by Renee Rose
“Spread your legs.”
Although he had her strung up almost to her tiptoes, she managed to widen her stance.
“If you move, my belt will catch your hip or thigh and you won’t like that. Can you hold still for your spanking, Ashley?”
“Yes, sir,” she murmured.
“Good girl.”
He wound the belt buckle end around his fist and let it fly, catching her right across the middle of her buttocks.
She shrieked, her feet leaving the floor, her body skittering to the side, suspended by the ropes over the door.
“What did I say about holding still?”
“Sorry,” she gasped, putting her toes out to stop her and scrambling back into position.
He swung the belt again.
Another searing stripe landed across her ass.
This time she managed not to jump away, but just barely.
She drew in a shaky breath and held it.
Another stripe, then another. Each one he laid seemed worse than the one before, and the earliest ones had begun to burn and smart with a delayed onset of pain.
He caught her across the backs of her thighs and she howled in protest, but miraculously managed not to move. Another stroke, then another until her entire bottom was blazing and her breath came in little pants.
“Three more,” he announced.
She thought he might go easier on her, but they were the worst yet, stripes laid across stripes, lines of fire that made her bite her lip and tears spring into her eyes.
He dropped the belt and caught her up by the waist, lifting her weight off the floor to free her from the doorway. When he lowered her and turned her around, she leaped at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and putting her bound wrists over his head.
He carried her to the bed and set her down, extricating himself from her stranglehold. “Your punishment is almost over,” he said as he unwound the rope from her wrists. He turned her and pushed her torso down so she folded over the edge of the bed.
“From now on, any time I have to punish you for something serious, you will be taking it in the ass afterward.”
She shivered, half excited, half terrified. The size of Ben’s cock made this punishment all the more daunting, even if she hadn’t been an anal sex virgin.
He walked around to the bedside table, where he picked up a tube of lubricant.
“Reach back and hold your cheeks apart for me.”
She squeezed her eyes closed, humiliated by the instructions. Her body seemed to love his degradation, though, her pussy leaking arousal onto her thighs as she obeyed. She flinched at the touch of the lubricant, cool and slick against her quivering anus.
Ben unzipped his pants, dropping them to the floor. He never wore boxers or briefs because they only impeded him if he wanted to shift quickly. His manhood stood out now, in its full glory, waving at her ass with intent.
She turned back to face the bed and grasped a fistful of the covers.
He pushed the head of his cock against her most private entrance and held it there, not forcing, but insisting.
She took a deep breath and exhaled, willing herself to relax.
He seized the opportunity and pushed harder, breaching her entrance.
She gasped at the ring of fire as she stretched wide to accommodate him.
He eased in, centimeter by centimeter.
In each moment she was sure she couldn’t take more of him, and yet he did not stop, filling her with his huge cock until at last she felt the contact of his hips against her ass.
“Good girl,” he crooned and she relaxed, his praise filling her with purpose.
He slid out and back in, and the sensation felt too intense for her to enjoy. Nevertheless, her pussy thrummed with excitement, desperate for touch.
Seeming to know just what she needed, Ben reached around the front of her and slid his fingers over her swollen slit.
She moaned, pressing herself against his fingers, eager for more.
He slowly set a pace, fucking her ass with his enormous cock as his fingers found her clit.
It was far too much—too much pleasure, too much intensity, too much fear of pain. The pain itself had disappeared.
“Ben,” she whimpered.
“You’re doing so well, amorcita. Are you ready to come?”
“Yes… yes, please. Yes, sir,” she babbled.
He rubbed her clit harder at the same time he picked up the pace of his fucking, filling her, sending her over the edge with a cry of ecstasy. And yet she found she couldn’t climax—or at least not the way she usually did, because when her muscles clenched, her anus tightened around his cock, bringing the pain back.
She relaxed instead, surrendering as he pumped in and out and in again, shoving deep inside her and giving a shout of release. The waves of pleasure following an orgasm flowed through her, so perhaps it had been a climax after all.
He eased out and carried her to the shower, where he held her up and let the water clean them both.
She leaned back against him, her eyes closed, water running down her face. “Am I forgiven?” she asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it.
Ben wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her head back to bite her ear. “Don’t ever lie to me again,” he growled, sending shivers running up and down her spine.
“I won’t,” she said, “I promise.”
“I love you,” he said. “No matter what. Remember that.”
Tears warmed her eyes. “How did I get so lucky?”
He kissed her ear. “No,” he murmured. “I’m the lucky one.”
The End
Extended Excerpt from The Alpha’s Hunger
Ashley picked up her satchel with Ben Stone’s laptop and stepped into the elevator. Her limbs dragged, weak from being so wound up for past twenty-four hours.
It’s almost over. Then Melissa will be safe and you can go to the police and tell Mr. Stone what you’ve done.
