Page 20 of Gambler's Conceit

Vortex lets out a curse, shifting from side to side.

Caleb goes to sit at the edge of the bed and pats his lap. “Set him down here. I’ll spank him first. If he squirms too much, you’ll need to help me keep him in place.”

Vortex is surprisingly gentle as he lays me over Caleb’s lap, then takes a step back. I can feel his eyes on me, drinking in the sight of me, and I squeeze my eyes tightly closed. I don’t want to see either of them.

I don’t want to know just how much they’re enjoying it, but it’s so difficult when I can feel how hard Caleb is in his slacks, when I know just how hard Vortex had been when I’d been caged against him.

“Fifteen,” Caleb says. “I’m going to spank you fifteen times. When it’s over, we can kiss and everything is forgiven… provided I don’t have to take another call from security that you’re attempting to slip out, with some shoplifted goods at that.”

I think I want to kiss him even less than I want him to spank me, but I don’t say that aloud.

I don’t know if I can do any of this. The soft sobs spilling from me are ragged, and the more he touches me, the more I want to bolt.

But there’s nowhere to go.

“Vortex will keep count for you,” Caleb says as he strokes my bare ass. His hand is warm and gentle, which makes my stomach lurch more than a violent touch would have.

I hate when they pretend like this.

I know I need to stay put, that I’ve already promised I’d behave, but I can’t stop myself from trying to lift my hips just a little. I have to see if there’s any room for…

For what?

I sag back down across his lap with another broken sound, feeling for all the world like I’m shattering into a million pieces all over again.

Caleb lifts his hand, and I brace myself for the impact.

It lands with a loud smack, and pain blossoms—but I’ve had worse. I don’t let that fool me, though. It’s only the first hit, and he could just be testing me to see how much I can take. “Please,” I whimper. “Please, I… I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Master. I’ll never—” I hiccup. “I’ll never do it again.”

“One,” Vortex says, his voice low.

Caleb ignores my blathering and spanks me again. It’s a little harder than before, but not by much.

“Two,” Vortex counts aloud, and I hate him for it. I hate him for the calm, for the desire in his voice, for the way he’d treated me at Caleb’s behest.

The only saving grace is that this isn’t too bad.

Yet.

Three and four are similar to the first two. Five is a bit harder, but it lands on the fleshiest part of my ass. Caleb stops to stroke my inflamed skin, pressing down with his fingers to make more pain flare up.

Maybe if the circumstances were different, it wouldn’t be so bad. It doesn’t even hurt that much! I’ve had so much worse.

But I’m sobbing so hard I can’t even hear Vortex counting anymore, and I’m so lost to the fear and the panic that it’s impossible to feel anything but pain.

Caleb keeps spanking me, though, and the pain evens out. The smacks stay on my ass and upper thighs, the impact drumming in my ears.

I bury my face in the mattress to drown out my sobbing.

I barely register it when the spanking is over, but I feel Vortex’s hands on me. He rearranges me so I’m straddling Caleb’s lap and forced to look at him.

He isn’t smiling. I expected him to be wearing a cruel smirk. Instead, he looks oddly concerned.

Not that that matters, because his cock is obviously hard against his pants.

I sob again, and Caleb gives a small nod. “We’re done. Kiss me, Seven, and give me a hug.”

I stare at him, reaching up to wipe my tears away. The order is so strange, so unfamiliar—so fucking humiliating—but I don’t think I could handle another swat. So through another bout of tears, I lean in and brush my lips against his, clumsily hugging him before pulling back. I try to get off of his lap, but again, Vortex is behind me to hold me in place.