Page 16 of The Twisted Beats

As soon as he’s done, he flips me over. He takes my wrist above my head and snaps the cuffs on. He spreads my legs and cuffs them too. His white-hot gaze scans over me, and the color in his face drains.

“Livianna!” He may sound like he’s angry, but I know he’s worried about something.

“What, sir?”

“Your nipples are turning blue. These have to come off now!”

I peek down and sure enough, they are. That’s not good. Not only is it going to be incredibly painful to remove them, but it’s very dangerous for them to be this shade.

Fuck.

I messed up. Now he’s not going to trust me. My eyes gloss over and tears pool at the corners.

Do not cry, Livianna. Take it. You deserve this.

Jax slowly loosens the clasp of one of the clamps to ensure it’s removed safely. I bear down on my teeth and tense.

“Livianna, you need to breathe through this.” He removes the first one and hurries to the next.

Searing pain burns through my breast. My chest rises and falls rapidly. It’s not supposed to feel like pins and needles. Intense, yes. But nothing like this.

“Christ, you’re going to be black and blue tomorrow.” He carefully removes the next clamp. “We need to get a cold compress on these after I care for them.”

My heart shrinks and my chin quivers. A rogue tear slips from the corner of my eye. It catches his attention.

He wipes it away with his thumb. “I’ll get some healing salve and help you, but I need to remove the last one first.”

His jaw ticks as he goes about helping me. I close my eyes to hide from his judgment. I took it too far, and now his trust in me is broken.

Way to end the night, Livianna.

There’s no way he’ll let this scene go on any longer and I totally understand. I broke one of the most important rules of BDSM between partners, and it’s hard to come back from that.

Once he’s taken off all the clamps and released me from my restraints, he leaves the room. I sit up and hug my knees.

He’s leaving tomorrow, and I’ve destroyed any chance he’ll return to me in the same place as we were before this.

He comes back into the room. “We need to have a serious discussion.”

Chapter Four

JAXON/JAX

Two & A Half Weeks Before Now

The Morning I Almost Tell Her Everything

There’s a moment before every storm when silence feels safe…until you realize it’s the reason everything breaks.

Livianna motions to a fluffy light blue blanket that’s thrown over a cream lounge chair that’s in the corner of the room. “Will you please bring that to me?”

I nod and retrieve it for her. “What was that about, Livianna?”

“I wasn’t thinking straight.” She drapes the blanket around her shoulders and scoots off the bed. “It was nothing more.”

“Don’t give me that. I know you, so don’t lie to me.”

She slips into the en suite and I follow. She’s not going to circumvent this conversation.