He closed his eyes as vivid images of Kerry round with his child bombarded his brain. Fuck, he’d never thought too much about children, but he wanted that with her. She would be a natural. She’d proven that with her easy acceptance of wee Maddock. She was smiling when he glanced up at her, and Duncan blurted out the words that were burning a hole in his gut.
“I love you, Kerry Jo Watson.”
Kerry blinked in seeming shock, and Duncan inwardly kicked himself.
“I…that is…you do?” Kerry’s voice rose into a shrill cadence of her usual husky tones, and she winced when the baby in her arms stirred. Fortunately, Maddock settled back down again, and Duncan breathed a sigh of relief. Trust him to bare his soul when they could be interrupted any second by one demanding wee dragon.
“I do, and I don’t expect any declarations from you. I realize you might not feel the same way, and you probably think this is just a line, but I’ve never said those words to anyone, believe me.” He paused to let those words sink in, grateful beyond belief at her increased heart rate.
“You haven’t?”
Duncan put his hand over hers and smiled.
“No, sweetheart, I haven’t. To be honest with you, I never thought it would happen to me, this finding-your-destined-mate thing.” Kerry blinked and that cute crease appeared between her eyes.
“You mentioned that before. What does it mean?”
“I’m getting to that, wee one. Let’s just say that my dad always said I would know when I met her…you, the one person made just for me.” Kerry inhaled sharply, and he leaned in to kiss her nose. “He always said that from the minute he scented my mum, he knew. She took some persuading, being that she was human, but she was marked, much like you are.” Again, he paused and placed his hand over her abdomen where her tiny dragon slumbered.
“What, my tat? But that makes no sense. I can’t even remember getting that. I was drunk and…” Her words trailed off when he shook his head at her confusion.
“It led you to me, sweetheart. Humans have been marked for the dragons for centuries. I’m sure if we looked into your lineage, the elders would discover—and no doubt already have discovered—the truth of your mark. After all, I haven’t been hauled in for my actions so far, and believe me, they take the rules and the preservation of our lineage very seriously.”
Kerry withdrew her hand and frowned.
“Hang on, lineage? But I’m human; my whole family is as far as I know. I don’t understand what you’re saying here. You’re only with me because of some preordained bullshit? ’Cause if that’s the case, forget it. I—”
His dragon’s furious snarl stopped her. The sudden fear in her eyes made Duncan feel like a donkey’s backside. Way to go, fool, scare her silly.
“Looks like I arrived just in time.” Mark’s bemused voice from behind him broke the tense moment, and Maddock woke up with a start, no doubt having heard his daddy’s voice.
“Here, give me my son. I know Miri is desperate to feed him. Here’s a tip for you, Strannach. When you have your own wee bairn, don’t attempt nipple play with your delightful subbie, because…well, it gets messy if you catch my drift.”
“Jeez, Mark. TMI right there.” He threw his hands up, and Mark laughed while he took a now red-faced Maddock out of Kerry’s arms.
“Playroom is free if you feel the need to use it, or, you know the larger one of the spare bedrooms has enough toys in there to start with. Up to you. I’ll see you two in the morning. I’ll make sure to put extra cushions on the seat.”
With that, Mark left them on their own, and Duncan glared down at his unruly subbie.
“Now, would you like to explain this bullshit comment to me in detail, lass?”
Chapter Ten
Oh, good grief, she’d done it now. Duncan looked furious, his astonishing eyes swirled in yellow fire, and the ceiling above them danced in an angry-looking glow. Her and her big mouth. While she was fairly certain he had control over his dragon, by his own admission, the magical beast didn’t behave itself around her. While a small and no doubt fucked-up-in-the-head part of her reveled at the knowledge that she was the cause of his loss of control, the thick smoke that filled her nostrils made her fear he’d burn the place down.
“Duncan, please, your fire. You need to—”
Another one of those furious snarls brought with it a blast of heat that singed her face.
“What do you call me?”
Kerry cried out when he grasped hold of her arm, and he immediately gentled his hold on her. The air also cleared, and she breathed a little easier.
“I asked you a question.”
Duncan grasped her by both shoulders, and when she shook her head and screwed her eyes shut, he swore softly.
“Fine. The playroom it is, which by the way is flameproof.”
Before she could even process his words, her feet left the floor. All the air escaped her lungs when he flung her over his shoulder and started to walk.
Kerry struggled to right herself, fisting her hands in the back of his shirt for leverage, but she should have known it was useless. She bounced over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and no amount of kicking and cursing had any effect on him as he raced along the hallway, taking them deeper into the mountain. All she achieved was getting her ass swatted with every step he took.
“Quit struggling, subbie. You had this coming.” Another blistering swat to her ass made her gasp, and she collapsed over his shoulder when he massaged the area. Much to her embarrassment, a moan escaped her, and Duncan’s big shoulders shook as though he was laughing at her. At least laughter was better than the silent fury he’d exhibited so far.
The air cooled considerably the deeper they went, and Kerry desperately tried to control her breathing. Flung head down as she was, the blood was rushing to her head and nausea clawed at her stomach, not least because she was over six feet in the air. While she knew deep down that Duncan wouldn’t drop her, that all this would stop if she cried ‘red,’ she couldn’t bring herself to do that either.
