***LONDON’S POV***
I watch Zane’s movements as I slide out of my damp clothes. I know I had spent more time than it was necessary by the lake, and despite having almost drowned and Zane asking me to come home, I had disobeyed him, staying out there even some more.
I have been a bad girl.
I look at the door, thinking that I could make it out before whatever play Zane is suggesting for us goes out of hand. It wouldn’t be funny at all.
His back is rigid as he chooses a took from his cane rack. I think my head will combust from the heat I am feeling right now.
“You don’t own me, Zane,” I burst out as I fiddle with the last of my clothing.
Naked. That is how I am and I feel so vulnerable, starting an argument with a man who is clothed while I am standing a few weeks behind him naked.
“You acted like a brat again, London,” he says instead, deviating the conversation.
I feel my throat tightening with fear as Zane settles his hand on a paddle. All the air seems to disappear from my lungs. I will myself not to seem unbothered. I will not even cry.
I’ve suffered worse cases than it is necessary. I will not bed as well.
When I didn’t reply to Zane, he turned around facing me now, the paddle in his hand.
“Get on the table, I want your knees on the grains of rice,” he instructs and for the first time, I notice how much this room has changed from the last time we had used it.
The air seemed to catch in my throat at how darker the room felt.
‘Oh God!’ I cry out mentally.
“No. I will not obey you,” I tell him with a straight face.
Zane’s eyebrows irked as he stare me down.
“You just added ten more strokes to your punishment. With each second that passes that you waste, is an additional blow to your lower thigh. I bet you wouldn’t even be able to crawl by the time I am done with you,” he blurts out, his eyes fuming against mine.
My body involuntarily walks towards the table, my legs wobbling as fear consumes me. I don’t think that a man like Zane would bluff on little things like that, but I know him, he means business and he is serious about what has just been said.
“Zane, we can talk this out,” I say as I stand beside the table.
“Too late, angel,” Zane replies, sweeping me off the ground and placing me on the table. He starts strapping me, locking my hands out on each end of the table, to a standing pole, ready for that function.
At first, you would think the table is a spanking bench, but this is farther from that reality, it is wider and more exposed.
I have the shape of a starfish by the time Zane is finished locking me on four ends. My ass is perched in the center and I know I might not survive the ordeal one more time.
“Zane? What… What the fuck are you planning to do with that paddle?” I ask my voice quivering.
“Smack my baby girl until she learns how to obey me,” he says casually.
My head is spinning so badly right now, I think I will faint if I don’t hold on to the table, but with my hands on either end, I feel vulnerable and at Zane’s mercy.
Zane clears his throat, bringing me back to the moment when he speaks, I know the end will be terrible for me.
“You have fifty strokes of the paddle, London. You are going to fucking count. Just like the last time, London. Believe me, this punishment is going to be harder than the last time, and if you fail to count, I will increase the pain,” Zane instructs.
“Oh no. Not my ass again. It is still burning from your last strokes,” I tell Zane thinking that he has human cells in his body that will at least remind him that he can’t punish me like this.
“Watch me, London. You break my rules and you get your ass smacked until you can’t sit, stand, or walk properly. Don’t ever defy me,” he warns out.
From now on, I don’t think I will be ever interested in defying any of his commands again.
“I hate you,” I bite out angrily.
“I know, London, it doesn’t change the fact that you belong to me, now, fucking count,” he spits out angrily as he lands the first blow on my ass.
Pain tears through me, I shout and writhe my body but the pain is coursing through me.
“You would have to count London, or that blow is canceled,” Zane warns.
“I don’t care, you wicked son of Lucifer. You better kill me now,” I shouted out as I cried.
“As you wish,” Zane says.
His next couple of blows hit everywhere from my ass to my mid-thighs. If I wanted to die, this would be the moment I beg heaven to open up for me, this would be that time I asked hell to swallow me up.
I was screaming and Zane was relentless. He wasn’t going to stop, he wasn’t going to let me go. I was wailing until I was certain my voice chords would die.
I cracked first, begging Zane to stop after about the twentieth blow had landed on my now tender bottom.
“Please, Oh Jesus, please Daddy… Ddd… Daddy,” I begged.
The words came out as rippled as possible, giving me a harder time to process what I was saying.
Zane doesn’t stop, so, I push harder on the words.
“I will obey you, Daddy. I will count. Owwiee! Daddy I will count,” I cry out my voice hurting me.
Zane rubs his hand around the coast is my buttocks, making it hurt, when I scream in pain, he taps it severally.
