Chapter 95: Designed Not To Inflict Pain

?I swallowed hard, trying to play it as safe as possible in a desperate bid to save myself. "Is it asking you to help me up and treat me to some burgers and fries sometime?"

?Instead of laughing, his grip on my waist tightened instantly. His frame beneath me began literally vibrating with a low, primal Alpha hum that sent shivers straight to my toes.

?"It’s asking me to punish you," he murmured.

?"What?" I blinked, my core suddenly clenching at the sound of that word. I pursed my lips, staring down at his dark, intense face. "You can’t be serious. I didn’t even do anything wrong. I fell by accident, and we both know it."

?Damian wasn’t going to let me off that easily. "It doesn’t matter. The offense remains,"

Seriously, this guy, he definitely reacts on a whim. He throws around punishments just because he feels like it. He clearly knows I’m innocent but he doesn’t want to let me off the hook just because he has the power to punish me. What a jerk.

In the first, he was the one blocking my way, pinning me to the glass. If there’s anyone that’s at fault here, it’s him for stirring the pot.

"So, little Omega... will you take your punishment now?"

?My low emotional quotient was entirely unhelpful here. I genuinely wondered what sort of absurd disciplinary penalty his wolf could possibly be screaming for.

One of his broad hands pressed against the towel at my waist, while his other hand slowly, deliberately slid up my bare thigh.

?Every inch his fingers traversed sent a strange, electric tingle shooting straight through my nervous system. It felt weird. So unbelievably weird—yet I didn’t stop him.

?"Is that a yes?" he asked softly, his red eyes locking onto mine with an unreadable intensity.

?I looked down into his eyes, completely bewildered by the sensation. "Is... is this the punishment?"

?It felt worlds apart from the brutal physical tortures of my past life. It was a feeling I couldn’t quite describe, and each time his hand climbed further up my skin, it made my heart flutter in a strange, dizzying rhythm.

It was completely different from when that rutting Alpha had touched me in the shed, yet it held an eerie similarity to when I sat on Edgar’s lap and allowed him to mark my neck until he erased Benjamin’s scent.

?I pushed myself up slightly, my hands shifting from his chest to grip his broad shoulders tight as he remained lying beneath me.

?Damian felt my knuckles dig into his shoulders and paused his hand on my thigh.

"Should I stop?" he asked, his voice thick and dark, laced with something sweet. Something I couldn’t quite name. "It’s a punishment, but you don’t have to take it if you feel you aren’t in the wrong here."

?I opened my mouth, fully intending to state clearly that I had done nothing wrong—but no sound came out.

?My body merely shuddered in response, my skin flushing with a sudden, overwhelming heat. I... I liked it.

?No, wait... this isn’t supposed to happen. How could I possibly like a punishment?

?Given how many times I had endured excruciating physical torture in my previous life to hone myself as an elite assassin, my confused mind tried to rationalize it. Maybe this is a specialized torture method from this era? Designed not to inflict pain, but to break a target’s resolve in a completely different way...

?Just as I was falling deeper into the dizzying haze, a sudden, loud knock rattled against the heavy outer pod door.

?"I heard a fall," Benjamin’s muffled voice echoed through the speaker unit from the lobby. "Brianna? If you’re hurt, you don’t have to be stubborn and push yourself. Let me know, okay?"

The moment Benjamin’s voice echoed through the speaker, I opened my mouth to call out. If Benjamin comes in here, he’ll get me out of this absurd mess—

?But before a single sound could escape my throat, Damian reacted quickly.

?He cupped the back of my neck, pulled me down, and sealed his lips firmly over mine.

?My eyes widened in shock. My hands slammed onto his shoulders, my assassin reflexes screaming at me to strike his throat or dig my nails into his collarbone—but the electrifying heat of his mouth against mine completely paralyzed my muscles.

This was a kiss, right? And yet, it wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was possessive, disciplined, and suffocatingly deep, stealing every drop of air left in my lungs.

?His tongue parted my lips, silencing me so completely that the only sound left in the room was the muffled beat of my own erratic heart and the smacking of our lips.

?Against the heavy outer door, Benjamin knocked again, his footsteps shifting on the outer tiles. "Brianna? Are you alright in there?"

?Damian slowly broke the kiss, his lips dragging lingeringly across mine before sliding up to press against the shell of my ear.

His breath was hot, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly whisper that sent a violent shiver straight down my spine.

?"If he comes in here," Damian boldly said, his fingers digging possessively into my hip as he kept me pinned over his body, "I will extend your punishment."

?My breath hitched. I could feel the dangerous truth in his words—and worse, my traitorous body shuddered at the threat, the heat pooling deep in my gut turning twice as intense.

?"Don’t... Let him enter," Damian added softly, his dark red eyes burning into mine through the rising steam as he waited for my response.

?I swallowed hard, forcing my chaotic pulse into submission as I raised my voice just enough to carry through the pod’s intercom, keeping it as steady as humanly possible.

?"I’m fine, Benjamin!" I called out, my voice raspy. "I just... dropped a towel on the wet floor. I’m not that fragile!"

?Outside, there was a brief pause. I heard Benjamin let out a soft, heavy sigh through the speaker. "Alright. Don’t slip. I’m right outside."

?His footsteps faded back toward the lobby chairs.

?The second the outer room fell silent again, I looked back down at the Alpha beneath me.

Damian’s lips were flushed, his dark hair disheveled, and the usual tranquil, untouchable President of the Disciplinary Committee was looking up at me like a predator who had finally tasted blood.

?"Satisfied, sir?" I whispered, my knuckles still white against his shoulders.

?A dark, dangerous smirk slowly curved his lips. "Not even close, little Omega."