by Kym Grosso
“You can feel it, can’t you?” He cupped her mound, tapping his fingers over its smooth surface. “Your Alpha knows you better than you know yourself. That is part of my responsibility. To care for you…to protect you.”
“Jax, please…” Katrina tilted her hips, seeking relief.
“That’s much better, my sweet little wolf. I love to hear you beg.” Jax rose, nestling his erection into the crevice of her ass. Sliding a hand down her back, he fisted her hair and tilted her head up until her gaze met his. “I’ve got a little surprise for you.”
“But…oh Jesus, you can’t leave me here like this.” Katrina’s heart pounded against her ribs. Whatever he was planning couldn’t be good and with her body already on fire, she breathed through her unmet need. She considered running, escaping the dominant Alpha, but the truth was that she couldn’t resist his challenge. Whatever erotic game he planned, she’d play, but true submission wasn’t a prize she was willing to give just yet. Her wolf paced, urging her to mark him, and she shook her head, refusing the demand. The desire to protect her mate outweighed the possessive need to claim him as her own.
A rush of cold air caressed her skin, making her aware he’d left her.
“Don’t move,” he warned, his voice low and commanding. A shiver of anticipation ran over her body.
“What are you doing?”
“I want you exposed and open to me. You don’t seem to listen very well and I can tell you’re thinking of challenging me right now.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“No lies.” He arched an eyebrow at her in warning. “Wolves…we choose our Alpha. Our pack. We choose to submit for the greater good. Even the strongest wolves, they do not challenge for the sake of challenging. This brings discord. It puts us all in danger. Last night…”
“We needed to get the information. He was going after Jake,” she began, but went silent as he settled pillows underneath her torso, supporting her weight.
“It was dangerous. You didn’t know what Quintus would do. I happen to know him very well. He’s an old friend.”
“But you didn’t tell me that. How was I supposed to know?” Katrina hugged the cushions, unsure whether she wanted to let Jax proceed. Her heart raced as she caught sight of the black cuffs and dangling brass chain.
“Trust, Kat. Because I’m your mate and Alpha. You can always be assured that I will protect you and do what is in the best interest of this pack.” Jax gave her a devious smile as he reached for her wrist and began to fasten the soft leather. “You understand I would never hurt you?”
Katrina had never let anyone restrain her, but found herself nodding as he asked the question. Jax had never given her reason not to trust him. It wasn’t as if Katrina didn’t understand his argument. She’d never directly challenged Tristan, but her brother didn’t push her the way Jax did. Katrina had lived for decades independently of pack politics and did what she pleased.
As he fastened the leather to her wrists, his eyes never left hers. I must be crazy, she thought. Why on earth am I letting him do this? Deep within her soul she yearned for what he demanded. Although the Alpha drove her wolf wild, it was the woman who couldn’t resist his test.
“The point of this is that you are making a decision to listen to me.” Jax eyed the legs of the heavy marble coffee table and deftly wrapped the cord around the base and secured the clasp.
“Is this really necessary?” She laid her cheek onto the soft pillow, resting her head.
“Yes, because this is your choice. We both know full well that you could shift and escape if you wanted.” He ran his finger over her cheek, his lips hovering over hers. “You are choosing to stay here, because you want this.”
Katrina’s heart caught. His mouth crushed onto hers, and she tugged on her restraints. Her sensitive nipples grazed over the chenille fabric as she wriggled against it. Katrina moaned as his tongue gently swept against hers. His hand stroked over her hair, and she blinked up at him, objecting when he tore his lips away. She heaved for breath, her body igniting with desire.
“Do you have any idea how much I’ve wanted you? How much my wolf needs you?” he asked.
“Oh Goddess…” Katrina’s thoughts spun, regretting how much time she’d lost with her mate. She knew damn well how hard it had been for her to not only leave Jax, but to force herself to date other people, to escape all the way to New Orleans. A slow form of torture, she’d unsuccessfully attempted to put him out of her mind. No matter how many times she told herself she was protecting him, her heart ached to see him again.