She took the elevator to the third floor of the parking garage and got off. Clutching the satchel to her chest, she walked forward, toward the northwest corner. She had parked her car there that morning just to familiarize herself with the area. The cement walls echoed with her footsteps, the smell of exhaust and gasoline oppressive. The lot seemed empty—no other cars, no people, nothing. She stood and waited. Had she heard the time or place wrong? No, the words were still echoing in her mind. Third floor, northwest corner of the lot. She opened her car door and sat down on the seat with the door standing open. Sweat trickled down her ribs. She thought she heard a door close, but when she looked around, she only saw the stairwell door, and no one was near it.
Time ticked by. Five minutes, then ten.
God, she hoped Melissa was okay.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of a car coming up the ramp. She stood up and took the laptop out of the satchel, her hands clumsy. The satchel dropped to the ground and she left it, craning her neck to get a look at the car.
A dark blue sedan approached. It was old and junky. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but it had definitely been something more impressive. A Humvee or something. She took a few steps forward to show herself.
The car stopped and three men got out. She tried to see in the darkened windows for another person. Where was Melissa? The men walked toward her. They were young men—scruffy-looking, with tattooed arms and piercings. They wore t-shirts and jeans and they palmed guns.
“Where’s Melissa?” she called out.
“You got the laptop?” one of them asked as they drew closer.
“Maybe,” she said, clutching it to her chest and backing toward her car. As if she had any chance of not giving it to them when they were armed and it was three against one. “Where’s Melissa?”
“She’s in the car. Give us the laptop and you can see her.” They had backed her up to her car now, surrounding her.
“I want to see her first.”
One of them cocked his gun and held
it up to her temple, pushing hard against her skull. “Hand it over,” he said as his friend grabbed it and tried to pry it from her chest.
“No,” she said struggling.
The guy with the gun smacked her head with it and she fell back against the car. She lost her grip on the laptop and one of them snatched it away.
Another one grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. “You’re coming with us, honey,” he said.
A terrible snarl sounded from the other side of her car and suddenly a huge black animal leaped over the car, gleaming white teeth snapping. Its jaws closed over the neck of the man holding her and they both tumbled to the ground, the beast snarling and growling as they rolled together. Gunshots rang out from both directions, and the animal yelped and let go, but sprang to its feet, crouching to attack another man. The men continued to fire at the animal, the sound ricocheting around the concrete parking garage. Screaming blared in her ears—her own voice, she realized. The laptop had fallen to the ground and she grabbed it and took off running for their car. If her sister was in it, she needed to get to her.
The animal launched at her, knocking her down. She screamed, expecting it to move in for the kill, but instead it turned, lunging at one of the men.
“Let’s go, let’s get out of here,” one of them yelled, helping up the most severely wounded and dragging him toward their car.
She climbed to her feet to follow, but the wolf—or whatever it was—turned and snarled, blood dripping from its muzzle. She took a step back. It snarled again, blocking her way, then it chased the remaining man, tackling him once, but then taking another gunshot wound that left it lying as the man jumped in the driver’s seat and the car screeched off.
She ran a few steps after, then stopped, seeing the beast climb to its feet. She froze. It turned amber eyes on her and growled, low and menacing. It was covered in blood, and its fangs looked razor-sharp. It advanced.
She backed up slowly. “Easy, big guy,” she said, her heart in her throat. She didn’t make eye contact or any sudden movements. If she could just get to her car, she’d be all right. It continued to follow her, though, his head lowered, fangs bared. The growl was like nothing she’d ever heard before. Unworldly. Terrifying.
Her butt hit the car and she fumbled for the door, not wanting to turn her back on the animal.
The wolf stalked closer and she shrieked, scrambling up on the trunk to get away.
The beast suddenly transformed, growing taller, thinning out. She blinked, thinking she had lost her mind.
Ben Stone stood in front of her, dripping in blood, naked, and looking furious. He yanked open the back door to her car and pulled her off the trunk at the same time. “Get on the floor,” he said, pointing to the back seat. “Head down, eyes lowered. Now.”
* * *
Ben slammed the back door on Ashley’s huddled form and climbed in the driver seat, where he found her keys on the front seat. He drove like a bat out of hell down to the first floor of the parking garage, stopping behind his car.
He had a hidden button for keyless entry to the trunk, just for occasions like these. He also kept a duffel bag with clothes, spare keys, a wallet with a second set of credit cards, cash and IDs, and other useful items inside. He grabbed the bag and yanked on a pair of jeans.
Pulling out a roll of duct tape, he stalked around to Ashley’s car, where she had climbed out. He grabbed her wrists and wound the tape around them while her eyes rolled around in her head with horror.
Dammit. He had a world of trouble on his hands now. Not only had he allowed his enemies to get away, he’d revealed himself to Ashley, who also belonged on his enemy list.
He caught his breath when he saw her entire side was covered in blood. Shoving her back onto the car seat, he yanked open her blouse. Her skin was blotched with the blood, but he saw no bullet hole or wound.
“Where are you hurt?” he demanded.
“I-I,” she swallowed as if her mouth were dry. “I think it’s your blood,” she croaked.
