Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance)

by Susan Arden

  The pain she expected was more in anticipating the snap to her skin. Her cheeks burned, blazing arousal, tempering her heat cycle. Unbelievable. Fight fire with fire.

  Her pussy pulsated, and she tried unsuccessfully to shift. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, so low and quiet that she stopped moving. And then he spanked her again.

  “Three. Nowhere.”

  “Hush. Only counting is allowed.”

  “Then don’t ask me a question.”

  Jesus, he landed a heavy-handed smack, proving he was allowed to ask anything he desired.

  Her mouth sounded out the words, but she lost count of the actual bite of each smack. Unable to keep up with the ache of wanting him, each time he spanked her bottom and followed up with a caress, she pushed back into his hand, wanting him to do more than smack her ass. She wanted him to sink far within her, join with her, prove he owned her. Every muscle spasm testified to her need for him deep inside. Her skin over her ass was on fire, and so was the space between her legs. His hand was driving her over the edge. She nibbled her bottom lip between her teeth, unsure she could stand another second.

  “Twenty.” The word echoed around the room.

  She slumped on top of his lap. Her bottom was a glowing ember, heated and ready for him. After the seventh smack, she’d nearly come undone. Unrelenting and driving, he delivered her further and further into an abyss, tethered to a thin line, and capable of falling at any second, and to her longing for him to hurl her into an orgasm, not leave her teased and ready. Each smack magically made her want him to do something edgier. Harder. If he would take her or make her do as he pleased. Her skin rippled and if she shifted, he’d not finish what he’d promised to deliver. So close to climaxing, she pushed her ass up. He pushed her bottom down.

  “Did I say you could get up?” He spread her cheeks, and explored between her legs. She squirmed and he held her still. “You’re so wet. So utterly swollen. Apparently, you enjoy having your delectable ass painted red?”

  He thrust his finger into her pussy, making her suck in a breath. “Shawn,” she gasped.

  “Diana, don’t come. Ride the wave. I’ve got to have you. Hold on for a little longer.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You will. And you’ll thank me for teaching you. Say it. Thank you.”

  “Thank you?” she echoed.

  “Not a question. A courtesy. Louder and surer.”

  “Thank you,” she moaned, feeling so close to the precipice she might plummet into a blissful orgasm. “Please, Shawn.” Never mind her ass, her center was so heated and wet, the slick feeling made each movement an act of conspiracy against her self-control to hold back from climaxing. Her clit felt engorged, ready to explode. If he so much as licked her, she’d shatter.

  If this was her lesson, she might as well receive a failing mark. She fought against climaxing, tried to find her inner core, and ground herself. Pulsations threaded through her body, and she inhaled, expanding her control. Barely.

  Shawn didn’t push or tease, didn’t keep toying with her, but let her regain her composure, tiptoeing back from the edge of insane release. So close, she fought against leaping when her body demanded that she pounce. Her mind held her still, syncing and securing her.

  “Come, kitten,” he whispered, drawing her up to him, holding her close to his chest. She listened to his heartbeat. Strong and sure. His voice rumbled. “This isn’t about punishment, it’s about control. You did well. Now I’m going to do as promised to you before we set out. You’re mine for tonight.”

  His hands held her back and he kissed her, soft and secure, and pushing her back onto the bed while his hands kneaded and reshaped her breasts, thumbing her nipples already taut and sensitive. Shawn kissed a path down her body and she arched against him. The moment he took her nipple between his lips, sharing his hot mouth on her peak, she cried out. Changing breasts, he licked and scraped his teeth, making her insane for him to suck her nipple. She channeled her fingers into his hair, pulling on his scalp.

  “God, you’re beautiful. Tonight you took my breath away. Many, many times.” His eyes glittered, sharp as broken glass.

  She lay there, nearly spent and uncertain what would happen next. With his sizeable cock pressing against her belly, she didn’t fight the unfurling of desire. He wasn’t asking her to hold back anymore. “I want you so much. I’m as hungry as the first time I fucked you.” Shawn’s voice woke up her brain. She flinched as his teeth scraped the tip of her breast.

