by I. T. Lucas
“I’m so glad to hear you say it. That’s the only part of the meal I was worried about.”
“Everything tasted amazing. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
As he finished the last spoonful, Brundar noticed that Calypso had barely touched her dessert. Perhaps she was saving it for him? After he’d finished everything she’d left on her dinner plate, she might have thought she hadn’t made enough.
“Eat your dessert, Calypso.” He pointed at her dish.
She shook her head. “I’m full. Do you want to finish it?”
He would’ve loved to, but he wanted her to have it. “I’m full too. Eat!” To emphasize, he pushed his chair back and rubbed his stomach as if it was overstuffed.
“Sheesh, you’re so bossy.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “There are like a thousand calories in this. I’m watching my weight.”
He cast her an incredulous glance. “You don’t need to lose anything. In fact, you could use a few more pounds.”
Calypso shook her head. “I’m starting to believe that you really haven’t had any girlfriends. For future reference, avoid mentioning weight even if asked. Never tell a woman she needs to gain or lose any pounds. Consider it a taboo subject.”
“What should I say, then?”
“That you think she is perfect the way she is.”
“You are perfect. And that’s not a polite lie.”
Her smug smirk and the naughty gleam in her eyes had seduction written all over it. A moment later, Calypso pushed to her feet and sauntered over to him.
“You’re perfect the way you are too.” She sat on his lap and leaned against his chest while tucking her hands between her thighs.
He appreciated that she hadn’t tried to get away with touching him and was making sure not to forget by keeping her hands entrapped.
Lifting her head, she kissed the underside of his jaw, then whispered, “I bought lots and lots of condoms.”
Brundar’s cock surged against the thin fabric of his slacks, poking Calypso’s sweet ass.
“You’ve been a naughty girl, haven’t you?” His hand closed on her nape, caging her in place.
She licked at his jaw, sending a bolt of fire straight to his balls. “A well prepared, naughty girl,” she breathed.
So it seemed.
The lady wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and frankly, he was tired of playing hard to get. With one arm under her thighs and the other wrapped around her waist, holding her tight against his chest, he pushed off the chair and strode to her bedroom.
Taking in the scene before him, Brundar stopped at the doorway.
When Calypso had told him she was well prepared, she’d meant more than the condoms. Four scarves were tied to four corners of the bed’s iron scrollwork, and a fifth one was lying on the bed, its bright colors in stark relief on the white bedding.
She’d thought of everything.
Sitting on the bed with Calypso still wrapped in his arms, Brundar wanted to flip her over his knees, expose that beautiful ass of hers, and give her a few teasing spanks. Except, he was swimming in uncharted waters. This wasn’t a scene at the club.
Should he thank her for dinner with tenderness?
Or should he give her what he knew she craved?
He didn’t know her well enough to choose for her. It would be best to ask.
“Now, what should I do?” He reached behind him for the scarf and handed it to her. “Should I reward you for an amazing dinner, or punish you for your presumptuousness?”
The scent of her arousal intensifying, Calypso obediently wrapped the scarf over her eyes, tying the ends in a loose knot at the back of her head. “Both.”
Brundar smiled. With the blindfold in place, he no longer feared his fangs showing. For some reason, his fangs tended to react sooner and with less stimulation than those of other immortal males, reacting to the slightest provocation, aggression, or conversely arousal. He kissed her tenderly, going for slow and sweet instead of rough and intense.
She moaned, wiggling on his lap, impatient for her funishment.
Taking his time, he caressed her silky face, the long column of her neck, and the tops of her breasts, all along exploring the sweetness of her mouth, tasting the crème brûlée on her tongue.
When he was done with her mouth, he guided her gently to lie belly down over his knees, her cheek resting comfortably on the bed.
Her content sigh erased the last of his doubts about what Calypso wanted him to do to her next.
This felt very different from any scene he’d ever participated in. Holding Calypso snugly against his middle was all about intimacy and closeness. Not about keeping his partner at a safe distance. Surprisingly, it felt good.
More than good, it felt right.
But only with Calypso.
Somehow, she’d managed to penetrate the shields around his heart and make a home for herself inside it. When he left her, and he didn’t kid himself that he could stay, he would have to tear that piece of his heart out and leave it behind because it belonged to her and always would.
Right now, though, he was hers, and she was his, and the future or the past didn’t exist at this moment.
Holding the bottom of Calypso’s stretchy dress, he prolonged her anticipation by inching it up her thighs in slow motion. She had plenty of time to reconsider if she wanted to. But as with everything else, the lady knew precisely what she wanted and wasn’t shy about asking for it.
When the dress finally cleared the bottom swell of her ass, Brundar let out a hiss. Not only did the tiny thong she had on leave her butt cheeks bare, but the gusset was soaked through.
Unable to resist, he snaked a finger under the scrap of fabric, dipping it in Calypso’s arousal. The gentle touch had her jerk up, but he held on, keeping her tightly secure against his stomach.
