by Ivy Barrett
He held up his hands but his lips pressed into a disapproving line. “I won’t hurt you. You know that.”
“Well, I’ll sure as hell hurt you. Just stay back.” She picked up the first thing she touched, a metal statue of Atlas holding up the world.
“Kyla, you need to—” She flung the statue at his head. He easily ducked and the would-be weapon bounced harmlessly off the wall. “Enough!”
LeAuntiez burst through the front door, a terrified look on his face. “What’s wrong? Why did I feel…” He took in the scene with one assessing glance. “What happened?”
Bron kept his gaze fixed on her but she sensed the telltale ripple of telepathic communication. It wasn’t hard to guess what Bron told LeAuntiez, especially when they shielded their thoughts from her. “I am not hysterical,” she snapped. “I have valid reasons for being pissed!” LeAuntiez slowly moved toward her. She frantically looked around for something else to throw. “You’re just as guilty as he is. You have no right to—”
Her breath escaped in a startled ‘whoosh’ as LeAuntiez threw her over his shoulder. He smacked her twice on the butt, then headed for the stairs. “You will calm down this minute. Grief is no excuse for disrespect.”
Her chest heaved and she tried to kick, but his arm banded her legs. Banging on his back with her fists only hurt her hands. The bastard was solid muscle.
You cannot punish her while she’s this upset. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.
Her physical contact with LeAuntiez allowed her to pick up on their silent conversation. The anomaly was unexpected, and extremely helpful. As long as they didn’t figure it out.
Bron was right, and yet he was wrong. She knew exactly what she was saying. Part of her even believed it, but staying angry, for any reason, was easier than facing the devastating grief creeping in the instant her anger started to cool.
LeAuntiez shifted her weight farther back and she grunted. His shoulder dug into a different area of her abdomen. “Put me down, you pervert!” She punched him everywhere she could reach. Her outburst only earned her another hard smack. As the familiar discomfort sank into her muscles, tension and emotion flowed out. The release felt so good that she hit him again and again. “You fucking bastard. I hate you both!”
She’s intentionally provoking me, LeAuntiez warned. She’s not as hysterical as you think.
LeAuntiez tossed her on the bed in the master bedroom and stood there watching her. “Are you ready to behave, or shall I get the restraints?”
Restraints? She shivered, excitement curling through her anger. Arousal was a much more pleasant sensation than fury and infinitely easier to maintain. “Fuck you.” She glared at him, but her voice held no real conviction. Already her emotions mellowed, making her ache inside. Last time she’d seen Erin, Kyla thought her friend was selfish and melodramatic. Erin had just been scared, terrified. And Kyla had ridiculed her. “Do your worst.” The words came out choked and filled with pain rather than defiant.
LeAuntiez lunged for her suddenly, knocking her over onto her back. Then he dragged her hands above her head and pinned them to the bed. A faint light ignited deep in his gaze and she panicked, instinctively knowing what he was about to do. “Don’t! Please don’t put me to sleep.” She thrashed wildly, twisting and bucking beneath him. “She’ll still be dead when I wake up. It will just postpone the pain. I’d rather work through it now.”
Bron stepped closer to the other side of the bed and the males exchanged knowing looks, but Bron still hesitated. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
She looked him in the eyes and said, “Fuck you.” Her tone was pleading rather than belligerent.
Does she have to draw you a diagram? LeAuntiez sounded as impatient as she felt. Why did the ruthless chancellor have to become so damn protective every time he touched her? She needed his ruthlessness, his merciless intensity. This delay was allowing her emotions to build rather than driving them out. She needs a release for the pain. Stop being such a pussy and spank her ass.
Thank God! LeAuntiez got it.
Finally, Bron sprang into action. He pulled off her shoes and tugged her pants down, then tossed them aside. LeAuntiez moved to her side so Bron could reach her uniform top. He opened the front and pulled her arms from the sleeves. LeAuntiez momentarily released each of her wrists so Bron could completely undress her.