’Cause damn it, she was getting wetter by the minute. This manhandling of his, the certain knowledge that she was entirely at his mercy…it was sexy as fuck.
Duncan stopped in front of a huge wooden door, keyed in a code on the keypad, and then ran his hand slowly up the inside of her thigh.
The door swung open, and Kerry screwed her eyes shut as they stepped through.
“Nothing to say now, wee lassie?”
Duncan’s deep voice rumbled through her as he slowly slid her off his shoulder. Her stomach clenched when she felt the hard imprint of his erection on the way down, and wetness coated the top of her thighs.
“No, Sir.”
A sharp intake of breath was her reward for her answer.
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it, wee one. Look at me.” With surprising gentleness, he framed her face with his large hands, and she blinked back tears. He murmured something that she didn’t catch, and in the next instant he kissed her eyelids and followed the path of those dreaded tears down her face. His gentleness proved her undoing, and she cried harder.
“Talk to me, sweetheart. Why the tears? If you don’t want this, you only have to say.”
Oh, good grief. That was the last thing she wanted, and Kerry tried her best to shake her head. She forced her eyes open and gasped when her surroundings came into view.
This playroom would not have looked amiss in a BDSM club. Every possible piece of equipment you could think of was on gleaming display. A huge four-poster bed dominated one side of the room, and her stomach clenched at the thought of his finally taking her. Would he do it here, or somewhere else? A St. Andrew’s Cross stood in the opposite corner, a suspension rack was in another, as well as stocks, and various other equipment that looked innocent enough, but no doubt lent itself to all sorts of kinky activities. A gleaming spanking bench took pride of place in the middle of the room. Add to that the low lighting supplied by uplighters designed to look
like old-fashioned torches set around the room, and the atmosphere was set. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the spanking bench in particular.
“Ah, yes.” Duncan’s amused voice washed over her. “You have earned yourself a trip to that bench for sure. First things first, though, and I want an answer this time. Why the tears?”
All previous amusement fled his voice, and she couldn’t have resisted that deep edge of command if her life had depended on it.
“I don’t know, Sir. I’m just sorry.”
His deep sigh ghosted over her face, and when he kissed her forehead, she cried harder.
“Why are you sorry?” he asked. “I need to hear you say the words and give me a color so that I know you’re on board with this. You’re familiar with the traffic light system, I assume?”
He tipped her chin up, giving her no choice but to look at him, and she somehow managed to get her reply out past that huge lump of emotion that had lodged itself in her throat.
“Yes, Sir, I am.”
His gaze intensified, as it always did when she addressed him by that title, and peace settled over her when he nodded.
“And they are?”
“Red for stop, orange for I need a minute, and green for all systems go. And I’m green, Sir, despite the tears. Please, I just need to…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doubt you. This is just all so overwhelming, and I still don’t know what it means to be your mate. Why me, and does that mean what I feel for you is real or not? I just don’t…”
Kerry couldn’t continue as the whole reality of the situation came crashing down on her. The tears started to fall in earnest, and she was dimly aware of Sir pulling her in closer. Calling him that, especially in her head, felt so right that it made her cry harder.
Sir didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. His presence, the way he held her, even as they shifted to the bench and he sat down with her on his lap, the deep rumble of his dragon, his smoky scent—they all enveloped her in a reassuring cocoon.
When she at long last got herself under control, Sir tipped her head up and smiled. He held a water bottle up to her lips, and she gratefully swallowed. The cool liquid slid down her bruised throat, soothed the ache left behind from her attack of the vapors. Really, what was wrong with her? She never cried like that, though it had helped to clarify things for her.
“There, my sweet. Feeling better now?”
She was beyond grateful to him for not probing deeper into her outburst, because she wasn’t at all sure she could explain it to him. As it was, her stomach churned with the knowledge that she’d displeased her Sir, so she shook her head.
Sir’s brows drew together in concern at her action.
“No, I suspect you’re not, wee one.” He studied her and then smiled when he caught her checking out the row of impact toys neatly arranged on the wall opposite them.
“I know what you need to make this right. Go and choose your punishment, my sweet. I think we need to wipe the slate clean for you to truly relax, don’t we?”
* * * *
The speed with which she’d jumped off his lap soothed the remaining niggles of doubt in his gut. It had damn well nearly killed him to witness her tears, knowing that he was the cause of them. However, he’d also known that she needed that outlet. So much had happened to his wee human mate over the last few hours, after all, and she hadn’t really had the time to process any of it.
One thing was abundantly clear by her reaction to the playroom and his exerting his dominance. Kerry’s submissive streak ran deep, and while the tears had helped, she needed the grounding a good paddling of that luscious ass would bring.
His cock, which had softened somewhat from witnessing her upset, hardened to the point of pain while he watched her study the implements.
“Pick the ones you feel comfortable with me using on you. I will decide my toy of choice from your selection.” Her hand froze on the riding crop she was inspecting and her breath caught.
