She’s late. I came in, and somehow I already knew. When I opened the door and saw the empty bed, my breathing slowed, my blood cooled. Anger wasn’t there, but fear was.

She’s left me. I’m still standing in the doorway, trying to convince myself that I’m wrong. I know I am. I paid for her. She can’t leave me. My heart thuds once. She doesn’t care about the money. She never has. Not once has she mentioned it. But still. She’s not leaving me. My own insecurities are creeping in, and I shove them away.

She’s mine. I can take care of her. I am taking care of her. I nod my head and turn from the room.

I let it resonate through me. She’s coming. She’ll be here. I calm my racing heart and slowly close the door with a gentle click. My palm presses against my pocket, but it’s empty. I clear my throat and make my way toward the stairs with a hard expression, devoid of all emotion. I left my phone on the foyer table, but I don’t need it. As I hit the last step, I hear the keypad rejecting an entry.

My treasure. I imagine she’s panicking in this moment. As I walk to the door, my phone goes off. I stare at it, my hand hovering on the doorknob, but it doesn’t matter what her excuse is. She’s late.

I open the door, my expression stern and her body jolts some. Her breathing is coming in quick as she takes a half step back.

“Lucian, I-”

“Sir,” I correct her with a hard voice. My grip on the door tightens as she stares back at me with her mouth slightly opened. The lines are blurred, and that’s obvious. But I’m still her Dom, and she’s late and she’s hesitating.

I open the door wider and she walks in quickly with her head down. “Thank you, sir,” she says uneasily.

I should take her upstairs, but I can’t wait. I need her now.

My fingers deftly unbuckle my belt as I walk to the living room. I stand by the sofa and wait for her eyes to reach mine as I pull the belt from the loops. “Strip and bend over,” I give her the command and lust covers her expression. She’s quick to do exactly what I tell her.

Every second that passes my blood gets hotter, my cock harder. Her heels slip off her feet as she shoves her dress down. She doesn’t hesitate to bare herself to me and bend over the arm of the mahogany leather sofa. She has to balance herself on her toes as her upper body lays flat on the cushion. Her hair fans around her and she looks back at me, the perfect picture of obedience.

My dick pushes against my zipper as I fold the belt in my hand. I run it along her spine and trail it slowly down to her ass. Her eyes close, and she lets out a mix of a whimper and a moan.

“Why are you being punished?” I ask her.

“For being late, for addressing you incorrectly, and for disappointing you and forgetting my place, sir.” I close my eyes behind her and let my head fall back.

Perfection.

She’s so fucking perfect. I pull back my arm and quickly lash the belt across her ass. It hits her with a loud smack! and she lets out a small scream as her hands ball into fists in an attempt not to cum.

“Count them, treasure,” I say calmly.

“One, sir,” she says loudly.

Smack! I aim just below the soft curve of her ass on her upper thighs. I pull back the blow slightly, knowing it’ll be more tender.

“Two!” she yells with her face scrunched up, but her pussy clenches and her mouth opens with desire.

Smack!

“Three,” she whimpers.

This one is higher, in a fresh spot and she pushes her ass up to meet the blow. I steady my hand on her lower back to remind her. She needs to be still. The belt whips through the air. Smack!

“Four, sir.” Four is good. Four is more than enough. She writhes slightly and bites down on her lip.

I drop my belt to the floor, the buckle making a loud clank, and gentle my hands over the marks on her ass. The red lines are slightly raised, and Dahlia seethes in a breath as I press my hand against the hot marks. She presses her ass into my touch and struggles to keep her body from squirming with pleasure. I've administered the perfect amount of pain to give her the endorphin rush she needs.

I eye them carefully, making sure they won’t bruise and there are no cuts. Just four parallel red lines.

I lean forward, my hard dick nestled in her pussy, the fabric of my pants separating our hot skin. I graze my teeth along her naked shoulder and nip her earlobe. My hand travels along her waist, her stomach, up to her lush breasts and I squeeze gently and then pinch her nipple as I kiss her lips. Her mouth opens as I pull slightly, my other hand traveling to her soaking wet pussy.

“Thank me for your punishment, treasure,” I say with a calmness I don’t feel.

“Thank you, sir,” she whimpers, struggling to stay still as I rub her swollen clit and pull on her nipple until it slips from my grip.

The need to punish her pussy and command her body is riding me hard, my thick cock pushing against my zipper as I watch her glistening sex clench around nothing.

I don’t know what to do. We both want this, I know that much. But I don’t know if it’s detrimental to what we’re working toward.

She can see my hesitation and her soft eyes flicker with self-doubt. I hate it. I won’t allow it. My shortcomings won’t cause her pain.

“Is this what you want, treasure?” I ask her in a hard voice, shoving my pants down and stroking my dick. I push her back down and she gasps. Her breathing is coming in ragged pants as she hesitantly looks back at me.

I line my dick up with her hot opening and slam into her. Her tight walls force a rough grunt from my lips as I pound into her mercilessly over and over again.

