Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) (20 page)

Had he been looking for a reason and she had unwittingly given him cause? She’d never been hit, forget spanked except by his hand. Ideas about violence didn’t appeal to her and yet the thought of him spanking her again aroused something in her, especially with the erection he sported. This was a hard-core erotic fantasy, and no wonder the underground clubs were popular. This whole night had blown the doors off her imagination.

When Shawn came to the bed, she sat on the edge, not knowing if she should say something, ask questions about what he would use — his hand or a … She didn’t even know the proper terms for erotic toys. She twisted her fingers, raking her mind over the limits of her pain tolerance. Being mauled was one thing, but calmly presenting her ass to a man who promised to deliver a lesson was altogether different.

She wasn’t at all sure she was going to like this. Glancing up, she nearly fell off the side of the bed from his steely expression. Their gazes connected, blazing past her fear, lambasting the locked doorways, snaking around corners and pulling her to trust that whatever he wanted to deliver, she’d welcome.

“I want you over here. I intend of satisfying a side we both possess.” Her heart didn’t leap into her throat, it nearly burst out of her mouth as he hoisted her upward, his presence powerful and consuming. “Do you have anything to share?”

“I desire what you desire.”

“Don’t ever scare me again,” he ordered calmly. All traces of anger had evaporated, leaving a steely quality to his voice. She stood, leaning against him, giving into his appeal, aroused and intrigued by the promise in his threat. He took her toward the nightstand, and eased her downward onto the bed. All sure movements as he arranged himself up against pillows, not once releasing his hold on her.

Shawn’s hands turned her over and pulled her across his lap. She gazed at the comforter, his legs under her stomach, and he rubbed his hand over her ass. “How many times do you need to feel the heat of my hand?” he whispered. “Jesus, I want to bury myself inside you and make you scream my name as I’m coming.”

His hand caressed her bottom, from one side to the other, dipping and teasing her.

“Please,” she said, clenching under his teasing fingers.

“Then tonight will be explosive and new. I intend to teach you who you belong to. No one need question my authority. Especially the woman who will sit at my right hand. I intend on delivering twenty lashes with my hand. You will learn or we will revisit this lesson. Next time, there will be more. I want to hear you count each one. Once I have finished, I will fuck you as you need to be taken. After tonight, you and I will have reached an understanding. You asked for my help. You gave yourself to me. You are mine, Diana. You asked me to train you. Bestowed in me a power and an obligation. I don’t take either lightly. You agreed to accept my dictates. Didn’t you?”

He didn’t give her time to process whether she agreed, disagreed, or wanted to leave. The sound bore into her senses before the pain assaulted her awareness. And then, boy, she got his meaning.

“But … ” she stammered from the brand of his palm.

“But nothing. Count for me. Or that will be five more for disobedience.”

He rubbed her sweltering ass cheek, calmly demonstrating his patience. “Well?”

“One,” she mustered.

“I like when you follow my directions,” he purred. “Your ass is beautiful. And mine.” He smoothed his palm over her cheek and squeezed.

Releasing her, he delivered a smack, the pain spreading out from where his palm lay, and she closed her eyes, then hearing him cough, realized she’d forgotten her part.

“Two,” she choked shakily, as tears moistened her eyes. No sooner had she spoken than another smack landed. This time on the opposite cheek, in a red-hot game of connect the dots.

The pain she expected was more in anticipating the snap to her skin. Her cheeks burned, blazing arousal, tempering her heat cycle. Unbelievable.
Fight fire with fire.

Her pussy pulsated, and she tried unsuccessfully to shift. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, so low and quiet that she stopped moving. And then he spanked her again.

“Three. Nowhere.”

“Hush. Only counting is allowed.”

“Then don’t ask me a question.”

Jesus, he landed a heavy-handed smack, proving he was allowed to ask anything he desired.

Her mouth sounded out the words, but she lost count of the actual bite of each smack. Unable to keep up with the ache of wanting him, each time he spanked her bottom and followed up with a caress, she pushed back into his hand, wanting him to do more than smack her ass. She wanted him to sink far within her, join with her, prove he owned her. Every muscle spasm testified to her need for him deep inside. Her skin over her ass was on fire, and so was the space between her legs. His hand was driving her over the edge. She nibbled her bottom lip between her teeth, unsure she could stand another second.