She expected the spanking to begin immediately, but Bron reached under the bed and dragged ankle restraints up onto the bed. He repeated the movement at each corner of the bed, his penetrating gaze locked on her face.
“Turn her over,” Bron told LeAuntiez. The emerald lines in Bron’s gaze shimmered.
Uncertainty fluttered through her abdomen. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. LeAuntiez turned her over, positioning her on the bed with her arms and legs spread wide. Bron quickly fastened the restraints, checking to make sure they would hold her firmly without cutting off her circulation.
LeAuntiez lifted her hips and slipped a pillow under her. Now her pussy was on display as well as her ass. She closed her eyes, a familiar wash of shame passing through her. Her core tightened spastically, desperate for the brutal fullness of one of their cocks. She was such a slut with them, so ready for anything they chose to give her.
This was only a distraction. She knew that, but she couldn’t think about, refused to feel, any more grief right now.
Bron put one knee on the bed and spanked her upturned ass. She moaned, needing the sting and the penetrating heat, craving his discipline. “What happens when females are disrespectful to their mates?”
“They are spanked really hard for a very long time.” Her voice was somewhat muffled by the bed.
LeAuntiez choked back a laugh, but Bron just obliged her. His huge hand landed with a resounding crack over and over until her entire behind throbbed with persistent pain.
She sank into the undulating sensations, allowing them to sweep her along. Thoughts faded and emotions melded into a euphoric haze.
“Give her a minute. She’s really gone.” LeAuntiez sounded very far away as if he were calling to Bron down a tunnel.
Rather than delivering a swat, Bron’s hand lightly stroked her burning skin, spreading the heat and prolonging the muted pain without igniting new sensations.
We shouldn’t allow her to control us like this, Bron grumbled. Humans call it topping from the bottom.
Apparently the eavesdropping feature worked with either of them.
On any other day I’d agree. This is not a usual situation. Erin was extremely important to our mate.
I know.
She floated for a few minutes more, lost to everything but the haze. Emotions surrounded her threatening her tranquility at every turn. She’d believed she was beyond this gut-wrenching loss, that anymore grief would shatter her spirit. But here she was being forced to endure more. Hadn’t she sacrificed enough already?
A sob tore through her despite their efforts to distract her from the pain. “More,” she cried. “I need more.”
LeAuntiez stroked the side of her face, tucking her hair back so he could see her better. She’s really struggling again.
I can’t keep hurting her, Bron objected. I already spanked her harder than usual. Look at her ass. It’s too deep a red. She is our mate. I refuse to actually harm her.
So spank her legs or turn her over and slap her breasts and pussy.
She does not need more pain, Bron insisted. You overwhelm her for a while.
Gladly. LeAuntiez walked along the bed, trailing his fingertips down her spine. Can you turn her over by yourself? I’ll be right back.
Of course, Bron snapped, obviously insulted by the question.
Needing to escalate her emotions, she fought like an enraged tigress, refusing to cooperate with anything he did. She kicked and hit, even spit, intentionally missing bare skin.
“Stop it, right now,” he sneered. She fought even harder, so he slapped one breast and then the other.
She drank in the stinging pain, letting it spread like salve across her ravaged emotions. All the loss, all the fear she’d known since the Skarilians arrived faded for a moment, giving her time to breathe. “I was starting to think you’d gone soft on me.” She drew up her leg and kicked him hard in the chest.
Anger sparked in his eyes, but he did nothing more than hold her down until the impulse passed. His gaze was cold, controlled as he secured her to the bed on her back, arms and legs spread wide like before.
“You think I’ve gone soft?” She hadn’t realized the insult bothered him. He slapped the inside of one thigh and then the other. The contact stung but left no lasting burn. Then he spanked her pussy, the slap right over her opening.
Again the spank was uncomfortable, but not mind-numbingly intense. “Is that the best you’ve got?” He spanked her mound, over her clit this time. She gasped then shivered. Now that stung like hell, but the sensations faded much too fast. “Harder.”
“Beg me.”
“Please, Bron. Spank my clit until I scream.”