  She pushed against his chest and he sucked her breast deep into his sizzling mouth. Slowly, he was turning her over, dragging his mouth over her shoulder, grasping her firmly by the hips. He spread her legs and positioned himself between the V-shape she presented. Shawn’s fingers separated her cheeks and she remembered all the pleasure he’d given her earlier. Automatically her hips rose off the bed as she pressed back against him, giving him easier access to her. Lifting her ass into the air, he held her firmly, his erection grazed between her folds. She snapped downward as though a frayed electrical cord had been touched.

  His palm cupped, squeezed, and delved in between her ass cheeks and folds. “You’re unbelievably wet.” He lightly bit into her shoulder. Not hard, but with enough pressure to make her pussy clench down.

  Shawn lifted up and off her, his tight muscles flexing, a rippling expanse down his torso all the way to the tip of glistening erection.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked, still staring at his body. “Something to ease your discomfort.” He opened the nightstand and removed a plastic bottle. He flipped the cap and squeezed a steady stream into his palm and the scent of cool mint essences swirled in the air. After rubbing his hands together, he touched the cleft of her ass and massaged her skin with his warm, moist palms. He avoided touching her inside her ass cheeks, leaving her moaning and craving him all the more. “How does that feel?”

  “Heavenly where you spanked me.”

  “I don’t think that will be the last time, kitten.” He crossed to the bathroom and she heard water running. He came out drying his hands on a towel. He laughed and she understood his intent.

  “You’re teasing me,” she huffed.

  “It’s working.” Walking back, he appeared powerfully masculine and unquestionably ready to deliver on his promise. “Now, it’s time.”

  Her pulse hammered a steady beat by the time he returned and slipped a finger inside her crack, stroking downward and passing over her entrance. The mattress shifted and the bottle of lubricant was squeezed again. His hands spread across her, between her cheeks, making her a sweltering, aching mess. Her breasts and nipples swelled, and her clit plumped, throbbing steadily under his caresses. She steamed inside, wanting him to just take her and stop teasing her.

  He repositioned her, and then she knew instinctively there was no escape from him in his coming to claim her. He pinned her under him, his teeth sunk into the side of her neck, marking her. She arched her spine, lifting her hips. Shawn pulled her thighs apart. He was fierce in his possession, and in one thrust, his cock burst past her ring of muscle, sliding deep into her ass. She let out a cry mingled with pain and ecstasy.

  All her focus was on the feeling of him grinding into her body, taking up all her space, and then a snarl tore from her mouth. She bucked back, trying to shake him loose. Without knowing why she reacted, she tried to lunge but he held her firmly beneath him, almost shaking her with the force and command of his dominance. His cock stilled inside her, stretching her, his balls tight up against her. He pushed forward filling her fully, pain laced with sinful pleasure, dark and decadent, rasping, and then he began to pull out.

  “Do you want me to stop, baby?”

  “No,” she said hoarsely. His hand fisted in her damp hair. Pulling her neck back, he clamped down on a pressure point, thrusting back inside her in one long, exquisite stroke. She moaned pushing back onto his cock. He released his bite, withdrawing himself only to take her again. As he clam
ped his teeth onto her skin, he slammed back into her ass, hard and balls-deep.

  He mounted her as he’d promised, holding her down as a leopard would, and possessing her. This was a primitive show of leopard-to-leopardess ownership. She could stop him now, not go through with this. Her mind raced; she wanted him inside her body.

  “Do you know what you do to me?” he asked against her ear. “You’re in my blood. Baby, give yourself to me.”

  “Yes,” she whimpered. “Take me.”

  She’d carry another layer of his scent. He wasn’t wearing a condom and she knew he intended to mark her in a way that only once before had she allowed herself to be branded. And then only because it kept her safe from others. Not now. This intimate marking was pleasure and need, woven with something else. Again, Shawn drove himself into her and she rocked back in time with him. No thought, guided by leopardess instinct and lust.

