Bound at the Ball (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Lea Barrymire

  Before she could lose her nerve she leaned forward and pressed her lips lightly to his. After a moment she leaned back, slightly disappointed that it hadn’t felt any different than kissing her father’s cheek. She looked into his eyes and found them crinkled at the corners. He was laughing at her. A surge of insecurity swept through her. Perhaps she couldn’t kiss well enough to make him happy. Maybe she was truly defective. Her body was not built to suit a male, so perhaps her lips didn’t work right either. He surely wasn’t looking at her like Porat had looked at her sister after their kiss.

  “Stop. Rella, I’m not laughing at you. Your lips are very soft and felt lovely pressed against mine. Now, before you distract me, I have questions to ask. Remember the rules. If you answer immediately, with the truth, you will be rewarded. Are you ready?”

  She nodded her head. Yes, she remembered. She was still confused by his remarks about her lips. He thought they felt lovely, yet he didn’t respond by kissing her back. Maybe kissing wasn’t as wonderful as she thought it would be. With a mental shrug, she peered at Sabar, awaiting his first question. She hoped it was something simple.

  “What is your favorite color?”

  Her favorite color? Really? That was the first question he was going to ask? Why would he want to know that? Perhaps it was a trick question. Maybe he was going to punish her if she picked the wrong color. Her mind spun, lost in a circle of confusion. A sharp pinch to her already sore ass made her yelp.

  “Really, Rella, you can’t even answer that question without thought?”

  “I’m sorry. I just was trying to determine the reason for the question. I don’t understand.”

  He sighed. “I asked the question because I wanted to know the answer. There is no other reasoning behind it. Now. I’m only going to repeat this question one more time. If you can’t play my little game, then I will find another way to extract the answers from you. What is your favorite color?”

  “M–my favorite color is purple.”

  “Good. Now to reward you for a truthful answer.”

  She wasn’t sure what she expected for a reward. Perhaps a pat on the head or a piece of candy. She wasn’t expecting him to lean into her, take her face between his rough palms and make her belly flutter. A moment before his lips touched hers she realized he was going to kiss her. A whimper escaped her parted lips the moment before his touched hers. Warm breath moved lightly across her cheek. The feel of his mouth on hers did something below her belt. She’d liked pressing her lips to his, but having him kiss her was so much more. His lips parted over hers a moment before his tongue slid along the seam of her mouth. His kiss was hot, wet, sensual. She whimpered against his mouth.

  He backed away from her, and she had to fight her instincts to not follow his mouth. She slowly opened her eyes and found he was still inches from her face. Something fierce burned in his eyes, and her body responded with a hot throb in her pussy. Gods, if a kiss could make her feel that way, she wanted to know what else he could do to her.

  “Nice. Next question. What do you feel right now?”

  The warmth from the kiss receded quickly with his question. She felt her cheeks blush, and she tried to avert her eyes. She didn’t want to talk about it. Her pussy was still pulsing in time to her heartbeat, her breasts were heavy, and she had an urge to lean into his chest to feel his body against hers.

  “I don’t know what I feel.”

  “Lie.” His voice was harsh, and she flinched, bringing her eyes back to his. How he’d gone from warm to ice-cold in a matter of a moment was terrifying. “Punishment for the lie is to have your hands behind your back until you answer three questions truthfully. Place your palms together.”

  She scrambled to do as he bade. She wanted the warmth back in his face. Her palms clasped together, and she felt the magnets in her bracelets cling together. For a moment she wanted to struggle against the restraints, but she knew there was nothing she could do about them. Fighting would get her in more trouble, and she didn’t want punishment at Sabar’s hands.

  “Good girl. Now. Answer the question truthfully. How were you feeling before your punishment?”

  “Slightly overwhelmed but very warm. I liked being kissed by you, and it made my belly heavy.”

  “See, answering me wasn’t so hard, was it? What do you like to do with your free time?”

