Tackling Her Heart (13 page)

When both her hands were bound, he
walked to the end of the bed. She glanced over her shoulder,
watching his every movement. Marc lifted a short flogger from his
treasure box and trailed one hand through the leather strips as he
walked back to her. His gaze caught hers as he then rubbed that
same hand over her ass cheeks. Once he’d circled them both, he
dropped a spank to her flesh, causing her to jump. A light squeal
came from her lips. She hadn’t been prepared for the
spank.

It hadn’t hurt, more a testing strike
against her flesh.

Marc struck her again, his hand
stinging a little more as he was used more strength. Heat flooded
her ass, and a tingle erupted just under the skin. He added another
strike from his hand before using the flogger on her.

Sofia hissed as the flogger struck
her. The little sting of pain was shockingly pleasurable. She
turned, unable to watch what he did to her. The flogger came across
her ass, the pain never too much, but varied in delivery. She
didn’t know when to expect the next, or then he’d change to a
volley of several.

Her skin became hot, the strikes
stinging her more, even though he never became much rougher. She
clenched her teeth against each one, her body thrumming and
singing, feeling more alive than she could ever remember. Sofia
could feel her juices flowing, so much so her inner thighs were
wet. Rivulets of her cream dripped down her legs, which embarrassed
her more than anything. Her traitorous body wanted this attention.
Marc had turned her into a heavy mass of nerves and desires, a
wicked wanton.

She turned to watch him and was
shocked by how calm and controlled he appeared at first. His face
was still void of emotion, but the longer she watched him, there
were little tells she saw to prove he was as affected as she was.
His breathing was slightly shallow and when he turned to look at
her, his eyes were glazed over. Marc couldn’t hide his need, no
matter how hard he tried to hold it back from her. He was
aroused.

His heavy, jutting cock stood out
proudly between his thighs, his balls tight to the base. A pearl of
cum eased from the tip and shone in the low light. Her tongue
peaked out of its own accord, the desire to taste his pleasure
overwhelming her.

“
Are you a bad girl,
Sofia?”

Sofia caught his gaze, her lungs
burning from the breath she held. She liked what he was doing to
her. Did that make her bad? “Yessss…”

He smiled wanly. “You are. And you
needed to be punished.”

Marc struck her a little harder with
the flogger. The caress of the leather made her cry out, her skin
already flayed. As the pain ebbed, the pleasure rushed in, and was
increased by the kiss he laid on the same spot. “But I think that’s
enough punishment for your first offense,” he said, his voice still
calm.

That calmness was almost
scarier than his anger. He should’ve been mad. He should’ve yelled.
That she could understand. This control she didn’t know how to
take. Did she think offering herself up, trusting him to not harm
her, that he’d return the same trust back in her? His words came
back to haunt her suddenly.
Just because
you shared a personal moment with me doesn’t mean I’m obligated to
do the same.

Marc spun her to her back, the first
contact of the bed on her raw skin making her hiss. Her hands were
crossed over one another, the soft cuff twisting to allow the move
without pain. Marc climbed into the bed and between her legs, his
cock nudging against her wet entrance. She arched her back, needing
to be filled by his length. In those moments, when they were bound
as one, him deep within her depths, she felt their
connection.

He pressed into her, again uncovered.
The heat of his cock stoked the fires within her. When he was
seated in her, his gaze found hers and held it for long moments.
Sofia thought she saw something there, a warmth, a flicker of
intense need in his eyes. But he cut off the emotion, whatever it
was, and it was gone before she could identify it.

Marc started moving within her, the
pressure against her bottom reminding her of the touch of the
flogger against her skin. The pleasure of each of his thrusts was
punctuated with a sting from her rear. It kept her on the razor’s
edge between the two and focused on the thick thrusts of his
cock.

He stretched her pussy wide with his
girth. She could feel every single spot his cock touched within
her, her sense of touch insanely elevated due to the pain he’d
caused. Sofia cried out with every stroke. Marc filled her over and
over again, each slick slide incredibly better than the
last.

Was this what the pain caused? Her
mind had been rewired, her body coaxed and tempted into a frenzy of
need.

When his fingers found her clit and
toyed with the nub as he increased his tempo, she was already so
close. He circled her clit, his lips finding hers. She tugged on
the straps about her wrists, wanting to wrap her arms around his
neck and pull him closer. Sofia lifted her head to kiss him more
aggressively, the one way to keep him at her mouth. She needed to
taste him, to have him connected to her here as well.

She screamed against his lips when she
came, and he swallowed her cries. Her body shuddered as wave after
wave crashed against her, her pussy clenching around his length.
Her orgasm stretched, the intensity bringing tears to her eyes, her
toes curling as he continued to thrust within her.

As Sofia came down off the high, she
felt his cock judder inside her and his body tightened. Marc cried
out, lifting his upper body up and away from her as he came. She
could feel the thick ropes of cum warming her from the inside
out.

When he was done, his gazed at her and
gave her a gentle kiss. He immediately unhooked her hands before
withdrawing from her body.

Marc stood and walked into the
bathroom, leaving her there to wonder what had just happened
between them. Yes, she’d agreed to the game and him getting what he
wanted, but at what cost to her?

There was no give and take between
them. She’d fallen for him and was giving him all. Sofia needed
more back from him. She needed his love. She needed his gentle
words and fingers. She needed him to hold her in his arms after an
experience like that, not rush off and leave a void between
them.

But then, he’d asked for a mistress,
nothing more.

He’d won the game and had reaped his
rewards. And even though she didn’t want to admit it, she’d liked
the rough play, the spanks, and even the flogger. It just hadn’t
been the time or the place for it. Marc had wanted it, so he’d
taken what he needed, not considering her needs.

