him to hide my scars. It took Stuart years before he figured what they were, but James Clarke wasn’t Stuart. He was another animal entirely. He raised my wrist to his lips. “I don’t want you adding any more of these, there are much better ways to savour pain.” Canned laughter sounded loud in the room as he peppered my skin with kisses. “I’m not going to hurt your pussy tonight, Lydia, but bad girls do need to learn their lesson. Over my knee.”
My heart raced as I lowered myself onto his legs, the hard ridge of his cock pressing into my stomach. It added to both my nerves and excitement in equal measure. He tweaked my position, pushing my head down low and placing a strong arm across my shoulder blades. I steadied myself as he tickled my thighs. “You will not make a sound. The last thing we want is anyone calling the police. They will hear only the TV, agreed?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Good girl.”
He hit me harder than Rebecca ever did, much harder, landing blows right on top of my bruises. I sucked in breath for the first few slaps, jiggling around on his lap as best I could, given his grip on me. He paused after ten and slipped warm fingers between my legs. “You’re a dirty girl, Cat. So fucking wet. Your cunt smells fucking gorgeous.”
Another ten, and the tingling well and truly kicked in. My breath came out hard and ragged as he began to vary the blows, landing some on the soft skin of my thighs. I couldn’t stop myself grinding against his cock jutting beneath his trousers, even though he’d curse and hit me all the worse for it.
“You’re on dangerous ground, Lydia Marsh,” he said, accentuating the words with the thwack of his palm. “Playing with the beast. I’d love to see you striped by my cane, your tits all bound-up sore for me.” I could hardly breathe, my pussy was on fire. “I’d love to break you open, but not tonight, Lydia. Not tonight...”
He released his grip, leaving me sprawled across him as I caught my breath. I twisted my head to meet his eyes. “What now, Masque? What are you going to do to me?”
He massaged my ass with firm fingers, heightening the post-spanking glow. “You’re with James tonight, Cat, not Masque. I’d quite like to do what I came in here for.”
“What did you come in here for?”
He twisted me in a heartbeat, pulling me up to straddle his legs, his face in mine. “I came in here for you, Lydia, my green-eyed temptress. Not for kink, or bruises, or gaping pussy and tears... just you.”
His mouth was on mine in a flash, hands in my hair. His tongue was so fierce, knocking me right off kilter. This wasn’t like with Stuart, the twist of his tongue around mine was primal, raw... it was amazing. I kissed James right back, wrapping my arms around his neck for extra balance as he got to his feet, taking me with him. He laid me on the bed, barely breaking contact, covering the whole length of my body with his. I grappled with his shirt, desperate for skin on skin, desperate for the chimera.
“Please let me see you,” I begged into his mouth. “Please.” He raised himself up, straddling me with solid thighs, the outline of his cock thick through his suit trousers. I sucked in breath as he took off his shirt, and there, in all its glorious darkness, was the beast upon his chest. I traced its lines with shaky fingers, all the way down his ribs. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Rebecca’s a fine artist.”
“Did it hurt?”
“Some of it. Good pain, though, Cat, some pain feels so good.”
“I’m learning that.”
“You’ll learn a lot from Rebecca, she’s extremely experienced.”
I dared to meet his eyes, wrenching my gaze from the beast. “I want to learn from you. From Masque.”
“This isn’t a conversation for now, Lydia, I’m ravenous.” He lowered himself onto me, sculpted muscle hard against my tender breasts. I loved his skin against mine, the chimera scorching, just like I’d wanted... just like I’d imagined. He worked his way down with his mouth, stopping to suck at my nipples. I awaited the pain of his bite, but it didn’t come. “I knew you’d have perfect tits, Cat.” He met my eyes as he flicked his tongue. “They’ll learn to love pain, I promise.”
“You can hurt me, James,” I moaned. “I’m ready.”
“I have other