A Cruel Punishment: An Excerpt from Blessed Betrayal by Livia Grant

Livia Grant, author of The Passion Series, has put out her first self-published title, Blessed Betrayal. I just started this last night and read the scene Livia's sharing today. It's intense and all I can say is I felt every instant of Cali's ordeal (and it's not a pretty one). If you've read Livia before, note that this is not a BDSM title but a romantic suspense and so far, I'm wowed!

Teaser:
The worst part of having the person who betrayed you die is they can't see how happy you are after they're gone. 

Blurb

Calista Bennett was supposed to be living happily ever after with her handsome husband, Kevin.  But underneath the perfect exterior of their marriage lays an ugly truth Cali can’t admit to anyone.

Across town, Nicholas Mikos’ marriage isn’t going much better.   When Veronica had shown up on his doorstep with the most wonderful secret years before, he’d planned their own HEA.  Now years later, he feels his marriage slipping away and is helpless to stop it.

In one moment, all of their lives come crashing together, changing life forever.   Has the universe conspired to bring two people together who deserve to be happy, or will fate deliver a final blow, sentencing them to a lifetime of sorrow?   Can true love rise out of the ashes of the ultimate betrayal?

Excerpt

Cali had been lost in thought, missing his arrival in their master suite.  She caught his reflection in the mirror as he stood in the doorway.   Her stomach churned at the sight of his predatory glare that reminded her of a hunter, about to pounce on his prey. 

"You are as gorgeous as ever, my dear.  I see you took my advice and wore red."  His words may be complimentary, but they didn't distract Cali from the danger just under the surface of his handsome exterior.  He had proven his mood changed on a dime. 

"Of course I wore red.  I didn't think it was a suggestion, but rather an order."  

He took deliberate steps closer, never taking his eyes from her reflection.  "Of course it was an order, but an obedient wife wouldn't be so crass as to point that distinction out.  I keep warning you, Calista.  You are being groomed.  You're not going to hear other partner's wives talking in that tone tonight.  You'd do well to watch and learn, my dear." 

He had stepped up behind her as she sat at the make-up mirror, resting his manicured hands on her bare shoulders.  His touch was deceivingly gentle.  She never forgot how hard those hands could turn when he was angered, which was why she had made it her new life's mission to keep him as happy as possible.  Just like a good little wife. 

"Yes, sir.  I'll remember that."

"You do that.  What a shame.  It looks like you're almost ready.  I had hoped to fit in a little exercise before we left for the party." 

She hated to exercise with her husband.  It was his code word for delivering her  'daily hard fuck'.  She had hoped he would delay at least until after the party if she was already dressed. 

"I wanted to be ready when you got home.  I know how much you hate to be late."

"How thoughtful of you."  His steely blue eyes were cooling.   "And here I am thinking it was because you didn't want to tell me the results of your appointment this afternoon." 

Cali's heart was thundering so hard she felt the pounding in her ears.  She was frozen with panic, made worse as Kevin's hands slid from her shoulders to circle her throat, slowly constricting until she had to fight for her next breath.   She pushed against the marble counter top in a feeble attempt to free herself from his grip, but he pressed her forward, making her thrashing futile.   Her husband cut off her airflow until she began to see stars, finally releasing her while leaning down to whisper menacingly into her ear.  "You are such a disappointment to me, Calista." 

Cali gasped, filling her lungs with precious air, hating the tears streaming down her cheeks from the exertion.  Trails of dark mascara marred the reflection of the beautiful woman with long black hair staring back at her from the mirror.   

His quiet rage was simmering hotter.  "I only ask one thing of you.  I plucked you out of poverty and gave you the life of a princess.   Yet, you insist on keeping that ridiculous job teaching other people's children when what you should be focused on is providing me with the child I need to fulfill the requirements in my grandfather's will.  He hasn't been well and I'm going to hold you responsible if the old man kicks it before I have time to claim my share of the pie with an heir."

Fear helped her fight down the urge to remind him she was trying to create a baby, not an heir.  "I was disappointed too, Kevin.  I was late this month and I really did think we had a chance."  Cali should have stopped there.  She didn't.  "Dr. Galloway wants you to make an appointment to come in to be tested as well.  He needs your test results to decide what the next course of action should be." 

