Free Picture Her Bound-epub by Sidney Bristol

preemptively as the cane whistled through the air again, but she hissed when it smacked her opposite thigh. She’d seen the flash of lust in his eyes. The jealous streak was still there. And he’d cared enough to drag her kicking and screaming out of the worst decision of her life.
    “Like that?” he asked, running his knuckles over the spot.
    “Yeah, like that, Sir.”
    He might not be ready to name this thing growing between them, but she was. It was a genuine regard for each other. She wouldn’t call it love, not yet. They were strangers in many ways, but like called to like. They were cut from the same cloth, and with her defenses stripped away, laid bare at her most visceral level, floating on the tide of subspace, she saw him for what he was.
    Her new beginning.
    Jacques stepped back, his gaze raking over her. His free hand flexed, and he swished the cane back and forth. She watched the dance, wondering where he would lead next. He slid to her right and brought the cane in fast, across the front of both thighs. He popped her several times in quick succession, from the knees all the way up to her pelvis.
    She sucked in a breath and wiggled in place. He varied the strength, some lighter, some harder. She never knew which.
    Odalia gritted her teeth and dug her nails into the board.
    “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! Ow.” She laughed, despite the pain, adrenaline and lust twirling and twining together.
    “That’s funny to you?” In the darkness, Jacques’ smile was a brilliant gleam of white, almost like the Cheshire cat. Where would he take her next?
    “No. Ouch.”
    He nailed the tender outer portion of her knee. She hoisted the leg up in a misguided attempt to protect herself.
    Wrong move.
    Jacques grabbed her arm and turned her in place so she faced the pole. He planted a hand between her shoulder blades and started going to town on the backs of her legs and bottom.
    She stomped her feet and hugged the pole. Heat radiated from her body, intensified by the fiery passion in her breast.
    The cane licked across her upper back. Not hard, but enough to massage and beat the muscles into submission. Her whole body was super sensitized and each touch, every pop of the toy, ratcheted her higher.
    Jacques’ rhythm broke for a few beats. She rested her forehead against the pole, clinging to it to keep her upright.
    Arms wrapped around her from behind, hugging her. Jacques was a hard, hot wall of muscle, big enough to shield and protect her. But he’d shown her today on the street that he respected her ability to take care of herself. Hell, he’d probably never even second-guessed her, which did odd, warm and fuzzy things to her. She was used to men thinking that just because she had a vagina she was somehow incapable. But not Jacques.
    She leaned her head back against his shoulder and kissed his neck, or near enough to it.
    “Come here, bébé .” He bent and lifted her into his arms.
    “Where we going?” she muttered, wrapping her arms around his neck. It took a big man with strong muscles to lift her, much less carry her through a crowded room.
    A spanking bench , she hoped. At least then her poor legs wouldn’t have to support her.
    “Couches.”
    “We just started.” Had she reacted wrong? Did he not like her outbursts?
    “I know.” Jacques sat on an empty end of one of the couches.
    “Did I…?”
    “You did nothing wrong.” He smoothed her hair back off her face. “We’ve had a rough couple of days. You needed this, and I needed—I don’t have words for it. I needed this.”
    He needed an anchor. A connection. So did she.
    Odalia nodded and relaxed, letting him cradle her to his chest, savoring the beautiful moment. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Somehow, she’d done it all right.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Jacques laughed as Odalia jumped out of his Jeep before they’d even rolled to a complete stop in her driveway.
    “Hey, you can get a ticket for that,” he yelled, but she was already sprinting up the