Naked Canvas (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (17 page)

I walked back in front of her and looked into her eyes. She stared at me with intense hunger. She strained against her bonds, eager for more. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“She’s warmed up. Try one of these.”

Dominic pulled a sheet off a nearby table. Upon its surface was an array of various implements of pleasure and pain. I saw paddles and dildos and nipple clamps like the ones I had worn earlier. He lifted a paddle off the table and handed it to me.

The paddle was long and wide, with holes cut into its surface. I gripped it, and it felt heavy in my hand. Far too heavy to actually use on a person. The riding crop was nothing compared to this.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Dominic’s dark expression stilled my tongue. Instead, I just shook my head. He frowned at me.

“You’re hesitating. I wonder why.” He tapped his finger against his lips. “Perhaps this will help.”

He walked over to the bound woman and gripped her head in his hands. His fingers found the zipper securing the mask to her head and unzipped it. He ripped the mask off of her. I blinked in surprise. I knew this woman.

It was Gillian.

He couldn’t see the expression on my face behind my mask, but I think he could see my surprise from the tenseness in my body. He smiled.

I threw the paddle on the floor and stalked away. I was almost to the door when I felt a hand grip my arm and spin me around.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I stared at Dominic through the mask but said nothing.

“Speak,” he demanded.

“Why is she here? I thought you fired her.”

“I did. But I rehired her.”

Outraged, I turned to leave again, but his strong hand still firmly gripped my arm.

“Just for this. Just for a few hours, I swear.”

“But why? Why include her in this? I don’t want to have anything to do with her.”

“Because she’s the one who ruined everything. She interrupted what I thought was a beautiful moment between us, and she made you run from me. I thought it was only fitting that she be punished for it. In a manner of speaking. Plus, she’s into this sort of thing.”

“Ugh, I feel sick.”

“Don’t you see? The other night, she made you feel like shit. She tore us apart. For whatever reason, she had that power over you, but now things are reversed. I’ve given you complete control over her. Now, you have two options. You can run away from it, or you can embrace it.”

I bit my lip in indecision.

“Take control,” he urged. “Show her that you’re the dominant one. If you leave, she wins. If you stay, well, you can make her suffer. In a good way, of course. This is still about pleasure, not abuse. Okay?”

“I don’t know. A part of me really wants to hurt her.”

He shook his head and looked hard into my eyes. “Control works both ways. If you want to be in control of her, you have to stay in control of yourself. Now do you want to spank her or shall I?”

Hot jealousy flashed through me and I shook my head.

“She’s mine.”

I retrieved the paddle and walked behind her. The weight of it felt good in my hand. Powerful. I placed the flat of it against her ass. Right on the spot I intended to hit. I drew the paddle back.

Smack. The sound of the blow echoed in the room, causing both Gillian and I to jump. I hadn’t swung it very hard. It probably hadn’t even hurt her, but the sound of it was intense.

I hit her again, slightly harder this time. I felt the vibration of her flesh traveling up my arm. She made small whimpering sounds and her body lurched forward with the blow. The skin of her ass was an angry shade of pink.

I paddled her again. And again. Testing out different intensities and waiting for her reactions. I tried to keep Dominic’s instruction in mind. Pain, yes, but for pleasure, not for abuse. Her skin was redder now, and she cried out with each blow. There was pain in her cries, but something else, too. A sort of satisfaction. Like she deserved the pain. Like she savored it.

The power I felt was a mad rush to my head. Having complete control over another person was a visceral thrill, and I found myself getting into the spanking more than I could have ever imagined.

This woman had hurt me. Had called me a whore and a slut. Now she was subject to my whims.

I paused and walked in front of her.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked her.

I stood a head taller than her in my heels. She looked up at me, flushed and breathing heavy. She shook her head.

I took off my mask.

“What about now?”

Her eyes widened in fear, and a grim smile crept onto my face.

“You called me a whore. Remember?” My voice was loud and full of authority.

“Yes,” she said. I slapped her breast with my open palm.

“I didn’t tell you to speak,” I said, taking a page from Dominic’s book.

I massaged her breast. “Well, who’s the whore now? Speak.”

“I am.”

I pinched her nipple hard. “What?”

“I’m the whore,” she whimpered.

“You’re the whore, what?” I asked, increasing the pressure on her breast.

“I’m the whore, mistress,” she wailed.

“That’s right. I am your mistress. And you are my whore.”

I rubbed her head like a pet who had pleased me. She looked grateful for the caress, and a devilish laugh bubbled from my lips. I glanced over at Dominic. His face was serious, but his eyes danced with amusement and something else. Pride maybe.

“Very good.” I ran my finger down her cheek and lifted her chin. “Tell me, whore. Are you enjoying this?”

“Yes, mistress.”

“Good. I have a very important question for you, and you better tell me the truth or else you’ll be punished. Understood?”

She nodded.

“Are you and Dominic fucking?”

I looked over at Dominic, afraid that he would stop me. His face remained impassive.

“Speak.”

“No, mistress.”

“But you still want to fuck him?”

She hesitated. “Yes, mistress.”