“Twenty.” The word echoed around the room.

She slumped on top of his lap. Her bottom was a glowing ember, heated and ready for him. After the seventh smack, she’d nearly come undone. Unrelenting and driving, he delivered her further and further into an abyss, tethered to a thin line, and capable of falling at any second, and to her longing for him to hurl her into an orgasm, not leave her teased and ready. Each smack magically made her want him to do something edgier. Harder. If he would take her or make her do as he pleased. Her skin rippled and if she shifted, he’d not finish what he’d promised to deliver. So close to climaxing, she pushed her ass up. He pushed her bottom down.

“Did I say you could get up?” He spread her cheeks, and explored between her legs. She squirmed and he held her still. “You’re so wet. So utterly swollen. Apparently, you enjoy having your delectable ass painted red?”

He thrust his finger into her pussy, making her suck in a breath. “Shawn,” she gasped.

“Diana, don’t come. Ride the wave. I’ve got to have you. Hold on for a little longer.”

“I can’t.”

“You will. And you’ll thank me for teaching you. Say it. Thank you.”

“Thank you?” she echoed.

“Not a question. A courtesy. Louder and surer.”

“Thank you,” she moaned, feeling so close to the precipice she might plummet into a blissful orgasm. “Please, Shawn.” Never mind her ass, her center was so heated and wet, the slick feeling made each movement an act of conspiracy against her self-control to hold back from climaxing. Her clit felt engorged, ready to explode. If he so much as licked her, she’d shatter.

If this was her lesson, she might as well receive a failing mark. She fought against climaxing, tried to find her inner core, and ground herself. Pulsations threaded through her body, and she inhaled, expanding her control. Barely.

Shawn didn’t push or tease, didn’t keep toying with her, but let her regain her composure, tiptoeing back from the edge of insane release. So close, she fought against leaping when her body demanded that she pounce. Her mind held her still, syncing and securing her.

“Come, kitten,” he whispered, drawing her up to him, holding her close to his chest. She listened to his heartbeat. Strong and sure. His voice rumbled. “This isn’t about punishment, it’s about control. You did well. Now I’m going to do as promised to you before we set out. You’re mine for tonight.”

His hands held her back and he kissed her, soft and secure, and pushing her back onto the bed while his hands kneaded and reshaped her breasts, thumbing her nipples already taut and sensitive. Shawn kissed a path down her body and she arched against him. The moment he took her nipple between his lips, sharing his hot mouth on her peak, she cried out. Changing breasts, he licked and scraped his teeth, making her insane for him to suck her nipple. She channeled her fingers into his hair, pulling on his scalp.

“God, you’re beautiful. Tonight you took my breath away. Many, many times.” His eyes glittered, sharp as broken glass.

She lay there, nearly spent and uncertain what would happen next. With his sizeable cock pressing against her belly, she didn’t fight the unfurling of desire. He wasn’t asking her to hold back anymore. “I want you so much. I’m as hungry as the first time I fucked you.” Shawn’s voice woke up her brain. She flinched as his teeth scraped the tip of her breast.

She pushed against his chest and he sucked her breast deep into his sizzling mouth. Slowly, he was turning her over, dragging his mouth over her shoulder, grasping her firmly by the hips. He spread her legs and positioned himself between the V-shape she presented. Shawn’s fingers separated her cheeks and she remembered all the pleasure he’d given her earlier. Automatically her hips rose off the bed as she pressed back against him, giving him easier access to her. Lifting her ass into the air, he held her firmly, his erection grazed between her folds. She snapped downward as though a frayed electrical cord had been touched.

His palm cupped, squeezed, and delved in between her ass cheeks and folds. “You’re unbelievably wet.” He lightly bit into her shoulder. Not hard, but with enough pressure to make her pussy clench down.

Shawn lifted up and off her, his tight muscles flexing, a rippling expanse down his torso all the way to the tip of glistening erection.

“What are you looking for?” she asked, still staring at his body. “Something to ease your discomfort.” He opened the nightstand and removed a plastic bottle. He flipped the cap and squeezed a steady stream into his palm and the scent of cool mint essences swirled in the air. After rubbing his hands together, he touched the cleft of her ass and massaged her skin with his warm, moist palms. He avoided touching her inside her ass cheeks, leaving her moaning and craving him all the more. “How does that feel?”

