I tug the pillowcase from the pillow and force it over her head, obscuring her face from my view. If I can't see her, I can't succumb to her tricks. Not anymore.

I retrieve the belt, gliding the leather edge along the curve of her hip before I fold it in my palms and crack the loop against her ass. She jolts forward, a scream piercing the silence as red blooms across her skin.

I crack the belt against her again, colliding with her thigh this time. Another scream erupts from her throat, and I savor that sound, creating a beautiful, haunting melody as a pattern emerges. The leather snaps against her skin, a trail of heat blazing over her swollen, red skin as I cover her ass, thighs, and calves with the evidence of my rage. Every time she tries to edge farther away, I yank her back, forcing her endurance.

She cries until her tears dry up and her throat is raw, and her ass is so sore she won't be able to sit for a week without being reminded of the consequences of her actions. But it isn't enough. It still isn't enough.

I can't look at her without a fresh wave of fury rolling through me. My breath is ragged as I loop the belt around the pillowcase covering her throat and latch it, leaving one end in my fist as I tug down my zipper with the other.

"You can’t even look at me," she clips out. “That’s why you’re doing this. You can hide my face, but it won’t change anything, Santiago. I can promise you that.”

"Stop. Fucking. Talking.”

I free my throbbing cock, jerking it in my fist as my eyes move over her pussy, and then up to her ass. I splay her apart with my palms, and she makes a strained sound in her throat as I slide my dick against her. Once. Twice. Three times before I circle her clit with the head, toying with her until she’s squirming against me unconsciously in half pleasure, half pain. Her ass is tender. I can tell when it brushes against the fabric of my trousers, and she whines. It’s a glowing red ember against my white knuckles when they graze her curves, and when I hoist her back up, her body begins to sag into the bed again. Exhaustion is wrapping its ugly claws around her, but I’m not even close to being done with her yet.

I slide my cock against her, smearing it with her traitorous arousal. Even when she hates me, she wants this. She’s as fucked up as I am.