I push her face down into the cushions and fuck her at an angle that goes deeper than I ever have before. The sofa muffles her screams as I drill into her tight cunt, throwing my head back and groaning at how fucking good she feels.

My toes curl into the carpet as I thrust my hips harder and harder. The sofa shudders each time, and I have to lean forward to keep the heavy furniture from moving too much. Her hips dig into the sofa and her toes come off the floor as I lose control, slamming recklessly into her, loving how her nails scratch against the leather sofa.

Her body tenses and I know she’s close, and that’s when I lose focus. Thinking about her. About her pleasure. About her pain. I try to shake the thoughts away, rutting between her legs with a primal need, but I can’t shut them out.

Her pussy spasms on my dick and she feels so fucking good, but my mind is racing with the knowledge of why she’s just gotten off. Her past and her struggles corrupt every bit of pleasure in my being as she screams out my name.

I can’t. I can’t get off on this.

I pull away from her, still hard and slipping out, letting her fall limp and sated on the couch, her orgasm still running through her body and making her thighs tremble. She pulls her knees into her chest and tries to calm her breathing as I walk away.

I breathe in deep, running my hand over my face and trying to think. My head is fucked up, and I feel lost. I question taking her like that.

I pace the floor, not knowing how to handle what I’ve just done. I don’t know what’s best for her.

The moment she realizes I’m still hard and that I’m not able to cum this way, not knowing why she needs this, her face crumples and she covers her mouth as she’s wracked with sobs.

“Treasure,” I whisper her name, my heart sinking into my hollow chest. She shakes her head and tries to push me away.

“You don’t want me,” she says.

I grip her chin firmly and wait for her to look me in the eyes. “I want you. Don’t you ever think or say anything differently.”

She swallows the lump in her throat. “You couldn’t cum,” she says just above a murmur.

I don’t know how to answer her. “You don’t want me like that anymore.”

“I fucking love you like that. I love fucking you raw and hard and forcing your pleasure.” Her bright eyes finally meet mine again. “Don’t think that I don’t. I want you every way I can have you. I just… couldn’t, knowing.”

Her eyes fall, and I hate that I did this to her. I wish I was a stronger man. I wish I had all the answers.

I hook her chin with my finger and bring her lips to mine for a sweet, chaste kiss. But she doesn’t return it. Her lips are hard, and her heart’s not in it.

“I want you, treasure. I still want you.” She needs to believe me. I had a single moment of weakness and doubt. I shouldn’t have. But I did.

I brush her tears away with the rough pad of my thumb, hating that I hurt her this way. I can see the regret in her eyes as she takes in a staggering breath and pushes the hair away from her hot face. Her cheeks are red and her eyes are glassed over, and she won’t look at me.

I fucking hate it.

I grab her chin in my hand and I force her to kiss me. I crush my lips to hers, my tongue diving into her mouth and massaging against hers. Her small hands grab my shoulders and she kisses me back with just as much force and just as much passion.

I lie on the sofa, pulling her on top of me and gently sliding inside of her hot pussy, still slick with her arousal and cum. I grip her hips tightly and thrust my hips to fuck her with a slow pace. Each thrust is hard and deep, forcing small gasps from her. She places her hands on my chest as I slowly lie flat and continue to fuck her, while she meets me thrust for thrust.

Her tight walls stroke my dick causing a numbing pleasure to grow in the tips of my fingers and toes. I hold my breath as I pick up my pace and pull her down closer to me. Kissing her quickly with a bruising force as I fuck her harder and faster. All the while holding her close to me, where she belongs.

As I close my eyes, letting the pleasure wrack through me, I roughly rub her clit over and over, trying to force her over the edge with me. Hot thick streams of cum fill her and leak between us. Her body is tense and on edge, but when I open my eyes, I can see why she hadn’t cum.

She’s crying. Her face is buried in the crook of my neck.

My heart shatters as I pull her away enough to see her face and kiss her sweetly.

“Treasure?” I can barely breathe, “Did I hurt you?” My heart thumps slowly as I wait for her to answer. She shakes her head, but she won’t look at me. Her inhale is long and shaky.

“I couldn’t. I started to think-” a sob is ripped from her throat and she falls into my chest. “I’m sorry, Lucian.”

“Shh,” I kiss her hair and hold her close.

“I don’t want to have to think like that anymore.” Her tears fall into my shoulder as I rub her back.

“It’s alright, treasure. It’s going to be alright.”

I hold her as she calms herself, rocking her back and forth and kissing her over and over. My heart clenches with each small sob, but I’m here for her.

I kiss her forehead, breathless and consumed with conflicting emotions. The overriding thought being whether or not I deserve her, whether I’m even worthy of being her Dom. But I want to be. I want to heal her. I will heal her. I’ll find a way. I lift her small body in my arms, cradling her to my chest. She lays her cheek on my shoulder, neither of us saying anything as I carry her to bed.