Does It Hurt?

by H.D. Carlton

“When have we ever been able to let go of the things that hurt us most?” I mutter.

“You’re going to ruin me, too. But unfortunately for you, that’s where I feel most at home.”

“No, bella, I’m going to make you take it from me. If you want a predator to submit to you, then you need to be stronger.”

“Fuck, keep milking every last drop. You can have it all, baby. You only have to take it.”

“I want to hear what it sounds like when you’re breaking and can’t scream.” Just as the last word falls from his tongue, his hand slips into my bottoms, and his finger presses firmly against my clit.

“I will make you see that,” he vows. “What happened to you does not define you. It only forged a new path that will take you to a different version of yourself. But no one can force you to walk that road; only you can determine who you will be once you get there. It’s your choice who you become, Sawyer.”

I would take the worst of him if it meant I never had to go without him.

“I’ve spent so much time running that I don’t remember why I’m living.” Again, I turn my head over my shoulder to look at him. His jaw is shadowed with a beard, aging him just as deliciously as whiskey. “Do you remember why you’re living?” It takes him several moments to answer. “Even as a kid, I was angry at the world, and I was always told that I’d waste my life away if I settled into that anger. Of course, I didn’t care. And until recently, I stayed firm in that way of thinking. I didn’t care about life when I felt so goddamn worthless to the one who was supposed to love me most. Then you came around and stole it from me. Yet somehow, it feels like you gave it back instead.”

“Do you know what attracts a predator to its prey, amore mio?” “What?” I whisper. “When it’s hurt,” he murmurs, placing a featherlight kiss on my jaw. “I love it when you're hurt, baby, but only when it's me who inflicts the pain.” A whimper escapes as his teeth graze where his lips once were. “You will heal, Sawyer. And as long as you are with me, you will never have to cause pain again. But when you are between my teeth, I will make you bleed. I will make you hurt instead.”

“Does it hurt?” he rasps, knowing how fucking abrasive he is. I shake my head. “Not enough,” I bite, forcing myself down until I’ve taken him completely, shivering from both the feel of him and the water.

“Ti penso ogni ora, ogni minuto, ogni dannato secondo. Non so che fare.”

“Ma solo quando sono pronto a venire con te. Annegheremo insieme, bella ladra.”