussy. I had to get the clamps off before I could take her. Even in my lust-addled state, I knew better than to harm her. The beast inside me wanted to protect her just as much as it craved to possess her.

I removed the first clamp, and she whimpered as blood rushed back to the abused bud. I immediately took her nipple in my mouth, sucking and soothing the pain away. When I was satisfied that her discomfort had turned to the beginnings of arousal, I repeated the process on her other breast.

She was breathing heavily by the time I finished, and her blue-green eyes watched me with almost shocking intensity as I unbuckled the spreader bar and tossed it aside. The sound of it clattering to the floor mingled with my lustful snarl as I gripped her hips and slid her body to the edge of the table. She compliantly kept hold of her thighs, leaving her pussy open for me.

I penetrated her roughly, but her orgasm had primed her for me.

“Master!” She cried out as I drove all the way into her. Her inner muscles rippled around me as her body began to build toward a second peak.

I growled out my pleasure and began to take her hard and fast, primal urges driving me. All my careful control had been obliterated, bringing out the savage side of me that only she could release.

Raw ecstasy surged through me, and I roared out my bliss. But the beast wanted more; it craved to take her pleasure as well. I reached between us and pinched her clit, and her erotic shout mixed with mine. She convulsed around me as I pumped into her, and she took everything I gave her.

Ecstasy flooded me, and my body sagged over hers, my shaking arms only barely able to keep most of my weight off her. Mindlessly, my lips found hers for a hungry kiss, and I devoured the last shreds of her pleasure as her final bliss-filled cry vibrated against my tongue.

I rolled to the side, pulling her body so it was draped over mine. I loved the warm softness of her, and my hands couldn’t seem to stop running over every inch of her, worshipping her.

“Paris,” she sighed happily after a long while. “Are we really going?”

I chuckled. “Don’t you remember agreeing to it?”

She slapped my chest playfully. “I don’t know if obeying an order is the same thing as agreeing.”

I arched an eyebrow at her. “I can convince you again, if necessary.” My dick pulsed at the thought.

The sound of her delighted giggle made my heart lift. “Again? Already?”

“Joyeux Noël, sweetheart.” I grinned and pressed my hardening cock up against her hip.

We were going to have a very happy Christmas in Paris. She would be thoroughly convinced of that by the end of the night.