Cali knew immediately she had made a grave error.  Kevin's blue eyes had turned to ice, venom flowing from them.  "How dare you blame me for this, you bitch.  You have one fucking job in this marriage and when you can't get it done, you decide to put the blame on me?"

"No... that's not... I mean it's just... " Her voice was quavering.  "It's a formality, that's all.   The doctor does this with all couples who have problems conceiving." 

He wasn't placated.  "Like I have time to go in to be poked and prodded.  I'll be damned if I'm going to turn into a pin cushion because you can't do your job." 

She wanted to scream that everyone knew it took two to create a child, but she wisely kept that retort to herself.  "He promised you wouldn’t be poked or prodded.  It's easy for the men.  You'll just need to give a sperm sample." 

"Ah, is that all?  I just need to go jack off behind some lame curtain like a lab rat?  Well, no thanks.  I provide sperm samples each and every day I fuck you.  In fact, I missed a day yesterday.  I think you need a reminder of exactly how frequently I have provided sperm samples in this marriage."

She should have been prepared, but she hadn't expected things to escalate so quickly.  Kevin gripped her biceps in a vice grip and yanked her to her feet just long enough to smash her body forward.  She was sprawled across the marble counter top, smashing her forehead against the oversized mirror.   Cali squeezed her eyes closed, trying to shut out the vision of her husband's icy eyes as she felt him flipping the skirt of her dress over her back just before he ripped the lacy underwear from her body.  He insisted she wear stockings and garter belts with skirts so she was now bare. 

It only took him a few seconds to fumble with his zipper before she felt his hard erection spring free.  It was inside her in one hard thrust. She was grateful she'd been careful to lube both her pussy and ass thoroughly after her shower.  She had learned the hard way to make sure her body was prepared at a moment's notice to take Kevin's punishing cock.    

She tried so hard to hold back the scream, but failed miserably.  His responding chuckle reminded her she was married to a sadist.   

As he set a fast pace, Cali's fight turned internal.  As much as her brain hated what he did to her and how he made her feel, there was no denying her body betrayed her time and again.   Kevin liked to use the natural lubrication flowing copiously from her body as proof that she actually liked to be treated like his punching bag.  Cali may have started to hate her husband, but she hated her own body more. 

He fucked her like a machine, pistoning her to her first humiliating climax.  She lay limp across the counter, receiving all he gave her, his ridiculing laughter only raising her humiliation.  She was too lost in her orgasmic fog to recognize the few second intermission in the action.   The piercing pain of his fleshy weapon shoved balls-deep in her lubed rectum consumed her.   She barely made out his grunting words.  "Lucky you lubed yourself.  This would have hurt like a bitch if you'd forgotten." 

Cali lay boneless, receiving her hard fuck of the day, knowing it was unfortunately early enough that there was a good chance he might go for round two when they got home from the party.   She had learned the trick to surviving this particular exercise was to relax into it.   Her husband had grabbed her hips, gripping her hard enough that she was sure he was leaving fresh bruises over the faded ones from past exercise sessions.    

They were in a race.  Her body was beginning to betray her again.  She couldn't fight him, but she went to work, waging a war against herself,  trying desperately to hold back her orgasm, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of dragging it from her.   He didn't play fair.  He leaned down and pressed his chest to her back.  She wasn't fooled into thinking he wanted the added intimacy of their sweaty skin caressing each other.  No.  He only did this so he could reach her clit with his left hand.  He wasn't trying to bring her satisfaction. Rather, humiliation as her body exploded into another strong climax.   He joined her a minute later, collapsing on her, almost cutting off her breath again. 

He added salt to her wounds as she lay recovering.  "That's the only good thing about you not being pregnant.  We have a few weeks before I need to start making deposits in your pussy again.   I do love taking this ass of yours.  It's nice and tight, just the way I like it."    

He pulled out as abruptly as he had inserted, slapping her ass with his open palm while stepping away from her.  "I'm gonna take a shower.  Put yourself back together.  We'll leave in thirty minutes."   

He didn't wait for her answer.  He didn't need to.  He knew she was too afraid to do anything but what he asked. 

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