by Isoellen
"Very nice,” he said against the skin of her inner thigh. A sweet kiss was followed by a shallow bite. "Such a pretty little thing. Sweet little thing. Is my treasure gonna be good for me?"
Kiss, bite.
Kiss, bite.
His teeth pinched. His mouth sucked. Pleasure and ownership. Hands touching, letting her feel where he was as he made his way back to her dripping, exposed core.
"Look at that poor pussy. This poor neglected pussy. Have to be so careful. My child is growing in there. My woman is sheltering life there. Can't stuff you full of my knot. Gonna have to stuff you full of something else. Good thing I have that something right here."
She heard his movement, and then he was in front of her again, something new in his hands: a knife and a fat piece of root.
He sliced down one side with a claw, breaking the skin and releasing a spicy, warm fragrance Naya instantly recognized. "Do you know what this is?"
"Yes." She knew. But why did he have it? Why was he using the knife to carefully peel it?
"Tell me."
"That's ginger."
"Yes. Have you ever tasted fresh ginger?"
She flicked her eyes over his face. "Yes."
"You know its effects."
"Yes."
The spicy scent filled the room now as he peeled the skin off the fat root. "I'm going to give this to you, and you are going to hold it for me."
Her response to open a hand for it was reflexive, but he pressed down on her shoulder. Naya didn't understand what he wanted.
Voice deep in his chest, he asked darkly, "Did I say you could fuckin' move?"
She shook her head.
"I want you to listen. I want you to do what I say. You are gonna hold this. Keep it where I put it."
He put it inside her.
Foreign and hot, about the size of a single one of his fingers, he pumped it in twice and rubbed it up to her hardened nub, circling, spreading a burning, tingling heat.
Naya howled and arched away, wanting to escape. His palm splayed against her back at the same time as harsh, guttural command.
"Still. Now."
Her muscles locked, the omega of her biology making her helpless.
Around and around he circled her clit until she could feel the painful swell of it between her spread out thighs. Until she felt like she was on fire. Then he slid the ginger down and put it inside of her.
"You will hold that there for me. And this too." He touched the plug in her bottom.
"Please, Monster. Please," she begged, wanting this to stop. What could she do to make it stop? To ease the heat seeping into her bloodstream?
The cool sensation of the leather straps from the thing he'd had before startled Naya as it landed lightly between her shoulder blades. "This is a flogger, treasure—a whip of sorts. You are going to take this on your ass and between your legs until I think you've had enough. I'm going to whip you, like this."
The straps lifted and came down again.
She screamed. The sound of it against her skin, the force of it—she knew he must be holding back but those multiple little lashes spread out, fan-like, adding a new layer of stinging flame.
"Naya, you can do this. You are strong. You’re strong enough to save my fuckin' life, so you are going to do this too. What is my first rule?
“Let's make it simple. You're supposed to stay in this room if I'm not with you. So how about, 'stay where I put you.' That's a good fuckin' rule, because I never imagined you would dash out into the middle of a fighting pit to jump in front of me.
"Now you say, ‘stay where you put me.’ Say it."
She had trouble speaking through tears and snot on her face. Stuttering, she sobbed, "Stay where you put me."
"Good."
He brought the flogger up and down, hard. She screamed. For some reason that weakened the hold on the root he'd put inside of her and she felt it slip.
"No. No. No," he chided. Working it in and out of her again, he pressed it against her walls, making it burn and burn. She was sweating from the pain and the anguish of it.
"Rule two: I only take gifts from my monster. Say it."
"I only take gifts from my monster."
Another lash from the flogger. She hissed this time, clenching, not wanting him to touch that thing inside of her. Not wanting it moving. But the clenching had almost the same effect and she moaned low.
"And rule three: Stay out of Monster's shit." He was furious. The words were a growl that resonated with her every raw nerve. Things clenched. It hurt.
But. But...
She was so aroused. How could she be? The heat had layers of tingling, layers of need. Her brain told her that she must cum. She needed to cum. And at the same time it held her there, freezing her there with distress and yearning.
She couldn't move her hips. Couldn't bear down. There was no pressure for her straining clit. No ease for her clenching womb and filled bottom.
She wasn't supposed to move at all.
"Say it!" he demanded.
"Stay out of Monster's shit!" she cried.
The flogger came down hard. Brutal.
"Look at those colors. Look at how fuckin' dripping you are. Baby doesn't know what to do with herself. Let's go through it again. I know you want to learn this lesson."
He made her say it all again and again, spread out, bottom facing him, taking the flogger, the plug, and the root, until she didn't know what she was saying, where she was, or who she was. He pushed her into a place like her heat cycle, ready, willing, and submitting to anything he wanted. She was so desperate for pressure, for his touch, for absolution, that she was arching into the whip for the punishment.
Prowling around her, Monster grabbed her head and smoothed her hair from her sweaty brow. "What are my three rules, Naya? Tell me all of them."
"Stay where my Monster puts me. Only take gifts from Monster. And stay out of Monster's shit."
"Damn fuckin' right. Open your eyes."