  That was an easy question, and she grinned before answering. “Read.”

  His answering smile took her breath away. His grin and smirks before made him look handsome, but his smile lifted his face into the realm of the gods. She wanted to touch him to verify that he was real, but with a quick jerk she realized her hands were still behind her back, held by her cuffs. He leaned into her space again and she eagerly closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss she wanted more than another breath.

  His lips touched hers a moment before his hands pushed into her hair. He held her head still as he moved his mouth across hers. A flick of something hot and wet against her lips made her gasp. His tongue was touching her. Her pussy clenched so hard she moaned. Her bottom lip was lightly sucked into his mouth then bathed by his tongue. Soft pressure from his teeth had her arching her back, pushing her torso closer to him. She whined when he pulled away from her. She wasn’t ready for the kiss to be over, not when her entire body felt like it was being heated from the inside out.

  Before she could even open her eyes, her next question was floating on the air. “Do you like my kisses, Rella?”

  “Yes,” she answered on a whisper.

  She waited for him to continue, wanted him to with every cell in her body. When his fingers tightened in her hair, she sighed, opening her lips in invitation. A moan rumbled in his chest when his lips once again touched hers. This time there was nothing tentative about his assault on her mouth. His tongue pushed between her lips, forcing her to open farther. He stroked her teeth and her tongue with his, twining them around each other in a sensual dance. Her breathing increased as she tried to drag air into her lungs. When he finally stopped the invasion and used her hair to pull away from her mouth, they were both gasping.

  She opened her eyes and was surprised by the color in his cheeks and the brightness in his gaze. Satisfaction moved through her. He was affected by her, wanted her like a man wants a woman. She didn’t even try to stop her response as she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “Thank you.”

  Surprise crossed his face. “For what, little Rella?”

  “For kissing me, wanting me.” She felt her cheeks redden again. She shouldn’t have said anything. When she tried to look away he held her face captive and stared into her eyes.

  “You never need to thank me for that. I would willingly kiss you every moment of every day if you’d let me.” He shook his head. “I’m getting distracted again. What do you know of matings between our races?”

  She sucked in a breath. Here it was. This was the question that she’d been waiting for. The one that would have him dumping her into the pile of females outside their little secluded area. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep the anger from her voice. She thought for a moment about not answering and just taking the punishment, but what good would that do her? Perhaps she could answer him on strictly the government’s view and he would accept that answer.

  “Our races are mutually benefited by matings between us. Your people birth mainly males and ours females. Our governments find it useful to place our races together and urge matings between us.”

  “Correct, but that isn’t what I am asking you. Let me clarify. What do you think about these practices?”

  She sighed. “I don’t want to answer your question.”

  “That is not acceptable. Answer me, Rella.”

  “I don’t like it?” Would that be enough for him?

  “More, Rella. I want more from you.”

  “I find the teachings to be detrimental to our race. Forcing females to play subservient roles and teaching us to be submissive even if our personalities ar
e not is a horrible practice.”

  “Good.” His voice was silky to her ears. “More.”

  She sighed again. “I find it detestable that females are made to attend gatherings dressed in close to nothing for males of your race to ogle at like we are a piece of meat to be bought.” She was on a roll but couldn’t seem to pull her anger back. She knew each word was digging her farther into trouble, but she didn’t care as she thought of her friends and sisters going through the same thing she’d been through over the last two days. “Keeping information secret, hiding the truth, making females feel like they are nothing…all of those things are despicable.”

  She closed her eyes, unable to pull her face from his grasp, and waited. She hadn’t spoken her distaste of their governmental system in so long. The last time her father had been forced to whip her in front of the magistrate. She’d worn those welts for weeks and privately thought of them as a badge of courage. This time she’d view the bruises and marks the same way.

