Rogue by Julia Sykes Page A

had never had such a visceral effect.  On the lips
     of other men, they were a superficial observation.  Derek wasn’t just talking about
     my face or my body.  He was looking at the core of me, at my true self, and he was
     pleased by what he saw.
    I didn’t fight when he secured my left wrist.
    I was acutely aware of the cool air that closed behind me when he moved away.  Unease
     stirred back to life when I heard the drawer opening.  I tried to crane my head back
     to see what he was doing, but my mass of dark curls blocked my vision.  With my hands
     bound, I had no means of brushing it back from my face.
    “Eyes forward.”  His order cracked though the room, and my head snapped back so that
     I was staring at the dark red wall once again.
    Suddenly, something soft brushed across my upper back.  I jolted at the sudden contact,
     but a moment later, I eased into the pleasurable sensation.
    “Good girl.  Relax.  Trust me.”
    Calloused fingers trailed across my nape as he swept my hair over my shoulders, and
     I shivered.  Somehow, I had fallen into him.  My awareness of his nearness, of his
     desires, of his pleasure, had become my whole world.  I did trust him.  And that didn’t
     scare me the way it should.
    The soft, foreign object followed the path of his touch.
    “This is a deerskin flogger,” he explained softly.  “We’ll start slow and work our
     way up.  I’m interested to see how much pain you can take.  There will be pain, but
     there won’t be harm.  I’m going to push you.  And you’ll accept what I give you, because
     you trust me.  You trust me, don’t you, Sharon?”
    “I trust you, Sir.”  It was barely more than a whisper, but the hoarseness of my voice
     wasn’t a result of fear.  I craved to give him what he wanted, what he so obviously
     needed.  And I craved his trust as well.  I would earn it by giving him this.
    I barely had time to register the heavy whoosh of the flogger cutting through the air before the falls hit my shoulders with a dull
     thud.  I blew out a hard breath at the impact, but it didn’t hurt.  Not really.  Another
     hit came before I could analyze the sensation, and warmth bloomed on my back.  It
     wasn’t at all unpleasant.
    More blows came in rapid succession, falling across each of my shoulders in turn to
     form an X pattern across my upper back.  My skin glowed with heat, and each hit seemed
     to thrum through my entire body.  The vibration found its way from my back to my nipples,
     making them peak to hard buds, before travelling lower to make my clit pulse.
    The flogger stung across my back, the hit falling differently somehow.  I gasped and
     arched forward, my body moving away from the pain.
    “Stay still.”
    Before the order even left his lips, I shifted back into position, offering my enflamed
     flesh to him.  The bite of burning pain had flared in my sex as well as across my
     skin, and I craved more.  My head bowed, my body going deliciously light and relaxed.
    “That’s perfect, Sharon.  You’re perfect.”
    Another stinging blow raked across my tender skin as the sweet words washed over me,
     and I moaned my pleasure.  The hit of pain and his approval sent hot sparks dancing
     through me.  They worked their way into my mind, multiplying with each fall of the
     flogger.
    Soon, my body sagged against the cross.  The way the restraints bit into my wrists
     only heightened my state of bliss.  I found perfect release under Derek’s unique brand
     of pain, and I felt lighter than ever.  A sense of weightlessness filled me like soft
     illumination that started in my chest before slowly bleeding outward to shine out
     of every inch of my glowing skin.
    I didn’t even notice when the hits stopped and my wrists were freed from the cuffs. 
     I floated, enfolded in warmth.  My cheek pressed against something hard, and an intoxicating
     scent enveloped me.  I snuggled closer, drawing in the smell of pine and soap