Bound By His Blood

by Jennifer August

A clock in the house started to bong loudly and he stiffened then sat straight up. He caught her face between his hands and kissed her softly, sweetly.

  Her toes curled as hunger revved low in her belly.

  His breath came in heated gasps when he released her. “Sheridan, we’re almost out of time. The Joining must be complete.” He rose and held out his hand to her. “Please, trust me.”

  She stared at his hand then up at him before slowly standing. “I’ll play your game tonight, McCallister. I’ll let you bind me and do what you want, but tomorrow I expect all the answers.”

  Elation surged through McCallister. The noise in his head roared to a near-deafening crescendo of elation and he fought to tamp it back.

  She gasped and staggered a bit. She had a pained look on her face. He caught her shoulders.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, worried she’d already changed her mind.

  “The noise is so loud. It’s hard to concentrate.”

  He was amazed she’d heard it since their Joining was not yet complete. Perhaps it was one more way her possession of Sine Qua Non changed things.

  “Concentrate on me, Sheridan. I’ll teach you to block it out later.”

  He stepped back and looked her up and down. Her black leather skirt showed off her long, lean legs to perfection. The tight teal shirt fitted against her breasts like cling wrap on a bowl of Jell-O. He already knew the beauty of her body. Now, he was going to have the beauty of her soul.

  “Follow me.” He turned and stalked to the bedroom. His mind whirled with all the things he wanted to do to her. To do with her.

  Too damn bad I don’t have that much time. Tonight.

  McCallister stopped by the bed and motioned her forward. “First lesson is position.”

  Her glance jumped to the bed and she gave him a saucy grin. “I think I know that one.”

  He smothered a chuckle and schooled his expression into serious implacability. “I’m talking about presentation position. It’s the first thing all new submissives learn when dealing with their...Dom.” He was going to say Master but figured she’d throw a shit fit about it. That could come later. If they wanted it to.

  “Take off your clothes, Sheridan. I’m not looking for a sexy show. You entice me enough as it is without being seductive.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured drily.

  A grin slipped through his stern facade. “You’re welcome. Clothes and shoes off.” He didn’t wait to see if she would obey. He turned and opened the closet door. Inside, he opened a drawer of the built-in dresser and pulled out a small section of hemp rope, a nylon flogger, and a small set of nipple clamps. He stared at the blindfold for a long moment. The very idea of being in the dark made his skin crawl as usual. Good thing the blindfold wasn’t meant for him. McCallister closed the drawer without picking up the black satin mask.

  When he turned around again, she was totally bare. His dick contracted painfully and his fangs deepened with the instant, savage need to sink into her.

  He fought himself and the urges down.

  One step at a time.

  He laid the implements out on the bedside table. He ignored the minute tremble in his fingers as they straightened the flogger. Stroking her beautiful skin with it was going to be an erotic challenge to his self-control.

  Hell, she was a challenge.

  McCallister sat on the edge of the bed and motioned her forward.

  Sheridan’s full breasts swayed with her steps and his mouth dried in response. He licked his lips.

  Amusement drifted over her face and she lifted a brow. “Something wrong, Detective?”

  Her sauciness shot another anticipatory zing through him. Teaching her was going to be an invigorating experience. She would push back at him every single time and he couldn’t wait.

  “On your knees, Sheridan. Hands clasped behind your head and elbows up.”

  The amusement disappeared and a fire sparked in her blue gaze. She regarded him with steady, calculating eyes and he was sure she was going to refuse. But then her knees slowly buckled and she dropped in front of him. Her long, elegant arms lifted and cupped the back of her honey-colored, wavy hair. She tipped her head back and met his gaze.

  “Now what?”

  McCallister’s blood heated even more. Sheridan was a paradox. Her position was typical submissive but her eyes shone with authority.

  His palms itched to cup the silken curve of her ass while bent over his knee even as his dick ached to plunge inside of her where he could lose himself completely.

