Page 85 of Her Wicked Plan

He lowers his hand, unfolding the belt and looping it back into his jeans. “There was one more.”

“I know,” he states. “But if I did it one more time, then I’m afraid it might have brought you an orgasm, and that, Veronica, is not a punishment.”

A groan leaves me because he is right. If he hit me with the belt once more, then I couldn’t have held back. Add that to the list of things that are wrong with me. Leo pulls me from the desk and puts my sweats back on when standing straight up.

“Take a seat, please; we have a session to get to.” He gestures for the chair, but with how frustrated I am with him, I dismiss his order and sit on the bench by the window.

Tucking my legs to my chest, I rest my head against the cool glass of the window. My eyes drift to the lake again. A slight wind outside, causing the water to ripple ever so lightly, and I desperately want to go out there to witness it up close.

To see the way the light wind dances over the water. I want to smell the air as it carries the scent of the lake. I’ve never been out there before. Not since they put the fence up around the courtyard.

It was recently that it happened. A patient got out of the building, sneaking into the lake for a swim. A guard found her and thought she was trying to drown herself.

He was painted a hero even though the patient stated all she wanted to do was float in the water.

Being stuck in these places makes you feel trapped. Being outdoors, smelling the fresh air, or taking a swim sounds freeing. I don’t blame her for her choices, and I sure as hell don’t blame her for being the reason the fence got put up.

There were rules put into place, and if you broke them, you’d spend time in solitary. As much as I would love to feel the cold water biting at my skin, to feel that freedom, if only for a minute, it isn’t worth the price I would have to pay.

I’ve been to solitary before, more than I would care to admit, and it’s terrible. You’re stuck in a room alone. The doors locked, barely any light and the silence.

The silence will tear your sanity apart, and the lack of social interactions can mess you up. I’ve always come out okay, but there have been others who weren’t so lucky.

They were completely fucked up coming out of solitude that they had to be switched to a different ward.

“Veronica?” The sound of his soothing voice brings me out of my thoughts. His tone holds some concern for my drifting off as if he didn’t just spank the shit out of me.

I hum, rolling my head to the side.

“Are you ready to start?” He holds his pen in his hand, waiting for me.

“Sure.”

“Okay.” He nods, opening the top drawer of his desk. Moving objects around, my underwear that he had taken was not one of them. Where did he hide it now? He curses under his breath, slamming the drawer shut. “Looks like I left the voice recorder in my room.”

“Why don’t you keep it in your room and not here in your office?” A tiny smile forms on my lips because I know what’s on that recorder.

It makes me wonder if he listens back to it. Touching himself to the way he was talking to me. The way I was moaning for him. Wetness pools in my underwear again, still turned on by my punishment.

His hands meet his face, and a frustrated sigh leaves him. “I have to go get it.”

“Alright.” I bring my focus back to the lake when he stands from the chair. As he walks towards the door, an idea pops into my head. “Leo, wait!” I swing my legs from the bench and rush to him. “Don’t you think leaving me alone in your office is a bad idea?”

“You can’t come with me.”

“Then where will I go? Back to the common room where I’m sure that bitch is still sitting in my seat.” I step to him, my hands hidden behind my back. “Or back to my room where you'd have to come all the way to the other side of the building to get me after retrieving what you need. It seems like a waste of time.”

“No patients are allowed in my wing, Veronica,” he reminds me.

“We’ve already broken a ton of rules. What’s one more?” I tilt my head to the side. “It will be super quick. Plus, everyone is working, so there shouldn’t be anyone in the wing, anyway.”

“Dammit,” he mutters. “Fine, but you need to be quiet, okay?”

I bring my fingers to my lips, pretending to zip them shut, lock the imaginary lock, and throw away the key.

We walk down the hall to the entrance to the bedrooms, Leo unlocking it with nerves flowing from his body. As we walk down the hall, he keeps me close to his side. He’s on edge, but there are no voices or sounds anywhere. We are alone.

This hall looks the same as the one leading to his office. We stop outside the door that’s five down from the back entrance to the offices. I keep that in mind.