Page 60 of Savage Claim

Instead, his eyes were all on me. “Repeat what you said,” he demanded.

“Punish me,” I said dutifully.

CHAPTER 38

Lorenzo

Looking at Isabella made my stomach burn. The anger that I had made no sense. I knew that she truly wasn’t at fault for Cristian’s lost faith, and I would never regret ending Father David’s life. But even knowing that logically, I couldn’t stop the flicker of anger burning away at my gut.

“We were talking about something important.”

Isabella raised and lowered one shoulder daintily. “Aren’t you always?”

She was baiting me, andGoddamnher, but it was working. “So, you interrupted an important work meeting so that I can punish you?”

“Wouldn’t that make you feel better?” she asked, and there was something about the way she was standing, the expression on her face, that told me that it wouldn’t only be me who would benefit. “I mean, we could talk things through if that’s what you needed,” she said, even as I was thinking of all the things that I could do to her to get rid of all of this misplaced rage, “butI think we both know that our communication skills are largely nonverbal.”

A nasty smile made its way across my face. “If you want me to fuck you, Isabella, you could just say that.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Her nose wrinkled as a frown slashed deeply into her face. “I don’t want—” Irritation and uncertainty twisted through her features. Her hands balled into fists and relaxed again. She looked like she was close to tears. “Never mind, this was a mistake.” Her eyes met mine, defiant to the last. “I’m sorry for bothering you,” she said, and although her words were polite, she sounded like she was telling me to go fuck myself.

Well, that wouldn’t do at all, would it?

Isabella turned, but before she could make it two steps, I grabbed her arm and hauled her into my office, slamming the door behind us and flipping the lock. I pushed her back against that closed door, pinning her against it, minding not to press too hard on her belly. Her eyes were already impossibly round and wide.

“You want to help me feel better, right?” I asked, and after a moment of hesitation, Isabella’s head dipped in agreement. “You told me to punish you.” Again, she nodded. “Why would you want that?” She had enjoyed our games before, of course, but I wanted to hear her reasons.

It took her two tries to say: “Because I think we both need it right now.” When I continued to stare at her, unmoving, she added, “Cristian told me about the other man who attacked me.”

I reached out and cupped her face, gentle despite all of the anger that still existed, boiling in my gut. “If he wasn’t dead, I would do the same thing to him that I did to Father David.”

She nodded and leaned into my touch. “I know.”

Still cupping her face, I leaned down and kissed her, just as sweet and soft as my touch. “Do you want to do this here or in our room?” I kept my words light. Now that I had an outlet in front of me, my chest was already feeling lighter.

“Our room.”

Isabella wriggled against the bonds tying her to our headboard. She was positioned on her side, so that she was comfortable, but both arms were secured over her head. The ankle laying against the mattress was also tied to the bottom of the bed. While she had one leg free, so that I could move her how I liked, her movement was limited.

“Comfortable?”

“No,” she mumbled.

I chuckled, running my hand over her scarred flank. She shivered. “You can feel your hands, yes?”

She wiggled her fingers. “Yes.”

I hummed. “Do you remember what you need to say if this is too much?”

“Red.”

I made another soft noise of agreement. I reached over and moved her free leg so that it was bent at the knee, with her foot flat on the bed. I smirked at the wetness already shining on her inner thighs. “Already excited, Isabella?”

She jerked in her bonds, as if she were testing them. “Not that,” she murmured, glancing at me as best she could over her shoulder.

Not what?When it clicked, my smile became wolfish. “What’s wrong?” I asked, taunting her. “You don’t like it when I use your name?”

Isabella glared, even as my fingers brushed over her and made her shiver. I traced over her scars again, gently, and then over the swell of her belly, and then up and over her breasts. I pinched one of her nipples, already hard for me, and she let out a little yelp.

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