Chapter 28: BRUISES

MIA

I was curled up on the couch, legs tucked under me, scrolling through my phone when Dante walked in and the moment he did, I sensed that something was different. He walked towards me like a predator, making my heart race and before I could even ask what was going on, he reached down and plucked my phone from my hand and set it face down on the coffee table.

“I think you’re ready for the next step,” he said, voice low and calm.

My stomach flipped as I sat up straighter, suddenly very aware of how little I was wearing — just an oversized t-shirt, little shorts and panties. “What do you mean?”

Dante crouched in front of me, resting his hands on my knees. His thumbs stroked slow circles on my skin as he looked up at me with those intense dark eyes.

“Tonight we will begin properly,” he said. “When we’re alone like this, you will address me as Master. Not all the time… yet, only when we’re being intimate. But in time, that is what you will call me. Do you understand?”

The word sent a strange, electric thrill through my body. I swallowed hard. “Yes… Master.”

A small, pleased smile curved his lips. “Good girl.” He stood and offered me his hand. “Come sit with me. We’re going to talk first.”

He led me to the large armchair and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him, my hands resting on his shoulders. His palms settled on my thighs, warm and possessive.

“Before we do anything else,” he continued with a serious tone and look on his face. “we have to talk about the rules, I think we briefly spoke on this the last time. We will go through hard limits, soft limits, triggers, and desires. I need to know what will break you, what might scare you, and what will make you wet and desperate for me. Tell me everything.”

We talked for a long time. He was meticulous, dark, and unrelenting. He made me list my hard limits first which were no blood play, no breath play beyond light choking, no permanent marks, no public humiliation. He listened carefully, then pushed.

“Soft limits?” he asked, fingers tracing the inside of my thigh. “Things that frighten you but make your cunt throb when you think about them?”

I blushed furiously and admitted to wanting restraints, blindfolds, impact play, and total power exchange. I confessed my fear of being completely helpless, losing my voice and being reduced to nothing but a toy for his pleasure.

“But you are my submissive for my pleasure.” His voice dropped an octave.

I shouldn't have liked that but it made me drip more as I looked away. He reached up, grabbing my chin to face him. “Or are you not?”

“i-i am.”

he smiled. “Good girl.”

He planted a soft kiss on my lips and then my neck before pulling away.

“As my submissive,” he said with that same deep voice that made my core clench.  “you will rely on me for everything. Your pleasure, your pain, your orgasms and even your safety. You will not be bratty. You will not test boundaries to see how far you can push me. You will obey instantly and with gratitude always. You do not look me in the eye unless I command it. You exist to please me. Your body is mine to use, to mark, to break, and to cherish. Do you understand what that means?”

My breathing had grown shallow. “Yes, Master.”

He cupped my jaw firmly, forcing me to meet his gaze. “If you are good, I will reward you with pleasure so intense you’ll forget your own name. If you disobey…” His eyes darkened. “I will correct you. I will spank you, edge you, deny you until you’re sobbing and begging. And you will thank me for it.”

He brushed his thumb over my lower lip. “Your safe word is still ‘Crimson’. Say it and everything stops just like before, no questions or disappointment. I will hold you, bring you water, wrap you in blankets, and remind you how perfect you are. But unless you say that word, you do not speak unless I ask you a direct question. You are mine. Your voice, your body, your submission are all mine. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Master,” I whispered, soaked and trembling.

He studied my face for a long moment, then smiled softly. “You’re going to be so perfect for me, Mia. I can’t wait to watch you surrender.”

I opened my mouth to respond but the words barely left my lips before his expression changed.

“I didn’t ask you a question,” he said, voice suddenly firm. “Oh mia, I gave you a simple fuel but you have already broken it. I guess I have to teach you what happens to  girls who break the rules.”

My heart jumped into my throat.

“Over my lap,” he ordered. “Now.”

Humiliation burned through me as I draped myself across his strong thighs. He pulled my panties and loose shorts down, baring my ass completely. The cool air kissed my skin, making me shiver.

“You will learn,” he said calmly, one large hand resting on my bare ass. “Count each one.”

The first spank landed hard as the sound echoed through the quiet space.

“One!” I gasped, flinching.

