Crimson Debt

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Because you have the only blood that won’t make her sick,” I said, glaring up at the big were. “You’re blood bound—that means Taylor can only drink from you.”

  “What?” Now he looked really upset and pissed off. “She has to what? You’re kidding me!”

  “I assure you, my friend, this is not a joke,” Corbin growled warningly. “Taylor is your responsibility. Do you not remember the part of your vows where you promised to protect and nourish her?”

  “I thought that meant like…I don’t know, bringing home the bacon or some shit like that,” Victor protested. “I didn’t know I would actually be the bacon.”

  “Forget it,” Taylor said, lifting her chin. She turned to Corbin. “Master, there is no need for this now—Rod…the one who sought to hurt me is gone. I no longer need protection so this marriage is pointless.”

  “In other words,” I said. “Can she please get a divorce?”

  Corbin frowned at them. “I am afraid not. The union the two of you entered into is both legally and spiritually binding. You need each other. If you try to break the Laws of Qwnership there will be serious repercussions for both of you.”

  “He’s right,” Victor growled, surprising me. “We’re stuck in it.” He jerked his head at Taylor. “Come on. My truck’s out back.”

  “Wait a minute.” I stepped in front of her. “You do remember that you swore not to hurt or molest her—right?”

  Victor looked irritated. “What is it with you people? Look, if it’ll make you feel any better, I swear not to lay a finger on her—literally—the entire time she’s at my place.”

  “That does make me feel better, actually,” Taylor said quietly. I had expected her to be in hysterics by this time but she looked strangely calm. “All right,” she told Victor. “I’ll go with you.”

  “About fucking time,” he growled. “Hurry. The moon’s going to be up soon and I need to be on my land.”

  Taylor gave me one last quick hug.

  I kissed her cheek. “Just hang in there—it’ll be over soon,” I whispered. “Love you, roomie.”

  “I love you, too,” she said and then she followed Victor out of Corbin’s office and was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “Darling, you have to stop worrying about your friend,” Corbin said later when we were down in his daytime resting place. “She will be fine. Victor is rough around the edges but he is a decent male. He won’t hurt her or starve her to death.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, then winced when the mattress rubbed against one of my many sore spots. “Ouch!”

  “Are you all right?” Corbin was suddenly kneeling in front of me, a concerned look in his eyes.

  “Fine,” I said automatically, then changed my mind. “No, you know what? I’m not fine. I ache everywhere.”

  “That is my fault.” He looked so remorseful I wanted to let him off the hook immediately.

  “Hey, don’t start that again.” I reached out and cupped his scratchy cheek. “I do have a question about it though.”

  He nodded. “Ask. I will do my best to answer.”

  “All these, uh, marks you accidentally left on me,” I said carefully, not wanting to make him feel worse than he already did. “Why didn’t you just, you know, heal me?”

  Corbin frowned. “You mean molest you in your sleep?”

  “Oh please…” I snorted impatiently. “Seriously—molest me?”

  “You know that when I heal you it is a very sexual thing, darling,” Corbin murmured. “I washed you and dressed you as gently as I could but I didn’t want to take any more liberties while you were unconscious. Especially after what had just happened. I suppose…” He sighed and looked away. “I suppose I felt I had lost the right to touch you in that way.”

  “Oh Corbin…” I stroked his cheek. “Are you really going to keep torturing yourself like this? Can’t we please just move on and forget it?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t forget. Not while you still wear the marks of brutality I put on your skin.”

  “There’s an easy answer to that,” I said. “Heal me, Corbin.”

  He frowned. “You’re certain after what happened between us, you still want me to touch you… to taste you?”

  My cheeks were getting hot but I nodded anyway. “Yes. Now more than ever.” I slipped one arm free of the dark green kimono and held it out to him. “Help me out,” I said, nodding at the dark, finger-shaped bruises on my pale skin. “Please, Corbin, it really hurts.”

