Strike ( Book 4: Stronger Series )

2. Warning

"Wake up, princess."

WHACK.

My eyes refused to open, too heavy to lift, too tired to care.

WHACK.

A groan was all I could muster as the sharp pain of Darren's belt against my lower back reminded me of how sore I still was from the night before. My wrists ached and my arms were numb from their position. Spending seven hours shackled to a St. Andrew's Cross was definitely at the top of my list of worst ways to sleep ever.

I attempted to clench and unclench my fists to get the blood flowing again, but I could barely move them, the cold of the room doing very little to aid me. I tried resting my head against my arm, but all that did was stretch my neck to an awkward uncomfortable angle.

Through all the pain, aches, and numbness, my body could never ignore when Darren touched it. His hands traveled over my hips, up my rib cage, along the sides of my breasts, higher to my shoulders to press his thumbs into the tender muscles, creating a circular motion that hurt and healed at the same time.

For a solid thirty seconds, Darren massaged my shoulders, moving along my arms and bringing some life back into my limbs before he finally released the latch keeping me prisoner.

The next thing I knew, I was lying face down on the bed, the soft sheets my only reprieve from the wretched night before. I should just give up and stop fighting him, but I wanted the fucker to at least work for his money. If he really was going to break me this time, he'd have to earn it.

"You did well last night, Jaden. Now, if you can get through this without making a sound, I might actually let you sleep in the bed tonight."

The sound of Darren's deep voice made my fingers immediately clench the sheets, but I intended to yield. I wanted to sleep on a mattress for once.

The bed dipped under his weight as he sat down beside me, his eyes lingering on the destruction of my backside. Too exhausted to do anything but lay there, I didn't even flinch when I heard him unsheathe the knife I knew he always kept at his side.

Fuck.

"Not a sound, princess," he warned, and then a sharp pain seared its way into my upper left ass cheek.

I held my breath for a second before slowly releasing it, not even allowing my erratic heart beat to be heard as Darren cut into me.

The cuts were long and excruciatingly slow, my abs clenching with each exhale while my nails ripped holes in the sheets. He was carving something; I could feel it.

And that knowledge gave my tears permission to fall.

When he was done, he dabbed my skin with a cloth and then snapped a photo with his phone.

"Tell me who you belong to, Jaden," he ordered.

"You," I croaked robotically.

Holding the phone out in front of my face for me to see, I wasn't even shocked at what he'd done.

His initials "DD" were now carved into my skin. As if the ink on my wrists weren't enough, he had to physically scar me as well. Mutilate me inside and out.

"Goddamn right," he murmured softly, getting up from the bed. "Now let's make sure this scars like it should."

My heart started to pound all over again.

"Darren," I moaned in panic, but all he did was shush me.

"There's no pleasure without pain, princess," he answered, almost apologetically. "You know this."