“This is very real. And I feel it as strongly as you do. Just being apart from you today has made me crazy. I’ve wanted to come charging over to the guesthouse, grab you, and drag you in bed with me. Even if we didn’t fuck, I just want to be there wrapped around you, protecting you. I don’t want to leave your safety to anyone else.”
“Then don’t.”
I smiled and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “I wish I could do that. But it will put you in more danger to take you out in public with me, and I couldn’t have brought you or anyone else to the meeting I had to go to last week.”
“Because of the lion that wants to take your position as head of the council.”
“You really did learn a lot, didn’t you?”
“I know you’re angry, but—”
“I’m angry at myself, not just you. I’m angry at Damian too. I’m already planning what I can do to get back at him. He should never have told your friend the things he did. He’s usually a secretive bastard. He hadn’t even bothered to tell me he was on my side until he called me today to warn me if I harmed your friend, he’d make sure I regretted it. What has your friend done to inspire such loyalty?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t even aware Henley knew any shifters as more than casual acquaintances until he told me it would be easier to call a friend than to try to hack into your—” Emerson froze.
“I will not retaliate against him for anything that happened today, but if you have more questions, ask me. As much as I don’t want you to be, you’re in this now. You’re my mate, and you’re staying right here with me. You’re part of this family, and I will protect you with my life.”
“I will protect you too, in every way I can. I’m not strong like you—I’m just a human—but I feel this incredible need to take care of you.”
“Then listen to what I say so I can keep you safe. The best thing you can do for me is give me reassurance you will stay either with me, one of my brothers, or Jax at all times. This lion shifter who wants to head the council is related to the men who had you pinned down at the club. They are brutish, but he’s far smarter, and there is nothing he won’t do to gain power. That’s why, as angry as I am at Damian, I won’t do anything to harm him. I need his help.”
“Damian is on the council?”
“Yes, but I can’t believe I’m discussing this. It is absolutely forbidden to share any of this information with a human.”
“Even if the human is your mate?”
“I am certain there are council members whose shifter mates have no idea what they’re involved in, and they certainly don’t know who the other council members are.”
“But you’re different. You want different things for the shifter community. I want to be your submissive, but I also want to be your partner.”
Need surged through me. Need to establish my dominance over Emerson, but also the need to kiss him, hold him, and protect him. He was everything. He was a man I could rely on, but he would also kneel for me and take the pain I wanted to give. He was offering so much more than any submissive I’d ever played with. This was what a mate should be. I’d never really understood that before, but as I sat there gazing into his eyes and breathing deeply of his intoxicating scent, I knew that he would be there for me in every possible way. I had to do the same for him. Things still felt unsettled between us, but I knew exactly what we needed to make everything right again.
15
Emerson
I looked into King’s eyes. They hadn’t gone wolfish again, but they’d darkened, and I swore I could smell his lust. The intensity of it unnerved me. I had a feeling he was closer to unleashing his full alpha on me than he’d ever been. “D-Do you want me to leave?”
“You went behind my back and sought out personal information about me that I’d said you didn’t need to have. You knew there would be consequences for that, right?”
I shivered. His voice was far more filled with lust than with anger. I didn’t think these consequences would be all that bad. Holding his gaze, I stood and moved backward for a few steps.
“Don’t even think about running. You won’t get away from me, and if I have to chase you, my wolf will come out, and he’ll go harder on you than I will.”
“I’m not going to run. I’m going to take my punishment, every single wicked thing you can think of to do to me, even if it involves claws and teeth. I disobeyed you, and I accept the consequences for that. I’m ready to hurt for you.”
He watched, face unnervingly neutral as I stripped quickly and efficiently. I dropped my clothes on the floor and then kicked them out of the way before prostrating myself on the floor and sticking out my ass. "You can spank me all you want. I’m yours.”
"I can always spank you whenever I want. As hard as I want. As much as I want. I can punish you in any way I desire at any time. Because I want to, because I know you need it. But I'm not going to spank you tonight. I think you'd enjoy that far too much. Look at me, Emerson.”
Shaking and off-balance, I turned to face him. Had I read him wrong? Was he truly angry with me? Would he punish me by sending me away? That was the one thing I didn't think I could bear. Pain I could take, but not separation.
"I am going to punish you. I think we both need that. We need it to get the balance back between us. Wouldn't you agree?"
I wasn't sure if there was a right or wrong answer, so I just said what I truly felt. "Yes, I need you to punish me."
"It needs to be something you won’t enjoy, at least not at first."
I tried to stay quiet, but ultimately my nerves wouldn’t let me. I had to know he wouldn’t push me beyond my limits. “Just please don't send me away. I can't bear to be apart from you, not now, not when I know you're angry with me."
"No, baby. I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with myself for not knowing what you needed. I'm angry with myself for a lot of things. Sending you away would hurt me too. I would never do that. What I’m going to do is make you realize you only think you need to come right now. You have no idea how badly you can ache or how much you can beg for my mercy."
