"Is that so?"

His hand left my ass and was swiftly replaced by the hard smack of what could only be a paddle.

"Shit!" Yeah, that still hurt. He'd joked about the paddle, but I never expected him to actually use it. I'd had plenty of fun under the palm of his hand. Thankfully the alcohol was working its magic. The sting of the blow numbed quickly.

"It was crowded. I didn't mean to," I said, suddenly eager to soothe his jealousy.

He paddled me again and the pain melted a little faster.

"I'm sorry, Blake."

"I'm glad. But we have a long way to go."

I mewled in my dissent, even as a little voice in the back of my mind begged him to keep going.

He leaned down over me, holding the paddle still against my stinging ass. I tensed, uneasy, not knowing what he had planned.

"Do you think you deserve punishment?"

Yes.

I shook my head no.

"No? You have quite the list going. Tying me up and trying to have your wicked way with me. Running off to a sex club unattended. Tell me now, do you think you deserve punishment?"

"Yes," I breathed softly, an admission that only the couch could hear.

"I can't hear you," he said sharply.

"Yes, I deserve it."

He swirled the paddled over my ass, causing my stomach to clench anew with anticipation. The fog of the alcohol was lifting with every passing moment.

"That's what I thought. You're going to get to know the paddle tonight, and no matter what, Erica, I don't want you to come. Take everything I give you, and you'll get your reward after."

I loved a solid spanking as much as the next girl, but the paddle was unforgiving. The threat of climaxing against his wishes was weightless. I'd get my reward, no doubt, but not before he made me feel the sting of regret.

I bit my lip and braced myself for the lesson.

The paddle came down, a solid slap against my skin. I groaned, trying hard not to squirm away. He delivered blow after blow, spacing them out, spreading them over my ass and thighs. Hard stinging licks that fell just shy of my sex. Fear mingled with desire, as I prayed he wouldn't make a mistake and hit me there and hurt me. Yet I fantasized about any kind of contact there. His fingers, his mouth, his cock. Anything. The intensity of the blows went straight to my head. Unbearably needy, I grew wet, a fact that couldn't be hidden with my ass on display, my legs as far apart as he'd wanted them.

He delivered another blow, harder than the others, and I yelled loudly, the sound echoing off our walls.

My entire body tensed, the defensive instinct resonating most noticeably where the plug nestled inside of me. The pressure there was so concentrated. The nagging desire that its presence had inspired all night had morphed into a powerful reminder of what Blake wanted from me tonight.

I rubbed my chest against the rough linen of the couch cover. Every cell stood on edge. I wanted more. I wanted everything tonight.

He paused long enough to twist the plug. The reminder of the pressure, the friction was too much. I could feel it in my pussy, acute enough that I could almost...come.

My hands fisted into balls. No, I wasn't supposed to.

When I thought I couldn't take another second of his punishments, he stopped. I flinched when he soothed my hot, prickly flesh with his palms. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. He felt like heaven, like a wonderful, tender gift. Water in the fucking desert. Blood thundered in my veins, pulsing arousal through me. Desire surged, and I hurdled to the edge of orgasm. I trembled with the effort not to come.

"Blake!" I pleaded. If I had to bear one more sensation, I was going to lose it.

He hushed me, stroking my back and the burning skin of my ass. Leaning over my backside, he kissed me on the shoulder. "You did well. I'm going to fuck you now, baby. You ready?"

Slowly, he pulled out the plug, but I registered anything but relief.

I struggled for breath, the pressure of my own body suddenly too much against my chest. I nodded, trying not to think of how I could withstand more pain. I was already weak and barely able to stand.

He tugged me upright. "Let's sit down, and then I want you to straddle me."

I stood still, processing his directions, but not sure how this was going to work. He dropped his jeans to the floor. His thick cock stood ready, shamelessly erect from his body. Was he still planning to...?

"I thought we were..."

The corner of his mouth lifted with a wicked grin. "I'm having your ass tonight. But I want you to be as comfortable as possible this time."

We circled the couch. Careful to keep my balance, I settled comfortably over his splayed legs. The hunger in his eyes was enough to take my breath away. I knew what he wanted tonight, but my body wanted him other places. Places I knew would bring me unspeakable pleasure.

He'd promised me pleasure, but I still wasn't convinced it was possible for me this way. "This is going to hurt," I said, my expression bordering on a pout.

