Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen



THIS CHAPTER AND THE ONES THAT FOLLOW IT MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME READERS. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION. YOUR FEELINGS ARE VALID AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT. ⚠️

💕Author's Note: Hey, gorgeous! Read ahead by becoming a patron at www.EmendedHearts.com/join

💗💗💗

His words loom heavily in the air, sinking in even as every pore in my body fights to reject what I'm hearing. Still...I'm a bit surprised by the last addition.

As well as your own.

I frown. Deeply.

What...what the hell does that even mean?!

He wants to teach me to be respectful of my own time?

Is he fucking kidding me right now?

He doesn't even know me!

Where does he get off spewing that kind of B.S.?

Who the hell does he think he is, assuming that I have no respect for my time?

Ugh! Seriously, this asshat just doesn't know when to quit–

The feel of a large hand grabbing at the neckline of my shirt jolts me out of my internal rant, the jarring sensation startling the hell out of me. Before I can even process what's happening, the sound of fabric ripping fills the entire room. In horror, I jerk away as Frost pulls at the front of my shirt roughly, his fingers gripping it as though he has a personal vendetta against the piece of clothing. The cotton continues to scream as it parts from itself, revealing my torso, and my efforts to withdraw do absolutely nothing to stop it from happening. Cool air hits my upper body a second later, my breasts heaving under my now exposed bra as a swarm of goosebumps attack the visible top of them.

He stops for a moment, his rough actions halting almost instantly as his piercing eyes fall on my cleavage, and I hear him inhale more sharply than I ever have.

I watch as his eyes dip to my chest, and I swear to God I can feel the blue ice in them pierce right through my body despite their current hooded appearance. My arms tense in the air, my entire face and neck flaming at the sight of his blatant, lust-filled gaze.

And flaming turns into incinerating when I feel his thumb on my torso, just above my belly button, slowly trailing upward and leaving a trail of pure fire on my skin...until he hooks it under the front of my bra.

In one motion, he yanks my bra upward, lifting the cups over my breasts roughly. I shriek in horror, my voice echoing loudly in the darkness, my feet abandoning their designated spots without a thought as they scurry backward, seeking safety. But they don't find any. Not even a little.

Cold breeze envelopes my chest with the most novel sensation, my breasts feeling strangely full and heavy without their armor. My eyes slam shut impulsively, my head turning away from him on reflex, curving into my upper arm. I suck in a deep, stuttering breath at the feel of my naked skin exposed in front of him. In front of a man like this. An army of goosebumps scatters across my newly liberated flesh, and my ears burn themselves to ash as I feel my nipples harden instantly, and it has nothing to do with the low temperature in the room.

My eyes fly open again at the sound of fabric giving, a sharp, brief tear forcing my attention back to the person clearly responsible for it. Frost hikes my bra as far up as it can go in my position, the straps digging into my shoulders with every tug and pull. I try to lean away from his less than delicate touch, my back arching almost painfully with the attempt, but it's no use. And I'm left no option but to endure his rough-handling, utterly mortified by his unexpected, shocking actions.

I struggle to breathe normally, not in an effort to calm down—that ship has sailed far, far away already—but to stop my chest from heaving, the strained rise and fall only enhancing the nakedness of my breasts, bringing even more attention to them. But I can't, and now my boobs have nowhere to hide, the cups of my mangled bra sitting helplessly below my neck.

Frost takes a step back, as if to get a better look at his handiwork. His eyes stay on my chest, and for the first time since I met him, I see visible tension in his jaw, his fingers closing tightly around the crop in his hand. My eyes bulge behind my glasses when, in a seemingly involuntary, almost subconscious motion, his tongue darts out briefly, swiping over his full bottom lip before disappearing into the recesses of his sinful mouth. I just stare at him blankly, my face awash with complete disbelief even as my pussy sets itself on fire, its muscles twitching restlessly, screaming for attention. I feel a small gush of liquid leave it; shapeless, tangible heat dolloping in a slow, sticky stream from my core.

But his novel reaction only lasts so long, because now his eyes are darting up to mine again, the danger in them compounded with something new and unrecognizable.

"So, this is what's going to happen, Ramona," Frost says, clearly recomposed, his deep voice sending all the blood in my body to my core, which only antagonizes me even more....until he holds the crop upright again. "Every detail of your punishment will be directly proportional to your crime. There will be two aspects to this...lesson."

He says the word with a subtle grin that's far more wicked than it is sly. "The first aspect is pretty straightforward. For however many minutes you were late by, I'm going to whip you the equivalent number of times. So, in essence, you'll get a lash for every minute you were late."

My lungs seize the second the statement falls from his lips, my eyes bulging in fear until they glaze, my mouth parting silently even as I feel all the blood drain from my face. For two whole seconds, I can't think. Can't speak. Can't breathe.

"You were late by an hour and eleven minutes: a total of seventy-one minutes," Frost continues, his voice suddenly distant, as if he's several feet away instead of right in front of me.

I'm getting lightheaded, I realize, and my skull feels simultaneously compressed and weightless. I can't even accurately describe it. Frost doesn't seem to notice. Or, if he does, he sure as fuck doesn't care.

"So, I'm going to give you seventy-one lashes," he concludes, his tone matter-of-fact even when he can clearly see that I'm on the verge of an internal meltdown. "And you're going to count each and every one of them."

***

💕Author's Note: Hey, again! We'll post one chapter every Friday, but there are currently over 140 chapters, so this may take a while. If you just can't wait, you can read ahead by becoming a patron at www.EmendedHearts.com/join

Your support is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! And don't forget to like, share and comment! Love ya :).

XOXO 😘

Eme and the hearts @EmendedHearts 💕