“Count, you stubborn brat,” he barks out.
I started counting slowly, my voice weak.
“ONE!” I whisper.
Zane stroke.
On the fifteenth stroke, I was weak, my body wasn’t functioning anymore. I had surrendered to Zane, if he wanted to kill me, he was free to do so. Right now, I just wanted my head to rest because it hurt so badly.
Zane still hadn’t stopped flogging me.
There was a heavy knock somewhere in the house, I don’t know, I was too weak to figure out what those sounds were.
But the relief I felt when I realized that Zane had stopped hitting me, I was so pleased, even though in pain.
Slowly, my eyes closed out on me as I passed out, exposed on the table like a ridiculous starfish.
***ZANE’S POV***
I left a passed out London on the punishment table as I walked out of the room, heading to the main section where all the knocking had been happening.
I swing the door open to find Reaper, Caleb, and Sinner staring at me.
“What do you all want?” I ask.
Since London came into my life, I seem to be having more trouble with my men than ever.
“We heard the girl crying when we were just entering the gates. Boss, it is not my business, but if you continue like this, you will kill that poor lady,” Reaper speaks out, standing out of the two other men with him.
I will my hand to land a punch on him but Caleb shoots in, replying.
“That is true, Boss. London is sweet, she is the first woman who has made your dominant side exposed, do you want to kill her before you are happy?” he asks his voice sounding angry.
When the fuck did all these things turn against me? I wonder, my voice breaking angrily.
My throat even tightened at this point as I didn’t know where to stand at the moment, it was kind of difficult though, especially thinking how these men would defend me with their lives.
Now, they seem so focused on London.
Whatever charm she has is working on these men so fucking well.
“Is that why you all are here?” I ask my tone turning normal.
“No, boss, but we do have a meeting today,” Sinner tells me.
I stare at him as if he just spoke Mandarin. A language that is strange to my ears. But it is English had spoken, it just wasn’t what I fucking wanted to hear.
“Oh!” I call out not even knowing I had said those words until they were already fucking out.
“Where is she, boss?” Reaper asks his tone turning icy.
“Passed out in the playroom,” I grit out.
I watch three men stare at me like I had lost my fucking mind.
“London is from an abusive relationship, You can’t be another demon to her, when will her ray of sunshine be?” Caleb grits out at me.
I know these men want the best for me, but I wouldn’t even admit to them speaking to me like this, but their concern was put out for London.
Somehow, it makes my heart warm up that London has people who care for her.
“London is my property. While her brother hasn’t yet paid his debt, she belongs to me and I can do whatever I want with her,” I tell him.
I sounded like a dick right now, if I didn’t know better, I was feeding myself dirt to eat and degrading my authority before my men.
“You don’t own her, Zane. You just want to use her because you love her. But punishing her is going too hard on the poor girl,” Reaper strikes out.
If this was some reverse harem, I would say my men had a love interest with my woman. Rage filled me as I stepped aside letting them inside the house.
“London almost drowned at the lake today. If I wasn’t checking the grounds close enough to hear her shout my name, she would have died,” I spit out.
“Flogging her until she passes out is equivalent to her drowning, Zane. You will lose her either way,” Sinner said.
He wasn’t the one to call me by my name, and right now, I didn’t really fucking care. London was still upstairs probably half dead.
“We got into a fight and I asked her to come home guys. London fucking snubbed me and got here after three fucking hours. I guess my anger just snapped at me,” I sigh, letting the weight drown me out.
“London is a hard pass for you, isn’t it, Boss?” Reaper smirks out at me.
I give him one of my deadly glares, but he doesn’t back out, I nod in resignation.
“You really didn’t see that coming, huh?” Caleb teases.
“I have a passed out London to take care of. The meeting would take place later, but not now,” I let out faintly.
My men don’t go, while Sinner goes into the kitchen, retrieving beers for everyone except me, of course, Reaper and Caleb feel comfortable on my couch as they tune the TV on to a baseball match.
“Rush now, Boss, there is a mistress in distress waiting for you. Make sure you are kind to her. You can’t continue breaking a soul that is already damaged,” Reaper says.
I look at him knowing that it is the truth. I feel my throat tightening as hard as it can, it makes my head spin with regret.
I should be the one protecting London and not inflicting pain on her. Whatever I was going to do now would be me trying to measure up to her, and that would be making sure she has my protection, I don’t want to hurt her further.
“Fine boys, don’t break anything while I am gone, okay?” I say as I take several steps towards the stairs, heading towards an unconscious London.