The second was even harder, heat blooming across my left cheek.

“Two!”

By the fifth, tears were pricking my eyes and my voice was shaking. By the tenth, I was squirming on his lap, humiliated, stinging, and embarrassingly wet. Each slap sent sparks of pain and pleasure straight to my core. I could feel myself dripping down my thighs.

When he finally stopped, his hand rubbed slow, soothing circles over the burning skin.

“Good girl,” he murmured, voice warm with approval. “You took your correction so well. Now stand up and strip for me slowly then present.”

I stood on shaky legs, cheeks burning with humiliation and arousal. My ass still stung from his handprints, a constant throbbing reminder of my mistake. I hesitated, fingers trembling at the hem of my t-shirt.

“I… I don’t know how to present, Master,” I whispered, voice small and shy.

Dante’s eyes softened for just a moment, but the dominance remained. “That’s alright, little one. I’ll teach you. Strip first and let me see what belongs to me.”

I swallowed hard and slowly pulled my oversized t-shirt over my head, letting it drop to the floor. My breasts felt heavy, nipples already hard from the cool air and the heat of his gaze. I hooked my thumbs into my panties and slid them down my legs, stepping out of them. I was completely naked now, dripping wet, my arousal trailing down my inner thighs in shiny streaks.

I stood there, arms instinctively moving to cover myself.

“Keep your hands at your sides,” he said firmly.

I obeyed, fighting the urge to hide.

Dante stood and circled me slowly, like a predator inspecting his prey. His fingers trailed lightly down my spine, making me shiver.

“Presenting means offering yourself to me completely,” he explained. “When I say ‘present’, you will drop to your knees and spread them wide apart as wide as you can comfortably manage. Sit back on your heels with your chest out, shoulders back, head slightly lowered, eyes on the floor unless I command otherwise and palms resting upward on your thighs. This position shows me you are open, vulnerable, and ready for whatever I want to do to you. It tells me your body is mine.”

He stopped in front of me, tilting my chin up with two fingers.

“Try it now.”

My face burned with embarrassment, but I sank to my knees. I spread my thighs wide, feeling cool air kiss my soaked pussy. I sat back on my heels, pushed my chest forward, and lowered my gaze to the floor. My hands trembled as I turned them palms-up on my thighs. I could feel how exposed I was in this position with my breasts thrust out, legs spread, dripping arousal visibly coating my inner thighs and dripping onto the floor beneath me.

Dante made a low sound of approval. “Perfect. Look how wet you are just from kneeling for me. Your cunt is dripping down your legs like a desperate little slut. Does presenting yourself like this turn you on?”

I bit my lip, mortified and unbearably aroused. “Yes, Master.”

He stepped closer and I could smell his cologne mixed with the scent of his arousal. “Good. Remember this position. You will greet me like this whenever I ask for it.”

He moved behind me and I heard the soft rustle of fabric, then felt cool silk settle over my eyes. The blindfold was tied securely as darkness swallowed everything. My other senses sharpened instantly as I could hear the sound of his breathing, feel the heat of his body and more arousal dripped down my thigh.

He guided me to the bed and secured my wrists to the headboard with soft leather cuffs. The restraint pulled my arms above my head, stretching my body and putting it on display. I tested them instinctively but they were well secured.

“Color?” he asked.

“Green, Master,” I whispered, already trembling with anticipation.

I heard him move away, then return. The first touch was shocking as a single ice cube pressed against the inside of my thigh. I gasped sharply at the cold.

He dragged it slowly upward, circling my hipbone, then across my lower belly. The ice melted against my overheated skin, leaving trails of freezing water that made me shiver. When he reached my breasts, he circled my nipples until they were painfully hard peaks, then replaced the ice with his hot mouth, sucking hard.

The contrast was devastating.

He played with me like that for what felt like an eternity, alternating between ice and heat, his mouth and fingers. He brought me to the edge with slow licks around my clit, then pulled away, leaving me whimpering and denied. Again and again.

“You’re so perfect like this,” he murmured against my inner thigh, voice rough. “Trembling, desperate, completely at my mercy with your pussy is dripping all over the sheets for me.”