Under his touch, she could no longer deny the raw emotion, the chemistry that churned with every word he spoke. Her Alpha commanded her, she knew. Admitting his victory, however, would be difficult. It meant she’d agreed to the mating, that she’d given in to her wolf’s desire to claim him as her own. If she lost control, she feared she’d do more than mark him. Her fangs ached, yearning to slice through his skin, allowing the magick of his blood to flow into her, solidifying the bond.
The soft brush of the head of his cock against her bottom broke her contemplation. Her skin pricked in awareness as he slid it down the cleft, teasing her entrance.
“This,” he slapped her cheek again, and Katrina cried aloud, “will be mine, and do you know why?”
“No, Jax…don’t say it.” As he spanked her again, her pussy tightened. “I can’t…”
“You’re a difficult one. But look how responsive you are to this.” The sound of a crack rang out in the room as he delivered another blow. “Tell me why…why will you be mine?”
“Because,” she whispered. She’d give her soul to surrender to the mating, but refused to hurt him.
“Ah…” Fingers slid between her folds, brushing over her clitoris.
“You fight your own happiness.” Jax pressed a finger inside her slippery core and she clenched down on him.
“I can’t do this…”
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” Jax reached around her neck, sliding his thumb over her bottom lip. “So stubborn. But do you want me to stop, Katrina?”
“No, no, no,” she told him as he plunged in and out of her heated channel. She parted her lips, sucking a breath.
“This moment. Look at you. You choose submission. You display your trust. Why do you deny me otherwise?”
“You know why,” she breathed, her lips wet with saliva. As he added another finger inside her, she quivered around him. “Don’t stop.”
“Don’t you dare come,” he warned, withdrawing his hand. “Why do you submit to me here?”
Katrina’s body shivered as he retreated. Her wolf howled, begging her to claim him, to say the words. In her heart, she knew she couldn’t go without him another day.
“Because…” As he slammed his fingers back inside her pussy, applying pressure to her clit, she came apart. “You’re my mate. Please Jax…I don’t want to ever hurt you, but fuck…ah yes, don’t stop…you’re my mate.”
“Your Alpha.” Jax removed his fingers and slammed his cock into Katrina.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she cried, as his shaft entered her from behind.
All Katrina could smell, feel, and see was Jax. As he stretched her wide, she dug her fingers into the couch, bracing herself as he pounded into her tight channel. She shuddered as his fingers found her swollen nub.
“You are everything I need, Katrina. Do you hear me?” he told her.
“Jax I…” she panted, her body alive with energy. The strength of his magick filtered through her veins. As she felt the pad of his thumb circle her puckered flesh, she tensed.
“You need to trust me,” she heard him tell her. The pressure built as he slid over her skin, igniting a dark arousal she’d never experienced. “No challenging.”
“I promise. Yes, ah, yes, oh…please, please,” she repeated as he slid it into her back hole.
Full with pleasure, she embraced his erotic touch. Katrina screamed Jax’s name as her climax crashed
down on her. She splintered into a thousand pieces. Quivering in ecstasy, her toes dug into the carpet. His fingers moved to her hips, and she heard him grunt, giving a final thrust.
“Kat,” Jax cried, pressing his lips to her neck.
Katrina went limp, floating within the relaxation of her submission. His kiss, his touch, it was all she’d ever needed. Surrendering to the Alpha, she prayed she wouldn’t destroy him.
Within seconds, her hands were freed and he lifted her, cradling her against his chest. As they fell onto an adjoining sofa and she rested within his arms, Katrina grazed her lips to his chest.
“My Alpha,” she whispered. With her heart and soul, she swore she’d fight to keep him, not just for a night, but forever.
Chapter Thirteen
My Alpha. Jax closed his eyes, his mind whirling with emotion. He’d never understood how a mate could take a man’s world, shatter everything he thought he knew and then end up molding it all together in a spectacular masterpiece.
