The same hand that caused her skin to tingle from its caresses, made it burn with a fiery sting as his open palm came down swiftly on the crest of one cheek. The sound had barely abated before another swat landed on the other side with equal intensity. He rubbed again for a moment, before repeating the spanks on the fullness of the lower curves.
Each smack increased the contact with the tormentor buzzing inexorably between her legs.
“This is a warm-up, little one. My hand will heat your skin and stir your blood to make you ready for the strap.”
Shifting behind her, his thigh connected with her outer one as his hand, riding low on her back pressed more firmly as she writhed within her bindings. But she had nowhere to go as he delivered a dozen firm swats, in an upward motion along the entire fullness of her ass.
Her skin was hot and tingling far less than her pussy when he was through. She suspected that wasn’t going to be the case for long as he murmured “up speed” once more.
Panting for air, she barely heard the length of leather whoosh through the air as he let the strap fly. In that next instant, she couldn’t deny that the true punishment had finally begun.
A sharp crack preceded a swath of stinging fire across her backside. She jerked forward, sending the buzzing vibe firmly against her clit and up inside her wet passage. While trying to ease away because it was too much, another lash landed. This spurred her forward again as she emitted a groan of both pleasure and pain, and she couldn’t tell which one she needed to stop more.
And so, it continued, in a give and take motion. Sizzling pleasure-infused pain as the strap fell in another unrelenting stroke, and scorching pain-filled pleasure as the unrelenting sensation on her pussy made her ready to explode.
She almost did on the fourth stroke, calling out his name as she canted her hips, seeking more and less at the same time. As the fifth landed across both cheeks simultaneously, her reality shattered and she came apart.
“Helper…angle forward,” he growled as he dropped the strap and moved in behind her. Frenzied fingers removed the vibrating rod an instant before he drove up inside her. His possession of her still-clenching, convulsing sheath sent her from one orgasm directly into another.
She felt everything, his lips on her spine, his hands curling around her hips, her breasts bouncing with every thrust of his cock. He built it once more as he drove into her. The third blissful release was upon her when his fingers flexed upon her skin and he pumped deep—once, twice, and a final time—before he tensed behind her and shouted his own completion.
Mindless and exquisitely numb, she hung there, what else could she do? —feeling his weight along her back.
His mouth moved before the rest of him did. “Neutral position.”
With a few whirrs and pops, she was standing upright and a little light-headed as he undid her wrists and thighs, and released the strap at her waist. Her legs were like jelly and if not for the support of his strong arms, would have slithered to the floor. He lifted her with an arm beneath her knees and curled along her upper back, cradling her as he carried her to the big bed. Once he’d settled her under the soft bedding, he followed her in.
17
Watching as she slept, Roth basked in the incredible warmth emanating from her body as she snuggled more closely into him beneath the covers. Maybe too warm, he thought suddenly. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he moved his hand over her naked backside. Nicely heated from the spanking he’d given her, but not overly so. He traced upward along her hip, where it got warmer, the heat building as he caressed still higher into the dip at her waist and up her ribs, exploring the full area of the marking they shared.
“It burns like this each time we are together. Is that normal?”
His eyes lifted, keying in on the blue of hers, now interspersed with light purple flecks, giving them a blue-violet hue. They were beautiful, and he couldn’t keep from staring.
“Roth, what is it?”
“We’ll see what Jarlan knows, though I think the answer is simple, and that the full transformation might take more time with your people.” At that, he smiled. That she bore his exact marking, declaring irrefutably that she was his fated mate, filled him with a wellspring of emotions: pride, possessiveness, yearning, and love. Yes, this soon, he knew it was love, and had since the moment he gazed down at her lying motionless and vulnerable on the floor of her ship weeks ago. But where she bore the mate mark, in the exact spot he did on his body, was something private that only they shared. Becoming like him in a way that everyone could see and when they did, know that she belonged to him, was one with him, made him smile. He liked having her so publicly branded. Faex! He liked that a lot.
“You look very smug.”
“Do I?” he replied, dropping a long, soul-stirring kiss on her lips. Regrettably, it had to end there. He had a meeting with Kerr that he did not want to miss, and lingering with her would make him do exactly that. He threw the blanket aside and swung his feet to the floor as he added, “And you, my violet-eyed beauty, are very tempting in my bed, but I’ve got to leave shortly.”
While she frowned up at him, he waited for what he said to sink in. “Violet eyed,” she cried, then leapt up and rushed to the mirror on the far wall.
His body stirred as he watched her, all soft curves and tumbled hair, leaning in and examining her transformed eye color.
“It’s true,” he heard her whisper, a moment before she began finger combing her hair, searching the underside of the thick mass. From his vantage point it was still blonde. The lovely light color was non-existent among his people and it pleased him, as did her creamy skin and shapely form. And for right now, the blush that painted her recently chastised behind. He moved closer, eyeing that particular asset closely. The lower curves where he’d employed the strap were of a deeper rosy hue, but he saw no signs of any worse after effects. Still, some lotion might be in order for her delicate skin.
