Drake carried Evangeline to the bedroom and reverently laid her down on the bed. Then he simply stood over her, his gaze raking up and down her naked body, clear appreciation in his eyes.

For once she felt no shyness or self-consciousness. She felt . . . bold. Like a seductress with a lot more experience than she actually possessed. She didn’t want to be a passive participant in whatever Drake chose for tonight, but at the same time, the idea that he would make all the decisions and have all the control gave her an indescribable thrill.

He frowned when his gaze settled over her knee and he seemed to be thinking.

“How much does it hurt?” he asked. “And don’t sugarcoat it. I’ll do nothing that causes you further pain tonight.”

“It actually feels much better now,” she said truthfully. “I fell asleep on the couch because Silas wouldn’t leave until I was resting on the couch, and I fully intended to get up as soon as he left so I could get a start on dinner, but I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until you called. And since I was immobile for such a long time, my knee was stiff and tender for a while after I started moving around, but it’s loosened up and isn’t nearly as tender.”

His lips tightened. “And if you had called me, I would have ensured you did precisely what Silas told you to do, only you would have been in my arms, me holding you, while you rested.”

The image was so tantalizing that in that moment she wished she had allowed Zander to call Drake.

“I wish I had called you now,” she whispered.

He leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss over her knee and then looked up so their gazes locked.

“In the future, make sure you do.”

“I will,” she promised.

A gleam of a different kind entered his eyes. The one of a predator, full of heat and anticipation that had her breathless and edgy with indescribable need.

“You could make me feel all better now,” she said in a husky voice that was filled with invitation.

“Oh yes, my angel. I intend to do just that. But first, I’m going to crop that sweet ass so that it bears my marks when I fuck you.”

She couldn’t control the shudder or the soft moan that escaped her lips.

His expression became more serious. “But I will not do anything that will cause further pain to your knee.”

“I know, Drake,” she said, an ache in her heart. “I know you’d never hurt me. I want this. I want you. And everything you have to give me. I’ll cherish it always.”

His entire face softened and a warm glow burned in his dark eyes. “So sweet and generous,” he murmured. “What did I ever do to deserve such an angel?”

He walked away from the bed and she felt the loss of his warmth, the touch of his gaze and the hands that had reverently caressed her body. He returned a moment later with rope and the crop and her pulse ratcheted up, her breaths puffing erratically from her lips.

“My angel is excited,” he said, approval flaring in his eyes.

“Oh yes,” she said. “I want it all, Drake. I want . . . you.”

He turned her, mindful of her knee, and drew both of her hands behind her to rest at the small of her back, and then he carefully wound the rope around them, testing to ensure that it wasn’t cutting into her skin. He left her once more only long enough to strip out of his clothing and then he returned, lifting her from where she lay on the bed.

He settled on the edge of the bed and then turned her facedown so that her belly rested over his lap and her legs dangled over the side of his leg. His hands roamed over her back, her shoulders, her ass and then lower down the length of each leg, each touch sending her up in flames.

He administered a light smack to one cheek with his hand and she immediately gasped. Then he petted the area, smoothing away the hurt as the warm burn of pleasure rapidly took over.

Then, as he’d done earlier in the living room, he stroked her back and ass with the tip of the flogger and before she could brace herself, he popped the crop down over the opposite cheek.

Fire singed over her skin, but as with the smacks with his hand, the pain disappeared, quickly replaced with the warm hum of decadent, forbidden pleasure.

“How many do you want, Angel? How many can you take?”

“As many as you want to give me,” she said breathlessly. “I’m yours, Drake. Only yours. I belong to you and am yours to do with as you wish.”

She could tell her response pleased him by the warmth and gentleness of his caress as he rubbed his hand over the area he’d just struck and the sound of approval he made.

“You were made for me,” he said, satisfaction in his voice. “And yes, my darling angel. You do belong to me and you are mine to do with as I please.”

He popped her other cheek, causing her to flinch and then moan as euphoria enveloped her like a cloud. Her knee and the events of the day faded to obscurity, forgotten, as he began to administer her spanking, each lash harder, stronger than the last.

He was careful not to overwhelm her, instead gradually working her up, from lighter to harder and as the pain increased, so did the indescribable pleasure.

