Page 77 of Start With A Slap

“What are you doing? What are youdoingto me? Begging me to hurt you...” He yanked on the gag until she choked —um, hi, need that to breathe— and then let go to unceremoniously pull out with a ragged groan.

The first ribboning spurt hit her left shoulder blade. The next, her ass. Most of the rest landed on her spot, all while he hissed and groaned and jacked himself off.

She tried not to cough too much as he landed on his back beside her, catching his breath. Didn’t need him thinking she couldn’t take it.

“You okay?” At her nod, he reached for the bedside intercom. “Towels, ice water, now.”

CHAPTER 23

Like A Charm

As Sever got out of bed, Ivy stared at the magic intercom thinking,I could have usedthatto get earplugs.

Not that she was necessarily regretful about the rabbit hole she’d tumbled into. Any rabbit hole that led to a total body high was all right with her ...as long as she could scratch her way out of it before their arrival at Van Nuys.

A shining blade flashed behind her, shocking her out of her reverie. “What are you—?!” He sliced the rope in two. “Oh.”

“‘Oh’, she says.” He continued to cut her loose. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“No... It was, ‘Oh, so that’s what the big scary knife is for’.”

He closed it. “What did you think it was for?”

Rubbing her sore, rope-burned wrists, she shrugged. “Cutting through pantyhose, butchering innocent girls... Those were my top two.”

“Silly Ivy. You’re not innocent.” He went to answer the knock at the door. “Cheers, mate,” she heard him say to Vikram, then roll in a cart. “And I was thinking teeth and bare hands for the hose. Don’t turn around.”

“Why?” She craned her neck to see him squeezing out a hand towel.

“Would it kill you to trust me?”

“Only you know the answer to—” She startled when the warm, damp towel touched her shoulder blade, and she realized he was cleaning his come off of her, ever so gently. “—that.”

He discarded the soiled towel, then draped a wet, tingly replacement over her raw backside before blanketing that with dry towels. “Leave it for a few. Should numb the pain and take down the swelling.”

Which he could matter-of-factly say because he obviously did this a lot. Even Vikram knew the exact ratio of wet medicinal towels to dry, warm to cool... “Am I still red?”

“As a telephone box,” he said, cleaning himself off. “Not to worry, it’ll fade before we land. Can’t say the same for your laryngitis.”

That better not fade. It’s my alibi.

A tall glass of ice water appeared before her and she chugged the entire thing as he returned theClue-like array of BDSM gadgets to the bottom drawer and kicked it shut.

She touched the cool, wet tumbler to her face, rolled it over her burning-hot skin. “Can I ask you a question?”

He opened the mini fridge and looked at a plum. “You can ask.”

“Bottom drawer: stocked for this occasion, or all occasions? Like a ‘smash glass in case of hooker’?”

Chewing, he squinted at her. “What would anger you more?”

“A lie.”

“It was stocked for you. Smash glass in case of firebrand. Shall I write your name on it? ‘Hookers keep out’? God knows I needed a sign for the top.”

She averted her gaze. “I deserved that. I invaded your privacy, and?—”

“Don’t.” He dropped the half-eaten plum into the trash. “It doesn’t matter.”

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