When Katrina walked in on him and London, Jax had known she’d lose control. No matter the control she’d exercised, until she’d marked Jax, her wolf wouldn’t accept another woman touching him. The instinct to own her mate would far exceed any rational thoughts. Although they’d explored her submission and she’d said the words out loud, her fears about losing him drove her to resist mating.
He hadn’t planned on cuffing her to the table. Although he’d used the restraints on occasion, the act had been more than simple bedroom play. She could have shifted, broken free at any point. He knew it. She knew it. But she’d chosen to stay within his confines, accepting the situation on his terms. It was a lesson she’d need to learn out of the bedroom as well.
Jax buried his nose into her hair, pleased with his scent on her skin. He weaved his fingers through hers, and brought her palm to his lips. His heart squeezed in his chest and in that moment he realized how vulnerable he’d become. Upon Nick’s death, his emotional reserve had been depleted. Without knowing that day who he had rescued, Jax had found Katrina. She’d begun to heal the cavern in his heart that had been left in the wake of Nick’s passing.
Katrina curled against his body, bringing his hands into the warmth of her breasts. Adrift within a peaceful haze, she moaned, and it reminded him that she hadn’t fallen asleep.
“Jax,” she whispered.
“Hmm…are you okay?”
“Very okay.” She laughed. “More than okay.”
“Me too,” he agreed with a kiss to her head.
“My wolf knows. She knows you are her mate,” she admitted quietly.
“And you?” He forced himself to breathe calmly as he waited on her answer. After everything they’d just experienced, he hoped the lesson had taken hold.
“I’m sorry for challenging you. The vampire…I didn’t know you knew him. I know that’s not reason enough, but you must know I’m desperate. If he’d killed Jake? I couldn’t live with myself. He’s protective of me. But it’s more than that. I just feel so out of control.”
Jax stroked her hair gently and inhaled.
“When I’m with you, your magick…I can feel it. You make me feel whole again. They’ve changed me, though. Remember in the woods?”
“Yes.”
“My magick, they siphon it, poison it with whatever evil they manage to get from this thing they worship. I don’t think they just want my magick, though. I think they want me. They want me to be like them.”
Katrina shivered against his chest. Although he suspected it was the topic causing her to shudder, not the temperature, he reached for a throw blanket and spread it over her.
“Whatever this is, the only way we can fight it is together. I know you’re tough, Katrina, and I’m glad you are.” He gave a small laugh. “Well, of course, I’d have a mate to match me. It’s not like I don’t understand why you’ve done some of the things you’ve done. I get you want control because control’s been taken from you. But you need to let me help.”
“Jax…that night we met at the party.” Katrina blinked, her lashes tickling his chest. “I knew. I saw you across the room. When you touched me…it’s so stupid. I didn’t think it would be like that. I just knew you were my mate.”
“I remember that night. I won’t ever forget it.”
“I’ve never felt that way. Just this immediate connection with you. I can’t explain it.” She shook her head and reflected. “You know, I’m not a young wolf. I was born in the early 1800s. I’ve lived through many bad times. These things, yeah, they hurt me, but it’s not the first time I’ve been tortured.”
“I didn’t realize…” Jax attempted to conceal his shock at her confession.
“No, it’s okay. It was a long time ago. There was this woman, Simone. She, uh, got off on killing women. Was into some kind of black magick. Tristan had to go to Kade Issacson and Luca Macquarie for help.” Katrina’s voice grew serious, her eyes focused on their intertwined fingers. “They both found me.”
“I’m so sorry, Kat.” Jax reasoned that if her brother had been forced to seek assistance from the New Orleans vampires, it had to have been a dire situation.
“The things I saw Simone do? I just…it’s not right.” Katrina closed her eyes and sighed.
“Jesus, I wish I’d been able to protect you. Things will be different. I promise you.”
“It wasn’t until recently…these things came for me. Of course, when they told me I’d meet an Alpha, my true mate…I didn’t believe them at first. I mean, when so many years pass, you just stop believing that it will happen. You take lovers, try not to get too involved because you know if you meet your mate, you will hurt the other person. But that night, everything changed.”