Sofia had allowed her emotions to get
involved. She’d given in to his needs in hoping he’d open to her
and share part of himself with her. Lying there alone, she realized
she’d given him too much, expected too much. She’d deluded herself
into thinking more could come between them.

Tears burned the backs of her eyes,
but she wouldn’t let them fall. She was stronger than that, and he
wouldn’t bring her to that point. She might have had a moment of
weakness, thinking she could give in to him and get his love, but
after the stark sexual experience, she now understood the
truth.

Marc came back into the room, a
washcloth and a tube of something in hand. He lay across the bed
and rolled her to her side, the cool air flowing over her heated
bottom. Once he got her into position, he rubbed the warm cloth
over her skin, cleaning it gently. Then he moved between her legs,
wiping away the remnants of their lusts. When he was done, he
tossed the cloth to the nightstand and then opened the tube of some
clear gel. He rubbed it over her ass, the soothing oil cooling her
burning flesh.

“
Are you coming to
dinner?” he asked nonchalantly.

“
Dinner? I thought you
were having it delivered?”

Marc nodded. “I did. They brought it a
few moments ago.”

Shame filled Sofia. She hadn’t heard
any movement outside the room and was embarrassed at the thought of
others hearing her spanked and flogged. Not sure when they’d come,
she had no idea what the hotel workers had heard and not
heard.

“
You knew they were here
and didn’t stop?” she asked, livid.

“
They brought us breakfast
before while we were making love. What’s the
difference?”

There was a huge difference. She got
up and started to throw her belongings into her bags. She’d been a
fool to agree to this, and the fact he didn’t see what they’d
shared tonight was any different than what they’d shared on those
sensual mornings showed how little he cared about how it had
impacted her.

“
What are you doing?” he
asked, anger invading his tone.

“
I’m leaving,” she spat.
She wasn’t sure why she was as angry as she felt, but she sensed
she was approaching critical mass. They didn’t need to be in the
same spot if and when that happened.

Silence met her answer.

“
You promised to remain
with me during my exile.”

Sofia spun to glare at him. “I can’t
do this. I thought I could become your mistress and stay here in
paradise with you, but I can’t.”

“
Why? So you can go run
off and write your story?”

Marc was still stuck on
that. He didn’t believe her. “I told you I’m
not
writing the story. I didn’t plan
on it, even when I agreed on the phone. I can’t do confrontation,
and it was easier to tell him yes than to continue the argument.
And I see that’s what I did with you. I gave in to your needs
because I wanted to prove I trusted you, in hopes you’d trust me in
return. But at the first moment, you throw it back in my
face.”

“
You seem to be doing
confrontation well enough now.”

She looked up from her packing and
caught his gaze again. “You’ve pushed me to it. You take and you
take and after tonight I have nothing left to give you.”

“
What did you expect me to
give?” he asked. “You’re my mistress. It’s a sexual
relationship.”

The tears threatened again. She pushed
them back and refused to shed even one. “You’re right. I was wrong.
I’m not as cool headed and hearted as you are, so I let my emotions
get in my head and get all this twisted. But no worries, I’ll be
leaving so you don’t have to deal with anything as messy as
feelings.”

Marc walked up to her and spun her to
face him. “I told you exactly what I wanted. I was never unclear,
so don’t point fingers and tell me I’m at fault because your heart
got in the way of your head.”

And there it was.

The truth stung. “My bruised heart and
I will get out of your hair.”

His eyes widened, and there was almost
a maniacal look in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something,
but quickly closed it and stepped back. “Do what you feel you need
to do.”

He spun and stalked from the room,
leaving her alone once more.

She numbly packed her bags and drew on
the dress he’d taken off her. After fishing out her panties, she
pulled them on as she heard a knock on the door. She wandered
through the living space, eyeing the laden table filled with now
wasted food.

A bellhop stood at the door, a gentle
smile on his face. “Mr. Anders said you would need help with your
luggage?”

“
Yes, yes I
do.”

The bellhop came in and then followed
her to the bedroom. He lifted the bags she had collected and waited
for her beside the bedroom door as she double-checked everything,
hoping she’d gotten everything.

“
The concierge has been
instructed to help you. If you’ll follow me to the front desk,” the
bellhop said, his voice calm.

Her chest tightened. Marc
was so bipolar at times. Even furious, he secured help for her
escape. Or maybe he just wanted to ensure he was rid of her. Either
way, he was again throwing money at a problem, which seemed to be
his modus
operandi.

She followed the bellhop through the
door and willed herself not to look back.

Chapter Thirteen

Marc hung to the edge of the deck, his
body almost completely submerged, as he watched Sofia leaving. His
chest ached. The need to stop her, to apologize for being a
dickhead was strong, but the anger he had prevented him from
listening to his own gut.

He’d started to trust her, and then
he’d heard the call, shattering that trust. When she’d turned to
him and told him she wasn’t going to write it, he’d believed her.
There had been something in her eyes, in her tone, that had made
him believe her words.

Then the instinct to control her, to
claim her and make her his had overridden everything in his head.
He’d been swamped with the need to make her submit. And that need
had taken over, even as he’d seen the doubt written over her
face.

Yes her body had
surrendered, but he’d not had all of her. The trust between them
had been shaky ground, and he’d demanded more of her than he should
have. In his rush to have what he needed, he hadn’t considered her
needs, at all. Rule number one with submission was that
she
was truly in charge,
even bound. He’d ignored that rule and for that, he deserved to
watch her walk away from him and never turn back.