Claiming Their Maiden (7 page)

community. We don’t have a village like you’re used to. Our kind likes to spread out. A house

here and a house there.”

“A tour sounds nice.” She smiled, and Gavin’s insides gushed with warmth. She was a

beauty, and her mind was complex. The stories Trent had told him about her life in the village

had made him admire her all the more. She was a survivor. The warrior in him appreciated that,

but now that she belonged to them, he’d make sure she didn’t spend all her energy trying to

survive. He wanted to give her the comforts in life she’d gone without. He wanted to make her

feel safe.

And loved.

He jerked back at that thought. Taking a mate was a biological urge he couldn’t fight.

When the time was right, many of the Banded took mates for alliances or lands, but never love.

Love was a human notion. He’d never expected the warm feelings spreading through his chest.

The more time he spent with Amelia, the warmer he felt. It was as if every minute, even every

second, counted.

He had to spank her. She’d disobeyed an order, stolen a key, and tried to escape. He had

to punish her as promised. Gavin didn’t make empty threats. Neither did Trent. The sooner

Amelia realized it was easier to submit to them, the better. Until she learned, and until she began

the beautiful surrender to their will, her ass would remain a pretty shade of pink.

“I’m going to spank you now, Amelia.” He moved to the edge of the bed and patted his

lap. “Over my knee with you, sweetling. Let’s get this over with and then we can move on to

more pleasurable activities.”

She bit her lower lip and peered at him from under thick, dark eyelashes. “I don’t want

to.” It was a simple statement. Her voice didn’t hold any note of challenge, but she’d probably

resume fighting him the moment her bottom began hurting.

He gave her a slight smile, hoping to encourage her obedience. “The sooner you get over

my lap, the sooner this will be over with. If you keep me waiting, I’ll give you extra smacks.” He

patted his thigh again. “Be a good girl and come here.”

A vast range of emotions flitted across her face, from terror to understanding to

acceptance. In the end, Amelia approached him on her own free will, and placed herself across

his lap. He praised her for listening to instructions and rubbed her cheeks through her dress. He

took this rare opportunity of having her calm attention to tell her more about himself and Trent.

He told her about the River Lord whose army had terrorized the forest for several years. Gavin

and Trent had fought in the final battle against him, and peace had reigned for the last few

months. The house they’d grown up in had been destroyed in the war, and they’d needed a larger

place to live anyway since many of the River Lords’ former slaves had followed Gavin and

Trent. So they’d traveled many a mile through the forest in search of an abandoned castle left

behind by humans long ago. The former slaves worked happily to run the castle in exchange for

food, shelter, and protection. The River Men had exotic features many of the Banded were drawn

to, and many of the females went on to mate with a pair of Banded Men.

Gavin also warned Amelia about Trent’s childhood. He’d spent several years helping to

care for their dying uncle, Sarrat, on the outskirts of the forest near the Kerran River, and was

completely cut off from Gavin and the rest of their family during this time. Elves made up the

majority of the population in this area, and the elf children were especially cruel to Trent for

being different. Gavin urged Amelia to keep her insults about the Banded to herself, otherwise

she might send Trent into a rage.

Finally, Gavin told her about his upbringing in a section of the forest known as the First

Woods. A race of beast-men still lived there, and it was considered the oldest part of the forest.

His fathers had liked the history of the place, and his mother had liked the year-round warm

temperatures. Gavin spoke of his younger sister, Marybeth, and his older brothers, Brenot and

Xaron. His voice thickened when he spoke of their deaths at the hands of the River Lord. He

missed his family dearly, and he thanked the Goddess every day that Trent had survived the war.

“I’m sorry about your family,” she said, sadness filling her pretty eyes.

“Thank you, sweetling. Me too.”

Silence stretched between them as the storm raged outside. It was peaceful in the room,

the only sound being the soft puffs of her breathing. He caressed her bottom as he tried to sort

out his thoughts.

“I have a question about Banded women.” She glanced over her shoulder at him.

“Go ahead.”

“Do they ever sleep?” She giggled. “I mean, one of you is awake all night, and the other

is awake all day. How does that work?”

He smiled. “Banded women require little sleep and usually take two short naps a day. I

promise we won’t forget you’re
all human
, sweetling.”

She yawned. “You know, I’m feeling quite human right now. I think I need sleep. Not a

spanking.”

“Nice try. You were naughty. You disobeyed me.” He pushed her skirts up and parted the

slit in her drawers, revealing her bare bottom. “And naughty girls who don’t listen to their mates

get spanked.”

Thwack! His hand came down, swift and hard. She squirmed as he alternated cheeks, first

her left, then her right, and over and over again as her flesh began to redden. Her hands flew

back, and he caught her wrists at the small of her back, trapping them in place. She responded by

kicking her legs, and he paused briefly to enjoy the sight of those little legs thrashing. Her

struggles excited him, and his cock came to life underneath her stomach, hard and painfully

swollen. Gavin finally covered her legs with one of his and resumed her punishment. He untied

her drawers and yanked them down above her knees, revealing her completely to his hungry

gaze. He pelted her thighs and laid into the tender bit of flesh at the lower curve of her bottom.

Whimpers rose up from her, as well as tearful promises to behave.

“Oh! Please stop! I’ll be good. I’ll listen to you and Trent. I pr-promise!”

She was a blubbering, crying mess by the time Gavin finished up, and her bottom cheeks

glowed cherry red. It was important she learn obedience and learn it quickly. Gavin’s over-the-

knee hand spankings were love taps compared to what Trent would administer should she cross

him.