He exhaled in relief and looked down at his own torso to survey the two gunshot wounds he’d taken. They would heal. He must have bled on her when he tackled her to stop her from going to their car.
He lifted Ashley’s ankles and wrapped the duct tape around them, then ripped off a smaller piece for her mouth.
She twisted her head away when he came toward her with it, the whites of her eyes glowing. “Please,” she panted, the metallic smell of fear coming off her in waves. “Please don’t.”
He hesitated.
Don’t be soft. She’s the enemy.
He pointed a finger in her face. “You make one sound and I’ll put you in the trunk. Nod if you understand me.”
She bobbed her head up and down.
He slammed the door on her and climbed back in her car, tossing his duffel bag onto the seat beside him. He needed to get out of there before real trouble showed up. Those pathetic boys weren’t the brains behind the operation.
He knew Ashley wasn’t the mastermind, either, or she wouldn’t have been attacked by the men back there. Still, she had sold him out—and that bothered him more than any of the rest of it. Maybe, that first night when he met her, his instincts had gone off because she was a danger to him.
But no, that didn’t feel right. It had been attraction, not danger.
He pulled a baseball cap down low over his eyes and took off, out of the parking garage. He got on the highway and drove several miles, weaving in and out of traffic and keeping his eyes glued to his rearview mirror. They didn’t seem to have a tail. When he was sure of it, he took the next exit and pulled into a seedy motel on East Colfax—the kind that rented by the hour for cash and no ID.
He opened the back door and grabbed the duct tape again. He taped Ashley’s hands to her feet, then wound the tape around the handle of the back seat.
“You make one sound, or you try to escape, and I will kill you. Nod your head if you understand.”
She whimpered, panting for breath, but nodded.
“I will be right back. Don’t move.”
He slammed the door again and checked into a room. When he returned to the car, he cut her feet free and tossed a sweatshirt over her bound hands. “Let’s go,” he said, hauling her out of the car. “Not one sound out of you.”
She looked around wildly, but didn’t make a peep other than the sound of her breath rasping in her chest.
He took her into the room and used a length of rope to string her wrists up over the bathroom door. She stood on her tiptoes, swaying. Turning his back on her, he washed up, cleaning his gunshot wounds, which had nearly stopped bleeding. The bullets would come out in a few days. Shifters had incredible healing abilities. He rinsed his mouth out to rid the taste of blood and spit.
He was impressed that Ashley still hadn’t made a sound. He’d expected some kind of noise by this point. He turned back to her, considering.
“All right, Ashley. I’m going to ask you some questions and you’re going to answer.” He fished in his duffel bag for his belt and pulled it out. Walking behind her, he unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor.
“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, sidling as far away from him as her bound wrists would allow.
“Baring my target.”
She whimpered, twisting and turning and looking up at the ropes binding her hands.
He ignored her antics and pulled her panties down just below her buttocks. He stood back to admire the view. He wasn’t surprised to find her ass as perfect as he’d imagined it. Picking up the belt, he wound the buckle end around his fist.
Her eyes bulged. He caught her hips and turned her to face away from him. “I suggest you hold still,” he warned just before he brought his belt down across her buttocks with a light slap to perfect his aim.
She shrieked, dancing away from him, her feet lifting from the floor and kicking in the air. His intention had been to intimidate her, and it seemed to be working, because he knew that hadn’t
really hurt her. He caught her wrists and pinned them against the door to hold her in place. He struck again, just a little harder.
She jumped as if shocked by electricity, her feet dancing to one side.
“Who hired you to kill me?” he demanded.
Noises came out of her, but they were incoherent sputtering.
He whipped her again. “I asked you a question,” he growled. “Who hired you to kill me?”
A string of nonsense syllables erupted from her, tumbling from her mouth one after the next.
He considered. He’d wanted her scared, but having her too terrified to speak wouldn’t work. Walking around the front of her, he pulled out his knife. Her eyes rolled back when he lifted the blade. He cut her down just as her eyelids fluttered and she fainted.
Damn.
He caught her limp form as it tumbled down and carried her to the bed where he sat with her cradled in his arms.
Within a few seconds her eyes opened and she blinked, looking up at his face.
He brushed the hair back from her big blue eyes and they looked at each other. Propping her up on his knee, he said, “Okay, we’re going to try this again. I need answers from you and you’re going to give them to me.”
She immediately began to struggle, twisting in his arms as if to dive off his lap. He used it to his advantage, pulling her face down over his knees. Her panties were still tangled around her thighs. His hand slapped down on her bare ass with a satisfying smack. She had a perfect bottom for spanking—plump and round, muscled globes that led into shapely thighs.
He slapped one side, then the other, over and over again. He’d just wanted to make her talk without actually harming her, but as he spanked her, his anger over her betrayal ebbed, turning to sympathy as she kicked and wriggled and her beautiful ass turned rosy and then a darker shade of pink. He held her snugly against his body and took care not to slap too hard. Shifters had superhuman strength, and the idea of bruising or actually harming his little assistant didn’t sit well with him. Even if she had tried to kill him.