From atop the tall wardrobe along the far wall, he removed a tube of cream specially blended to minimize bruising and reduce swelling. It also had a cooling effect on naughty red bottoms, although it didn’t do much to minimize the residual sting. There was another blend that could be obtained for that purpose, but most of the males opted for a residual reminder, unless the punishment was extensive. He couldn’t image ever getting to that point with Maggie.
He removed the end cap and squeezed some on his palm while coming up behind her.
“Stand still, mate,” he ordered quietly.
Her eyes shifted from the mirror, where she’d been gawking in disbelief, to his hand.
“What’s that?”
“A healing lotion.” Without waiting for permission, he didn’t need, he began gently massaging it into her warm skin.
“That feels good,” she whispered as he took his time, enjoying this more than he should with a meeting rapidly approaching. “Will it work on the marking, do you think? It’s hotter than my bottom ever thought to be.”
“Really? I gave you five solid licks with that strap.”
“And I felt each one, trust me. But the mark, when it burns, feels like it will blister my skin at times and when it dies down, it itches.”
His gaze shifted to the swirling mix of colors, then lifted a hand intending to touch it gently with his fingertips. When she tensed, and pulled slightly away, his face tightened in concern.
“Does it pain you now?”
“No, but it’s sensitive.”
“I’ll be gentle, mate, and we definitely need to discuss this with Jarlan.” He squeezed
more cream into his palm. “Turn to me, Maggie, and raise your arm.”
Doing as she was told on the first request, which was a rarity, she curled her right arm behind her head and cocked out her hip, giving him full access. It also gave him a delightful view of her breast, which lifted temptingly with her arm, the pouting nipple distending and seeming to beg for his mouth. He obliged, latching onto the tip and tugging with his teeth withou
t stopping the massage.
“Roth,” she hissed, her head falling back.
“I can’t get enough of you, little captain.”
Extending her arm, she curled her hand over his shoulder and hung on, offering him more. “I know how you feel.”
Groaning, he let her go and aimed a light swat at her bare behind.
“Hey,” she protested, as she straightened. “What was that for?”
“Because you are too tempting by half. And I’m going to be late for Kerr.”
“Can I go with you?” She posed this while promptly forgetting the spank, which wasn’t much of one at all.
“Next time, if all goes well.”
“Next time? You’re going to discuss what we talked about, aren’t you? Oh, Roth, do you think he’ll agree?”
“He’s had an Earth mate far longer than me, so my bet is yes, if he hasn’t thought of it himself already.”
She took the tube from his hand and pushed him toward the shower. “Then hurry and shower, Commander, by all means. You mustn’t be late.”
“I bathed before you woke,” he stated, while resisting her attempt to guide him.
“You did?” she asked, sounding surprised.
Mildly affronted, he fisted his hands on his hips. “I did.”
“Um, well, honey, no offense. But you might need another. You, kind of smell of me.”
“What?” He raised his arm and sniffed his skin, breathing out a sigh of relief when instead of flowers and woman, he smelled as he always did. Then, he laughed long and loud over her mistake. His mate was exceptional in many ways, but she didn’t listen very well to her lessons or to him.
“What’s funny?”
“Maggie, my often-distracted mate, it’s the other way around. You smell of me. It’s common with a transformation, if you’ll remember.”
“I do?” She sniffed her arm, then pulled forward a thick bunch of her hair and breathed that in too. “I do!” she repeated. “Good grief. I smell like a man, darn you.”
“Not a man, you smell of your man and that, as you say, makes it hot!” He pulled her hips into his own, crushing her bare breasts to his chest as he dipped his head, seeking a taste, and forgetting about everything except his hunger for her.
“Roth, your meeting with Kerr,” she reminded him as his open mouth glided up her throat.
“Faex,” he groaned, setting her aside. He grabbed his robe from the open closet and tossed it to her. “Cover up, temptress, before I’m unable to leave.”
“Yes, sir, Commander,” she said, suspiciously obedient as she pulled it on. But she didn’t belt it, letting it hang open several inches in front so that the inner curves of her breasts, her sleek belly, and the blonde curls at the V of her legs were framed beautifully by the dark fabric. “What are you waiting for?” she asked innocently. Except the slight twitch of her lips gave her away: she knew full well her power.
“I’ll be as quick as I can. When I return, prepare to have your saucy bottom up and over my lap.”
“Roth! I was teasing.”
“Which is a punishable offense when I don’t have time to do something about it.” He tied the belt himself, after placing a kiss on the curve of each breast. “Now stop with the distractions or I’ll never get back to fuck you like I want.”
He whirled and strode toward the bathroom, ignoring the soft giggle behind him.
18
The next day at the same time, she found herself in a very different situation. Fully dressed, with Roth sitting by her side, his face a mask of professionalism, as she listened to what the Princep had to say.
“It seems we have a wide and varied opinion about how we should move forward, now that we know our two worlds exist. As you know, a faction of my people quite vehemently object to inviting a different species into our society, let alone as mates. That is a minority, and although a few have played havoc of late, we are working with them to come around to a new way of thinking.”