  “Spread your knees. Your body will always be available to me.”

  She shivered and her nipples peaked.

  Ah, I was right. The minx is not unaffected

  Relief hit him in the solar plexus. Far from having to coerce her, it would seem Sheridan’s innate sensuality was going to help him guide her to her own submission.

  His mind rippled with whispers of her desire and fractured, confused needs. He picked up one distinct impression—she liked the image of herself being spread and open. Her brain thrummed with words and phrases that coincided with the excitement surging in her body but not enough to get a clear vision. He was going to have to test the waters but at least he had a general direction.

  “When we are engaging in submission scenes, you will always greet me in this position.” He stood, picked up the flogger, and walked around her. Her head swiveled to the right. He tapped her lightly on the shoulder with the butt of the whip. “No moving. You will be still, legs spread and arms up just as you are now. Do you know why?”

  She shook her head.

  He tapped her again. “Speak when spoken to.”

  A small growl echoed in his head and he grinned because she couldn’t see him.

  “No, why?”

  McCallister slid the flogger strap over his wrist and straddled her spread legs, careful not to step on her feet. He bent over and cupped her shoulders. She jerked lightly but didn’t break position.

  “Good girl,” he murmured.

  A flare of pleasure rolled through him but he couldn’t tell if it was his or hers.

  He let the flogger throngs dangle against her back as he slid his fingers down and around her breasts. He cupped her tits and lifted upward with his fingers, tweaking her still-hard nipples.

  “I want you spread out and available to me when I walk in the room.”

  She swayed in his grip and her fingers loosened from the back of her head before she re-clasped them.

  “Good girl,” he said again.

  Another, deeper rush of pleasure. This time soft pink light wrapped the emotion. He didn’t have a clue how that even was possible. He’d never experienced it before.

  McCallister rolled her nipples between his fingers. He pulled them outward until her flesh stretched before letting go.

  “Jesus,” she said on a gasp.

  “If I want to fondle your beautiful tits, then they’re already up front and ready for my pleasure in this position.” He scooted back a little bit and squatted down. He ran his fingertips down her back to the swell of her ass. She went rigid.

  He heard her catch her breath.

  Her butt was round, taut, and as firm as a basketball. Here the skin was lighter and scattered with tiny freckles. He traced a pattern in the small dots and she shivered with each one. “You feel like velvet,” he said.

  He leaned forward and kissed the base of her neck. She immediately stiffened again. He smiled against her skin and licked her.

  She shuddered.

  “If I want to play with your lovely ass, then I will.” He eased back and gripped both cheeks in his hands and wrenched them apart.

  She toppled forward and he had to let go to catch her. Her hands wrapped around his arms and she twisted to look up at him. Shock covered her face.

  Lust filled her eyes.

  “What the hell?”

  He set her upright. “Resume your position. I am not done with my inspection.”

  “I’m no
t a freaking horse,” she grumbled. But her hands went up and behind her head again. “Not to mention, this shit hurts. Do you have any idea how much agony my leg muscles are in right now?”

  He ignored her complaint. He was much more interested in why she’d nearly fallen over. “That was a strong reaction, Sheridan.” He looked down at her ass. She clenched so tightly he saw deep dimples in her buttocks. He slapped lightly and she gasped as she swayed forward. “Relax. Your ass is my property as much as your lovely tits and hot pussy.”

  White-hot lust ramrodded him. Pink explosions of demand, desire and denial all coalesced in his brain. McCallister strained to separate her emotions from his.

  How am I supposed to Dom her if she keeps knocking me off-kilter? He was surprised by the strength of her will. He’d never encountered anyone as strong in all the years he’d been alive. And dead.

  He forced her desire back and cupped her butt again. This time, he slowly spread her and let his fingers dip into the valley of her ass.

  “McCallister,” she said on a groan.