She was in desperate need of relief, but he didn’t want her orgasming yet. Still, he couldn’t just leave her like that. He could ease her a little until she was primed for the big finale.
A strangled moan escaped her throat as he pushed a finger inside her scorching, tight sheath. Calypso managed to wiggle despite his tight hold. Tightening his arm around her middle, he added another finger, and then another, stretching her to where it must’ve bordered on discomfort.
Calypso stilled, absorbing the fullness, getting used to the sensation.
He withdrew his fingers and delivered the first smack.
“Oh, God,” she hissed, her hands fisting the comforter. The flare of her arousal was so potent, it wreaked havoc on his restraint. Brundar was a hair away from stripping her naked and entering her in one hard thrust.
But this was about Calypso and her needs. His would come later.
A few more smacks and she would orgasm just from the spanking.
Should he let her?
Yeah, this time he would. Calypso was too far gone to survive a drawn-out foreplay. She needed this one now.
“Put your hands behind your back, sweetling,” he said as he caressed her perfect globes.
The pose would be less comfortable for her, but it would prevent her from instinctively reaching behind her. He didn’t want to accidentally smack her hands. Besides, the confinement would further ratchet up the potency of her arousal.
And his.
CHAPTER 12: CALLIE
“Put your hands behind your back, sweetling.”
Callie responded to Brundar’s command with a pained groan. Already turned on beyond belief, she was almost sent over by his stern tone and what he’d asked her to do.
Gritting her teeth, Callie held it off. There was so much more coming, and she wanted to savor it all. If she climaxed now, he would stop spanking, and she would miss out on it.
As soon as she obeyed, he gripped her wrists with one strong hand and started a steady beat on her upturned behind. The first few smacks were so light they almost felt like caresses, but soon his tempo increased and with it the sting. Still, it wa
s far from painful. He was only teasing her. In the world of kink, this was like foreplay, and she was ready for the real thing.
Brundar stopped and massaged her warmed globes, his finger sliding down to her wet center. “How close are you, sweetling?”
“Close,” she husked.
His grip on her wrists tightened, and he pulled her even closer against his body, his warmth and his scent and the feel of his hard abs further scrambling her brain.
The next smack took her by surprise.
It delivered a real sting that had her jerking on Brundar’s knees. This was what she imagined a punishment spanking would feel like. Then came another one, just as hard, on her other cheek.
Callie tensed in anticipation, but instead of a smack, Brundar’s hand caressed and massaged the ache away.
“Okay? Too much?”
Was it? Callie wasn’t sure. “Maybe a little.”
His hand kept on caressing. “Remember. One word from you and everything stops. No fear.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“Good.” He kept massaging and caressing, giving her time to process what she was feeling.
In retrospect, those two hard smacks had been more intense but not really painful. It was fear that had made her tense.
She wiggled as much as his iron hold on her allowed, signaling that she was ready for more.
“Words, Calypso.”
“Please continue.”
He gave her butt cheek an approving squeeze before resuming.
It was perfect. Not too hard and not too soft, it was exactly how she wanted it. Despite the rapid climb of arousal, Callie managed a brief moment of clarity. This had been a test of sorts. Brundar couldn’t have known where her sweet spot was without stretching her limits. He was good at reading her responses, but he wasn’t a mind reader. The important thing was that she could trust him.
The man was devoted to bringing her maximum pleasure.
With that realization, Callie let herself go in a way she hadn’t before.
Complete surrender.
Her orgasm crested, washing over her in wave after wave of languid fire instead of one volcanic eruption.
“Oh, sweetling.” Brundar lifted her off his lap as if she weighed no more than a pillow, turned her around and cradled her in his arms as if she was precious to him.
What a feeling.
His hand soft on her cheek, he turned her head toward him and kissed her as tenderly as he did before.
“Good?” he asked.
“Excellent.”
His arms tightened around her. “There is no more beautiful and titillating sight than you in the throes of climax.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him it was unfair of him to deny her the same. Brundar would look magnificent as he reached his peak. But there was no point in bringing it up and ruining the sweet moment between them.
As it was, Brundar had already relaxed his own rules by not tying her up. Instead, he’d held her tightly against his body throughout.
Was it the first time he’d been that intimate with a woman?
Could she ask him that?
Her need to find out was so intense it was undeniable. “Am I the first? I mean like this. Close and personal.”
“Yes.”
Satisfaction, pure and sweet.
“Good.”
Brundar didn’t have a monopoly on one-word answers. In fact, she was starting to like them. He was right. It was a more efficient way to communicate if one didn’t mind sounding like a Neanderthal.
Next thing she would be using grunts instead of words.
“What’s that smug little smile about?”
Callie chuckled. “I was just thinking that we rub off on each other, and that pretty soon I’d be talking in grunts instead of words.”
“I don’t grunt.”
“Yes, you do.”
There was a moment of silence, during which Callie regretted not seeing Brundar’s expression. It was one thing to have sex blindfolded; conducting a conversation was another. Without the facial cues, she was literally blind.
“Not a lot,” he acquiesced.