  A chuckle vibrated against her chest. She opened her eyes to find Sabar laughing silently. He shook his head before speaking. “You are perfect for me. You will never hold back your thoughts if I ask for them. Ever. I want to know every single idea that you have on a subject when I ask.” He smoothed a hand down her cheek. “And you will never be punished for those statements.”

  Stunned silence lasted for a heartbeat or two in her head. Her cynical side was first to form a coherent thought. Sure, that’s what he says now. Whatever else her mind was going to think was stopped mid-thought when a warm palm covered one of her breasts and squeezed lightly.

  “You answered truthfully, so you deserve a reward.” His words registered in her addled brain at the same moment his mouth claimed hers in another brutal kiss. His lips and tongue invaded, tasting, moving, thrusting. She couldn’t concentrate on the feel of his mouth on hers because he was fondling her breast at the same time. Long fingers slowly moved to lightly pinch a nipple. Her body arched on its own accord, and she moaned into his mouth when he rolled the nub between his fingers. He tugged and kneaded while invading her mouth. Her brain gave up trying to follow the action and just absorbed the sensations. Molten heat flowed through her, pooling in her belly, and a familiar ache started in her pussy.

  It was over much too quickly. Her body rebelled against the loss of touch when he lifted his hand from her chest. She leaned forward following his retreating touch and whined. Nothing had ever felt like that before. Even during the night before she’d been engaged enough mentally to be afraid of what was happening. The last moments could have easily lasted hours or seconds. Time had completely stopped. Nothing had mattered but the touch of this male and the feel of his mouth on hers.

  “You taste so sinfully sensual, my little Rella. Let’s continue. How did my hand on you feel?”

  He kept asking questions she didn’t want to answer. She huffed and then tried to cover up her irritation before he saw it. He might approve of her answers, but that didn’t mean he’d allow her to be disrespectful. She schooled her face to the blank mask she always wore and answered him. “It felt good, Master Sabar.”

  He shook his head. “Not good enough. I want to know what your body felt like. What did you want when I pulled my hand away?”

  “I didn’t want you to stop. I can still feel the fire your touch created,” she answered grudgingly.

  “That’s the type of answer I want. Thank you. I didn’t want to stop either, but if I didn’t, you’d be naked and spread out under me.” He growled his words against her temple just before kissing her hair.

  Those words sparked a need so deeply in her that she shied away from the intensity. Somehow she’d ignored the possibility that they could have sex. The thought of having this male above her, invading her body and space should have terrified her, but it did nothing but stoke the already molten puddle of heat in her belly. A gush of warmth flooded her pussy. She wiggled on his lap and gasped when she felt the beads of her belt move against her clit. She’d forgotten about them, and the reminder that she was mostly naked caused another flood of moist heat to coat her cunt.

  “Gods, I can feel your honey coating my leg. You like the idea of my fucking you?”

  She gasped at the raunchy term but couldn’t stop herself from nodding. Yes, she absolutely liked the idea. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted him to do, but she wanted something more. Her training had included some instruction in sexual behavior. She knew what sex was, what the positions were for mating, understood what some males enjoyed. Those lessons didn’t translate well into real life. No one had explained how her body would mutiny and desire a man more than her brain did.

  “For your reward I think you need to straddle my legs.” His voice dragged her from her introspection. With a show of muscular strength he picked her up by her waist, turned her to face him and placed her gently over his legs. Her arms were still bound behind her back and the new position took more movement away from her as he widened his knees until her legs were opened. A glance down showed that her shaved nether region was completely open, visibly on display. A rush of warm wetness between her pussy lips made her blush.

  “Hmm, you like being open to me, don’t you? This is an amazing view and I’m not sure I will ever want to see you clothed. I’m going to touch you and kiss you as your reward. You can’t stop me. Don’t struggle.” He leaned forward and whispered the last few words, warm breath feathering over her cheek.

  Rella sucked in a gasp. She felt exposed and embarrassed that he was staring at her most private of places, but more than that she yearned to have him touch her. She already craved his kisses, and the feel of his hand on her nipples had brought her blood to a boiling need. She waited, watching him stare at her pussy. She wanted to wiggle, to move the beads touching her clit.