I nodded. I thought about hurting her again, but I decided on a different tactic. Pleasure is pain, I thought with a wicked smile.

My hand slipped between her legs. “Oh yes, you’re dripping for him.”

She let out a keening moan as I teased her between her legs. I slipped my fingers in and out of her in a steady rhythm.

“But you’re mine now. You don’t moan for him anymore. You moan for me. You’re
my
little slut.”

I slipped my fingers deep inside her. She moaned into my shoulder. Her warm breath tickled my neck and sent a shiver through me. “Do you want me to make you come, little slut?”

She nodded. “Please, mistress.”

I turned to the table with the toys on it. I plucked a pink vibrator from the table and held it in front of her face. My fingers twisted the base and the thing began to thrum in my hand. I pressed it against her hard nipple. Her head lolled back and she bit her lip.

“Is this what you want?”

“Yes, mistress, please.”

I unhooked her wrists from the bar, followed by her ankles.

“Me first,” I commanded.

I pressed the vibrator into her hand and pulled my panties to the side. “On your knees, slut. Pleasure me, and I might let you come.”

Gillian dropped to her knees and pressed the vibrator against my wet slit. My body reacted instantly. The pent up arousal from the time I spent teasing her had kindled a raging fire inside me, aching for release.

I ran my fingers through her blonde hair and curled my hands into fists, pulling her hair tight against her scalp. She gasped. My hands pulled her face close to my sex as I ground myself against the vibrator.

“Fuck me, little slut.”

She plunged the vibrator into me. I hissed and my jaw clenched. Ripples of pleasure surged through me. I turned to look at Dominic. His mouth was open, and I could see that he was breathing heavy.

The sight of him made me moan. My skin was on fire. Waves of pleasure lifted me to soaring heights. My body throbbed with raging desire.

I pumped my hips in Gillian’s face as she worked the vibrator inside me. I could feel the pleasure building, pushing me to the breaking point. My body tightened and my orgasm swept over me. I pushed Gillian roughly away to the floor, taking the vibrator with her, and let the pleasure overcome me.

When the waves of pleasure subsided, Gillian was back on her knees in front of me. Her begging hands were clasped in front of her breasts.

“Please, mistress,” she said. “Please let me come.”

I pointed my finger right in her face. “Stay.”

I made my way to where Dominic stood in the darkness.

“Has she been paid?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

“Good.” I walked back to Gillian. “Alright, you little slut. Get your shit and get out.”

She looked at me with a dumb expression on her face.

“No more games, bitch. Get out now. Before I throw you out.”

Gillian scampered to her feet and grabbed the pile of her clothes. She scrambled to put them on.

“I said now, bitch.” I made as if I was going to lunge at her. She yelped and ran for the door.

The expression on her face as she left was more satisfying than the orgasm I’d just had.

I turned to Dominic.

“Did you enjoy that?” he asked with a smug grin on his face.

I took two long strides to where he was standing and I slapped him as hard as I could. That satisfied smile evaporated. It was replaced by a look of utter shock. I didn’t care.

I fled from the room and into the studio, emotion overwhelming me. My eyes blurred with tears, but through them, I could just make out the ticking red numbers. Thirteen hours to go.

Chapter 18

I shut myself in the room where Dominic had painted me. It was the only place of privacy in the studio, apart from the bathroom, and I needed to be alone. I needed time to think.

The candles still flickered in the room. Vibrant swaths of color danced along the walls in a chaotic reflection of the emotions warring inside me. The room seemed to shift and bend, like something out of a nightmare. I flung myself on the bed and buried my face beneath the pillows, desperate to shut the world out.

But even in the dark with my eyes closed, a single terrifying question burned: What has Dominic done to me?

When the day began, the whole thing had felt like a naughty game. It was thrilling and provocative, but, ultimately, I felt safe. Dominic assumed the role of master and I was his servant. He handed me an outfit and I wore it. He commanded and I obeyed. That kept me from feeling guilty about any of it, because none of this was up to me.

But this last scenario was different. It had started out with Dominic in control, and like before, I’d felt safe. He made me wear a mask which made me feel like I was playing a part, like I was an actor on stage.

Gillian’s face had been hidden, too. The masks, both hers and mine, made the scene dreamlike and unreal. Dominic had called it performance art, and it had felt that way.

Then the masks had come off, and there was no art to what came next. Face to face with Gillian, I needed no direction from Dominic. My anger and resentment took over and I slipped easily into my dominant role, toying with her, teasing her, and making her beg.

I had gorged myself on her fear and obedience. The desperation in her eyes was sweeter than summer wine, more succulent than a ripe fruit. I had consumed her fear with a dark satisfaction, forcing her to pleasure me and then denying her that same pleasure. Even now, the thought of it thrilled me.

Power over another person was a potent narcotic. I wanted more and I hated myself for wanting it. I felt like a junkie itching for another fix. Replaying the scenario in my head made me simultaneously excited and sick, and I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. I knew what I’d done was wrong. I knew what I’d
felt
was wrong. The woman in that room punishing Gillian was not Angie Cooper. She couldn’t be me. I couldn’t be her.