Harper nods without hesitation. “I was pretty bad tonight.” She feigns a pout, batting her lashes at me. “First I removed a body from a crime scene, and then I killed a man. I deserve to be punished.”

“I thought the rumor was going to be that the first man got lost walking his dog at night and the other was a workplace accident,” I say, reaching over to her nightstand where my supplies are laid out. I clean my hands with a sterile wipe, and then pull a pair of latex gloves out of the box, sliding them on.

“You can’t believe everything you hear.”

I smirk, my pulse already climbing in anticipation. Pillows already piled behind me, I lie back on her bed, my upper body propped up on the mattress. “Then I guess you’d better get on my cock and receive your punishment.”

Harper’s eyes darken with need. She’s on her knees near the center of the bed, close to my lower legs. She rises higher so she can start crawling closer, her balance unsteady with her arms bound so tightly to her body. I make no effort to help her, content to watch her struggle. She keeps her eyes on my erection, managing to get her left knee over my thighs with a little effort, then shimmies her way up my body until her pussy is lined up with my cock. With a bit of maneuvering and still no assistance from me, she sinks herself onto my length, enveloping me with her slick heat.

“Ride it,” I command. And she does. With slow and careful motion, she rises and falls, rolling her hips as she bites her lip. When she starts to gather a steady rhythm, I reach over for another sterile alcohol pad. “What’s your safe word?”

“Ballmeat.”

“That sounds pretty bratty to me.”

“Just a little bit.”

“Hmm,” I say. She shudders as I swipe a cold towelette over her nipple until I’m satisfied her skin is clean. “Maybe I’ll let it slide this time since I’m about to cause you pain.”

I toss the pad aside, then pick up the forceps, clamping them around her left nipple to the sound of her sharp inhale. Then I grab the hollow needle.

“You ready?” I ask, keeping the sharpened surgical steel held between us like a warning.

“Yes.”

“Then stay still.”

She rests on my length, her skin flushed pink with arousal and the anticipation of pain. God, she looks fucking perfect. Those cords around her skin. Her plump lip clutched between her teeth. Her nipple in my grasp and her pussy wrapped around my cock. I want to keep this image in my memory forever.

I rest the point of the needle against her flesh.

“Take a deep breath.”

She does as I ask. And then I push it in.

A delicious whimper. A sharp inhale. Her pussy tightens around my rock-hard erection. I slide the needle horizontally through her nipple until it pokes out the other side, and then I slowly pull it out, letting her embrace the pain she craves. When it’s free, I replace it with a threadless bar, pushing the beveled opal ends into each side.

“How did that feel?” I ask. But I already know. I can tell by the way she shudders. By the arousal that floods from her pussy.

“Good,” she whispers, breathless. “So fucking good.”

“Show me.”

She rides my cock, and I watch for a long moment, my eyes riveted to that metal bar through her nipple, her skin flushed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything hotter. When I manage to tear my focus away, I reach for a fresh alcohol pad and wipe down her other breast before opening a fresh needle.

“Stay still,” I command. Harper halts her motion, and I clamp the forceps over the nipple. “You liked that pain, didn’t you?”

She nods. “Yes.”

“Good.” I let the tip of the needle rest against her skin and she takes a shuddering breath. “Because I’m going to take my time.”

I keep the needle right where it is, the cold metal pressed against her, the clamp tight around her flesh. It’s only when a shiver of anticipation finally racks her body that I start to push it in. And I stay true to my word. I go slower than I need to, pushing it through her sensitive flesh as she whimpers. When I survey the subtle details of her face, it’s ecstasy I see in her darkened eyes and parted lips. It’s want, and need.

As soon as the needle is through the other side, I draw it back out just as slowly, and then replace it with a matching bar and opal balls. When it’s finished, I wipe away the droplets of blood and we stare at the beautiful result.

“That’s really fucking hot,” she says, her voice unsteady.

“You like it?”

“I fucking love it.”

“Then show me how grateful you are and ride my cock like you mean it.”

Hunger ignites in her eyes. I grip the knots at the center of her chest to steady her, and she fucking spears herself on my erection. I can’t take my eyes off her. Whether it’s the glistening arousal on my cock when she rises enough to slam down again or the shining gems that bracket her nipples, I feast on every inch of her that I see. I endlessly crave her, wanting more and more and more of her and never having enough.

“For a demon who murders innocent men and then acts like a brat, you fuck like a goddess. Maybe you deserve a little reward,” I say, reaching over for one last thing from the nightstand. Harper tracks the motion of my hand, never breaking her cadence as she rides my length. I grab the vibrator wand and turn it on, holding it up between us. “What do you think?”

“Yes,” she says on the heels of a moan.

“Yes what?”

She struggles to subdue a smile. “Yes, pretty please.”

“You’re being such a good girl. I like it, but I have a feeling I shouldn’t get used to it. Am I right?” My question earns me a coy little shrug, but her eyes don’t leave the buzzing toy.

“Didn’t think so. But I’m glad. I like taming you.” I lay the head of the toy just beneath the hollow between her collarbones, then drag it down, letting it pass over the cords as I make my way to her right breast. “I like punishing you as much as you like receiving it.”

I touch the vibration to the very tip of her nipple and she gasps. Then I let it graze the jeweled end of the bar and her pussy tightens around my cock, her silky arousal a flood of warmth.

“You’re soaking wet for that pain, aren’t you?” I say as I do the same to the bar on her other breast. She drops her head with a moan. She’s nearly mindless with pleasure. “You love when it hurts.”

“Yes,” she whispers. “But only with you.”

My breath catches. It feels like a quiet confession. Not just the words, but the way she watches me as though she’s just given me something precious. A secret. No matter what happens in the future, whether she one day casts me out or not, this is something she’ll only ever share with me.

I lower the wand. “Only with you,” I say, and then I press it to her clit.

I hold it against her sensitive bud of nerves with one hand while I grip her ropes with the other, helping her keep her balance as she gives me everything she has. Even when her head falls back and her eyes drift closed, she keeps a desperate rhythm with the kind of need that’s mindless. She glides on my cock and whimpers and moans until we both come undone, falling into the pleasure that consumes us. My grip tightens on the knots at her chest as I keep her locked down on me until every last pulse of my cock subsides, filling her with my cum, not taking the toy away until I’m sure her orgasm has fully passed. Even then, I keep her there, not letting her go until our ragged inhalations start to calm. And then I lift her away, slowly and carefully, and set her gently on the bed where I can safely remove the ropes.

I take my time to unwrap her before I carry her to the bath. This is how I worship her. With warm water and careful strokes of a soft cloth. With candles and quiet words and delicate touches. I want to hurt her and I’m grateful she lets me, that she wants me to do it. But as much as we both crave the pain, I want to look after her too. Maybe more than I ever expected.