She hadn't realized she'd closed them. He was there, the downward position of the bench at the perfect height for her to see his hard cock. He was not unaffected. The color of it was dark and angry as it dripped. His purr, coupled with his scent, overwhelmed the smell of ginger that would forever equal punishment in her mind.
"My treasure did good. So good. She didn't move. She took what I gave her. She learned the rules. You are, you know. You are my treasure. I can't lose you. Can't risk you. Can't have you in danger. I just cannot. I thought I was insane before, but that's nothing, Naya—nothing."
He moved his hands over her face, wiping away her tears. He had his shirt in his hands and used it to clean the mess of drool and snot.
"Monster," she whimpered. She needed his touch to connect her to the present, to this room, to him, but it wasn't enough. Not at all.
"Breathe now, my good girl," he said, picking her up off the bench. She thought his voice had gone ragged and emotional, and she pressed her face in tight against his neck and jaw, unable to tear herself away.
It was two steps for him back to the nest. He held her so that he could talk into her ear. "You are so beautiful. So strong. Perfect. I never imagined you. Never dreamed a woman like you existed."
Freed from the bench, she clutched him to her and clawed at his skin. She wanted him inside, needed to get inside of him where his heart beat.
They sat down. He kept her in his lap, but tipped her so that he could reach around and remove the plug and take away the ginger root.
"I have something for the welts," he said, but she couldn't let him go. She needed relief that had nothing to do with pain.
His touch and purr moved all over her, soothing. He laid her over his lap so he could look at them, guiding her with purrs and encouragement.
Naya acquiesced, but kept herself as curled into him as she could, until that earthy scent of his cock went to her head.
"Monster, I want—”
"All right. Take what you want, treasure. You can ha
ve whatever you want from me." A great, lazy lion, she could feel his satisfaction now that he'd taught his lesson, gotten her submission. He lay down and let her take from him.
Set free, Naya took.
His roaming hands and steady purr mollified her appetite for touch while she turned and found his cock with her mouth, licking up all that wasted musky flavor that had dripped from him. She loved the taste of it, the wild spice cake of him. She needed it; no one had ever accused her of having self-control when it came to her favorite things. She wanted everything she could get and wanted it inside of her as soon as possible.
Omega instinct and need ruled.
Naya heard him hiss at her artless demand, at the way one of her hands found the base of his cock and the other cupped his testicles as if to milk of him, the essence of his arousal a thick fluid she craved on her taste buds. She stuffed him in her mouth, drawing hard at the head, drinking him down like nourishment.
His hands stroked her as she sucked his cock, reassuring, reaffirming. He fed her what she wanted, hips lifting in offering. Monster had punished her, and now the man Darre gave her back everything he had taken, let her peel him open and take.
And take.
His taste hit her system and burned brighter than the ginger, warming her belly. It lit her up with sublime gratification. She felt him always, right there in her center. One touch and she would cum again. Cum and cum.
She worked his cock until the flavor and texture changed, until she got everything she wanted. Breed that they were, his ejaculate had changed with her pregnancy. It fed her and deepened their tie.
As the next eleven months passed, she would want more and more of this from him. Crave it.
She didn't stop until her lips were too tired to hold him and her jaw hurt from sucking so hard. She didn't stop until he was panting and grunting and saying her name, cock pulsing in her hands, thick seed going down her throat.
A sense of comfort, safety, warmth filled her in having him under her, around her, hands petting and stroking her skin with reverence. All her senses engaged, his manhood in her mouth, the pair of them were sealed together in an erotically softened cloud of peace. Naya drifted in an emotional and physical euphoria.
The tattered edges caused by the flogging and his sharp anger blurred. He trusted her. Wanted her. Would never leave her. Was lodged in the deepest part of her being.
He turned them a little, but let her do as she wished, using the position to get his mouth where he wanted it. The heat of the ginger had faded with all the wet of her slick, but her tissues still felt the leftover urgency of the ordeal.
With long strokes of his tongue, he sought her stressed and aching nerve-endings. Somehow without triggering the intense desire always banked beneath the surface of her skin, he tended to her. Pacified her. Serviced her.
His cock in her mouth, tangled up with him body and soul, Naya drifted away.
Epilogue
Naya steadied herself with Monster's strength when she stepped out of their transport at the rear entrance of her childhood home, the movement making her dizzy. The building, identical to all the others on this street, looked no different now than when she had lived here. It was clean and orderly, with not a blade of grass out of place.
Monster pulled her to his front and draped one arm across her shoulders and against her breasts, resting his hand on the bulge of her belly. The high, ball-like feel of her tummy made her clumsy, but she was so proud of the baby inside her. She wasn't going to allow the difficulties of pregnancy to take away from the joy of it.
Having left the transport first, Alreck moved to Monster's right. Already flanking them were the two other guards they'd brought. Outside the tower, Naya always had extra guards, Monster had no issues with demanding extra eyes and bodies for her protection.
If the world didn't stop spinning, Monster would carry her in rather than letting her walk. She'd asked him not to do that today. He'd contemplated her request wordlessly, eyes shining. The man would do whatever he pleased.
