by Cyna Kade
Marissa remained silent. She didn’t know what to say to her father or how to cope with Kytar’s challenge to her beliefs. Her world—the stable one she’d always known—vanished in a welter of needs that had nothing to do with rational thinking.
She heard her father leave the room. She wanted to call him back, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t help her. She had to face her demons alone. Why couldn’t she just accept Kytar? He obviously wanted her. He wasn’t happy about training her. He didn’t enjoy hurting her, not the way her stepfather had enjoyed hurting her mother. Marissa knew beyond a doubt that Kytar was nothing like her stepfather. Tormented by the confusing knot of her thoughts, she curled up into a ball and tried to fall asleep.
* * * * *
Davo entered Kytar’s study and poured himself a drink. Talcor sat in one chair while Kytar sat behind his desk.
Davo tossed back the drink. Looking at Kytar, he said, “She seems so fragile.”
Kytar’s mouth flattened. “You knew training would be hard. Her customs are so different from ours. But she is much stronger than she looks.”
Davo raised his eyebrows. He waved toward Talcor. “You needed a watcher?”
“You know that is an acceptable custom.”
“I’m just a little surprised.”
“So was I. Marissa’s defiance undoes me.”
Davo started a little. His eyes widened at Kytar’s admission.
Kytar gave a bitter laugh. “Yes, the training affects both of us. I’d heard tales, but not realized just how hard it would be to keep her chaste.”
“How far along are you?”
Talcor answered, “They’ve survived the lash and oral sex. She comes on command.”
Dave shook his head, frowning. He said, “You’ve still to breach her rectum? Or command her compliance?”
“I’m well aware of the tasks left,” Kytar replied in a tight voice.
“You could stop anytime. Just release her,” Davo said.
“Never.” Kytar’s eyes glittered. “That will never happen. Marissa’s challenge will fail.”
“I don’t like seeing her like this.”
“And you think I do? I’ve pledged to protect her. I’ve never treated a companion so harshly. I want to soothe her fears. I want to satisfy her needs. I ache constantly and long to consummate our binding.”
“What if she rescinds her challenge?”
“Did she?”
“No,” Davo sighed. “I tried, but she’s determined.”
“Good, because at this point, so am I. You were right, Davo. She must accept our link no matter how hard it is on both of us. Her training progresses and she’s beginning to understand how much her beliefs limit her responses. She can go further. She can go all the way and so can I. She will submit to me.”
* * * * *
“Do you trust me?”
Kytar’s voice roused Marissa from her slumber. She stared up at his chocolate eyes. Trust, what was trust? She trusted him to feed her and let her eventually use a bathroom. She trusted him to arouse her as no man had before. She trusted him not to permanently damage her. She trusted him to be in control simply because he took all of hers.
She had to trust him since he dominated her so easily. Did she trust him to treat her like an equal? No. Never. But then she wasn’t his equal, was she? She’d never be equal while he could test and challenge her and never break a sweat. She did trust him not to break her. She did trust him to give her violently satisfying orgasms. She felt a hairline fracture run through a mental barrier she hadn’t known existed. Startled by its presence, she realized she’d built it against her stepfather and used it against all men. But Kytar was not her stepfather.
“Answer me, little one. Do you trust me?” he demanded, bringing her out of her head.
“Yes,” she sighed past the lump in her throat.
He gave a half-smile and sat on the edge of the bed. Reaching out, he stroked her cheek and before she could stop herself, she turned into his hand.
“Today will challenge you as never before,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “I don’t think I can take much more…”
“You’ll take all I give, little one,” he whispered, climbing in bed with her.
The kiss was soft, a gentle brush of their lips. But it quickly intensified as he thrust into her mouth. Plundering deep inside, she melted even as her mind screamed to resist, but she told it to shut up. She didn’t want to fight Kytar anymore and the hairline fracture widened. She admitted that she wanted to take everything he demanded. She wanted to give him everything he needed. And she didn’t want him to stop.
He took her air and her will once again. He kissed her into soft compliance. His body, hard and lean, felt like a furnace warming her.
“Kytar!” Talcor’s voice cut through the kiss like a knife.
As if drugged, Kytar slowly broke the kiss. Resting his forehead against Marissa’s, he shuddered. His arousal pressed against her belly. Why did Talcor stop him? She felt his need, as great as hers was. Why didn’t he take her? Why did he leave her unfulfilled? “Just take me,” she whispered.
Raising his head, she saw his eyes black and glittering with need.
“Just take me,” Marissa repeated, staring into his dark eyes.
“Kytar?”
Kytar turned his head to glare at Talcor. He drew in a deep breath and nodded. Then he moved off Marissa, leaving her exposed to the cold air.
“No,” she screamed, “don’t leave me like this.”
“I’m not leaving.” A bitter laugh escaped as he moved back. “We’re not done yet.”
Marissa sprang from the bed, grabbing him. “Please,” she begged, winding her arms around his neck. He easily caught her wrists and held her still. He gave her a quick hug before throwing her back on the bed. “Stay there,” he commanded.
“No! I’m sorry! I call off my challenge! I can’t take any more. Kytar I need you.”
Chapter Eleven
Marissa’s words froze Kytar.