Excitement flared across their link, though his stern features revealed nothing.
“Bron?” He slapped her in the same place and she twisted her hips and moaned as the pain tore through her. “My name is Master, or Sir. Have you forgotten everything we taught you?” Then he parted her folds with one hand and spanked her exposed clit with the other. Over and over he spanked her, as merciless as she ever could have hoped.
She shrieked and twisted, sobbed and pleaded, lost in the blissful agony.
Suddenly Bron’s head snapped to the side and the next spank never came. His hands lifted from her body and he scooted off the bed. She felt the ripple of telepathic communication and swore under her breath. LeAuntiez was back and they were telling secrets again. God, she hated it when they did that.
“LeAuntiez wants your clit to rest. He needs it nice and sensitive for what he has in mind, so now your lovely nipples are going to pay the price for your bad attitude.”
LeAuntiez was carrying a smallish dark brown case, which he sat on the nightstand. He opened the case, blocking her view with the lid.
Trepidation unfurled inside her. She’d learned early that LeAuntiez’s idea of pleasure could be crueler than Bron’s affinity for pain. LeAuntiez dug around in the case for a moment, then passed something to Bron. Both men concealed the item within the palm of their hand.
Probably nipple clamps, given Bron’s threat against that portion of her anatomy. She licked her lips and shifted restlessly, dreading what he was about to do. She’d allowed one of her lovers to apply some simple spring-loaded claw-like clamps. The crude devices hurt like hell and after only a second or two she took them off, and refused to ever try again.
“Is your attitude appropriate?” After slipping the mystery item or items into his pocket, Bron strolled closer to the head of the bed. His gaze moved freely over her naked body, as did his hand. He trailed his fingertips over her pussy, pausing to invade her core and pinch her clit before moving on. He stroked her belly and breasts, explored her ribs and even her armpits.
He touched her like he owned her, casually, yet thoroughly. She shivered at the thought, still unsure if she wanted to be owned.
“I asked you a question.” His voice was sharp, impatient.
“Sometimes,” she muttered, following his lazy movements with her eyes. Her nipples hardened, tingling as if anticipating his cruel attention.
He caught her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, then looked into her eyes. “And now? Is your attitude appropriate right now?”
“How pissed would you be if I got LeAuntiez killed?”
His fingers tightened gradually and the pain rolled up through her breast until it flared enough to make her cry out. “Try again.”
She panted and twisted, but his fingers still held her tight, so she was tugging on her own nipple. “Just put on the stupid clamps. I’m tired of this game!”
“There’s that attitude again,” LeAuntiez sounded disappointed, but desire gleamed in his sky-blue eyes.
Bron bent to her breast and sucked the nipple he’d been pinching deep into his mouth. He drew on the delicate flesh with long, slow pulls. Kyla arched her back, wanting him to stop almost as much as she wanted more.
“I never get tired of these.” He released her long enough to squeeze both breasts, then reached into his pocket and withdrew the small item LeAuntiez had given him. “These are a little different than human clamps, but I think you’ll enjoy them. Or at least LeAuntiez and I will.”
She raised her head and shoulders off the bed so she could see what he was doing. The device looked more or less like braided wire and it circled her nipple then fit into a flat base about the size of a postage stamp. It didn’t tighten as she expected. In fact, it didn’t seem to do anything at all. Then Bron spoke a word she didn’t understand and tingles surrounded her nipple, radiating through her chest and up her arms. She gasped and wiggled, but couldn’t escape the persistent pulses.
“The stimulators can produce a variety of sensations,” Bron warned, then demonstrated each one as he triggered them with different commands.
The tingling intensified, becoming a prickly sting, then pressure surrounded her nipple, tightening until she cried out. Each sensation was unique, but they all had one thing in common. Kyla was aroused by each and every one.
“By the way,” LeAuntiez said as he moved to the other side of the bed. “You do not have permission to come. You will fight off every orgasm until we specifically give you permission to come.” His chuckle was low and wicked. “But that could take a very long time.”