  Shawn’s body was over hers, wedged up behind her and he began moving faster, making his dick slide in and out of her ass. He moved in a hard, pumping motion, taking his crown beyond her opening, rimming her, pausing and then ramming himself forward, slamming his body back against her. God, she enjoyed having him fill her. There was no way to describe the sensation that he heightened by sucking her neck and sliding his fingers up and down her slit. Sensation poured over her body, saturated her, and she couldn’t hold a thought.

  The pleasure was intense, but he wanted more. He gripped her hips, his hands spread open her cheeks, and then he plunged so deep into her, she arched up, crying his name. Working his cock in and out of her ass, he forced her to take him, accept him, and allow him to mate with her in this way. Not the final step, but near enough.

  “Shawn?” she cried out this time not in pain, but in wanting an assurance. “Is this what you want?”

  “More than anything,” he replied, nipping her neck. He withdrew, pulling his dick all the way out of her.

  “How do you know you want this?” she repeated, clawing at the sheets.

  “I want you. To possess you. Protect you.” Immediately, Shawn withdrew from her and clasped her hips, flipping her onto the mattress without a word.

  She stared back at his face, meeting his gaze that took her breath away. If she believed she’d witnessed the primal side of him before, she’d been mistaken. His eyes were wild, feral, and a color so fiery bright, orange-red light poured out from his face. He wasn’t out-of-control as he’d been with those bears. No, what she saw didn’t frighten her but held her in awe. There was a quality of ruthlessness in his claim over her. As though he wouldn’t let anyone or anything ever come between them. He wasn’t a beast, but an intelligent being, inspiring a deep calmness in the parts of her once ravaged.

  No words, only feelings, swirled around and between them. He took her almost to the point of savagery, but that wasn’t what this act was about. Primitive, a bit brutal, but there was no anger or rage. Only possession. He sought to claim her and he did; beyond body, he came for her psyche, if not her soul. She didn’t know if she was ready for the ultimate form of mating. To be bonded to him. But it was enough that he came for her. All. Of. Her.

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  Shawn pushed her back into the mattress. “More than you imagine. You are mine. I promise to make you feel safe and secure. I expect that you’ll follow my command. If you don’t, I will teach you for your own good. You came to me to learn to be an alpha and you will become that and so much more.” He spoke, and the embers from his eyes warmed her and released her.

  She nodded, running her hands over his shoulders. Shawn leaned over her, swiping his palm against the side of her face.

  “And you? Baby, I’m about to come. Is this what you desire?” he asked, in a voice hoarse and low.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  He kissed her shoulder; his large hands gripped her body, turning her over. She rolled to face the mattress, his body moving over hers. He tugged her thighs open, and then his hands were back at her hips, pulling her upward. “No, only your ass,” he said, “keep your head down. Relax. I’m taking what’s mine.” Tucking his crown up against her opening, he thrust forward, mercilessly claiming her. Completely. He ground himself against her, growling and making her ass burn and pulsate. Shawn began to pump, seating himself deeper, forcing himself into her body. She held back, even though she wanted to open to him. A wall cracked, but didn’t come tumbling down as she’d expected. She closed her eyes, not fully understanding this need to keep herself protected. She fought against him, and fought harder against herself. “That’s it, baby. I’m going to come,” he rasped as he bowed back, driving himself into her deeper, further than before. “God, I’m going to come so deep inside you, I’ll mark you from the inside out. Are you close to coming?”

  “I’m already there. Yes, I’m here.” She closed her eyes.

  “Look at me. Diana, let me see your emerald eyes flash as you come. You’re mine. All mine.”

  She nodded, staring back at him over her shoulder, and giving in to what she could release. Flinging open as far she could, he moved faster, harder and wilder than before. His sweat-sheened body powered back and forth against her ass. The sounds of flesh slapping flesh, rapid and sharp, filled the room. She kept her gaze trained on him, pushing back on his cock impaling her body against him. His shoulders bunched, he grimaced as his cock filled her, and he pumped a hard thrust. One. He exploded, releasing a body-wracking spasm and spray of hot semen inside her.

