After

He hit her – hard – and she yelped. He watched the red silhouette of his hand emerge on the round curve of her ass. Only one side stood out; the rest of the outline melded with the angry flush already spread across both cheeks. With her bent over his knees like this, he had a perfect view of the results of his ministrations. Her shirt was still on, but her denim skirt and panties hung around her knees, effectively tying her legs together.

She squirmed and made a small sound.

He ran his hand from the small of her back and caressed her sultry globes. The bottom crease was cleft by her pussy, and when he reached it, he smoothed his fingers over her sex. Yes, moisture flooded the opening. He stroked her outer lips, noting how they had swollen and how slick they were. He wanted to dip his tongue between them and pierce her. But first …

“No!” she yelled out when he raised his hand to spank her again.

He hesitated and turned to face the back of her head. She was shifting now, unfolding gracelessly from her awkward position and pulling up her skirt. He regretted the loss of his view.

“Stop – um, pink! Or whatever – just stop!” She stood before him, fury carved into every bone of her body.

He waited for her lungs to stop heaving, sparing a glance at her breasts. Lovely. Of course they were, even hidden by the material of her black tee. The shirt couldn’t hide the way her nipples protruded or the perfect roundness of the agitated mounds. His gaze returned to her face, and he enjoyed the sight of the fire spitting from her eyes while he waited for her to calm down enough to speak.

“I just don’t understand what you could possibly get out of this!” she ground out.

“It’s arousing.” His simple answer re-kindled her subsiding anger, and he watched the tide swell within her.

“You –” she sputtered and didn’t finish her sentence.

“It excites me,” he admitted.

“What kind of sadistic – I can’t believe –”

“Can’t you?”

“You’re actually getting turned on by hitting me?” The sarcasm dripped from her cold voice like bitter syrup.

“So are you.”

She slapped him so hard that his head nearly snapped off. He took a deep breath and kept his face averted, but he did not raise a hand to his smarting cheek.

“Yeah, well, men have erections when they’re being hung – are you telling me that they’re actually getting off from their own executions?” Her low, even tone betrayed the depth of her anger.

He would not look up at her.

“Don’t … ever ... mention that again. Don’t suggest it – don’t even hint at it!”

He met her eyes. “I won’t.” It was a solemn promise, and he hoped she could hear how sincere he was.

Everything hung suspended for a moment as if time had frozen. He let all his emotion shine from his eyes – could she see it? Moving slowly but deliberately, he reached out and grasped her hips, pulling her close. He pushed her shirt up and laid his still-burning cheek against her cool belly. She did not push him away. A heartbeat later, she touched his shoulders.

“You hurt me.” Her pain shattered him. He knew she was talking about more than just the impact of his hand against her bottom.

“I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

When she wrapped her fingers around his head, he prayed that he’d been forgiven. Afraid of what he would see, he looked at her. Tears lined her eyes, but she focused on him with a steady and open gaze. Tension fled from his back, and he could breathe again.

“Do you believe me?” She didn’t answer. He swallowed audibly. “Do you trust me?”

She bit her lip and smoothed his hair from his forehead. Finally, she nodded. “Yes.” She attempted a smile. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

He smiled back tentatively. “Will you let me kiss you?”

Her smile became genuine and unwavering as she bent to kiss him. What started as a light touch of their lips exploded, and she clutched his head as he stood without breaking the contact. The stroke of her tongue, the pressure of her lips, the taste of her mouth … she intoxicated him. He held her close with his hands roaming across her back, trying not to think what would happen to him if she left him – the possibility horrified him. He buried his head in her neck and breathed in deeply of her scent. They stood still like this for a moment before he raised his lips to her ear.

“Will you … let me love you?”

She pressed against him and nodded. He pushed her away and smiled at her confusion. Stooping, he swept her up, careful not to touch her tender ass. She buried her head in his chest. When he got to the bed, he set her on her feet, unwilling to lay her on the mattress. Instead, he nibbled her neck, trailed kisses along her jawline, and sucked her earlobe. Her body grew taut, and she gripped him. He loved the feel of her hands holding him tightly. A deep moan rumbled past her lips, completely unlike her high-pitched cry from earlier.

“Lie on top of me,” he whispered. They lay across the bed, but he wouldn’t let her straddle him. “Just lie on top of me.” He shifted her until she was stretched out over him from his chest to his shins; she wasn’t tall enough to reach his feet.

He touched her bottom gently and kissed her fervently. He convinced her to slide over his body until she was sitting on his face, and he finally got his chance to taste her. She oozed cream that he lapped up eagerly. She cried out when she came, pressing her thighs against his ears. By holding her hips, he wouldn’t let her move from his mouth until he was satisfied. Disengaging to look up at her, he saw a sheen of sweat covering her flushed face and a glazed veil over her eyes.

Only then did he let her slide back down, but she surprised him by grasping his stiff cock and guiding it into her wet opening. He closed his eyes to savor the feel of her moist tunnel surrounding him, and they both remained still a moment. Her cunt possessed him completely. Then she moved into a squatting position over him, and he steadied her as she rode him. She set a slow pace at first that tortured him, but urgency quickened her rhythm. He looked down and watched his cock push in and draw out as she raised and lowered herself on him. He looked up and saw her eyes screwed shut. Soft, mewling noises escaped her. The sight and sounds cocooned him in sexual pleasure, but he held out as long as he could. When she came again, he let go and shot his essence into her so they could climax together.

Afterwards, she lay spent on her side facing him. He cupped her cheeks and ran his fingers lightly across her lips. She smiled, and his heart lurched. She meant the world to him, he’d accepted that a long time ago. His pleasure, his ease of mind and heart – his very continued existence! – all depended on her.

“Do you trust me?” he whispered.

A shadow passed behind her eyes, and her fluttering eyelids broke the eye contact with him. She nodded.

“Do you really? Do you truly trust me – with your body, your mind, your soul – Do you put yourself in my hands?

“Do you know that I would never push you beyond your limit?”

She met his gaze while tears welled in her eyes. “Yes.” Her whisper was barely audible.

“Will you hurt me – to get revenge for …?”

“No!” She grasped his hand and shook it in time with the beat of her words. “No! I would never hurt you!”

“I trust you.” He smiled. “Do you know my limits?”

She slid her leg between his even as a small frown creased her forehead. “Your limits?”

“The difference between hurting me and exciting me,” he clarified. She froze, but he wouldn’t let her snatch her hand away.

“I …” Distress crept into her eyes. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Do you know my limits?” he insisted.

She bit her lip and stared at him. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I think so.” She sniffed, but then silence settled between them.

He ran his fingertips over her face and relished the feel of her. “Then you are my mistress.”

She stiffened, and he watched her pull away from him. Her eyes withdrew before her body did; she turned over and curled on her side with her back to him. Without hesitation, he pressed against her back and wrapped an arm around her, burying his face into the back of her head.

She did not push him away.

He whispered, “I trust you.”