When he finally pushed two thick fingers deep inside me, I sobbed with relief. He fucked me slowly with them while his tongue worked my clit in circles. The blindfold made every sensation overwhelming. I could hear my own desperate, broken moans, the wet squelching of his fingers pumping into my soaked cunt, his low growls of approval.

“Please, Master—please let me come—”

“Not yet,” he said calmly, curling his fingers against that spot inside me. “You’ll wait until I say.”

He edged me three more times until I was a sobbing, incoherent mess, tears soaking the blindfold and body shaking with need.

Only then did he grant mercy.

“Come for me,” he commanded. “Now.”

I screamed, back arching off the bed, wrist straining against  the cuffs as my pussy clenched around his fingers but he didn't stop as he kept licking and fingering me through it all until I went limp, whimpering in exhaustion.

When it finally faded, he removed the blindfold and cuffs immediately, pulling me into his arms. He wrapped me in a soft blanket and held me tight against his chest, murmuring praise against my hair.

“You were perfect,” he whispered. “So beautiful when you surrender to me.”

I clung to him, still trembling, feeling safer and more seen than I ever had.

He tilted my chin up gently. “You’re mine, Mia. Say it.”

I repeated after him without hesitation. “I’m yours.”

He kissed me softly and held me for a long time, murmuring soft praise until my breathing evened out. Then he reached for a small bowl of warm water and a soft cloth he must have prepared earlier. He eased me onto my back and gently parted my thighs.

“Let me take care of you,” he said softly.

I blushed furiously as he brought the warm, damp cloth between my legs. The heat felt heavenly against my swollen, sensitive flesh. He wiped me slowly, cleaning away the evidence of my multiple orgasms. Every gentle pass of the cloth made me twitch and whimper softly.

“Shh,” he soothed, pressing a kiss to my inner thigh. “I’ve got you. Just relax.”

The tenderness in his voice made fresh tears prick my eyes. No one had ever taken care of me like this, then set the cloth aside and lifted me into his arms as if I weighed nothing.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you into the shower.”

He carried me to the bathroom, one arm under my knees, the other supporting my back. I felt shy suddenly and I tried to hide my face against his chest.

Dante noticed as he set me down gently on the cool tile and tilted my chin up with two fingers.

“None of that,” he murmured. “You don’t get to hide from me ever.”

He kissed me softly, tongue gentle against mine and when he pulled back, the shyness had eased and I felt like I was floating.

He turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature until steam filled the space, then he guided me inside with him, keeping one arm around my waist as if he couldn’t bear to let me go even for a second.

The hot water felt like heaven on my overstimulated skin. Dante poured body wash into his hands and began to wash me up. He started at my shoulders, massaging the tension away, then down my arms, my back, my hips. When he reached my breasts, he was gentle over the fresh bite marks and scratches, thumb brushing softly over my nipples until I sighed.

As I looked down, I frowned, noticing something. In the midst of the scratches was his name spelled out. I touched them, heart stuttering.

“Dante… what are these?”

He stepped closer, eyes darkening as he traced the marks with his fingertips. For a moment even he looked surprised.

“I don’t remember doing that,” he admitted quietly. “I lose myself with you sometimes, I'm sorry.”

I said nothing, choosing to focus on his care instead.

“You’re so beautiful like this,” he whispered, lips brushing my ear.

I shivered under his touch as he knelt in front of me. He washed my thighs carefully then between my legs, using his fingers to gently clean the mess we’d made. The combination of hot water and his gentle touch made me whimper softly.

“Too sensitive?” he asked, voice full of concern.

“A little,” I admitted shyly.

He kissed the top of my mound tenderly. “Then I’ll be gentle.”

He finished washing me then stood and pulled me against his chest under the spray. I rested my cheek over his heart, listening to its steady beat while he rinsed my hair and massaged shampoo into my scalp with strong, soothing fingers.

By the time he turned off the water and wrapped me in a thick, warm towel, I felt cherished, floaty, and completely safe. He dried me carefully, then carried me back to the bed and tucked me under the covers, pulling me into his arms again.

“You did so well tonight,” he whispered, pressing soft kisses to my forehead, my temples, the tip of my nose. “I’m so proud of you, Mia. My perfect girl.”

I curled tighter into him, feeling the last traces of vulnerability melt away under his tenderness.