  Shawn remained wedged between her legs, picking up the pace as his fingers found her clit. “That’s it, baby. Come for me. You’re all mine.”

  Diana’s orgasm unraveled, making her go hot and slick; her climax had her dripping, sated as she relished Shawn’s swollen cock that remained embedded deep within her. She tried to hold back from him, even though she felt more vulnerable than at any time in her life. He came for her at the Den and took without giving her the ability to stop him. Tonight was no different.

  His mouth sought hers, and she let him in, kissing him, stroking him, holding him. His kiss was gentle, giving in to her, and had her floating. He positioned her against him, with her back resting right next to his chest, securing her in the crock of his arm. After tossing his leg possessively over hers, he whispered against her hair.

  “Always. Mine.”

  Chapter 14

  He could just stay here and watch her for hours. Diana had given herself to him. After a year of avoiding all thoughts of intimacy with her, he had her right where he wanted her. The added worry about how to keep her still plagued him, and after last night his concern ran deeper. That answer would take planning, an iron will, and much patience in dealing with his hardheaded leopardess.

  Plans … he definitely had plans for Diana. With his cock straining for release, he turned her and gently opened her legs wide to him. She moaned once he began stroking her pussy.

  Getting his fill didn’t seem like something that would happen soon. After being with her for a week and fucking her from sun-up to sundown, his appetite had only increased. Today was the first day they’d return to Matrix and he intended to take the edge off in the only way he knew how — fucking.

  “Good morning,” he whispered into her sleepy face. He kissed her briefly and sat back to roll a condom down his dick. She gasped as he positioned himself at the mouth of her slick center. “Come on, baby, I’m not about to start the day without you.”

  Insofar as her training, Diana had mastered everything he’d sought to teach her over the last week. She could outdistance most leopards in her ability to run a course and navigate her way from one point to another. Her memory was rock-solid. Whether in human or shifter form, she retained the ability to recall events with precision.

  He, on the other hand, was losing the battle to stay afloat, feeling more and more as though he’d booked passage on the Titanic. Sinking fast in maintaining his own self-control where she mattered, he was prepared to be a son-of-a-bitch. No argument. A bit o
f guilt — not enough to put him off. No way to stop from wanting to possess her, even though she hadn’t committed fully to him.

  He had no intention of stopping, either. All he could envision was the day he’d bond with her and stop this hunger that threatened to tie his usually streamlined thoughts into knots. The only way clear that he could see was taking the final step with Diana.

  But would she ever trust him if all he could do was break the one promise she’d asked? All she wanted was her freedom. All he wanted was her freedom. Or rather, her lack of freedom to run about wildly, as if time was always going to be on her side. She had a wild streak she tried to bury, but it came out and then there was no stopping her. For her safety, she needed guidance and a modicum of restraint. They both were after the same thing and he’d play dirty if that’s what it meant to protect her.

  It had been easy instructing Diana. She readily grasped any and all points. Whether abstract theories or physical challenges, she was the near-perfect alpha. Strong, determined, and single-minded in overcoming challenges. It was just that small part of her that tended to refuse to listen to reason if someone was in danger. He gritted his teeth. And that loyalty was exactly what spurred him to want her even more. She was the perfect mate. In confirming this, with every glance she cast, each sigh, and whenever she touched him, he become edgier to get to the finish line and do whatever needed to be done to seize his right to claim her entirely.

  He could assert control to dominate her, simply because she’d allowed him intimate entrance into her body and she was marked as his on many levels. Apparently, she didn’t know — or remember — that one small loophole in shifter mating. He could demand that she submit to him. But would he do that to her? His patience was ebbing as his craving for her increased.

  Her history and his respect for her kept him from acting like a complete bastard in claiming her for her own protection. And her desire that he train her kept her near him instead of her returning home when the worst part of her heat was over. She’d remained in his household and he’d gotten to know her, as well as let her into his world. She said she’d give him her answer about a living arrangement, but she still remained noncommittal.