“You will count, Abigail,” Jack demanded. “Count of ten.”
CRACK!
She tensed when she heard that terrible sound. Every muscle in her body did exactly what she didn’t want it to do. When the lash struck the fleshy part of her ass, she was rigid. All the breath left her body as the burn sizzled. It wasn’t exactly pain, but it wasn’t comfortable, either. She forced herself to breath.
“I need a count, Abigail,” Jack said patiently.
“One,” she managed with a shaky voice as she wondered how she could get through that nine more times.
It happened quickly the second time. Abby felt the burn across her thighs and gasped. “Two,” she nearly shouted. Her mouth had gone dry and her breath came in pants. She was grateful for the bindings. Her fingers curled around the leather that held her in place.
Again. The third blast came across her buttocks. Fire seemed to splash across her skin. It sizzled and cracked and retreated, leaving something else in its wake.
“Three,” she managed.
Jack worked fast. He didn’t give her time to think or prepare for the next lash. The minute he heard her count, he struck again. By the time she made it to ten she was crying, but the burn was sinking into her skin. It seemed to course through her veins and it hurt, but it also made her feel awfully alive. A strange sense of pride washed through her. She’d made it through and hadn’t screamed, hadn’t begged him to stop. By the time the lash had bitten her the last time, she’d felt an odd kinship with the whip. It was taking her someplace. The cessation of that horrible burn was a pleasure in and of itself. She sagged against her bindings, so tired she didn’t think she could walk. She wished Jack didn’t have to deal with Sam. This was the time she craved, when the pain was over and her body hummed, when Jack took such sweet care of her.
“You were wonderful, sweetheart,” he murmured as he efficiently pulled her out. Lucas was at his side. Jack worked on her hands while Lucas pulled her feet out. “I’m so proud of you.” His hands lightly traced the skin where the whip had landed. She knew what was going through his head. He was checking to make sure he hadn’t done any real damage. After a moment, she felt him relax and knew he was satisfied. Abby could tell the whole episode had done something for him. He was aroused as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly before passing her off to Lucas. Lucas helped her into her robe as Jack turned to Julian.
“Are you satisfied with my wife?” Jack asked.
Julian nodded briefly. “She did well for a novice. I take it Samuel has chosen to take the majority of the punishment. Or did you force that on him?”
Abby watched Sam practically bound on to the stage. He was grinning as he shrugged out of his clothes.
“Yes, I was terrible to him, Julian.” Jack watched as Sam approached. Sam tossed his clothes to the side. “I had to force him.”
Sam got into position, head down, palms up as Lucas swept Abby up and carried her off the stage. Jack was going through the ritual he’d performed with her for Sam. Lucas found a chaise lounge set aside for the occasion. There was a small table with another vodka and cranberry juice waiting.
“Here you go.” Lucas pressed the glass in her hand and steadied her. “Are you all right?”
She nodded as she took a gulp. She really was all right. The entire episode had been very enlightening. Abby knew it wasn’t the last time she’d feel the bite of that whip. She’d been close to going someplace else.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes, Lucas, getting your ass whipped hurts,” Abby replied sarcastically. She felt a smile tug her lips up. It was a little like jumping into near-freezing water. There was a creek in Willow Fork that was always cold. She had jumped into it every summer. It was horrible, almost unbearable while she was in it, but when she got out, and the sun hit her skin, every pore was open and the world seemed like a different place.
Lucas held a bottle of something. “I’m supposed to wipe this across your ass.”
She shook her head. There was no way she was letting Lucas rub her naked bottom. He was her brother-in-law. “It can wait for Jack.”
Lucas let out a sigh. “He said you would probably refuse, but he wanted it here. Do you want me to take you back to the room?”
“No.” She wasn’t going to leave them. She gingerly sat down, and Lucas followed, sitting next to her. The pain was already gone, and she was surprised she wasn’t very sore.
There was a mighty crack, and Sam shouted out, “One.” There was an almost jubilant satisfaction in his voice. Lucas hissed.
“Wow,” Lucas said. “That is not what he did to you.”
A line of red appeared on Sam’s backside. It looked angry and painful, but Sam just counted through it. The whip cracked through the air. It was a harsh sound and made Abby jump. Somehow it hadn’t sounded that way when she was tied to the St. Andrew’s Cross. The sound had been gentler even when the whip stung along her skin.
Sam tensed the first few times. The muscles of his back bunched up, and he groaned. After the first few, though, he seemed to relax. Abby stood and watched as the whip danced. It seemed almost like an extension of Jack himself. The man and the whip moved in perfect harmony, the action sensual in its fluidity. She found herself holding her breath as the whip flew back and Jack began again.
She wished she could see Sam’s face. It would give her a sense of what he was feeling. She could see Julian’s. He watched with rapt attention. While others switched their attention between the two men working the scene, Julian Lodge watched only Sam. After a moment, his serious gray eyes found hers. She looked away, but not before she saw that Julian, for everything he had, was a lonely man at heart.
She let her attention get back to her husbands. Sam’s back was red and swollen. Abby watched as he let his head sag when the count reached ten. His voice got languid and heavy.
“That must be that subspace thing Jack told me about.” Lucas gazed at the scene playing out before him. His eyes were clearly focused on Sam’s back. Abby began to wonder just how much he was like his brother.
“Mr. Cameron?”
Abby looked up at the same time Lucas did. A man in leather held out a drink. She wasn’t pleased to see Julian’s male sub.
Lucas took a moment studying the other man’s face before he came up with a name. “Jeremy?”
Jeremy smiled down at Lucas. He completely ignored her. It made Abby suspicious. She couldn’t forget how this little weasel had gotten them all in trouble the night before by misrepresenting Sally’s actions to Master Leo.
“I missed spending time with you last night,” Jeremy was saying. “Your brother seems a little overprotective. Here, you said you liked rum and coke.”
Abby’s attention was pulled away as Sam grunted and managed to say, “Twenty.” He was slumped up against the apparatus, his head hanging forward. She wanted to go to him, but Lucas held her hand.
“No, Jack said to keep you here.” Lucas’s eyes softened as though he understood her worry. “He’ll come for you, Abby. Sam is fine.”
“Let her go, Lucas,” Jeremy cajoled. He sat down on the sofa across from them. It was not a submissive move in Abby’s mind. Julian’s slave pushed the drink forward. “Come on, let the girl go, and we can have a drink and talk. We got along really well last night. We could have a lot of fun, you and me.”
Julian proclaimed his satisfaction with Sam. All around the dungeon, the crowd was buzzing. The scene had everyone talking.
“I don’t think that’s such a great idea.” Abby heard Lucas talking, but her eyes were on Sam. Julian handed up a robe to Sam. There was a slightly dippy look on his face. He grinned as he stumbled a little. Jack’s shoulder went under Sam’s arm to give him balance. Sam didn’t fight him. He let his head lean against Jack’s broad shoulder. They were so beautiful together. Abby felt her heart speed up.