Awakened (4 page)

He tapped the length of the crop over the top of her breasts, the light impact against her sensitized skin shocking her, making her gasp.  He tapped it against her again, starting up a quick, steady rhythm.  Her eyes rolled back in her head of their own accord, and she groaned as her skin began to tingle, sending little sparks crackling over her entire body.

Abruptly, the hits stopped, and Holly groaned in protest at the loss of contact.

“Your punishment starts now,” Holden whispered in her ear, his masculine scent surrounding her as his hot breath rippled across her neck.

There was a ripping sound and a sudden cool breeze on her ass and thighs.  Holly’s eyes snapped open, and she looked down to see that Holden had torn away her lace skirt, leaving her in nothing but her panties.

Holden’s strong hand gripped her jaw, forcing her face back up.  “I told you to keep your eyes forward,” he half-growled.

Holly’s whole body was trembling as she watched the people watching her.  She could see one man touching the woman standing in front of him intimately, and her head fell back against his shoulder in ecstasy; she was clearly turned on from watching Holly.  The thought embarrassed her, but also made her even hotter at the idea that the couple found her situation arousing, found
her
arousing.  She had never felt more desirable.

Then all thoughts were driven from her mind as the length of the cane came down sharply on her ass, her only warning a whipping sound as it cut through the air.  She cried out at the dull, thudding pain.  This was so different from the sting of Holden’s spanking; rather than hurting on the surface, this ache went deep under her skin, burning into her.  She cried out at the pain, but Holden didn’t give her a chance to recover.  It came down on her again, this blow slightly below the first.  This time she barely heard her strangled scream.  Something odd was happening to her.  As she focused on nothing but the pain, honing in on it, all thoughts, all worries were gone from her mind.  The feeling was incredibly freeing, and she found that a heady pleasure from the release was mingling with the pain, entwining with it and making her feel light-headed.  She felt the next hit, but she couldn’t discern whether or not the burn was pleasurable or painful.  The two primal sensations interwove with one another, inseparable.

Holly was vaguely aware that the blows had stopped, but she remained floating, lost in the headspace that she had attained.  She was intensely aroused; her thighs were coated in her wetness.

His voice was back at her ear.  “Do you want me to fuck you, sub?”  He asked.

She could only groan her desire, her head lolling forward.

He chuckled.  “I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’”

She managed to nod weakly, his voice the only real thing in her world.

He gripped her hips, pulling her back so that her ass jutted toward him.  The position forced her to balance on her tiptoes.

Then his hardness was at her entrance, pausing to further draw out the tension.  She whined in need, but she did not rock back against him this time.

“Good girl,” his voice was low and laced with approval.  He drove into her roughly, hitting her g-spot.  After the long wait, the erotic tension within her had been tightly coiled.  It sprang free as soon as he penetrated her, and she exploded, stars bursting behind her closed eyelids as pleasure shot out from her pussy, permeating her entire body.

He continued to thrust in and out of her, claiming her with the intensity of his fucking.  She could feel him growing harder within her, his cock starting to pulse.

“Again,” he ground out as he reached around and touched her clit.

As he swirled his fingers around her sensitized bud, her core began to contract around him again as her second orgasm hit her hard, racing though her with an intensity that made her gasp in delight.  Her cry of pleasure rang out through the small room even as Holden grunted behind her, his hot seed spilling into her as he achieved his release.

He held her waist tightly for a few moments as he softened within her, supporting her from falling, from her full weight jerking on her wrists.  Her shaky legs had given way beneath her, but she took no notice.  She was completely lost in her bliss-filled haze.

Her arms were lowered, her wrists released, and she felt a pair of strong arms lifting her up.  She floated in the warm darkness for a while, relishing the oblivion, the release.

Finally, she came back to herself.  When she opened her eyes, she met Holden’s intense aqua eyes as he smiled down at her.

“Hi,” she said softly.

His smile broadened.  “Hi, yourself, little one,” he replied, his tone amused.  “Enjoy ourselves, did we?”  He asked, his dancing eyes telling her that he already knew the answer.

She nodded shyly.  “Yes.”

“Excellent,” he beamed.

Holly smiled back at him like a fool.

But then she slowly became aware of her surroundings, remembering where she was.  The full weight of what she had just done came crashing down on her.  In the space of a few minutes, she had allowed herself to be seduced by Holden and had just had sex with a complete stranger.  She never did that, had never had a one-night stand.

Suddenly uncomfortable, she stiffened in Holden’s arms.

“What’s wrong?” 
He asked, his expression concerned.

“I…”  She said hesitantly, pushing herself up so that she was no longer in his grip.  “I should go.”

She stood abruptly, and her shaky legs nearly gave out beneath her.  Holden was there in an instant, grasping her arm, steadying her.  She stepped away from him sharply, scrambling to regain her independence and self-control.

“Thanks,” she forced out, unable to meet his eye.  Without looking back, she headed for the corridor, desperate to escape the unsettling man who had just given her the greatest pleasure of her life, who had made her feel truly alive for the first time in months.

She was surprised to find that she was fighting back tears as she resolutely stalked away from him.  God, she was confused.  Her short time with Holden had deeply unsettled her, was making her question her whole life up to this point.  For he had just changed her, introduced her to a whole new side of herself that she had never dared to explore.

She had just escaped to the hallway when a hand closed around her shoulder, spinning her around.

“Look, Holden,” she began indignantly.  But she was stopped short as she was shoved back roughly against the wall.  It wasn’t Holden pinning her to it, trapping her.

“Brad?”  She gasped, shocked.  He reeked of alcohol, and his expression was twisted into an enraged mask.