  He sighed. “As you wish, darling. But this will be for healing only. I do not think we should do more tonight.”

  “What?” I frowned. “Why not?”

  “You know why not, Addison. Though you claim to be just ‘fine’ after our encounter, there is no way you could go through what you did last night with me—no way you could pay the Debt—without incurring some emotional trauma.”

  I could see the sense in what he was saying and it was true—after my frightening experience with his darker side, I should probably want to run away screaming or at least put some distance between us. Instead, all I wanted was his hands and mouth on my skin, his body covering mine. Why was that? Could it be that paying the Crimson Debt had healed me too? But how could I convince Corbin of that?

  The answer was, I couldn’t. We would have to take things slowly.

  “Just heal me then,” I said, holding out my arm again. “Please?”

  “All right. As long as it is only healing.” His face was serious as he took my wrist gently in one hand and began to lick a long, slow trail up my arm.

  I felt my breath catch in my throat as the tingling warmth spread through me, making my nipples hard and my pussy wet. Feeling embarrassed at my instant reaction, I tried to concentrate on the healing Corbin was performing on me. It was amazing to watch how the bruises disappeared, melting away like magic as he licked and kissed my tender skin. Before I knew it, my left arm was completely healed.

  “Much better,” I said, holding it out and examining it in the firelight.

  “There is more to heal.” Corbin’s eyes were hooded as he tugged gently at the other sleeve of the kimono. “May I?”

  “Yes.” My breath was coming fast as I slipped my other arm out of its sleeve and let the top part of the robe pool around my waist. “Yes, please.”

  Corbin growled in approval at my voluntary nudity and went about healing my other arm as well. By the time he was finished with that one, my body was throbbing and I would have been happy to skip the rest of the healing and get down to business. But Corbin was having none of that.

  “I want to heal all of you,” he said, stroking my cheek. “I want to erase every mark I put on your creamy skin, darling. I won’t feel right until I do.”

  I could see the hurt in his eyes and I knew this was something he had to do.

  “All right,” I whispered, offering him my throat, which was still raw and tender from the savage way he had sucked it the night before.

  “I think we need to reposition,” he murmured, coming to sit on the bed with me. “Come, Addison—sit on my lap. And you can leave the robe on the floor.”

  Being completely naked with him still made me blush but there was nothing but love in his eyes as I shed my robe completely and crawled into his lap. Corbin cradled me in his arms and I turned my head to the side and offered him my throat, just as I had the night before. The position brought back no traumatic memories—in fact, it made me even hotter, remembering how I had submitted to him, had given everything he demanded and more.

  He took a long time healing my neck, caressing my sensitive flesh with his tongue and covering my throat with slow, hot kisses until I thought I was going to scream.

  “Corbin,” I gasped at last, squirming against him. “Corbin, please, you’re driving me crazy.”

  “Forgive me, darling. That was not my intent.” He looked at me seriously. “I simply want to be certain you’re truly heal
ed.”

  “Well, I am—there anyway,” I said, sitting up in his lap. “But I have…other areas that hurt.” I arched my back, indicating my breasts—my nipples were so tight they ached. “Please, Corbin,” I whispered.

  I could see the lust in his eyes but there was self-control there as well. “Very well,” he said at last. “But you must tell me where it hurts. You are not as marked here as other places.”

  “Here.” I pointed to the slope of my right breast. My breath caught in my throat as Corbin ducked his head and placed a hot, wet kiss where I had indicated.

  “And here,” I continued, pointing to a place much closer to the center of my breast, right by the pale pink band of my areola. He complied again, lapping gently at the hurt spot though he somehow managed to avoid my nipple, which was aching for him. Well, I would fix that.

  “And here.” I touched my tight little nub lightly and bit my lip. Even my own touch sent fire through me. I could only imagine what Corbin’s mouth would do.

  He frowned at me. “Are you certain? Remember, darling, I am doing this for healing purposes only.”