Maggie shot a surreptitious glance Roth’s way. He was listening intently and didn’t give anything away about their methods of persuasion, but he didn’t seem surprised by it either. The council and public square were evidently going to be busy.
“Many of my people would like to proceed with this plan; it is in our own best interest, after all. Extinction isn’t something that any of us want to contemplate.”
“And the others?”
“Think if it is meant to be, we will survive. I am not that passive in my approach.”
“Nor am I,” Roth agreed. “We are endowed with free will and intelligence by the Maker for a reason.”
“Yes, and because we have intelligent people putting much thought into this issue, several have come to me proposing we find a way to help one another.”
This time she turned fully to Roth in appreciation.
“The commander shared with me both your ideas and his own, as has Eva, quite volubly. But it isn’t something that hadn’t already occurred to me, Maggie. I recall how my mate struggled with abandoning your mission, and your people. It weighed on me. As did taking another race captive. That never sat right, yet desperate times called for extreme measures.”
“That is exactly what my people were feeling three years ago, sir. Based on my latest communication, the situation now is much worse.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that. We understand tragedy and hardship well, which brings me to my point. I believe we can work together toward our own goals, sharing our strengths and resources.”
“I’m afraid the planet is about tapped out as far as resources go, except for the people.”
“Fortunately, that is what we need, Maggie. However, before we send ambassadors across the galaxy, I would need to reach out to your leaders and determine their receptiveness. Are you able to communicate?”
“Yes, although it can take some time for a transmission to travel through our network of satellites. It is rather old technology, but still effective. The last message was received a few days before we were taken. Anything could have happened in that time, including our exploration teams having already found a new home. If that’s the case, they may not be interested.”
“If that is true, we still have much to offer your world: technology, medicine, and unlimited fuel stores in our uladite.”
“Truly? I didn’t know it was unlimited. I thought you mined it.”
“We do,” Kerr replied, “but the radiation converts the surrounding rock, which is ordinary, into the active form of uladite over time.”
“How much time?”
“A matter of months.”
“What’s to stop those you sell it to from burying it and converting their own soil and rock into the same stuff?”
“It doesn’t work,” Roth answered. “Many have tried and failed, only to return to us seeking more.”
“That is why you have a vast army of warriors and a patrolling space fleet when you have little internal strife.”
“You are quite astute,” Kerr rejoined. “All of it is necessary to protect what we have and our people.”
“We faced many challenges, particularly early on,” Roth explained. “A show of force was required as a deterrent to those more interested in taking rather than engaging in amicable trade with us.”
“So you do have covetous neighbors, only they are on the next planet or solar system?” she inquired as she glanced over at her mate. “It is simply amazing though, this uladite, that the properties which make it renewable are exclusive to the geological makeup of Primaria. Lana must be in seventh heaven trying to figure out what that is.”
“Why Lana?” Kerr asked.
“She is our senior geologist.”
Kerr glanced at Roth. “Funny, she never mentioned this.”
“Nor did Trask,” Roth countered.
Maggie found it peculiar as well. Finding a planet that thrived on a renewable radioactive resource underground would have been any geologist’s dream assignment. Then she imprudently blu
rted out a very likely reason for Lana’s well-kept secret.
“Or perhaps no one bothered to ask, seeing her value as for only one purpose.”
“Maggie.” The commander’s warning was implicit in the tone of his voice
“That is quite all right, Roth. I’m getting used to having what Eva calls my Neanderthal ways pointed out to me. Though not always as subtly as your mate did just now. Although I do prefer to keep my set-downs by my mate in private.”
This was a gentle word of caution that although Kerr seemed to be evolving into less of a caveman, he had limits to what he would take. As Roth squeezed her thigh beneath the table, earning a nod of both agreement and understanding from Maggie, he tried to lighten the mood a bit.
“I prefer to think Trask has been keeping his mate busy and it simply hasn’t come up yet.”
Kerr grinned. “No doubt that is partially true.”
Focused on moving the discussion forward, Maggie redirected the dialog to the topic at hand. “This sounds like a win-win for both our planets, but there’s one sticking point for me. As I’ve mentioned, our women are free, and have equal rights under our laws, so I must insist that it is a voluntary choice. I will not espouse a program of enforced sexual slavery and domestic enslavement.”
That easily, she’d put her foot in it again, but this was too important.
“Maggie,” Roth repeated, this time more sharply.
“What? We are in private.” She looked at the Princep and read tacit respect in his golden eyes. She was beginning to believe what Roth had been telling her, that Kerr was a decent man, and with this proposal, a good leader. She regretted her animosity. “I’m sorry, sir. But Roth knows how I feel on this subject. We’ve argued over your culture more than once, and while we have agreed to disagree, or as fated mates, die while fighting against it, not all of my people will subscribe to that.”
“I have recently discovered that an unwilling, miserable mate is not something I’d accept at all.”
“You almost died yourself, Kerr.”
His By Command (Primarian Mates Book 2) Page 19