“I saw him fuck you,” he said angrily, his words slurring together.  “I saw, you little slut.”

The words hit her like a slap to the face.  Fury rose up in her, overriding hurt.  She remembered his words earlier, and she forced out a hollow laugh, concealing her mounting fear.  “Which is it, Brad?  Am I a prude or a slut?”

“You’re mine, Holly,” he ground out angrily.  “You came here with me.  You belong to me.”

She tried to jerk away from him, but he held her upper arms tightly, squeezing painfully.  “I don’t belong to anyone, Brand,” she hissed angrily. 
“Least of all you.
  Now let me go.”  She pressed her hands against his chest, struggling to shove him off of her.  But even though he wasn’t as strong as Holden, he was still powerful enough to restrain her.  He gripped her wrists and slammed them against the wall on either side of her head.  This wasn’t what she wanted; this wasn’t consensual.

“Brad!  Stop it!”

He ignored her, crushing his lips against hers.  He tasted strongly of whisky, and she struggled not to gag.  She tried to scream, but her distressed cry was muffled by his mouth.  His tongue was at her lips, probing, demanding entrance.

A wild idea coming to her, Holly sucked his lower lip into her mouth and bit down hard.  She tasted the metallic tang of blood before he wrenched away from her, cursing.

“Bitch!”
  He shouted.  Pain exploded across her cheek as he slapped her across the face.  She reeled back, falling to her knees as her head spun.

“Hey!”  She heard a voice yell.  “What the fuck are you doing?”  It demanded angrily.

Through watering eyes, Holly looked up to see Holden advancing on Brad.

“Stay out of this,” Brad hissed.  Then he blinked, seeming to recognize Holden.  “You fucked her.  You’ll pay for that.”

Brad launched himself at him, swinging wildly in his drunken state.  Holden dodged him easily before driving his fist into Brad’s stomach.  He dropped like a stone, gasping and clutching at his gut.

“If I ever see you again, you’ll get much worse than that,” Holden
said,
his voice tight in an obvious effort to restrain himself.

Holly leaned back against the wall where she crouched on the floor, trying to stop the spinning in her head.  Someone was cupping her face, running a finger gently over her cheek where Brad had hit her.  She whimpered at the touch; it made her head throb.

“Holly, open your eyes and look at me,” his deep voice commanded.

She couldn’t deny him.  She forced her eyes open, squinting against the light. 

Holly peeked around him to see that Brad was still groaning on the floor.  She felt a surge of vindictive satisfaction.  “Thank you,” she said softly.

Holden smiled at her gently. 
“Of course.”
  Then his face turned hard, his mouth thinning to an angry line.  “I should have gotten here sooner.  The bastard deserves much worse.”

“What’s going on here?”  A bouncer had finally arrived, and he was glaring at Holden.

Not leaving Holly’s side, he gestured back at Brad.  “This asshole thinks that it’s okay to beat on women. 
And not consensually.
  I recommend that you order him a taxi and send him home.”

The man’s face turned grim. 
“Of course.
  He’ll never be allowed back here again.”  He gaze fell on Holly, and his eyes softened.  “Are you okay,
miss
?”  He asked.  “Do you want me to call the police?  You can file charges, you know.”

“No,” Holly said firmly.  “No, I just want to go home.”

She tried to push herself to her feet, but her head spun.  She fell ungracefully back onto her ass.

“No, you’re not,” Holden said firmly.  “I’m taking you to a hospital.  You might have a concussion.”

“No,” Holly repeated staunchly. “I want to go home.”

“Well, then you’re not going alone,” Holden said firmly.  “I’m coming with you.”

She tried to shake her head and then winced as pain shot through her.  “Fine,” she capitulated reluctantly, realizing that she probably
did
need someone there to make sure that she was okay.

“That’s settled then,” Holden said, satisfied.  “Come on, I’ll help you to my car.”

Holly expected him to help her stand, but instead he scooped her up in his arms.  She squeaked in surprise.

“You don’t have to carry me,” she protested.

Holden looked down at her, giving her a hard stare that said he would brook no nonsense.  “Well, I’m going to.”  Despite his forbidding tone, he lifted her carefully, not wanting to jar her.

Although she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she was grateful that she didn’t have to walk, as she wasn’t sure that she could do it on her own.

When they reached his car, he placed her in the passenger seat.  She gave him her address, and they began to head down the dirt drive that led back to the main road.  Every little pothole made her head throb, but she remained silent, afraid that if she moaned Holden would insist on taking her to the hospital.

But the hospital meant questions, and then she would be pressured into pressing charges against Brad.  She just wanted to put this behind her and move on.  She was never going to see him again.

When they reached her apartment, Holden insisted on carrying her again, quelling her protests with a stern glance.  Holly directed him to her bedroom, and he finally released her, setting her down on the bed.  He propped up pillow behind her.

“You have to sit up,” he insisted.  “In case you have a concussion. If you start feeling dizzy, you had better tell me.  Then I
will
take you to the hospital.”

“Okay,” she said meekly, recognizing the sense of his words.

He settled himself beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist.  He held her like that, and she fell into a deep sleep, utterly worn out from the evening’s events.

When Holly awoke
the next morning, she was momentarily jarred to find Holden beside her rather than Brad.  But then memories of the night before came flooding back to her.  She
couldn’t help grinning to herself as she recalled the way that Holden had dominated her thoroughly, had fulfilled her submissive desires for the first time in her life.  She was naked beneath the sheets; Holden must have removed her corset and panties.  Looking over at him, she realized that he wore nothing but his boxers.  She took a moment to marvel at his hard body, the god-like perfection of his physique. 
So different from Brad’s wiry frame…