The first thing he registered was warmth and the faint, expensive scent that always surrounded Lauren. He turned his head slightly on the pillow and froze.
Lauren Voss was sleeping right beside him.
For the first time since he had met her, she looked… peaceful. There was no cold fire in her expression, no sharp edges of dominance or ruthlessness.
Her face was relaxed in sleep, chest rising and falling with soft, even breaths. Her arched brows were no longer furrowed in anger.
Her big eyes were closed, long lashes resting against her cheeks. Her fuller lips were slightly parted, and her sharp nose led down to a small, delicate mole just under her lower lip... a tiny detail he had never noticed before in all the terror of the previous days.
For one brief, stolen second, Ryan forgot everything.
He forgot she was the merciless mafia queen who had whipped and flogged him the night before. He forgot the burning welts on his back and thighs.
He simply got lost in her features, mesmerized by the unexpected softness of her sleeping face.
She looked almost… beautiful. Human. Nothing like the ice-cold woman who had shouted at him and left marks all over his body.
Then reality crashed back in like a tidal wave.
The memories of last night flooded his mind... her furious shouting, the crack of the whip, the heavy thud of the flogger across his thighs, the way she had grabbed his chin hard enough to bruise.
The pain. The fear. The jealousy in her eyes when she punished him for sitting on that woman's lap.
Fear took over instantly.
His heart began hammering against his ribs. He tried to shift slightly to create some distance, but the moment he moved, pain exploded through every part of his body.
His back burned where the welts stretched, his thighs throbbed with sharp, stinging agony, and even the simple act of turning made his bruised muscles scream.
A sharp wince twisted his face before he could stop it. He bit down hard on his lower lip to keep any sound from escaping, fresh tears immediately springing to his eyes.
He was more terrified of her now than ever.
Ryan lay completely still after that, barely daring to breathe, eyes wide with panic as he stared at the sleeping Lauren.
Every small movement sent fresh waves of pain through him, but he forced himself to stay silent, tears silently rolling down his cheeks onto the pillow.
His body ached in ways he had never felt before... not even from his father's beatings had pain felt this deep and personal.
The contrast between the peaceful woman beside him and the ruthless queen who had punished him so brutally made his stomach twist with dread.
What if she woke up angry again? What if she saw him looking at her? What if she decided he still hadn't learned his lesson?
He remained frozen in place, trembling faintly under the covers, fresh tears continuing to fall as he waited in silent terror for her to wake up, every bruise and welt on his body serving as a painful reminder of exactly who she was and what she was capable of.
>>>>
Lauren Voss woke with the same precision that defined every aspect of her life. Her eyes opened slowly, scanning the room before settling on the boy lying rigidly beside her.
Ryan was staring at the ceiling, his head turned slightly away, but she caught the subtle tremble in his shoulders and the way his jaw was clenched too tightly.
He quickly looked down, trying to hide the glassy sheen in his eyes and the silent tears that had already carved tracks down his cheeks onto the pillow.
She sat up without a word at first, the silk sheets whispering against her skin. Her gaze raked over him analytically, noting the way he held himself unnaturally still, as if any movement might summon more pain.
Without asking permission, Lauren reached over and gently but firmly lowered him flat onto his back on the bed. Ryan's breath hitched sharply at the contact.
"Ahmm...!" A soft, involuntary wince escaped him as his back pressed against the mattress, the welts stretching and pulling with fresh fire.
His face twisted, eyes squeezing shut for a second before he forced them open again, breathing in quick, shallow bursts. "It… it burns when I lie like this… sorry…"
Lauren's fingers moved with deliberate coolness, tracing the edges of the bruises blooming across his front dark marks where the flogger had wrapped around to his stomach and lower ribs.
She inspected them methodically, pressing lightly on one particularly vivid welt just below his collarbone.
Ryan's body jerked, a strangled whimper breaking free as pain flared hot and sharp.
"Mmmph...! That… that one hurts more… please, it's really sore there…" His voice was soft, stuttering, laced with raw fear.
He kept his eyes down, refusing to meet hers, his body... now marred with her handiwork.
"It's your mistake," Lauren stated coldly, her voice flat and commanding, carrying no trace of apology or warmth.
She continued her inspection, turning his torso slightly with one hand to check another mark on his side. Ryan gasped again, biting his lip hard as another wave of stinging agony rippled through him.
"Ahh…! It stings so bad… I can't… I'm sorry for making you do that last night…" Tears slipped silently from the corners of his eyes, but he didn't sob outright just quiet, continuous leaking that he tried desperately to hide by keeping his head turned.
Lauren leaned closer, her breath ghosting over his skin.
"Babies get punished by their mommies when they do something bad, right?" Her tone was icy, laced with mocking possession as she spoke the words like an unbreakable rule.
Ryan nodded quickly, his movement small and careful to avoid jostling the welts. "Y-yes… yes, Mommy," he whispered, voice trembling with fear.
His eyes remained glassy, wide with panic, more terrified of her now than ever before.
The peaceful image of her sleeping face was already shattering in his mind, replaced by the memory of her shouting and the crack of leather. "I… I was bad… I let her touch me… I'm sorry…"
She lowered her head and pressed her lips to the side of his neck in a slow, open-mouthed kiss, her teeth grazing lightly in a possessive claim rather than comfort.
Ryan stiffened, a shaky exhale leaving him as the sensation clashed with the throbbing pain everywhere else. "Mmm… Mommy…" he murmured fearfully, not daring to pull away.
"Get ready for breakfast," Lauren ordered, pulling back with the same cold detachment. She rose from the bed, her movements graceful and unhurried.
"No need to wear a shirt. Your bruises will be worse with clothes rubbing against them. Just trousers are okay. Go and brush your teeth, then we will go down."
Ryan nodded again, eyes glassy and filled with unshed tears mixed with the ones already falling. "O-okay… I'll do it right now… thank you for telling me…" He sat up slowly, every motion accompanied by sharp winces and soft, pained sounds.
"Ow… ah..." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed with extreme care, his toned but soft core tensing visibly as he fought not to cry out louder.
He stood on shaky legs, bare-chested and vulnerable, and made his way to the bathroom on unsteady feet.
Each step sent throbbing reminders through his thighs, making him pause once to steady himself against the wall with a quiet, "It hurts to walk… the front of my legs burn with every step… I'm so sorry for being slow…"