  His cock was so hard he could have hammered nails with it. The aching tone of her voice reached around and squeezed him by the balls which shot to the head of his dick. Pre-cum leaked out.

  He nuzzled her neck again. “Sheridan, have you ever been fucked in the ass?” The guttural question thrilled him. He loved talking dirty. Loved the way words like fuck, ass, pussy and cunt sounded in the sensual atmosphere.

  Her butt clenched in his hands. She remained quiet.

  The buzz of her emotions spiked and ebbed as if she were trying to control them.

  McCallister scraped his front teeth along the soft part of her shoulder. “Sheridan? I asked you a question.”

  Goosebumps rose where his mouth touched and her heart picked up speed. The steady thumping turned into the rapid tattoo of a 40-yard dash.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  He blinked. He hadn’t expected that. “Did you like it?”

  Another pause. “Yes,” she said.

  His cock surged upward and nudged her spine.

  She let out a gasping laugh. “Guess you liked that answer, huh?”

  He let go of her ass and petted her soft butt cheeks. “You could say that. I wish I had time to stretch you out tonight, but I don’t.” He glanced at his watch and cursed. Only two hours left before midnight. For both their sakes, he had to get this done before twelve. They would be too vulnerable afterward.

  Time to pick up the pace.

  McCallister rose and stepped back. His mind ricocheted in a thousand different directions. He found himself dodging Sheridan’s emotions and swirling thoughts, too. He was again amazed at the depth of their connection. He’d never felt anything stronger with any companion.

  McCallister swished the flogger behind her just close enough to her beautiful back for her to catch the waft of air but not so close he actually touched her.

  Sheridan’s head turned.

  “Eyes forward,” he barked.

  She hesitated then slowly looked forward once more. Her spine was taut and her arms shook. He could feel the fatigue growing in her shoulders.

  “You’ve done well holding the position so long, Sheridan. Just a few moments longer.”

  “Hurry up,” she muttered. “Before I keel over, savvy?”

  McCallister let the throngs of the flogger brush against her back. She arched and he caught her soft moan.

  “What I understand is you’ve got a lot of learning to do. This is a nylon flogger. Tonight I’m just going to introduce you a little to the feeling of being whipped. It won’t hurt much, if at all.”

  “Then why bother?” she asked.

  He paused and considered the question. She didn’t sound sarcastic, merely curious.

  “Pain is just one sensation, Sheridan. Flogging can be very pleasurable.”

  “For whom?”

  He laughed. “For both of us.”

  “Why do you enjoy it?”

  McCallister swished the flogger again and moved left for better access. “I enjoy knowing you’re giving control of your pleasure to me. You are trusting me to take you to the highest peak possible yet I get to determine the way I want to do it.” He tightened his grip on the handle and pulled back. “Your pleasure, my way.”

  McCallister struck her between the shoulder blades, pulled back and brought another blow lower.

  She arched and her hands fell to her knees. Her head bowed and he saw the shivers wracking her lush body. The aura around her flared hot pink then exploded into white light and the floral scent of her Sine Qua Non crawled up and around him, grabbing him in a fierce vise grip of need.

  “Hands up,” he barked.

  The blue-eyed glare she shot him was as poisonous as a Cobra’s venom yet she couldn’t hide her excitement from him. Gone were the darts of pleasure. They’d been replaced by giant, sledgehammer swings of lust and desire.

  “Keep your head up and still,” he ordered. “I’m going to walk around you. You’ll taste the flogger on every inch of your delectable body before we move on. Not a word, Sheridan.” He flicked her buttocks. She tensed but didn’t drop her hands or make any comments. “Good girl.”

  A rush of pink-tinged happiness blew through him. The sensation was immediately followed by a confused mish-mash and the haunting refrain, “What am I doing?”

  He wanted to reassure her, but didn’t. He needed to gain absolute control of her and babying her would not be productive.

  McCallister twirled the flogger and ran its soft throngs up and down her back, her thighs and the soles of her feet.