Oh, aye, this was indeed what she needed. What they both needed, truth be told. It had been way too long since Duncan had indulged that side of himself. Even longer since he’d had sex other than the self-help kind by his hand. Establishing their dynamic was more important right now, however, even if he would surely explode soon without some relief. He reached down to adjust his cock away from the zipper of his jeans and grinned to himself. She was adorable when she concentrated like this. Seeing a submissive new to him study the toys provided a fascinating insight into her mindset, and Kerry was no exception to that rule.
The way her lips turned down and she automatically angled away from the leather whips showed her distaste. Likewise, the way she lovingly fingered the various floggers made it pretty clear they were a favorite of hers. She flinched at the bamboo cane, hesitated at the riding crop, and shuddered at the large wooden paddle. This one was textured with holes that would leave a lovely pattern on a sub’s skin. It would also sting like crazy in the right hands. His lass liked a bite of pain, only. He could so work with that.
Duncan didn’t enjoy dishing out a huge amount of pain, but a little sensuous torture was a different matter entirely. It was good to know they were on the same page.
“Put the tools you’ve selected on the bench for me, lass, and then strip for me slowly.”
He was rewarded with another one of those telling sharp inhales as he kicked off his shoes, took off his socks, and shrugged out of his shirt.
The riding crop, flogger, and selection of softer paddles Kerry had collected slipped out of her fingers and clattered to the floor when she noticed. Duncan didn’t even try to hide his smirk at her reaction. The way she ran her gaze all over his torso as though she wanted to eat him made him groan and wish this scene was over with already.
“Clumsy, lass. Go pick up your mess, or you won’t get what you want.”
Eyes wide, breath coming in short gasps, Kerry complied. A blush spread over her pale skin when she unbuttoned her dress.
“Not that slowly. I want to see the luscious body I’m going to torture a wee bit.”
Duncan knew his voice was hoarse, but fuck him, seeing her strip, revealing the acres of creamy skin available to him, made him so hard it hurt. He would leave a wet stain on his jeans with the amount of precum leaking from his cock.
“Beautiful. Now present for me. Hands behind your back so that I can see those tits.”
Cheeks flaming, Kerry slid to her knees. Her breaths increased the closer he stepped to her, making her large tits tremble and sway, and the musk of aroused woman hit him in the gut with the full force of a sledgehammer. Was there anything more delightful than to have a woman tremble in need as she submitted, head bowed?
He nudged her knees with his foot when he was close enough to touch.
“Wider. I want to see your cunt.”
Kerry complied, giving him the most delightful view of her wet folds, but it wasn’t enough.
“As wide as you can, my sweet.”
Thighs trembling with the effort, she complied, and he bit back a groan, seeing her open up. In this position, he could see her clit peek out from her hood, her outer labia opening up to reveal the glistening deep-red skin underneath. Moisture trickled from her clenching hole and coated the tops of her thighs. Such a fucking turn-on.
He stepped closer still so that her hot puffs of breath scored his still-covered cock. The organ twitched and strained. The heat of her pussy warmed his feet as he stepped right between her legs.
“How badly do you want my cock right now, lass?” he asked, and a deep-throated groan escaped her plump lips. A mouth he was desperate to have wrapped around his cock right now, but first things first.
“Please, Sir.”
Grasping the back of her head, Duncan pushed it forward until her face was pressed into his groin. Torture and bliss all rolled into one, for the few seconds he held her there until the tenseness of her shoulders told him she needed to breathe.
Kerry inhaled sharply when he relea
sed her.
“I don’t think so. Only good lassies get my cock, and you, wee Kerry, have been anything but good, have you?”
He stepped back and nudged her chin up with his hand to read her expression. Sure enough, he read nothing but remorse in her expression, quickly followed by acceptance as she murmured her answer.
“No, Sir, I haven’t. Please punish me as you see fit.”
There they were, the words he’d been waiting for. Pride filled his chest as she looked up at him, and he gentled his hold on her skin.
“Yes, I will, but first, let me get one thing straight, wee one. You are my mate, and I have no intention of letting you go, ever. I know you feel it too, this connection between us, and it will only get stronger once we’ve mated properly. Once I’ve taken every one of your holes, filled you with my cum until it’s dripping out of you, only then will I bite you here.” He ran his fingers over the soft skin where her throat met her shoulder, and she gasped when he let one claw run out to pierce the area. “You will carry my mark for all to see, and we’ll become one. This will be forever, my sweet. There is no divorce in my clan. You are mine and I will be yours until death do us part. I will never be able to walk away from you, though you have the choice to leave.”
He held his breath, waiting for her answer. His dragon snarled and paced, and he was dimly aware of the fire dancing overhead. Red, orange, and blue signaling his beast’s anger at giving their mate a choice.
Kerry’s brows drew together, and time stood still until she spoke.
“Forever is a long time, Sir,” she said, her voice thin and threaded with need.
“Even more so for a dragon, my sweet. We live much longer than humans, and as my mate, your life span will match mine.”
Her eyes widened as she took in this tidbit.
Marked by the Dragon [The Dragon of Skye 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 9
