A Whole New Light by Julia Devlin

he was going to touch her. His thumb brushed her clit. Sensation jolted through her. She squeaked.
    He chuckled, the sound almost lazy. “If you’re this nervous about a tiny little touch, you’re going to be in for a big surprise.”
    Caleb paced back, stopped, waited. On the floor, the girl’s spine bowed as if in offering. “Stay still,” he barked.
    “Yes, Master.”
    The room closed in on Violet. It was all too much. These were things she’d read about, but the reality, all the stimulation, it made her head swim.
    “Relax, Violet.” Voice smooth, like aged scotch sliding over ice.
    She couldn’t relax. Every muscle coiled tight. A dull ache crept up her spine as she fought to keep her posture upright. All she wanted to do was melt into him. But she couldn’t. Something hard and unyielding stopped her. Again he feathered his fingers along her pussy with the briefest of contact. Her nerve endings exploded with an almost overwhelming pleasure.
    From one little touch. It scared her. Terrified her. She shrank back.
    The whip in Caleb’s hands sliced through the air, the tip fell across the pale skin of the woman’s back. A second later a red welt formed on her delicate flesh.
    No way. She could never do that. Her pulse pounded so loud she could hear it in her ears. Never. No man would mark her, whip her. Not even Ethan.
    “You’re wet, soaking.” Ethan’s voice, sounding distant, still jerked her out of her thoughts. “Your body wants this even with your mind fighting.”
    She snapped her head to look at him. She let her legs fall from his and yanked her skirt down below her knees. Her arms crossed over her chest, ensuring the draping fabric remained firmly in place.
    Dangerous. Lethal. His blue eyes glittered with hunger and raw power. Panic crawled over her skin. He watched her. Studied. Knowing. Her heart raced, beating so hard she was sure it would slam out of her ribs.
    The sound of the whip broke through the room, cracking along the air that seemed to sizzle with all the heat in the room. Violet didn’t need to look know another red mark would mar the woman’s skin. She inhaled deeply. The scent of sex assailed her, made
    her dizzy. The inner walls of her pussy rippled, as if asking to be filled. Another trickle slid down her thigh. She shouldn’t like this. It was wrong.
    Ethan ran a thumb over her mouth. “Look at her face, Violet. She’s not in pain.”
    Slowly she turned to look at the woman on the floor. What she saw frightened her more than if the sub had been in agony.
    Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, her eyes closed. Her lids were relaxed, not shut tight like Violet’s would have been. The girl’s lips were parted as though on a sigh. She looked… Violet struggled to form the work in her mind…at peace. Almost rapturous. Beautiful.
    Her heart clutched as if it were being squeezed like a fist. She turned back to face Ethan.
    He studied her closely, his hand resting lightly at the curve of her hip.
    Her mind went blank. Nothing. No thought filtered through. Just overwhelming feeling. She opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. “I want to go home now.” Was that flat monotone hers?
    His blue eyes narrowed as though he were trying to peer inside her and read her soul. She flinched. She couldn’t let him see what was in her heart.
    The need. The hunger. The fear that she desired to be just like the girl on the floor. It couldn’t be right. To want like this was wrong.
    She steeled her spine, ready to fight to get the hell out of there.
    What was she doing? She didn’t need Ethan’s permission. She frowned. So why the hell was she sitting here, waiting for it?
    The knowledge struck her like a blow.
    He was training her. Worse yet, she liked it.
    His fingers slid up her bare spine and she was unable to help the shiver of response that danced over her skin. Her body craved him. Wanted him with an unnatural desperateness.
    Another loud crack sounded along the air.
    Get out. Now. She