  Her toes clenched tight and caught some of the polyester strands. She let go when he tugged and McCallister made a mental note to explore just how ticklish she was later.

  He moved to her left and trailed the flogger up and down her sides and her arms. The whip motion never ceased as he walked around her. He didn’t want to give her even an instant to breathe.

  He was barraging her with sensation after sensation. When he stepped in front of her, she tipped her eyes up and met his gaze head on. Sapphire fire flickered wildly in her eyes. Panting lightly through her luscious, full lips, he saw her nostrils flare even as a pink blush crawled along her cheeks.

  McCallister kept his eyes locked on hers as he flicked the flogger at her tummy. She flinched but otherwise remained still. He increased the speed and force of the blows and moved the licks up her abdomen until he reached her breasts. Her nipples strained outward in tight points hard enough to cut glass. Once more he upped the strength behind the blows. Soft red streaks appeared on her tits. Her nipples hardened even more and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

  More. Harder.

  His stroke faltered at her demand for a half-second before his own lust burst forward. He drew back and swung the flogger harder and harder. Each blow scored her beautiful skin and the soft whisper of the throngs exploded with sharp raps of thunder.

  Her eyelids lowered to half-mast and her chest heaved. McCallister could smell the sweet gathering of her juices and knew she was close to coming.

  Fierce happiness pierced him. It was exactly what he wanted.

  He twisted his hand and laid the flogger with lighter force along her right side and the underside of her arm. She moaned and tried to twist her body.

  McCallister immediately stopped flogging. He dropped the whip to the floor.

  Her eyes widened. “Why did you stop?” she asked with sharp, staccato breaths.

  “You were too close to coming.”

  The blush deepened and she lowered her gaze to the floor. “I know.”

  The confession sounded like it came from the very depths of her confused soul. McCallister knew he’d made a major breakthrough.

  “You want me to flog you until you come?”

  She shrugged then cleared her throat. “Maybe?”

  He picked up the nipple clamps. “Not your choice. Stand up.”

  Her mouth tightened but she ros
e. Her body was awash with stripes and splotches in degrees of red. McCallister traced a line around the tip of her right breast.

  She leaned into the soft touch and he wondered if she’d realized she’d done so.

  “Lift your tits.”

  Again a small hesitation, even tinier than the last one. Hands cupping her tits, she offered them to him. McCallister bent and took her right nipple in his mouth.

  “Oh, fuck,” she moaned and pushed against his lips.

  He flicked her pink nipple with his tongue then bit lightly. She shuddered.

  He pulled back and took a second to admire the gleaming wetness of her flesh before bringing the clamp up and around her nipple. He tightened the screw until he could let go of the weight and it hung from her round breasts.

  “McCallister,” she said with a gasp. “What are you doing?”

  “Attaching nipple clamps,” he said then bent his head to lave her other breast.

  “I know what they are,” she muttered. “God, I never knew how they felt, though.”

  He pulled back and slipped the clamp around her nipple and tightened it. “What’s it feel like?”

  “Like your hand is perpetually around my skin. Squeezing with no relief.” She shifted her feet and her fingers drummed along the bottom of her tits where she still cupped them. “It’s sort of like little ants running pell mell across my skin but in a frustrating, almost-pleasurable kind of way.”

  He grinned. “Let go and shake your shoulders.”

  Slowly her hands released her tits and she moved her shoulders. The motion was small but effective. “Holy crap,” she whispered.

  “Better?”

  Her smile was a bit surprised. “Yes and no. The pressure is greater and the sensation deeper but it’s still frustrating. I feel like I’m just on the edge of something but can’t get over.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Why?”

  He tapped her nose. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  A quick check of his watch showed he had roughly an hour to complete their Joining.

  Damn it. I want to take my time with her.

  He silently promised both of them the next time would be a slow, sensual torture that would leave them exhausted and sated.

  “Remember the other day when I told you not to come?”