“I don’t want mercy. I want you to go hard on me.”
I heard him suck in his breath, just the reaction I was hoping for.
“We’ll see if you still think that way a few hours from now.”
I swallowed hard. “Hours?”
“I’ll devote as much time as needed to teach you the lesson you need to learn.”
“Wh-what about all the business with the council?”
“Unlike many of us who relish late nights and all that one can get away with in the darker hours, the bear shifter representative Damian told me to talk to likes to go to bed early. I won’t be talking to her until tomorrow.”
“So you… You’re just…”
“Able to focus all my energy on you.”
I could feel that energy. I was sure of it. It pushed against me, teasing my skin, wrapping a hand around my cock, sending need so strong through me that my knees almost buckled. I wondered if my cock could break the hard case that enclosed it. Could that thin plastic really hold back the force of my erection?
“Stand up.”
I did as King said. Without warning, he scooped me into his arms. The world seemed like it was going to flip upside down. “What are you doing?”
“For the rest of the night, you do not question me. You have your safe word. It will always work. Otherwise, I am completely in control of you.”
Why was that so fucking hot? I relaxed in his arms as he crossed the room. He opened the door, and Storm was standing in the hall. He barely reacted to the fact I was naked and in King’s arms. “I’m taking him to my room. We are not to be disturbed.”
Storm smiled. “I’ll see to that.”
We passed by a maid who didn’t even look startled. Was it common for the Howler men to carry their naked lovers around the house? What would it take to shock one of their staff? King spanking me in the hallway?
He kicked ope
n the door of his bedroom. “I’ve never brought a man here. I’ve never wanted to. No one enters without my permission. The space is mine, but now it’s also yours. Because you’re my mate. Tomorrow morning, I will have your things moved from the guesthouse.”
He didn’t need to know that was exactly what I wanted. I needed that closeness. I wanted to be around him as much as I could. Maybe that was partly because we were fated mates, but also because I simply needed him. “Yes, Sir.”
King sucked in his breath. When he looked down at me, I saw uncertainty in his eyes for the first time. “You mean that? You didn’t just say it from reflex?”
“I trust you, King. I know you wouldn’t hurt me. You’ve done everything and more to earn my submission.”
He bent and brushed a soft kiss across my lips. “Thank you. That means more to me than I can say.”
Before I could revel too much in the soft look in his eyes, he shifted me to one arm, yanked the covers off the bed, and tossed me down on my back. “Stretch yourself out, arms up, legs open. I’m going to restrain you.”
My pulse accelerated. I was utterly at his mercy whether he tied me up or not, but having the restraints made my inability to escape even more potent.
“Am I allowed to ask—”
“No. Asking questions is what got you in this mess to start with. If I want you to know something, I’ll tell you. Like the fact that it’s going to be a very, very long time before I let you come. Now keep those beautiful lips closed unless I ask you to open them.”
He was so fucking hot like this. The idea that I was his to use any way he wanted, that I had no hope for an orgasm before he chose to give me one, was an incredible rush. For all that I was aching and desperate already, I’d never felt so at home.
King snapped cuffs around my wrists and ankles, then attached them to the bed. They were lined with soft fabric so they wouldn’t chafe. I tugged on the chains to test them. They were strong, not mere toys. I wouldn’t be able to break them, no matter how hard I struggled.
King slid out of his suit jacket and settled between my legs. Before I could wonder what he would do to me first, he pulled a tiny key from his pocket and unlocked then took off my cock cage. I gasped as blood rushed to my cock, hardening it far too fast. I bit my lip, but a whimper escaped anyway. I’d thought my cock ached before, but this was worse.
“Don’t misunderstand me freeing you, little human. You will not come until I say so.”
He couldn’t expect me to hold back on my own, not after I’d been denied for so long.
“Here’s something to help.” He squeezed my cock and balls together and snapped a cock ring around me. I whined, sounding pathetically desperate. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hasty to say I would suffer for him.
He stroked my cheek. “Little human, I’m just getting started, but I wanted to see and taste this pretty cock.”
Taste?
I cried out when he bent and took my entire length down his throat. It was the last thing I’d expected.
He used his hands to pin my hips down. I tried to stay still as he sucked, but I couldn’t. He licked me, teasing my head, and then swallowed me again and sucked, humming around me. I fought his hold, trying my best to buck into his mouth, to get more. I yanked on my chains. I needed to touch him, needed… Fuck, I was so close. If he would just—
He sat back and looked down at me with a cruel smile. “That’s enough for now. Once you’ve calmed down a bit, we’ll see what else you enjoy.”
“Please.” I hadn’t meant to beg, especially when he’d warned me to stay quiet.
“You agreed to suffer and you will, because that is what I need. I need to push you to your very limit. I need even your pleasure to become pain.”
“Oh God.”
“You knew what I was, but you sought out more, so here you are.”