  “I know but it aches,” I said, which really was true. “They both do, Corbin.”

  “Very well,” he murmured. “Then I think it would be best if you straddled my legs so I can reach you.”

  I did as he asked. Getting up on my knees, I put one leg on either side of his narrow hips and thrust my chest out so he could get to my breasts. I knew the pose made me look wanton and open and that was exactly what I wanted because it was exactly how I felt.

  Corbin groaned softly at the sight of me offering myself so willingly.

  “Come here,” he growled softly and pulled me to him, sucking one of my nipples as deeply into his mouth as he could.

  I gasped and buried my hands in his hair, arching my back to offer him even greater access as sparks of pleasure shot through my body. The position I was in, with my legs spread wide to straddle his hips, made my pussy feel open and hot. I couldn’t help remembering how good it felt when he touched me there…when he tasted me.

  By the time Corbin switched to the other nipple, I knew I had to have more than just healing tonight. My body needed to come—needed it badly. But how could I convince Corbin that I wanted him—needed him—even after what we had been through the night before?

  Keep taking it slow, whispered a little voice in my head. I knew I should but it was hard advice to follow—especially when my whole body was throbbing with need.

  “Thank you, Corbin,” I said at last, breathlessly. “I think…think I feel better now. There anyway.” I indicated my nipples, which were dark pink and extremely sensitive from his sucking.

  “I am glad, darling.” His voice was thick with desire but I could still see the self-control in his eyes.

  “So maybe…maybe you should turn your attention to other areas.” I nodded at the area between my legs and he frowned.

  “Yes, you are right. Your thighs suffered much abuse.”

  He was beginning to look remorseful all over again and I couldn’t have that.

  “Here,” I said, slipping out of his lap and lying down on the bed in front of him. Feeling nervous and vulnerable, I slowly spread my thighs, opening myself for him completely. “You…you can heal me if you want,” I whispered.

  “You know I do,” he murmured. “Come to the edge of the bed, Addison. It will be easier for me to reach you that way.”

  Lying on the edge of the bed with my calves hanging over the side, I couldn’t help remembering the first time he had “healed” me, after the spanking. Then I had been reluctant to let him in—now I was eager, letting my legs fall open to him at once when he parted my knees. My whole body felt hot and tight and needy and I waited impatiently to feel his hot breath on my core.

  But Corbin had been serious about healing my thighs, which, to be honest, did have more than their fair share of finger-shaped bruises. He licked long, slow trails across my skin, making me shiver with tension and need. The tingling, healing magic was driving me crazy. God, I needed him so badly…

  I was afraid I would have to beg but finally Corbin finished with my thighs and positioned himself over my pussy. I closed my eyes and waited for him to begin…and waited and waited. Finally, I opened them and looked at him, frowning.

  “Corbin?”

  “I used you so roughly, darling.” His deep voice was hoarse with emotion and I could see he was still examining me. “I cannot forget how hurt you were. You are still very swollen here.” His fingertips trailed lightly over my bare mound, making me shiver.

  “Then…heal me,” I whispered, breathlessly. “Like you did everyplace else.”

  “But this is different,” he protested. “I hurt you inside as well. I will need to penetrate you, Addison. To get my tongue as deeply into you as possible to heal all the damage I have done.” He looked up at me. “Can you open for me and let me do that? Can you spread your thighs and give me complete access to your soft little cunt?”

  My heart was beating so hard I thought it must be shaking my whole body but at the same time I felt a kind of languor creeping over me, a delicious sexual flush that seemed to take over my whole body. It made me want to give Corbin anything he wanted, made me want to open myself to him in every possible way.

  “Yes,” I whispered, reaching out to glide my fingers through his hair. “Oh, yes, Corbin. Yes.”

  He gave me a little half smile. “You seem very willing to be healed, my darling.”

  “Extremely willing,” I assured him. “For anything you might have in mind.”

  “Only healing,” he reminded me sternly. “That’s all for tonight.”

