by Delta James
“I do, but I needed to stop you and knew I couldn’t trust you.”
“And I needed to meet with Ghazil, and I didn’t think I could trust you not to stop me.”
“Not the same thing, and you know it,” he said through gritted teeth. “You would have caused a scene.”
“And you would have stopped me from doing my job. I will not give up my career for you.”
“I didn’t ask you to. We just need to find a way that you can do your job and I don’t get nightmares.”
“But it’s okay for me if I have them about you when you’re off doing your job?”
“So, you’d have nightmares?” He suddenly seemed very pleased with himself.
“Forget it,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s pointless. When this is over, you’ll just tip your hat and ride off into the sunset.”
“Maybe.” He nodded.
Her heart started to shatter.
“Of course,” he drawled, “I’ll have you hog-tied and thrown over the front of my saddle.”
“I detest you.”
He leaned across and kissed her again. “No, you don’t. But, I suspect, after we get to Monaco, you’ll wish you did.”
“Why? What’s happening in Monaco? I thought there was a safe house there. Do you think Thom is setting you up?”
“No, sweetheart. I’d trust Thom with my life. Hell, I’d trust him with yours. But did you forget the part where I told you I was going to welt your ass for this stunt?”
“And you expect me to walk calmly off this ferry with you and just go along?”
“I do. If you don’t give me your word you are going to do exactly that, I’ll put some sting in your tail right here and right now to remind you that you are going to do what I tell you.”
Zara glanced around. There was no one in sight, and she was quite certain he would do precisely what he was saying. Besides, he was right, someone involved in all of this had tried and come close to killing her twice. Twice, Noah’s fast thinking and reflexes had kept her out of harm’s way.
“I promise, I’ll go with you to Monaco and won’t cause you any more trouble between now and then,” she said, her voice quivering.
“And after we reach Monaco?”
“All bets are off,” she said, trying to steady her voice.
Noah reached across and took her chin in his hand. “It’s all right, sweetheart, I’ll keep you safe. If you believe nothing else, believe that.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
When the ferry docked, they left the keys in the SUV and walked off with the other foot passengers. Noah had his arm around her waist. To the casual observer, they would look like a couple of lovers just returning from a day trip to the Greek islands. But his grip was more than casual, and she could feel the tension in him. Oddly, she found that reassuring. Noah was good at his job, and little would escape his notice.
As promised, there was a ride for them to the airport. They boarded the chartered plane and were in the air within minutes. Once in Monaco, they went through customs and picked up the new SUV Thom had waiting for them. The GPS coordinates had already been programmed in, and Noah drove the streets of the ancient city until they led up and out to the winding roads above it.
The navigation unit took them off the beaten path, and finally, they arrived at an unassuming little cottage. It was whitewashed and had a tile roof. They stowed the SUV in an outbuilding and headed inside.
“Do you mind if I freshen up a bit?” she asked.
“Sure, I just want to check in and let them know we’re here. We’ll see what we can’t rustle up for dinner.”
“I can do that while you get things checked out. I don’t have to be a millstone around your neck.”
“You can be anything you want around any part of my body,” he teased gently. “Just go freshen up, and we’ll figure out what we want to eat for dinner.”
She entered the bigger of the two rooms and realized whoever set it up had assumed they’d be sleeping together. She wanted to be more annoyed by that than she was. She was happy to see the room had a large private bath. No tub, but the shower was huge. She smiled. Big enough for her and Noah to share. She looked in the dresser and found that a collection of jeans, leggings, and various tops to go with them in her size.
“Noah, they sent clothes. Real, honest-to-God clothes,” she called to him.
She turned and was startled to find him right behind her. He moved swiftly and silently when he wanted to.
“I don’t know why. My plans for you don’t involve a lot of clothes.” He pulled her close.
She stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing herself against him, nibbling and licking at the hollow of his throat. His low, rumbling growl was all the encouragement she needed. She tugged off the sweater she had on and, with it, her sports bra. His hands slid down her back and under the waistband of the sweats to cup her ass and brought her into direct contact with his groin. She smiled as the familiar bulge enclosed by his jeans nudged her mons.
He kneaded the firm flesh of her derriere as he maneuvered himself out of his shirt. Even though he had to let go with one hand in order for her to pull his arm out of the sleeve, he kept the other on her rump, ensuring she remained molded to his tall, muscular frame.
She reached between them to unbuckle his belt and unfasten his jeans, starting to reach inside to get her prize when he stayed her hands. He pushed her sweats down, gliding them over her behind and down her thighs as he kneeled. She stepped out of them. Still down in front of her, he drew her closer, slipped his hand between her legs, and briefly tugged her clit before pinching it…hard.
“What the fuck?” Zara gasped.
Noah stood back up, fisting her hair at the nape of her neck and briefly fondling her breasts until her nipples were pebbled and stiff waiting for further and more focused attention.
“As I recall, I told you earlier today, I was going to welt your ass and then fuck you so hard you’d have trouble sitting or walking, and I mean to do it. Let’s go.”