“Yes, Sir.” I knew this was a game to some extent, but I wasn’t sure where that line lay. How much of this was a play session with my Dom and how much was who we really were? I thought I’d fooled myself that King had been trying to scare me with his uber alpha act, but he was powerful enough to run a council of shifter crime lords. Why would I think he would accept anything less than total control?
He’s your mate, he won’t hurt you. He gave you a safe word. I hoped I was right to trust him, but it was too late to do anything about it now. I was cuffed to an alpha wolf’s bed. I wasn’t getting away.
And it’s exactly where you want to be.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” King said. That was almost more surprising than the blow job.
“I’m horny.”
He chuckled. “I imagine you are.”
“It hurts, and I’m scared.”
“Of me.”
“Of coming. It’s so agonizing after being in the cage, and now you’re making it worse.”
“I am, and you won’t be able to stop it.”
“I’m a little scared of you too.”
He ran a soothing hand up and down my torso. “I’m only giving you what we both need. You can bear all this for me. It’s what you were made for.”
Was it? Could I allow myself to believe that? “Shouldn’t I be bothered by this idea that I belong to you?”
“We’re mates. There’s nothing wrong with how you feel. Even if we weren’t, and that’s what you wanted, then it’s right for you.”
“It feels right, even while it feels so wrong.”
“This.” He ran a finger—no, make that a claw—down my cock. “Feels right, doesn’t it?”
I tried to get enough air in me to be able to speak. “I… That…”
“I think it’s time to make you want again.”
“I’ve been wanting every second since I saw you.”
He chuckled and the sound made me shiver.
“I’m going to give you more chain so you can bend your knees and place your feet flat on the bed. Keep them spread for me, or I will get a spreader bar.”
“If you don’t bring men here, why do you have all these things at your house?”
I thought he would scold me for talking, but he didn’t this time. “I sent someone for them while we were talking.”
My face had already felt like it was on fire, but it grew even hotter. “You didn’t.”
“It’s not like my interests are a secret to my brothers or the household staff.”
“Oh God. You did not send one of your brothers.”
“They are trustworthy and will do what I say.”
I would never be able to look at his brothers again. I was about to ask which one he’d sent when the hum of a vibrator filled the room and King climbed back on the bed.
“No more talking.” He pushed at one of my knees with his free hand. “Open your legs wide. Your body belongs to me, all of it. Inside and out.”
He pressed the vibrator against my balls, and I bucked off the bed. Instinct had me trying to close my legs since that was the only option I had to push him away. He smacked my thigh hard. “That’s your only warning.”
“King, please. I can’t do this.”
“You can, because you’re my mate, and that’s what I’m asking of you.”
“Yes, sir,” I said with a gasp, wanting to make it true with my words.
He teased my balls with the vibrator again and ran a claw down the center of my chest, raising his gaze to mine.
“Sir?”
“Yes, boy?”
“I… I need the spreader bar.”
He turned the vibrator off and set it down. My heart pounded, waiting for his response. Would he be angry that I’d asked?
“I’ll get it for you. I know this is new for you. Eventually, you’ll be so well trained you’ll be able to hold still and endure far more, but you’ve been through a lot in the last few days.”
A laugh burst from me. I wondered once again if maybe I was losing my mind. Was I hallucinating some of this? His hand gripped my chin, and I felt the scrape of his claws. No, that had t
o be real. I felt it too plainly.
“Trust me.” I looked into his eyes. I saw the Dom there and the wolf, but I also saw a man who cared for me, my mate.
“I do, mate.”
He growled. “Using that won’t get you an orgasm any faster.”
At this point I wasn’t even sure that’s what I wanted; I knew it would be more pain than pleasure when all the pent-up need in me was finally released. Yet I couldn’t stay caught on this edge forever, could I? I was starting to fear that’s exactly what he expected of me.
He extended the spreader bar to the length he wanted and attached it to the cuffs on my ankles. Reflex had me trying to close my legs once he had it in place. Panic consumed me when I realized what I’d done. I was completely exposed for him with no way to hide. It didn’t matter that he had the strength to force me to do anything he chose to. There was something different about the physical inability to move.
He brushed my hair from my face and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “Settle, little human. You can do this. I like you restrained for me. I like you unable to get away, like prey I’ve pinned down. I’m not going to let you go until you’re so worked up you truly believe you’ll combust.”
He turned the vibrator on again. This time he pressed it to my perineum. I squirmed, moving my hips, but my body remained open to him, his to play with. Every moment of torment only made me harder; I didn’t think the cock ring could really hold me back much longer. The vibrations echoed through my body into my cock, and I bit my lip to hold in a cry. This had to end. It had to.
He moved the vibrator back until it teased my hole. I was torn between wanting it inside me and praying he wouldn’t do that. It was slender, so it wouldn’t stretch me much, but the thought of all that sensation or of it pressing against my prostate made me want to scream.
“Please, Sir. Please! I… I can’t…”
He slapped my thigh even harder than before and I yelped. “You can, because it’s what I desire. You need to be punished, and you need to remember who’s in control.”
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