  When his eyes looked up, she felt a jolt of lust strike her. His eyes burned, hidden beneath half-closed lids. She gladly went to his mouth when he pulled her toward him, rocking her pelvis enough to shift the beads. She moaned and jerked when his mouth took hers, swallowing her sounds. One hand wound into her hair, holding her head. The other skated over her belly. It rested against her mound, cupping her but not touching her folds.

  The feeling of heavy heat was growing, and she knew she was getting close to a release. She’d given herself a few orgasms the night before, and the sensation was becoming too familiar. The need to come quickly overcame her embarrassment. She moved her hips in hopes of getting pressure on her clit, and she blushed at the chuckle that vibrated in his chest.

  Sabar’s lips never left hers. He parted her lips with his, invading her mouth, but this time he coaxed hers to him. He teased her by lightly playing inside her mouth but not twining his tongue with hers. She groaned in frustration. She wanted to lose herself to the sensations, to feel overwhelmed again, but he wasn’t doing what he did before. She tried to jerk her head back and growled in the back of her throat when he didn’t allow her to move. She tried to thrash, but his strong arms held her tightly.

  An animalistic response took over. She felt trapped and out of control. The more she attempted to escape him and he held her still, the more she wanted to push him to see what his reaction would be. She gave in to her wants and tried to take control the only way she could. She kissed him back with everything she had. Aggression translated into frantic, teeth-clashing movements of her mouth on his. She had no idea what she was doing, but she knew what she wanted. She pushed her tongue into his mouth, running it along his, feeling a zing of heat in her pussy when he twined his with hers, sliding seductively together. Her breaths were coming in short gasps, forcing her to flare her nostrils and suck in his scent on each inhale.

  The moment his fingers delved between her labia, she cried out. She shivered from the spike of arousal that simple touch caused. His fingers swirled in her wetness, stroking from her opening to her clit with a light touch. It wasn’t enough to make her come, but it stoked the fire burning in her blood. His lips moved against her
s with the same rhythm and pressure as his fingers on her pussy, stoking both sets of lips with featherlight touches. She cried out against his mouth, putting her frustration into the feral sound. She wanted to come. Needed it more than she needed air. The feeling was building, clamping her muscles down and arching her back. A few more strokes would send her flying over the edge, would release the tension in her body.

  When he savagely ripped his lips from hers and stilled his fingers, she bucked helplessly in his grasp. She opened her eyes and stared, trying to convey her need through her gaze. She couldn’t help the mew that escaped her lips. She needed so strongly that she was afraid she’d combust unless he kissed and touched her. She knew he watched her, but she closed her eyes and rocked her hips over open air, trying to get a little friction against her swollen clit. She was so close to exploding. One touch, one rub of a bead against her nub would be enough.

  “Not yet. I have more questions.” He leaned forward until his forehead rested on hers, his gasps blowing across her cheeks. His hands clamped on her hips and held her still. “If I can keep myself from burying my cock into you long enough to get them answered. Now, hold still. You are not allowed to come until I tell you. I’m going to release your wrists because you’ve finished your punishment for lying earlier.”

  She stilled on his lap as instructed and felt the immediate relief when she could bring her arms back around in front of her. She held back from reaching out and touching him. With her hands free, she wanted to wrap her arms around his thick neck and bury her fingers in his hair.

  “You may touch me if you’d like. I can see the desire in your eyes. Tonight is about both of us. Unless I tell you specifically not to do something, I want you to feel free to do what you want. Well, within reason.” His whispered acknowledgement of her need unlocked a door she didn’t realize she’d had deep in her psyche. Tears threatened and burned her eyes. She’d never had anyone give her permission to just do what she wanted. She’d spent every minute of her life fighting her own wants, conforming to some law someone else set down.