“Heavenly where you spanked me.”

“I don’t think that will be the last time, kitten.” He crossed to the bathroom and she heard water running. He came out drying his hands on a towel. He laughed and she understood his intent.

“You’re teasing me,” she huffed.

“It’s working.” Walking back, he appeared powerfully masculine and unquestionably ready to deliver on his promise. “Now, it’s time.”

Her pulse hammered a steady beat by the time he returned and slipped a finger inside her crack, stroking downward and passing over her entrance. The mattress shifted and the bottle of lubricant was squeezed again. His hands spread across her, between her cheeks, making her a sweltering, aching mess. Her breasts and nipples swelled, and her clit plumped, throbbing steadily under his caresses. She steamed inside, wanting him to just take her and stop teasing her.

He repositioned her, and then she knew instinctively there was no escape from him in his coming to claim her. He pinned her under him, his teeth sunk into the side of her neck, marking her. She arched her spine, lifting her hips. Shawn pulled her thighs apart. He was fierce in his possession, and in one thrust, his cock burst past her ring of muscle, sliding deep into her ass. She let out a cry mingled with pain and ecstasy.

All her focus was on the feeling of him grinding into her body, taking up all her space, and then a snarl tore from her mouth. She bucked back, trying to shake him loose. Without knowing why she reacted, she tried to lunge but he held her firmly beneath him, almost shaking her with the force and command of his dominance. His cock stilled inside her, stretching her, his balls tight up against her. He pushed forward filling her fully, pain laced with sinful pleasure, dark and decadent, rasping, and then he began to pull out.

“Do you want me to stop, baby?”

“No,” she said hoarsely. His hand fisted in her damp hair. Pulling her neck back, he clamped down on a pressure point, thrusting back inside her in one long, exquisite stroke. She moaned pushing back onto his cock. He released his bite, withdrawing himself only to take her again. As he clamped his teeth onto her skin, he slammed back into her ass, hard and balls-deep.

He mounted her as he’d promised, holding her down as a leopard would, and possessing her. This was a primitive show of leopard-to-leopardess ownership. She could stop him now, not go through with this. Her mind raced; she wanted him inside her body.

“Do you know what you do to me?” he asked against her ear. “You’re in my blood. Baby, give yourself to me.”

“Yes,” she whimpered. “Take me.”

She’d carry another layer of his scent. He wasn’t wearing a condom and she knew he intended to mark her in a way that only once before had she allowed herself to be branded. And then only because it kept her safe from others. Not now. This intimate marking was pleasure and need, woven with something else. Again, Shawn drove himself into her and she rocked back in time with him. No thought, guided by leopardess instinct and lust.

Shawn’s body was over hers, wedged up behind her and he began moving faster, making his dick slide in and out of her ass. He moved in a hard, pumping motion, taking his crown beyond her opening, rimming her, pausing and then ramming himself forward, slamming his body back against her. God, she enjoyed having him fill her. There was no way to describe the sensation that he heightened by sucking her neck and sliding his fingers up and down her slit. Sensation poured over her body, saturated her, and she couldn’t hold a thought.

The pleasure was intense, but he wanted more. He gripped her hips, his hands spread open her cheeks, and then he plunged so deep into her, she arched up, crying his name. Working his cock in and out of her ass, he forced her to take him, accept him, and allow him to mate with her in this way. Not the final step, but near enough.

“Shawn?” she cried out this time not in pain, but in wanting an assurance. “Is this what you want?”

“More than anything,” he replied, nipping her neck. He withdrew, pulling his dick all the way out of her.

“How do you know you want this?” she repeated, clawing at the sheets.

“I want you. To possess you. Protect you.” Immediately, Shawn withdrew from her and clasped her hips, flipping her onto the mattress without a word.

She stared back at his face, meeting his gaze that took her breath away. If she believed she’d witnessed the primal side of him before, she’d been mistaken. His eyes were wild, feral, and a color so fiery bright, orange-red light poured out from his face. He wasn’t out-of-control as he’d been with those bears. No, what she saw didn’t frighten her but held her in awe. There was a quality of ruthlessness in his claim over her. As though he wouldn’t let anyone or anything ever come between them. He wasn’t a beast, but an intelligent being, inspiring a deep calmness in the parts of her once ravaged.