I push against the bed with my shoulders trying to roll away.
“Hold her,” River says.
Jude undoes the cuffs and I think for a second that might be it but then he and Eli grab my arms and sit on the bed either side of me. They keep me spread out across the mattress, their hands holding me down at the shoulders and wrists.
The next hit lands partially on top of the last one and the pain doubles. I try to kick out with my legs, but they’re too caught up in my pants to do any damage.
River’s fingers touch the base of my spine. “Seven more and you’re done.”
Seven.I close my eyes and sob into the bed but Oz snaps his fingers. “Eyes on me, Freya.”
“Screw you.”
River tuts. “Make that eight more.”
“No, no.” I twist my neck to look back at River, but he just raises a brow.
“That’s not your safe word. Where are you supposed to be looking?”
I bite my tongue and turn back to face Oz.
“Good girl.” The praise sends a shiver running through me and this time when the crop hits the pain merges with desire. I moan, feeling my pussy flutter.
River must notice the shift in me because he pauses to draw the flat tip of the crop through my swollen core. “Very nice. Maybe we should do this more often.”
My jaw tightens. “I’d like to see you try.”
River stills. He breathes in, then lays the crop on the bed, right in front of my face. The black leather tip glistens with my arousal.
River’s breath tickles my neck as he leans over me. “I won’t have to try, you’ll let me do as I please. Just like you’re letting me right now because you know you need this.” His teeth catch my earlobe. “That you like this.” He picks up the crop. Goosebumps prick my skin as he draws the tip of it down my back. “You have no idea what it felt like for us to find you missing. To learn that you’d run right into danger when we’d been doing everything in our power to keep you out of it.
You could have come to us, told us who had Oz and where he was, and we could have gone and got him together. You wouldn’t have ended up in your sister’s grasp. But instead, you played right into her hands.”
My eyes start to sting. He’s right. I didn’t think when I ran. I needed to save Oz and trading him for myself seemed like the only option.
I wince as River presses the crop against my sore ass.
“Your life is no longer yours to risk,” he says, his words a declaration. “You belong to us and if you ever put yourselfin danger like that again we will be right back here until you learn your lesson. Until you understand that your life is worth something. Is wortheverything.”
I try to keep looking at Oz but tears well in my eyes. I’ve longed to have people who care for me, people who will protect me, all my life. It’s just not an easy thing to accept when you’re so used to it being you against the world. River is right though. I need to start thinking about my life as something worth saving. If I’m going to be a part of this team, I need to think beyond just myself. Because I’m not alone anymore.
“So, let’s try this again.”
The next eight whips come in quick succession. I scream with each one and my throat is raw by the time River’s finished. My whole ass burns but it’s nothing compared to the need building inside of me. I want them. Ineedthem.
River’s hand curls around my neck and he presses a kiss to my damp cheek. “You did well, darling.” He nods at Jude and Eli to let go of my arms, but I don’t move until he picks me up and turns me to face him. I’m unsteady on my feet, and I grip onto his shirt to stay standing. “Please, River.”
“Shh, I’ve got you.” River cups my pussy and draws his fingers through my folds. Everything is so much more sensitive after the crop and my eyes roll back in my head. River thrusts two fingers inside of me and I practically choke on the pleasure as he curls those fingers towards him, hitting just the right spot. I’m about to fall apart when Oz speaks up.
“Stop.”
River pulls back his hand.
“What?” I cling on to him, needing him to carry on but he just smirks and says, “Sorry, darling. It’s Oz’s turn to call the shots.”
“Put her on the bed,” Oz says.
My fogged brain is still trying to figure out what’s happening as River picks me up and lays me on the bed.