  “Then heal me, Corbin,” I begged, knowing there was no point fighting with him. “Please, I need you to heal me now.”

  “Of course.” He dropped a soft kiss at the top of my slit. “The outside first, I think.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from moaning in frustration as he lowered his head and began to take long, slow licks of the outside of my pussy. I was so swollen with need I could feel my outer lips parting for him on their own but he steadfastly avoided my inner folds until I thought I would scream.

  “Corbin!” I gasped at last. “Please, I need you inside now.”

  “Like this, you mean?” he murmured. Spreading my outer lips with his thumbs, he took a long, slow, loving lick, lapping my pussy with the flat of his tongue and making me moan and writhe with delight.

  “Yes, like that!” I said breathlessly. “Only more, Corbin—more.”

  “I am just trying to heal you, Addison. Not pleasure you,” he said with mock severity. “If you would lie still and not squirm so much, the process would be much simpler.”

  “I can’t help it,” I whispered as he bent to lick me again. “The way you heal me feels so good…so right.”

  “Of course it’s right,” he murmured, licking me again, this time paying special attention to my throbbing clit. “We belong together, you and I. I knew it from the first moment I saw you.”

  “It took me…a little while longer to…to figure that out,” I admitted with a little gasp as he sucked my clit between his lips and began to torture it with his tongue. “Ah! Corbin!”

  He looked up at me, his mouth shiny with my juices. “You are delicious, Addison,” he said thickly. “Always so soft and creamy under my tongue. I need to get deeper into you, though. I think it is time I healed you inside.”

  “Yes,” I whispered. “All right.”

  “Good. I’m going to lift you a little, to get better access,” he murmured. Placing his large, warm hands under my ass, he lifted me and tilted my pelvis as though it was a bowl of water and he was a thirsty man looking for a drink. “Going to put my tongue as deeply inside you as I can, Addison,” he said, looking into my eyes. “Just relax and let me in.”

  I had no wish to do anything else. With a little moan, I let my thighs fall open even wider and gave myself to him completely.

  C
orbin fastened his mouth to my core and pressed deep inside me, fucking my pussy gently with his tongue, tasting me, loving me…healing me. And though I hadn’t really noticed it before, I could tell now that I had been tender from his rough use the night before. Now, everywhere his tongue touched me I felt a sweet, soothing pleasure pouring over me.

  But though it was sweet and tender, the pleasure still built inside me, begging for release. I could feel myself getting close…so close…but I needed just a little more to go over the edge.

  “Corbin,” I gasped at last, threading my fingers through his hair. “Please…please, I need to come.”

  He looked up at me, his eyes filled with need. “I swore I would only heal you tonight.”

  “And you did,” I protested. “But you said yourself it was sexual between us when you healed me. Please, Corbin—you can’t leave me hanging like this! I’m going crazy.”

  Soft laughter rumbled up from his chest. “I can never refuse you anything, darling. And I do love to make you come. How do you prefer me to take you—with my mouth or my fingers?”

  “Neither,” I said, looking into his eyes. “I want you to take me with your cock.”

  Corbin frowned and sat back abruptly. “No. I won’t do that. Not so soon after—”

  “Stop punishing yourself,” I interrupted him impatiently. “And stop punishing me. I want you inside me, Corbin—I need you there. Need to feel owned by you, completely just like…” I stopped abruptly, biting my lip.

  “Like what?” Corbin demanded, joining me on the bed. “Tell me, Addison.”

  “Like I did the other night,” I whispered, hoping I didn’t make him feel bad again. “You don’t understand, Corbin. It was scary to see you like that but when I finally…when I finally submitted I felt so…so…like I was completely yours. Like you were marking me, claiming me so no other man would ever come near me.”

  He growled softly. “That is probably exactly what I was doing. I just wish I hadn’t done it so roughly, darling.”

  “Make up for it tonight,” I begged softly. “Make love to me.”