Love & Exorcisms | 18+ | COMPLETE |

- Chapter 5 -

I had kept my distance from Hearst so far, but I soon found myself standing just beside him. Standing so close, I realized that my head came merely to his shoulder. It was frustrating how tall he was. The flogger within his cabinet reminded me of my own: sweet soft leather that could be vicious or tender depending on how it was used. The canes...the canes awakened something in me. Some old desire, a private and burning need. As pleasing as these implements would feel in my own hand, I suddenly imagined them in his.

I was only doing my job. Wasn't I? Of course. Only my job. He had paid for the pleasure, after all.

I had never in my life let a man take command. Not a man like this. A man I...desired.

"I can see you're hesitant," he said. "Perhaps you did not expect exactly what I would desire."

"Hesitant" was not exactly the right word. I was torn. I did not want to desire him. I did not want to feel this strange, light, nervous, excited feeling that was bubbling up in my belly. Yet there I was.

Wanting it.

I cleared my throat, giving myself a moment to respond so that my voice would not crack. "I'm not afraid of you, Mr. Hearst, if that's what you think."

His mouth twitched, a grin trying to settle there as he looked down at me. "No? Not at all?"

I shook my head firmly. "I've seen far more frightening things than you."

He chuckled, a deep, purring sound that made me want to slap him and fall on my knees at the same time. "I'm certain you have, Miss Samara. As it turns out, I've seen far more frightening things than myself, as well. I'm honestly quite tame."

"I would not apply that word, Mr. Hearst," I said, then regretted opening my mouth.

"Oh no?" he ran his hand over his implements, caressing them, savoring the tension. Perhaps it was only I that was tense. He seemed cool as ice, perfectly content to see me squirm. "What word would you apply, Miss Samara?"

Dangerous.

Insufferable.

"A tease," I said. "I thought we were getting down to business."

"You haven't chosen," he said, motioning to the cabinet. "Go ahead, if you're suddenly so eager."

Chewing the inside of my cheek, I reached out to run my fingers over the polished wood, the smooth leather. "Why do you pay a woman for this, Mr. Hearst?" I said. "Your wife does not share your tastes?"

"I am unmarried."

Oh. Well then.

Well then what? What was I even thinking of? I wanted nothing more to do with a well-off gentleman than what he was paying me for. I seized hold of a cane of middling thickness, also a similar implement to one I had used before. I stepped back, giving it a few swings to test its flexibility. It was well-made. Intentionally well-made, for a very specific purpose.

Mr. Hearst watched me curiously. "Is it to your liking?"

"It will do," I said, with a shrug that spoke nothing of how truly nervous and eager I was. I did not get nervous with clients. I did not get nervous with clients! Yet I was having significant difficulty holding this man's gaze for any period of time longer than a mere second.

"I'm not usually on the receiving end of such things, Mr. Hearst," I said, in a tone far more tart than I had intended. I was unsure of where I meant to go with such a statement. It was not a protest, more like...a warning.

It was only then, as Hearst gave another chuckle that made my insides turn to mush, that I realized how silent my voices had become. How...absent. My mind had but one focus: this damned, disturbingly attractive, definitely frightening man.

"If it is not to your liking, Miss Samara, I would appreciate you telling me now," he said. "I would not hold you to any obligation to stay."

"Is that so?" I said, hiding just how taken aback I was by his words. I did not want to leave; quite the opposite, in fact. "I have a different proposition, Mr. Hearst. We are both accustomed to being on the dealing end of such an encounter. Allow me to give you a little taste first, of what I can do."

He pouted his lip in thought, nodding slowly even as his eyes widened at the idea. "You're a rather bold woman, aren't you, Miss Samara?"

I tapped the cane against my opposite hand, smiling sweetly. "Are you turning me down?"

The look he gave me as he approached me could have melted butter in a heartbeat. He stood close - so very tantalizingly close - but I did not move back an inch. "I have a proposition for you, in turn," he said. "Show what you can do. But keep this in mind: I will whip you twice as hard as you whip me. So if you are seeking temperance, mind your strength."

Ah, a game was it? A challenge? Did he expect me to be afraid? I raised my chin. "I accept. Assume the position, Mr. Hearst."

A/N: Oh, you know, just watching you shiver with antici-