Already she felt restless and needful. It was as if a connection ran between her nipples and her clit. “What happens if I come?” All she’d have to do right now is close her eyes and picture them both naked.
“Nothing,” Bron told her with a secretive smile. “Absolutely nothing.”
It was a trick. It had to be. Punishment always followed disobedience. “Meaning?”
LeAuntiez leaned down and whispered in her ear, “If you come, we’ll leave you here alone. You’ll be restrained so you can’t touch yourself, and the orgasm you stole will be the only one you get for at least twenty-four hours.”
“All you have to do is apologize, and all this ends,” Bron told her. “The punishment will stop and we’ll make love to you, just the way you like it best.”
“How will you know?” she challenged. “I like it lots of different ways.”
“Are you ready to behave?” LeAuntiez asked, but his doubtful tone made it obvious he didn’t expect a yes.
“Screw you.”
“It was ‘screw’ this time instead of ‘fuck,’” Bron pointed out. “I suppose that’s progress.”
This twisted game was working. The ongoing pain and verbal sparring was keeping her emotions at bay. Who cared if her body hurt like hell in the morning? It would be well worth the discomfort for one more night of dreamless sleep.
Kyla gazed into LeAuntiez’s eyes waiting for him to take the lead. Bron had done his part to keep her demons at bay. He’d firmly spanked her ass, her breasts and clit, pushing his boundaries even more than he challenged hers. The nipple stimulators continued to vibrate, playing havoc with her nervous system. For the moment the pain and grief twisting through her being was banked, simmering just below the surface.
Death was never easy to accept and this loss had hit harder than most. Erin had been a lifeline, the one remaining connection Kyla had to the world she’d known before the Skarilians shattered her reality.
“The cruel little stimulators come in a variety of sizes.” LeAuntiez finally spoke, drawing her mind more firmly into the present. “They can surround a cock or scrotum, but most often they’re used on nipples—” he reached down and gently parted her folds—“and clits.”
Her eyes widened and she whimpered. Her clit was a lot more sensitive than her nipples and the damn things were already driving her crazy.
“Please, don’t.” She tossed her head back and forth, trying to evade his hands. Maybe it was time to apologize. The restraints made escape impossible, but she wasn’t quite ready for surrender.
LeAuntiez carefully placed a stimulator around her clit. It felt cool, but not tight. Maybe she could dislodge it once his attention shifted from her pussy.
“Our link is wide open, love. I’ll know if you come.” He uttered a word she didn’t know and the stimulator started to vibrate with a slow, swelling rhythm.
She moaned, going still for a moment before crying out. “There is no way I can keep myself from coming with that thing on my clit!”
“Then apologize and you can come all you like.” Bron sounded almost angry. He was back in protector mode. “Just surrender.”
“No!” Not yet. The darkness was still too powerful. She needed more pain.
As if hearing her last thought, Bron muttered a command and the sensation around her nipples changed, became sharper, a painful counterpoint to the swelling pleasure between her thighs.
For a moment it worked. Her arousal ebbed and peace settled over her body. But all too soon the stimulation cut through her tranquility as well as the consuming emotions. She was on the verge of orgasm again and the sorrow was just as strong.
“I can’t do this.” She twisted her hips and tugged against her restraints. This wasn’t helping. She still felt the pain.
LeAuntiez quickly retrieved several items from his hinged case and returned to the bed. He placed the items on the bed between her legs, then paused the stimulators. She moaned, trembling as her body continued to process the sensations. She was so consumed with the struggle to hold off her orgasm that she gasped when she felt something cool and smooth press against her vaginal opening.
“Your stubbornness is keeping us from giving you the real thing, but I don’t want you to forget what a cock feels like deep inside you.” He drove the dildo deep into her core.
She gasped as the fullness invaded her body, making her long for her mates. A needful moan rumbled through her as he slowly fucked her with the toy.
After a few tantalizing moments, LeAuntiez pushed the dildo deep and left it there as he motioned to Bron. “If she were behaving, you’d be fucking her ass right now. Why don’t you remind her how good that feels?”