Carefully, afraid she would bump her nose on his jaw, Callie lifted her head and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Compromising.” Callie meant about everything. About relaxing his rules and holding her close, and about agreeing with her on a silly thing like whether he tended to grunt a lot or not.
“Aha.” He let go of his grip on her, allowing a few inches between their bodies, and tugged on her dress. “As sexy as this is, I think it’s time to get rid of it.”
“I agree.” She lifted her arms.
He pulled it off with one tug. “I like this dress. You should always wear things that are easy to take off. But only when you’re with me.”
“Yes, sir.” Even though the dress didn’t show cleavage and reached down to her knees, the clingy fabric and how easy it was to pull off made it somewhat scandalous. She would’ve never dared to wear it while going out alone or with a girlfriend.
“I like it when you’re so agreeable.” Brundar chuckled. “Even though it’s only when it suits you.” He unclasped her strapless bra, baring her breasts.
Her nipples breathed a sigh of relief, figuratively speaking. The strapless bra had been tight and uncomfortable, especially when her poor little nipples had beaded with arousal but had nowhere to go.
Brundar traced his finger over the bra’s compression lines. “Next time you wear this dress, don’t wear this instrument of torture beneath it. Even bondage doesn't leave marks like that.”
He lifted her and laid her on the bed. “Arms up, baby.”
She stretched like a cat on a windowsill on a lazy afternoon.
Brundar tugged off her tiny thong and cupped her molten center. “I’m going to enjoy the hell out of lapping up all the nectar that you’ve made for me.”
Hopefully, he would do more than that. She had no intention of letting him out of her bedroom until he joined them as one.
This strange and wonderful man belonged to her, and she needed to claim him. She would let him believe he was the one doing the claiming, but at the same time, she would be staking her claim on him.
CHAPTER 13: BRUNDAR
It hadn’t even crossed Brundar’s mind to put Calypso face down as was his habit. Her ass was magnificent, but he liked the frontal view better. Taking a long moment to admire the woman sprawled before him, he started with her lush lips that were upturned in a little secretive smile, continued to her slender wrists and ankles that were secured to the bed frame, then back to her face and her beautiful green eyes that were regrettably covered by a silk scarf.
What would it have been like to look into those eyes as he made love to her? Watch every expression?
Except, he had little choice in the matter. It wasn’t about him seeing her, but the other way around. Besides, she already had him spellbound. Her eyes had the power to cement that spell in place for good.
“Calypso,” Brundar uttered her name like a prayer.
No woman ever looked as beautiful, as majestic, and as powerful as the one spread-eagled on the bed before him.
A goddess.
She had him wrapped around her little finger, and they both knew it. He might have been the one who’d spanked her and tied her up, but there was no question as to who held the power in this exchange—not in his mind, and not in hers, judging by that victorious smile on her lips.
Were men fools for thinking they were ever really in charge?
He was reminded of a passage from the human Bible that had struck him as odd. As a whole, it was hard to claim the Bible as anything but patriarchal, and yet it said; “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.”
The reality of the human world Brundar had grown up in was that the wife left her father and mother and followed her husband. Not the other way arou
nd. But he was starting to think that the Bible was spot on. For the right woman, a man would leave everything and everyone dear to him because she was the key to his happiness, his future, and without her there was nothing.
Or more accurately, nothing important.
Being a master swordsman and the clan’s best fighter provided Brundar with a sense of worth and no small amount of pride, but only Calypso made him feel needed, wanted, and desired.
“Brundar?” There was a note of worry in her tone.
Did she think he’d left?
He would never leave her side after tying her up, but in a way she was right. He’d retreated inside his own head and had stayed there for far too long. “I’m here.”
Her smile was back. “Why are you over there and not over here?”
“I had to take a moment to admire your beauty, sweetling.”
The smile got wider.
As he started unbuttoning his dress shirt, Brundar wondered if Calypso was listening for clues. Did she hear him shrugging it off and laying it on the dresser?
“Are you taking off your clothes?” She sounded so hopeful.
“Impatient?”
“You bet.”
Kneeling beside her on the bed, he caressed her soft cheek.
“Kiss me,” Calypso whispered.
He took her sweet lips, licking into her mouth and sliding his tongue along hers in lazy swipes. Even though his impudent cock strongly disagreed, there was no hurry. Brundar intended to take his time feasting on the beauty before him until he got her senseless with need and climaxing all over his face.
She was already panting restlessly, her nipples so stiff they must've ached.
He would be neglecting his duty if he didn’t do something about it right away, providing the relief she needed.
Moving to kneel between her spread legs, Brundar lowered his torso and braced on his forearms.
In anticipation, Calypso arched her back.
Not wanting to prolong her torment, he dipped his head and closed his lips around one turgid peak, treating it to a few swipes of his tongue, then moved to the other and repeated.
The first sound Calypso made was a sigh of relief, the second was a throaty moan, and as his fingers gently tugged on one hard peak while he sucked on the other, her moans became louder.