Payton’s POV
I woke early the next morning, the hotel room still wrapped in soft shadows. A faint glow from the city lights slipped through the half-drawn curtains, casting a quiet, almost intimate haze across the space. On the other side of the bed, Teddy slept soundly, his chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. His face looked peaceful—so unlike the intense, commanding man who had held me so fiercely just hours ago.
But no matter how serene he appeared, my mind wouldn’t stop spinning.
My ass still burned where the whip had landed, a sharp sting flaring with every small shift of my body. I swallowed hard, throat tight. How could a man who claimed to love me take pleasure in hurting me like that? The crack of leather, my own screams, the way he’d lost control… it played on a