He reached for the bottle of lube on the table that I hadn't noticed earlier. He applied a generous portion to his palm and spread it up and down his length. He was big. He got even bigger when he was about to come in me. His generous endowment was a feature that never failed to please me during sex. Making all of him fit comfortably inside of my ass was another matter altogether.

My jaw fell slightly, my heartbeat kicking up as he stroked more lube over the head of his cock.

He lifted an eyebrow, seeming to notice my reactions. "See something you like?"

I swallowed hard.

His expression softened. "Have I ever hurt you? In a way that you weren't begging for more by the end?"

I turned my gaze to his slick erection. The noises of his strokes were impossibly distracting.

"No," I admitted. Tonight was evidence of that. I'd been paddled like a precocious child, and I would have withstood twice the punishment if he'd wanted it. He never steered us wrong. Yet doubt crept over me.

"This will be no exception. It'll be intense, but you'll enjoy it. We'll go slow, and I'll talk you through it."

I couldn't argue with that. I was primed, thoroughly ready for release, and his promised dirty talk could be the icing on the cake-if I could handle it. My hands were hot against my thighs. I rubbed them up and down anxiously, suddenly not knowing what to do with them.

"Come closer." He scooted farther down the couch, while I shimmied up so his cock lined up at a better angle. "This will give you more control."

I snorted. "Not your style."

"Try not to remind me." His eyes darkened.

I bit my lip, not wanting to fuel his vengeance when I really needed him to be gentle and patient with me.

"We'll go slow. We can even stop. But by the end of the night, I'll be in your ass. So wrap your head around that. The best thing you can do is try to relax."

I nodded and held onto the small comfort that I did officially have a safeword now, even if I'd never had to use it.

He hushed my silent worries with a soft kiss. "When we're done, you'll be asking me why we never did it sooner, I promise."

I sighed. "You sure know how to give a girl cold feet."

He explored with his fingers, lining us up.

"Don't worry. Your feet are going to be toasty warm in a few minutes." Rubbing over the tight bud between my cheeks, he pressed firmly, seeking entry. "Open up for me," he ordered gently.

Against every instinct, I released my muscles, easing his passage into me. One slick finger and then two stretched me, with the same decadent sting as they had before. I closed my eyes, remembering how hard I'd come before when he was inside me this way. Could it be like that? Before I could wonder, he pushed the blunt head of his cock into me a bare inch.

"Now come down onto my cock, nice and slow."

My thighs trembled. I struggled to stay steady as I took a little more of him. I felt like we were moving one millimeter at a time. I was petrified, but there was no urgency in Blake's eyes or body language that forced me to hurry my movements. After a few minutes of careful progress, somehow I felt more ready for him. After all, the plug had been marking his place inside of me for the past several hours.

My liquefied thoughts pieced that together, making me bolder. I dropped down more, but my eyes shot wide open at the first dart of pain that halted everything. I whimpered at the discomfort and withdrew from the progress we'd made.

"Breathe, Erica. Give your body a chance to accept me."

He held me still, his hands firmly at my hips. We were still connected. The pain had subsided, and he coaxed me back, regaining the lost ground. I sucked in a tentative breath, surprised when the pain wasn't as intense as it had been. The relief was quickly replaced with the intensity of being filled, breathtakingly stretched. The pain came and went and we slowed around it until it passed, until I could catch my breath and my courage.

Blake's eyes closed a moment, restraint tightening the muscles in his face. He opened them, his hooded expression sweeping over me. "I can't wait to be all the way inside you, Erica. Can't wait to make you come this way."

Air filled my lungs, and my body went lax at his dirty promises. With gentle ease and determination, he had me clenching around him, the way I had around the plug when he'd paddled me. Except this was more intense and way more intimate.

He caught my chin, focusing my gaze to him. "Look at me. Feel me." Lust and strain washed over his countenance. He stared deeply into me. "Little by little, you're giving a piece of yourself to me. I'm inside you, the same way you're inside me."

He worked me down over him until I couldn't believe he could fill me any farther. I licked my dry lips, unable to still their quivering. Heat spread out from my heart, covering my skin with an unbearable sizzling need. My hands trembled over his chest, rising and falling over his labored breaths.

