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"He is special to me Was special"

"Is," she said "If he wasn’t still isley nodded "He is special to me Then and now and always So special I’ve never beaten anyone with this belt I kept it hidden away like treasure Hidden aith all my memories of him and what he did to h I wish I didn’t sometimes It’s been a knife in me for twenty-three years"

Juliette nodded "I know that kind of love A love like a knife," Juliette said "But the knife is what carves us into e are Don’t repent of the knife"

"The knife broughtlove to you again when I know you’ll leave me"

"Not by choice," she said "I promise, not by choice"

"If you could choose--"

"Don’t ask me to choose when I can’t Just"

"What?"

"Just hurtto Hurt sley cupped the back of her neck, kissed her throat Into her ear he whispered, "I’ll et"

He untied the back of her dress and pulled it down and off her body Would he ever get enough of her body? It seemed impossible The well of his desire was bottoain, held her breasts in his hands, gripped her hips and pulled her hard against his erection Then, without warning her, he turned her back to hih wooden wall

She held still, said nothing Waited with her eyes closed and her head bowed

He struck her hard between the shoulder blades and harder still a few inches lower She didn’t cry out even elts appeared on her skin, and he aiasps that pleased hi froer made the work easy for him With a belt he had to throw hard, strike hard, concentrate his energy and his strength It was as much work for him to hurt her as it was for her to take it After two or maybe three dozen vicious strikes up and down the entire back of her body, he stopped with as little warning as he’d started

Juliette re He was hard already, eager to have her Too eager Dangerously eager If he took her right now he’d no doubt hurt her with his ardor

Then again, she’d adh sex hat she wanted, he was sley dropped the belt on the floor and stepped behind Juliette He pressed his naked chest against the scores of raelts on her burning back Then, finally, she cried out in real pain Sweat and heat against battered fleshsensual salt rubbed into sublime wounds