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Mia’s shimmering honey eyes widened, locked with his. “M—my lord? I ... don’t know.”

“Tell your lord the truth,” Nicholas growled, thrusting another inch into her swollen, sodden heat. “Now.”

“No,” she blurted, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. “I d—don’t want to stop. B—but I’m ... s—scared ... I might ... I might do something. S—screaming, or—”

“Shh, sweet girl.” He stopped moving and kissed her, but he didn’t withdraw. He wanted to feel her tense and breathe, to catch every shift of her body with a rill of pleasure through his own. “You’re allowed to scream. You are allowed to soak the sheets with sweat and cream. You’re allowed to faint, to come apart. Beg. Plead. Weep. You can even try demanding, my love. You are mine. If you displease me, I’ll turn you over my knee and spank you. And then I’ll teach you what to do. You wouldn’t mind that, would you?” The sudden clench of her cunt answered before she did.

“I ... I wouldn’t,” she admitted on a shocked breath.

“Because you’re my obedient little cum toy, Mia.” He touched her chin, staring into her eyes. “Say it.”

“I’m your o—obedient little ... little cum toy.” She choked on the last phrase, and he rewarded her with a gentle stroke across her clit, sighing his approval as she tightened. He buried his cock to the hilt, pushing so deep that Mia screamed. He slapped his hand across her mouth like the brute he was and stilled until she breathed again.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know, you’re all bruised. Your big, cruel lord’s been fucking you too hard. But he loves your screams.” Nicholas nipped her earlobe. “I’m going to let go of your mouth, and you’re going to beg, Mia. If you don’t beg, I’ll fuck you until you do.”

She nodded, and he released her mouth, though threading his hand into her tangled hair, imprisoning her head at the angle he liked best.

“Please, my lord.” Her voice came out husky, thick with emotions and falling tears. “Please. M—My cunt hurts, my lord. E—every thrust ... it’s so much. I can’t escape. I can’t take it...”

He started a slow thrust, not pushing to her cervix again. “That’s it, mia dolcezza. My beautiful doll. You’re here to please me, and you do it so very well.”

“Yes!” She tightened again. “I—I’m yours, my lord. All yours.”

“I’m using this tight little cunt until I come,” he snarled, raking his teeth over her throat. “It’s mine to use. All fucking night if I want.”

“Yes. Please. Please ... gentle. Please...” Her words became sounds, moans, keening half-syllables as he rocked gently against her most sensitive spots, using her clit, then even adding light, careful kisses to her sensitized breasts.

Mia thrashed against her bonds as her pleasure built. He sucked and teased, content to let her suffer the slower rise, curious to see what reaction she so instinctively feared. He even stroked her ass, just to add to her sweet hysteria. Nicholas found himself imagining reducing her to this in carriages, in town, in remote woodland follies. Making her walk back with his seed stuffed into her holes, running down her breasts beneath her shift...

The fantasies sped his thrusts, swelled his cock.

Mia arched under him, locking down on his cock like a vice, and he rocked into her, circling her clit until she wailed for mercy. He didn’t grant it.

“N—Nicholas. My lord. My lord. M—my lord—” Mia broke off in a scream, her entire body seizing. A flood of cream swept down his shaft. His bride struggled,, sobbed, and clung to him in her addictive delirium

Nicholas shouted his own release, driving deep enough to drive a scream from his wife as his cum pumped into her. He half collapsed on her before he realized Mia had fainted. She lay beneath him in stunned stillness, her eyes closed, her lips hanging open, her breath shallow. Once he could move himself, he pulled out of her, surveying the wet linens between her spread legs, the curve of her breasts, the fanned lashes against her flushed cheeks. He savored the vision before him, then began untying her. He took care with each limb, rubbing the site of her bonds, easing her body into more natural positioning while murmuring reassurance.

****

She didn’t stir until he was settling her into the warm bath delivered by servants moments before. His valet and a maid were busy stripping the bed—he suspected only one of them understood why, so Nicholas hushed Mia with a finger to her lips.

“We’ll talk when they’re gone,” he said softly, kissing her temple. She drowsed while he washed her.

He used a simple sponge bath for himself, then gathered Mia from her tub. By then, the servants had departed, so he pulled her over to the fireplace, getting her onto his lap where he could apply salve to her bruises with better light. First to her buttocks, then thighs, and last to her breasts—which quickly became far too distracting. He restrained himself from doing more than making her squirm and giggle, then simply held her.

“W—why are you so ... kind? After?” she asked finally, her voice shaking more than her legs. Nicholas inhaled her rose and amber scent, kissing her hair.

“If I don’t take care of you, I’ll break you. And where will I find another bride willing to make such a terrifying bargain?” He snugged her against his chest, smoothing one hand along her shivering shoulder. “You let me bully you, tie you up, and be the monster I prefer to be without running away. And I do value you, Mia. For all I want to hear you screaming and begging, I want to be able to talk to you in the morning about which rooms need redoing, or whether you want to subscribe to a salon, or whatever other business you have. And I suspect that’ll be much easier if you feel safe—even when I’m turning your backside bright pink.”

She shifted her weight on his thigh, an unmistakable tension drawing her spine upright until he held her in place. . “I ... I do feel safe.” He scarcely heard the words. “I n—never was. Not at home. If I displease you ... you promise about the spanking? You w—won’t send me back to—”

“Never,” he cut in, digging his fingers into her hip. He caught her chin with his other hand, turning her to meet his gaze. “I meant that, Mia. I don’t give a damn if you don’t swell with child, or overspend, or annoy me with every idiotic chatterbox gossip in the county. Or any other wifely sins. You’re not damn well going back to that bastard’s house. Even should you turn frigid and demand I never touch you again. You’re mine.”

Mia’s eyes glittered, softening with an expression he found himself wanting to see more of. “If I manage to see any benefit to frigidity with your clever hands about, I shall commit myself to the nearest asylum. I rather think the bigger risk is that I shall run mad as a maenad, Nicholas.”

“You must absolutely be my darling maenad.” He pressed his lips to her forehead, praying she would be. “But not for a day or two. I want you to rest. You need your wits about you to learn the household. A day or two and I’ll drag you back and teach you a few new lessons.”

She lay her head against his shoulder, sighing. “If I can stand to keep my hands off you for two days.”