My heart swelled, and any last resistance gave way as I relaxed around him. I thought I'd taken him to the hilt when he thrust up, taking us the rest of the way. Oh fuck.

"There." He released a shuddery sigh. Leaning forward, he kissed me. A slow, hard, penetrating kiss. "You're always inside me, Erica."

Another wave of heat washed over me, making me slick with sweat where our bodies met, which was nearly everywhere. I wanted to move. I wanted him to deliver on this promise of pleasure already budding inside of me.

Blake's hands roamed restlessly, pulling me against him tightly. His teeth grazed my neck under hot, hard kisses. I quivered over him.

"Fuck," he growled. His breathing grew rapid, but he wasn't moving.

"Is everything okay?" My voice was a whisper. "What do you want me to do?"

"You don't have to do anything. I'm just trying like hell not to come right now. Feels fucking amazing."

He held me close for a moment. I tried to relax, but I was too wound up. Too edgy. Too desperate for him to take me. I closed my eyes, acutely aware of this new possession.

He stilled and drew in breath.

"I'm going to move now, but I'm not going to last long this way. Now that I'm inside you, it's going to be fast and a little rough."

I nodded, drunk now only on lust and the intoxicating love and trust I felt with Blake. He could take me anywhere, do anything. I didn't know what a limit was anymore, because everything became a step to being closer to him.

Fingering my folds, he brought the moisture that had pooled between my legs up over my clit. He started slow strokes over the firm nub. His touch was gentle but the sensation was sharp. My body clenched tightly around him, heightening the intensity of everything. I clutched the couch behind him, needing to dig my nails into something.

Blake cursed, and then he pulled out enough to thrust. He sank into me with careful thrusts that grew in strength and speed as the seconds passed. The sensation entirely new and overwhelming in the way intimacy with Blake always was.

I bit my lip, trying to focus on the pleasure over the sting.

"You okay, baby?" His cheeks were flushed, his voice breathy.

"Yeah," I whispered.

He looked into my eyes, seeming to hear the hesitation in my voice. He slowed and lifted me enough to glide his fingers from my throbbing clit, lower to the entrance of my pussy until he was pressed deep into my tissues.

I sucked in a sharp breath. Suddenly exquisitely filled, I exhaled a small cry. My hips snapped forward, seeking more. Liquid fire burned its way through me, sliding into my veins, growing and demanding oxygen.

I felt so...taken.

"Better?" The low rumble of his voice vibrated through me.

I moaned, quivering-impossibly wet, impossibly tight around him. He was right. Neither of us would last long this way.

Our once painstaking pace ticked up to a rugged tempo as he fucked me faster and harder. I threw my head back with a wail. The friction was intense, the burn of his initial entry lingering, bringing an edge to the unexpected pleasure. I was losing my mind this way. My brain scattered, every thought disappearing in a sea of cries and prayers and "oh fucks" as he buried his cock inside of me over and over. He slid his fingers into me deeper, the heel of his hand working over my clit until I saw stars.

There was no blissful climb to the top of the cliff. The orgasm rose from a source I couldn't place and shattered through me. Possessed and filled and stimulated in more ways than my tired mind could comprehend, I screamed. I came hard, electric pleasure shooting through every limb, down to my toes and the fingertips that ripped into the fabric behind Blake's head.

"Oh God, baby. Just like that," he groaned.

I faltered, my legs weak and my senses overwhelmed. His fingers left me, and he took command of my hips, driving me down onto his slick cock the way he wanted. He used both hands and the force of his hips to impale me. Tension lined his face.

"Nothing's ever been this tight. So fucking tight." His voice was raw, unrestrained.

His hardened abdominal muscles came together, revealing their impressive definition. He was beautiful. He was mine. I was his, unmistakably his, in every way.

Hauling me tight against him, he unleashed a series of powerful thrusts, exploding in me with a hoarse cry.

We stayed like that, molded tightly together, quivering from the potent release. Hours could have passed before my brain started functioning again in any reasonable way.

"Oh my God," I breathed. I opened my eyes to the world as if I'd just woken from a coma. A sex-induced, thought-obliterating coma.

He laughed, his breath cool on my damp skin.

"Good?"

"Mmm." I hummed a lazy affirmation, gazing at him through sleepy eyes. "We should have done that sooner."

He kissed me, a satisfied smile curving against my lips. "I told you."