He dragged her toward the bed while she struggled and tried to get away from him. She thought about trying to bite him but reminded herself that hadn’t been effective and would only most likely make him angrier.
“Noah, please.”
“Don’t you Noah, please me. You earned yourself this set of stripes, and by God, woman, I mean to give them to you.”
He sat on the bed and threw her across his one thigh, using his other leg to trap hers. Before she could make any kind of argument or formulate some kind of plan to avoid this, his hand came down and landed on her butt cheek with a resounding thwack.
“Owww…” she wailed.
Zara realized Noah meant to see her royally punished for what she’d done. She found it hard to continue thinking as his evil hand beat a steady rhythm on her upturned backside. She squirmed and yelped, trying to get away from him. When she reached back, he simply captured both of her hands in his and used them to pin her down.
“You’ve got this coming, Zara. You shot me, you left me in Wales, running off without any kind of backup…”
“I’ve never had backup.”
“You’ve got it now, and you’re damn well going to learn to use it.”
His hand bounced off her butt cheeks in an ever-increasing tempo of pain. The sharp staccato swats being dispersed fairly evenly all over her bottom were reigniting the banked heat from his previous spankings. Zara’s entire behind was on fire and beginning to swell. She knew from past experience it would be red and heated to the touch before he was done.
When he was finished with the fleshy part of her butt, he moved down to swat her upper thighs and deliver punishing blows to her sit spots. He splayed his hand so that a finger or two began to punish her between her legs as well. She yowled and fought, but he was too strong for it to do her any good.
“I’m sorry, Noah. Please stop. I’m sorry.”
“Are you?” he growled.
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“I am. Please don’t spank me anymore. I won’t run off again. I learned my lesson.”
Noah snorted. “I doubt that.”
Then Zara heard the sound she had never wanted to hear again, the distinctive swish of leather being pulled from beltloops.
“No,” she cried, increasing the intensity of her struggles.
“Yes,” he whispered.
She heard his belt slicing through the air before it landed the first stripe of fire across the fullest portion of her bottom.
“No,” she screamed. “Noah, please, no!”
The belt descended again and again, causing her to thrash around on his lap, trying to get away from the torturous weapon. Everything condensed to sound for Zara—Noah’s breathing, the leather whooshing through the air before it hit its target with a loud whack, and her wail in response. She had hoped never to hear the sound of a belt coming into harsh contact with her ass again.
Zara began to cry in great gulping sobs. Seven times his belt meted out the punishment he was determined she would receive. The first indication it might be over was when he laid the belt down where she could see it. Then he traced each of the welts he had placed. The touch was almost reverent in its feel but still made her inhale sharply.
Noah’s finger delved between her upturned cheeks and pressed against her dark rosebud, which gave way to his intrusion.
“Good girl,” he said when she did nothing but breathe heavily. “It’ll be easier on you if you just relax and accept my fingering you back there.”
“I don’t like it,” she said quietly, trying not to squirm.
“I don’t much care. You’re going to learn to do what I tell you. Right now, I’m telling you I mean to finger your asshole. Your job is just to lie here and accept that fact. If you can do that, you might find it’s not nearly as bad as you think.”
He released her hands and rubbed her back as he continued to finger her. She breathed a silent sigh of relief when he removed his finger. He was right; it hadn’t been that bad. She couldn’t help but gasp when the single digit was replaced with two. He stroked them in and out of her at a leisurely pace, and she could feel her arousal growing in response to his touch. It was bad enough to accept he was going to use her in this manner. It was something altogether different to find pleasure in it. Zara could feel the evidence of her own desire becoming more urgent as his cock began to throb beneath her. She moaned, and he retreated from her dark hole.
“Good girl. You see that corner by the fireplace?”
“Yes,” she said, knowing what was coming.
“You go stand in the corner with your nose in it. You push your ass out and spread your legs.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Not an option. The only thing that happens if you don’t decide to obey me is I’ll just use your juices to lube my cock up and fuck your ass before you go stand in the corner. Either you’ll show me your pussy and pretty welted bottom, or you’ll show me your pussy, your pretty welted bottom, and the evidence of my cum leaking out of your bottom hole. Your choice.”
“I’ll go stand in the corner like you want.”
“Good girl.”
Chapter 12
He helped her stand, and she went to the corner. This was something else Zara hated. Why did dominant men find it necessary to make a woman stand in the corner like a small child? She hated it. She wasn’t sure what they thought women did there, but it sure as hell wasn’t contemplating the error of their ways or what they’d done to get sent there. Zara had always used it to try and figure out how not to get caught the next time.
She heard him go into the bath, heard him run the water in the sink and then laugh.
“Someone was thinking of you, sweetheart. There’s a tube of nice aloe gel in here. That’ll help with some of the sting, especially the welts.”
“It’s not funny, and it hurts, you bastard.”
“I imagine it does. Your fanny is a fierce shade of red, and those weals are coming up nicely. The real question is…did I get through to you?”