“So fucking beautiful,” Drake said gruffly as he rubbed his hand over her throbbing flesh. “Your ass so red with my mark, my stamp of possession. Tell me, Angel. Do you want more? Or do you want me to fuck your sweet ass? Or maybe you’d prefer I ride the pussy that also belongs to me?”

She groaned, nearly insensible, so deep into the thick fog surrounding her.

“I want it all,” she whispered. “All you have, everything you can give me, Drake. Please. I need you so much.”

The words had barely escaped her lips before he straddled her hips, pushing her ass upward, spreading her with his thumbs, and then plunged hard and deep into her pussy. She nearly orgasmed on the spot. She closed her eyes, squeezing hard around him, trying to hold off her release as he began riding her hard. He was almost brutal in his possession, not pausing between thrusts.

He pumped into her over and over, his hips smacking hard against her ass, all the while caressing the burning flesh of her behind that she knew bore the marks of the crop.

“Drake!” she cried desperately. “I’m too close. I’m going to come!”

He withdrew, causing her to moan at the abrupt departure of his enormous erection through her swollen and ultrasensitive flesh. The edge of pain mixed with pleasure was a heady sensation and she closed her eyes, biting into her bottom lip to stave off her release.

Then she jumped when the crop slapped over her ass, fast and furious, peppering over every inch of her aching behind.

Not pausing in the flogging, he murmured in a husky voice, “I’m going to untie your hands so you can touch yourself while I fuck your ass, but do not get up on your knees or put any weight whatsoever on your stitches. Understand?”

“Yes,” she said with an edge of desperation.

The flogging stopped and he hastily untied her wrists and gently rubbed them to rid them of any residual numbness, and then he took her left hand and slipped it between her and the mattress until her fingers slid over her swollen clit.

There was a squirting sound as Drake squeezed lubricant from the tube and then his thumbs parted the cheeks of her ass. Knowing what was soon to come she began stroking herself, and not a moment too soon as he thrust into her with every bit as much force as he’d entered her pussy.

She began shaking, her fingers slipping, glancing over the sensitive nub as Drake drove her higher and higher and ever closer to ultimate release. Just when she thought she would topple over the edge, he withdrew, leaving her precariously close to orgasm, and she groaned in frustration.

He chuckled and the fire ignited over her ass as the crop descended, taking her breath away. Her chest heaved and she inhaled sharply as the pain faded, giving in to euphoria. She closed her eyes as more blows rained down on her buttocks and she entered a hazy world that blurred around her where only bliss existed.

His hands roughly parted her cheeks and he plunged inward again, but she was too languid to continue touching herself, too lethargic to register the need to do so.

“Touch yourself, babe,” Drake commanded. “I want you with me and I’m about to come all over your rosy ass.”

She stroked lazily, her earlier urgency dissipating. As if sensing her state of subspace, he forwent the roughness of his thrusts and instead stroked long and slow, setting a leisurely pace.

Where before her orgasm had demanded its due, this time she climbed slowly up the peak and when Drake’s fingers dug more sharply into her hips and he swelled even larger inside her, she applied more pressure, determined that they go together. Always together.

Her orgasm flooded her, the sweetest, slowest spasm that encompassed her entire body, setting each nerve ending on fire. She tingled from head to toe, delicious chill bumps spreading over her skin, making her hypersensitive to his every touch.

And when he leaned down and pressed his lips to her spine and licked his way up to her nape, the world tilted around her, blurring in the most exquisite bliss she’d ever experienced in her life.

The warmth of his release flooded her, heating her from the inside out, and then he lifted his head and withdrew, and hot jets of semen covered her back, making her shiver all over again.

For a long moment he stood there between her splayed thighs, and then he gently pulled her arm from beneath her and caressed the length from wrist to shoulder. He pressed a warm kiss to her shoulder.

“I’ll be right back to take care of my angel,” he said in a husky voice.

And then a short time later a warm washcloth cleaned the remnants of his release from her back and then her behind. He took care with the flesh tender from the spanking and his rough and then gentle possession of her ass. When he was finished, he slowly rolled her to her back, mindful of her knee, and she gazed up into eyes that glittered with satisfaction and approval.

“My angel has had a long day and needs to rest now, and there’s nothing more I want than to hold you while you sleep.”