Page 57 of Hideaway

“I’ll do anything,”Kara offered, three simple words that had the power to destroy in the wrong hands. And Cade’s hands certainly weren’t the right ones to endow with such limitless power, but she was desperate. Cade’s eyes sparked with wicked curiosity, and Kara knew she might have a chance of victory, at least momentarily. Until she was subjected to whateveranythingCade devised.

“I’m intrigued,”Cade responded, trying to keep his features neutral, but failing to hide his excitement as Kara upped the stakes in their game.“Elaborate?”

“I’m willing to submit to anything, any form of punishment you deem appropriate for my reckless behavior. Anything but your belt.”

Cade took a moment to ponder her proposal. It was tempting, he had to admit, even if the belt in his hand begged to be reacquainted with her backside.“Are other forms of physical punishment acceptable?”

“No,”Kara amended, trying to sound firm and unshakable, even though she was afraid of demanding too much.“Nothing that hurts.”

“So nophysicalpain?”Cade asked in clarification.

The way he asked made Kara feel like she needed to be worried about him hurting her in ways that weren’t physical.“Anything but physical pain,”Kara answered in agreement.

“Well, I think I can work within those parameters,”Cade announced in a tone of vengeful glee.“But, as this apparentlyisa negotiation, I have an addendum. To soothe my need for prompt justice, you allow me one lash of the belt. Then the remainder of your punishment can be deferred to another time.”

“That sounds reasonable enough,”Kara accepted warily, body already tense for the pain she’d just agreed to endure. Though she was relieved to have escaped the brunt of his punishment for the moment, she seethed at the idea of Cade sneaking in the belt just for a show of power and control. She’d won, but he somehow made her feel like she hadn’t.

Fucking asshole.

Cade offered his hand, gently helping Kara to her feet; the gesture would have appeared gallant if it weren’t for his next words.“Turn around and grasp the side of the couch,”he commanded sharply.

Biting her lip anxiously at the knowledge of what was coming, Kara faced the arm of the couch, digging her fingers into the leather to brace herself against Cade’s vindictive intentions for her ass.

Cade stepped back to admire the view. There was very little beauty in the world that superseded the delectable sight of Kara bared and bent over before him. And his cock was in firm agreement. Since Kara’s bargaining had swindled him out of every lash but one, Cade had every intention of making that single lash count. He drew back his arm and put all of his considerable weight into delivering the one blow. The belt hit Kara’s skin with a thunderingthwap, leaving an angry red welt in its wake.

Kara cried out, stunned by the sheer force of the belt slapping across her ass. It felt as though all of Cade’s anger and frustration and disappointment had been poured into a single blow, and her body protested the viciousness of the assault. Incredibly grateful that she was only forced to endure one lash, Kara stood up and attempted to gather her remnants of dignity as best she could.

Unfortunately for her, Cade preferred her dignity in shambles.

Cade pulled her tightly against him, pressing his body firmly into the contours of her own. They were close enough that Kara could feel the hard bulge of his cock jutting into the softness of her belly. She gasped slightly at the intrusion, her body instinctively reacting to his need, though she wondered if he was hard from the feel of her body or from the punishment he inflicted on her.

Cade captured her chin, forcing Kara to look at him—a mischievous glint in his eyes.“Now say:thank you, daddy, for my spanking,”Cade ordered with a sadistic smile, clearly not allowing her previous comment regarding daddy issuesto go unpunished.

“I hate you,”Kara whispered under her breath with an angry huff.

“What was that?”Cade asked scoldingly, raising a single eyebrow as though daring her to challenge him and risk another punishment.

“Thank you,daddy, for my spanking,”she said through gritted teeth, choking on the words as though they were barbed wire in her throat and nearly perishing with mortification.

“You’re very welcome, baby girl,”Cade replied, pinching her cheek indulgently, the act so infantilizing that Kara physically cringed.“Now, go clean your face and get ready for dinner.”

Gritting her teeth, Kara turned to leave without another word, yelping as Cade sent her off with a firm slap on her already stinging backside.

Fucking. Prick.

Chapter Fourteen

FEELING sore, horny, and thoroughly vexed in a way only Cade—in his magnificent assholery—was capable of achieving, Kara slid into her room and slammed the door a little louder than necessary. The resounding bang of the door hitting the adjoining wall gave her some measure of satisfaction as she replayed her recent humiliations at the hands of her captor. A captor who she also had the ill-advised misfortune of fucking on a somewhat regular basis. She was aware of her idiocy on that account and had every intention of rectifying the situation as soon as another opportunity presented itself. Another opportunity being a sizable cock attached to a man in possession of at least adequate moral scruples and a modicum of human decency. And perhaps less of a tendency to take out his frustrations on her ass.

Rubbing at her mistreated backside, Kara headed for the bed with every intention of sleeping straight through dinner and avoiding Cade’s smug face until at least the next day. She paused when she discovered that the bed wasn’t entirely empty. A large, black box elegantly adorned with a black satin bow lay at the foot of the bed, the package looking dreadfully out of place as its darkness contrasted the rest of the bright and cheerful room. Kara eyed the mysterious parcel warily. Her recent behavior was hardly befitting a present, so she couldn’t begin to fathom what lay within the box or who had left it. With a sigh of determination, Kara strode toward the present and tore off the attached card, solving the mystery of the gifter without actually mitigating any of her confusion regarding the gift.

Wear this tonight. Pair with black stilettos. Dinner is at eight. Don’t be late.

-C

Still dubious of Cade’s intentions, Kara untied the silk bow and lifted the top of the box. Inside, a gorgeous Dolce & Gabbana dress lay nestled in layers of black tissue paper. She gasped audibly as she carefully pulled the dress from its wrappings and held it against her body lovingly. The dress was exquisite, certainly unlike anything she’d ever owned or worn before. It didn’t escape her notice that, while everything else she wore had belonged to someone else, this was the first item of clothing that Cade had purchased specifically forher.

Her anger momentarily forgotten, Kara excitedly undressed and slipped into the new dress. As she expected, it fit her perfectly. The dress offered decidedly little coverage with sleeves of sheer black lace that dipped slightly below her shoulders, a satin corseted bodice featuring a lacy see-through panel in the middle, and a mere hint of eyelash lace at the hem that just barely graced her mid thighs. It was without a doubt the most expensive and exposing piece of clothing she had ever worn. Slipping out of the dress, Kara eyed the clock on the bedside table. She had a few hours until dinner, plenty of time to put in some extra effort into her makeup and hair than usual.

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