“I know what you mean. I’ve been around for quite a while too.” Like Katrina, Jax had lived a long time, experienced the loneliness. He’d casually dated. Sex was easy. Relationships, however, were entirely too complicated. Unable to mate with humans or witches, he’d kept his interactions to one night stands. Within the confines of wolves, he’d grown close to few females. They understood the inevitability that would come for all wolves. If another met his or her mate, they’d better accept the situation when they were forced to separate. “Something about your eyes. Your smile.”
“My smile?”
“Yes, do you remember what we talked about?” he asked, wrapping a single strand of her soft hair around his finger.
“Ice skating. You were trying to talk me into going to Rockefeller Center.”
Jax laughed. “You told me you were an Olympic champion.”
“Give me a few more years and I might be.”
“What happened to your hair?” Jax regretted asking the question as soon as it left his lips. He suspected it had to do with her abductions. The impulsivity of his comment was evidence that he’d lost the ability to restrain himself around his mate. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask.”
“No, it’s okay. This last time…I wasn’t there that long. You saw me. It’s not just about beating me, forcing me to submit. It’s about their chanting…like spells or whatever. It feels like…” Katrina brought his hand to her chest. Her voice trembled. “My hair isn’t the same. What they are doing is changing me from the inside out.”
“You don’t have to talk about it.”
“I want to tell you, but it’s hard to explain. It’s like a drill in my chest…the noise of their words. I want to cover my ears but I can’t. It gets louder and louder and it feels like my blood is draining out. But it’s not my blood. It’s my magick…it pours out of me. I can’t control it. And now…”
“What?”
“When we were in your office, your power overwhelmed me. It was almost like when an Alpha gets angry. You know how it works. You can push out your emotions, your power. Force wolves to submit.”
“I can control the flow of my magick. As my mate, you may have some of the same influence I have. You know that, right? Your energy…the pack will sense you. Us together, how we are fee
ling affects everyone.”
“I think it’s what Quint said. Maybe somehow because I’d lost my magick, and now, because you’re my mate, I take yours. All these years I’ve waited.” Katrina stifled the tears which filled her eyes. “And when I think back to when I first met you. How you made me feel? To know it could be real, that I had this mate? I was overwhelmed.”
“Happy?” he asked with a kiss to the top of her head.
“So happy,” she agreed. “And you were funny. I wasn’t expecting that. You weren’t this arrogant man that they write about in the headlines.”
“They say that? No, I’ve never heard that before,” he joked, trying to lighten her mood.
“I know, hard to believe, right?” She gave a small laugh. “Seriously, going home…asking Tristan to help keep us apart? I’m telling you, it broke my heart. But I couldn’t risk hurting you.”
“We’re compatible.” He changed the subject. “You seemed to enjoy your little lesson tonight.”
“I’ve never done that before,” she admitted.
“Hmm…in two hundred years you never had a little spanking?”
“Truth?” Katrina pushed up onto his chest, meeting his gaze.
“Yeah.” Jax brushed a hair behind her ear, surprised she didn’t immediately agree.
“I’ve been with other guys, but not many. And I haven’t ever let anyone tie me up. Oh, no. To let someone do that? First of all, even though I could have easily gotten out of the restraints, it takes a lot of trust to let someone do that. And second, well, as you’ve already noticed, I’m not necessarily submissive. But when I’m with you? It’s like I want to do all kinds of things I’ve never done. You make me feel free. You should know, though, Jax, I have been bitten before, and not just by Quintus.”
Jax held his tongue, attempting to remain calm. It had been bad enough that Quintus had tasted of his mate. The act of drawing blood, allowing someone to drink from her was extraordinarily intimate.
“Luca…he…it’s never been serious. He’s just a friend.” Katrina hesitated. “But back to your original question, no I’ve never been spanked. Nor have I ever let anyone tie me up. Not until you.”