What pleased him suited Naya, for the most part, since her alpha loved to make her happy. His restraint relied entirely on her behavior. Although she'd been looking forward to this reunion for weeks, she wanted to make a good impression. She wanted her family to see her joy.
The back door slammed opened and her three youngest brothers rushed out like wildlings, yelling her name. Alreck and the two other alphas who flanked them tensed at the unexpected rush. Naya saw the guards twitch toward their swords before blessedly realizing the immature alphas were no threat.
Then the boys were right in front of her, gaping at Monster, stopped by his imposing presence. Separated by just a few years, they looked like triplets, the oldest being just a tad shorter than the youngest.
They'd known who Monster was and the kind of alpha he was. All the family did. But knowing of him was different than meeting him.
She could see the way they took in his features, his claws, his presence. He didn't have to push his alpha will on anyone. The aura of it emanated from him in a wide circle.
Monster offered a look of indifference in return.
She tried to go to them for hugs, but Monster’s arm across her body barred her path. Her father, followed by Mother, Phee, and one of her older brothers, left the house at a less exuberant pace.
This meeting had been a worry in the back of her mind for weeks, enough that Monster had threatened not to bring her here. He had needed to meet with his own father and older brother, Constantine Kane, on neutral territory, but it didn't have to be at her parents' house.
But Naya wanted to reassure her mother that she was all right. She wanted to show off her mate to Phee and her brothers. And she thought Monster was more the type of man her father would have chosen for her, a strong alpha of influence rather than one still close to boyhood.
Having felt insecure most of her life in this home, some of her feelings of inadequacy returned. Every inhale filled her lungs with the air of the past.
Pale, with swollen eyes and lips pinched tight, her mother met them looking like she had risen from her sick bed to come outside. What would her mother's assessment of the cheerful couple be?
Mother's obsessive desire for perfection had been worrying Naya. As if getting caught up in a power play between her father and his rivals had been Naya's fault. As if choosing an alpha in a sector where her mother could never visit was deliberate.
Naya had expected an underlying current of disapproval, not this defeated woman. Tight and pained, Mother's entire appearance had changed. Why did she look so ill?
Could she have been sick over Naya's kidnapping, or was she sick over her choice of mate? Naya couldn't tell. Her mother held her dignity close. Understanding what she felt or why she did things had always proved difficult.
Naya wouldn't let anyone judge the worthiness of her mate, though—not even her family. His past crimes were obvious, but it didn't matter. He was hers; no one would dare think him anything less than wonderful as long as Naya was alive. She wouldn't tolerate it.
Her family approached, causing her anxiety to escalate, and Monster hissed between his teeth. Scooping her up into his arms, mouth going to her throat with a purr, he presented a warning for her family.
Her hands went in his hair as she took his comfort. If she grew upset, he would feel it and that could be dangerous.
Their bond, and her pregnancy, had settled their relationship and given them both a sense of peace that Naya could not have imagined existed. But his need to prowl around her like a possessive lion was as intense as it had been during their first days together. Only those who had submitted and proven their worth could touch her, come near her, or even talk to her.
Jealous and inconvenient as it was, his possessiveness still thrilled Naya. She reveled in Monster's obsession with her. She loved it.
Picked up and cradled, the baby alpha inside her kicking, protected and loved, a rush of emotion hit her.
She was protected fr
om her family, from her parents. The weight of them had been hurting her, and she hadn't even known it. But no one could touch her now, not with their wishes, demands, expectations, or disappointment. That girl who used to always give in, who’d felt trapped, who’d found herself kidnapped, had come home a woman heart-owned by one of the strongest males in the 12 Sectors. Monster would do anything for her.
His power was her power.
She hadn't realized how much she had grown and changed by choosing him. In the vague horror of that room after his battle, he had begged for her choice. Naya had heard it in her heart. He had been hers before she gave him her bite. He was meant for her.
She'd answered his plea with her claim and he gave himself in return, changing her, unraveling all her inadequacies and erasing everything her parents had wanted her to be. He’d given her permission to be who she wanted to be.
The revelation happened fast.
Gaping at the unprecedented sight of open alpha affection, her father stood in front of the party looking uncertain, as if he had no clue who these recent arrivals to his home could be. This surely wasn't his meek little daughter caught up in the hands of a monster.
Their faces were priceless. Naya giggled.
She brought her mate's mouth to hers for a kiss and giggled again as he tried to take it deeper, his tongue licking at hers right there in front of her family. Her brothers were gaping, her parents stunned. It transformed her giggle into a full laugh as she forced herself to push him away.
"Please, Monster, let me hug my brothers," she pleaded, taking her fingers from his hair and smoothing her hands over his shoulders.
He stole another quick, hard kiss, gave her a grunt, and then set her down.
She hugged her brothers and let them pet her belly while Monster glared at them over her shoulder. She introduced her siblings first, smiling when the youngest balked at her calling him Runt. He puffed up proudly, telling monster that his proper name was Finnor. Through their bond, Naya sensed Monster shared her amusement.