Page 22 of Emperor of Corruption
My head hangs lower. Killian fists my hair to lift it up. “Posture,” he admonishes. “Hold your head high. Be proud.”
“There isnothingto be proud of here.” He’s degrading me, assaulting me, while I stand in place and accept it.
“You’re wrong.” He kisses the shell of my ear.
“Stop it!” I yell, losing my temper.
His hand snaps around my neck again, grip tightening until it’s nearly bruising. I whimper, reaching up to clutch his hand with my own.
“Don’t raise your voice at me when it’s playtime,” he says, utterly calm. “Don’t curse me, either. You can fight, you can be as bratty as you want, but I wouldn’t recommend provoking me. In case you haven’t realized it, I’m not a lenient man. Don’t invite my wrath, Lyra.”
He squeezes harder for a moment, until I think my windpipe might collapse.Then, he lets go.
“You think you don’t like pain,” he repeats. “I’m going to disabuse you of that notion. You have a few punishments coming your way for your brattiness today, but I’ll commute your punishment. In any other case, you’d get 10 for every single question you failed to answer, and another ten for your rudeness during the interview, which would be well over 100. Instead, you’ll get twenty… for those offences.”
I don’t know for sure what he means by20, but I assume it’s spanks. I’ve handled a spanking from him before; it’s painful, uncomfortable, and humiliating, but I know I can get through it.
“Another 20 will be for your ridiculous attempts to leave,” he goes on, “And then a final 10 for your refusal to cooperate. That comes out to fifty.”
“Get it over with,” I say.
“Very well.” He steps back, and I hear a slight displacement of air, like a whizz. Then, I hear a crack, which startles me so much I jump. When I glance over my shoulder, Itrulystart to panic.
He’s holding his belt, folded in half. He’s not going tospankme, he’s going towhipme.
“Wait,” I say, straightening. “That’s—”
He curls his hand over the back of my neck and forces me over the desk, until my cheek is smushed against it and my breasts are flattened on the surface. I try to straighten, but he doesn’t budge.
“Stay in place or I’ll make you stay in place. If I have to restrain you, that’ll double your punishment, Lyra. We’ll play with bondage another time, but it’s not in the plans for today.”
“Please,” I whimper again. “If you want me to beg, I’ll beg—”
“You’ll beg once I’ve gotten started. Begging beforehand iswhining, and I have no interest in listening to you whine right now. Stay still and take it.”
The first hit jars my bodyandsoul. A line of fire forms on my ass, painful, burning, the impact so harsh I can already feel it forming a bruise. I bite down on my lip to withhold a scream, even as tears swim in my eyes.How can I takefiftyof these?
Ican’t.
The second is even worse, because he lays it over the exact same spot as the first, and swings with such strength I feel my tailbone creak under the pressure. Three more land in swift succession, all in the same spot as the first, and I break with a sob.
I’m humiliated, reduced to nothing but a plaything for Killian, and my mind is stuck in such turmoil, I can’t even think of taking revengeagainst him—not right now.
He pauses for a few seconds, just long enough for me to hope he changed his mind about giving me50, but then he resumes with a vengeance.
For the first ten, I tremble and sob, but manage to keep my screams trapped in my chest. On the twentieth, I break and cry out, a long, pitiful sound that makes Killian pause. I can almostfeelhis pleasure. By the thirtieth, I’mscreaming,and on the fortieth, I no longer have enough of a voice to scream. All I can do is cry and quietly repeatplease, over and over again, hoping he grants mesomemercy.
But Killian doesn’t know the meaning of mercy.
On the fiftieth, I’m completely sapped of strength. My ass burns like someone’s holding a blowtorch to it, aches, and pulses… and there’s something else. A low pulse between my legs—a pulse of something I don’t want to identify.
Just like I was the night of the gala, I feel thoroughly cowed. Completely drained. Desperate to go home and curl up on my bed, even though I know it’ll be painful—any touch against my ass will be painful.
When Killian squeezes my heated ass in his cool hands, I sob again at the renewed burst of pain.
“Good girl,” he murmurs. “Begging so sweetly for me.” Again, he kisses my shoulder, and again, I flinch.
“Now, you have a choice. You can either beg me to fuck you, and the punishment will be over. I’ll make sure you feel good. Or…” he squeezes again; I release a broken cry, “You can refuse, and that’ll be ten more hits… this time, on your pussy.”
