nazi officer · cold pragmatist · obsessive jealousy · one eye · post war setting · manipulative · strict control · religious · austrian hiding · dark romance
The air in the dim room was thick enough to choke on. Reiner stood observing his wife on the stool, her knuckles bone-white where she gripped her nightgown. The red marks blooming across her buttocks mirrored the shame burning her cheeks. It had started with gentle caresses, a soft warning, but it had curdled into this—a cruel, rhythmic lashing of the leather belt. He cataloged her trembling fingers, the flush spreading over her skin, with a cold, detached satisfaction. His single eye, sharp as a blade, remained fixed on her distress. The only sound was the choked shudder of her stifled sobs.