“Shh,” he said, lifting her into his arms as he scooted back on the bed. He cradled her

lovingly, and she clung to him with her head buried in his chest. His heart swelled to be so close

to her, without her fighting him. The intimacy of their time together swept over him. From their

very first meeting, she’d had a hold on him, and he’d felt a connection spark between them.

When their eyes locked, all the air went out of the room and nothing mattered but Amelia. He

hoped their unique connection persisted after he claimed her, after he pushed her down on the

bed and mated with her for the first time.

After her tears dried up, he didn’t take her immediately as he’d planned. Instead, he

stroked her hair and breathed in her sweet, feminine scent. For all the nights for the rest of his

life, she was his. He prayed to have a long life.

“I—I’m ready now,” she said, barely above a whisper.

He cupped her face and searched her eyes. Still an innocent, even though Trent had

claimed her. She didn’t understand her own pleasure yet, or how to give pleasure to a man, but

he anticipated giving her many lessons.

He reached for the buttons on her dress. “Let’s get this off of you, sweetling.”

Amelia was a mess inside, but even though her practical senses told her not to trust

Gavin, she couldn’t help but like and trust him. She gazed into his dark eyes, lost to all in the

world but him. He’d removed her dress, drawers, and slippers, giving her tender bottom a playful

thwack with one of the slippers before tossing it to the floor. His sense of humor, combined with

his willingness to open up to her, gave her hope for the future. As much as she hated to admit

when she was wrong, perhaps the Goddess
had
intended for her to be a gift to the brothers.

Gavin trailed kisses down her stomach, and his lips seared the insides of her thighs as he

nudged her legs apart. She tried to cover her mound, but he slapped her hands away. She

screamed when his tongue invaded her intimate folds, licking the insides and circling a sensitized

area that drove her crazy. Sweat broke out on her forehead, and she squirmed against his face,

watching as her hips rose and fell on their own accord. Her nipples hardened, and her breasts

ached to be touched. She fought the urge to grope the mounds herself. A ball of pleasure

tightened in her lower stomach, and she groaned when Gavin’s tongue left her pussy.

“Please,” she said, the plea falling from her mouth before she could stop it. She needed

more. So much more. She needed Gavin to bring her to that explosive white light that Trent had

thrown her into earlier that day. To the warm pulsing release that turned her into a puddle of

nothingness.

“It won’t be long before you realize how to pleasure yourself, Amelia. Should Trent or I

find out you touched yourself in secret, you will be thoroughly chastised. Your pleasure belongs

to us.”

“Let me guess,” she said wryly. “Another spanking?”

He shook his head. “Not quite. If you touch yourself without permission, we’ll spank

your pussy.”

Amelia froze. The thought of being spanked
down there
left her shuddering, partly out of

fear of the pain and partly out of excitement. It was so naughty to think he’d actually punish her

private parts. Well, everything he did to her was naughty, but this was especially naughty. She’d

spent so long avoiding sex, now that her eyes were open, they were open extra wide.

“Do I have permission to touch myself right now?” she asked.

“No.” He held her gaze, and the wicked gleam in his dark depths held challenge. He was

serious, but he was also daring her to disobey, lest he gently demonstrate this brand of

punishment.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Amelia reached down and touched the most

sensitive area of her pussy, the hardened nub that was swollen and protruding from between her

lips.

His breath hitched, and she knew her boldness had surprised him. She’d surprised herself

as well, and now she had to pay the price of disobedience.

He moved her hand aside and slapped her sex much harder than she’d expected. She

winced from the blow and tried to block the next spank, but he blocked her interference and gave

her a few more smacks directly atop her swollen, stimulated nub. The instant he stopped, he

lunged on top of her and entered her, shoving his cock inside with one huge thrust.

“Oh!” She cried out in a mixture of pain, pleasure, and surprise. She cried out again when

he wove his fingers through her hair and yanked her head back.

“Now you belong to me too. Now you belong to both of us.” He spoke in another

language then, just as Trent had before he’d claimed her.

He pinched one of her nipples, twisting it until she moaned. The pain sent a shockwave

straight between her thighs. He kept pounding her hard, driving fast and deep. The sound of flesh

slapping flesh filled the room. She opened herself wider, and he pushed her legs straight up in

the air without missing a beat. Her release built, and she gyrated her hips in tune with Gavin’s

harsh thrusts, until stars exploded behind her eyes. Sweet mercy. She fisted her hands in the

covers and groaned her pleasure aloud. Gasping for breath, she opened her eyes and tried to

move, but it was no use.

She was shattered.

Gavin followed soon after, his cock jerking within her walls as his seed spurted into her.

Drained of all energy, she rested her head on his chest after he lay down on the bed. He

pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her and stroking her shoulder with his callused hands.

The last thing she saw before drifting to sleep was his gentle smile.

* * *

Amelia awoke in the early morning and stretched underneath the soft sheets. Oh, how she

loved sleeping in a real bed. She glanced around and frowned. Gavin was gone. The horizon

above the trees glowed pink and orange with the promise of sunrise.

He’d let her sleep all night. She sighed and made a mental note to thank him for letting

her get some rest. She’d have to adjust her sleep schedule to give Gavin and Trent her equal

time, but she didn’t think it would be too difficult.

Whoa. What was she thinking? Had she given up her quest for escape so soon?

She sat up in bed and stared out the window, wondering what kind of life awaited her

beyond the castle, beyond this mountain and this blasted never-ending forest. Wincing, she