“Yes.”
Zara heard him rejoining her in the bedroom.
“Doesn’t sound like it. Ah, they must have put Croft in charge of the provisions. There’s a bottle of good bourbon.”
She heard the whiskey hit the bottom of the glass and splash around. She started to turn her head but was cut short by his growl.
“I said stick your nose in that corner, and I meant it.”
She turned her head back to the corner, mumbling under her breath.
“Knock it off, Zara. I’m starting to get the feeling I didn’t get through to you.”
“No, Noah, please. You did. I said I was sorry.”
She flinched when he ran his finger down her spine. It wasn’t that he frightened her. In fact, just the opposite. Everything about Noah spoke of strength and keeping her safe.
“Easy, sweetheart. Think you can be a good girl?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then turn around, drop to your knees, and open your mouth.”
Something about the way he said it—his words, his tone of voice—made her want to do exactly as he ordered and sent jolts of electricity from the center of her being straight down into her feminine core. Slowly, Zara turned around, and he lightly pinched each nipple as she sank to her knees and opened her mouth. The fly to his jeans was still open, and he lifted his cock out, directing it to the hole he intended to use. The head slipped past her lips as he leaned heavily against the wall behind her and inserted himself to his full length, groaning as he did so.
“Look at me, Zara,” he said seductively.
She raised her eyes and saw the predatory fire burning there, but was beginning to comprehend and accept that it burned for her.
Noah rocked his hips forward and back, once again fucking her mouth versus letting her give him a blowjob. She sucked and licked his cock as it moved in and out and he made masculine noises of pleasure. He reached down and stroked her hair as he used her mouth.
“I hope for your sake you got it plenty wet, sweetheart.” He withdrew then helped her to her feet. “Go kneel on the edge of the bed and spread your legs for me.”
“Noah?” she asked a bit anxiously.
“Do it, Zara. By the time we’re through, you’re going to give me everything.”
He stood to one side and waited for her to comply. She knew she had little to no choice and was also starting to feel as though she didn’t really want one. She’d never be meek and submissive, but there was something incredibly erotic about the way Noah handled her. He seemed to know what she needed long before she did. She had to admit, even if just to herself, that he seemed to value her fire and spirit.
She positioned herself on the bed and watched as he removed his jeans. His cock looked like a pillar of stone attached to his groin. She had no doubt in her mind that when he talked about making it difficult for her to walk, he had the ability to get the job done.
“Eyes front,” he snarled.
His cock grazed her outer lips as it pushed between her legs. She was surprised when he didn’t mount her. He inserted several fingers into her dripping cunt.
“That’s the way I like my woman, wet and needy.”
“Noah, please?”
“Please what, sweetheart?”
“Please, fuck me?”
“I plan to, only it’s not your pussy I plan to fuck first.”
“What?”
He chuckled. “You heard me. I’m going to fuck your bottom hole.”
“No,” she wailed and stared to crawl forward.
He placed his hand on top of her shoulder and pulled her back into place.
“Yes, Zara. You went out of your way to disobey me in every way you could think of. When you try to show me just how defiant and stubborn you can be, I’m going to show you just how dominant and determined I can be. Now, you settle down and ask me to fuck your asshole.”
“I won’t.”
“Ask me to fuck your asshole.”
“Noah, please don’t make me do this.”
He landed another hard swat between her legs then repeated himself.
“Noah, I won’t fight you, but don’t make me ask.”
His hand landed a third strike, and she yowled in response.
“You will ask me so that I know that you know you damn well deserve it. Ask me.”
“All right. Noah, will you please fuck my ass? I’m sorry for what I did, and I don’t want you to be angry anymore.”
“Not exactly what I wanted, but it’ll do.” His tone had gone from harsh and commanding to sensual and reassuring.
The head of his cock pushed against the ring of tight muscle that had always protected her most secret hole from intrusion. He wasn’t rough or fast, just relentless. The entrance to her back passage began to give way, and he groaned in a kind of carnal exaltation. He reached under her and rubbed her clit, making it hard for her to think about what he was doing. He gained ground within her dark passage inch by inch. Noah groaned and grunted in a supremely satisfied male way.
“That’s my good girl,” he soothed. “You can take it all. Give to me Zara. Let me take your last virgin hole.”
One of his hands continued to pleasure her swollen nub as he seated himself completely in her ass. He thrust into her, and the inner walls of her pussy shook and quivered; she tried to wrap her head around the intense pleasure he was giving her. She cried out in an unexpected climax from his fondling and stroking. His other hand grasping her hip, he slowly moved inside her. She caught her breath; he continued to rub, tug, and pinch her clitoris in rhythm to his use of her bottom hole. The slight pain and discomfort gave way, and arousal surged to the forefront and she moaned at the new kind of hedonistic gratification he was inflicting on her.
“That’s my good girl,” he said and moved more deliberately.
“Yes,” she said, making a sound half hiss and half sigh. “Noah, yes!”