“Kytar, please,” she begged, her mouth swollen from his kisses, her hair disheveled. Stunningly beautiful, he wanted nothing more than to accept her surrender.
“I witness her withdrawal,” Talcor said from the doorway, his voice tense but Kytar knew Talcor wouldn’t interfere. He’d accept Kytar’s decision no matter which way it went.
Kytar could end this now and consummate their union. The thought tempted him. But then he remembered her resistance and her defiance.
Was her withdrawal of the challenge simply one more tactic to control their relationship? If he surrendered now, he knew her defiance would come back. She’d resort to claims of trickery and she’d continue to fight. She may have withdrawn her challenge, but she still hadn’t acknowledged his power over her or their link. And she still hadn’t said she loved him.
“Do you submit to me?” he asked in a voice harsh with frustration and anger.
She hesitated.
“That’s what I thought. I refuse to stop the challenge, little one. We will finish the charade you started. One way or the other we will complete the challenge. I won’t accept a bond with a companion who believes she doesn’t want to be with me.” He turned and walked to the small table holding various objects.
She started to move off the bed toward Kytar but Talcor moved forward. His hard eyes, glittering with anger and satisfaction, kept her pinned to the bed as he said, “Let the challenge continue.”
Marissa bit her lip. How could Kytar throw her offer back in her face? Was that what he felt when she challenged him? The thought startled her. Did he feel rejected? Marissa turned her head to watch him.
No other lover had aroused her to the point of mindless passion the way he did. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit she wanted to feel his power. She’d never dreamed how safe and protected a powerful man would make her feel. She wanted to rebel against that thought, to reject it, but she couldn’t. Kytar was nothing like her stepfather. He wa
sn’t cruel. She saw his agony and concern while he trained her. He loved her. Did she also love him?
She couldn’t answer that question, but the wall deep inside was now riddled with cracks. Withdrawing her challenge had changed her. All of a sudden, her continued resistance seemed foolish. Why was she trying to free herself when all she really wanted was Kytar? She could feel their link and it no longer frightened her. Instead, she reveled in the link, knowing she would never be alone again. Why had she started this foolish challenge? Why had she made it so hard on both of them? Little wonder Kytar didn’t trust her change of heart. She’d given him no reason to believe she would ever accept him.
Kytar took a few deep breaths, calming his racing heart before turning back to her. “Today we work on obedience. Submission increases your arousal. I’m going to teach you things about your body. Things you never knew. Things you don’t think possible. I’m leaving you unbound,” he continued. “You will stay still for me,” he stated in a tone that brooked no disobedience. “Turn over.”
“But I withdrew my challenge. I’ll do what you say.”
“Then do it. Without comment. You will stay silent, no matter what I do.”
She looked up at him, confused and angered by his cold tone.
“Turn over, little one, on your stomach.”
She slowly rolled over. Her hands clenched in fists beneath her breasts, her legs closed tight, her buttocks clenched. His hand traced her ass. Then he lightly spanked her.
“Spread your legs wide,” he said.
She hesitated rather than complying.
Talcor didn’t tolerate her resistance. He grabbed an ankle and moved one leg from the comfort of the other. Then he took her second leg and moved it as well. “Obey your companion or I will help you obey.”
Talcor’s threatening words chilled Marissa, freezing her protest.
“Much better,” Kytar murmured. He gave her a stinging slap, followed rapidly by three more. She gasped as warmth flowered across her buttocks.
“Just a few more,” Kytar said, following his words with action.
Marissa tucked her head into the bed, trying to figure out her conflicting emotions. Her heated behind didn’t really hurt, she was more shocked than hurt. She heard Kytar move off for a moment. She didn’t hear him come back, but she felt a stinging slash across her labia. She winced at the unexpected pain and then moaned when a finger trailed down to her clit. Warmth flooded her pussy and she clenched her muscles, trying to stop the moisture leaking out.
“Put your arms above your head,” Kytar commanded.
Wanting to obey him, to prove her change of heart, she slowly raised her arms, but her hands were stiff-fisted.
A second lash fell, then a third and fourth. Kytar’s hands once more traced the marks he left. “Open your hands. Unclench your fists,” he ordered.
“I can’t…” she tried to protest, but the sting of the lash fell on her ass.
“Unclench your fists,” he ordered again. “Lie open and unresisting.”
She gritted her teeth and did as he commanded. Shudders racked her body. The pain stung like sharp arrows and she feared what he’d do next, she was so vulnerable in this position. He surprised her by lightly tracing her clit and the pain was lost in pleasure. She forgot the pain. She was close to coming when he stopped.
“Stay still,” he commanded as he moved off for a moment.
Groaning into the pillow, she started to look up but he repeated, “Stay still.”
His hands massaged her ass as if to rub her pain even deeper. Once again, a hand slipped to her clit. A finger in her channel aroused her even while his other hand continued massaging. His hair fell on her ass as he bent his head and licked the lash marks. The gentle strokes of his tongue and hand contrasted with the burning throb of the marks. Even when he used his teeth and gently bit her ass, she couldn’t stop the wetness that seeped down her cunt. She moaned, needing more than this gentle torture.
She started when a finger slid into her rectum. “No…” she whispered.
“No man has ever played with this channel?”
“Please…”
“Little one, you don’t know what you’ve been missing. Don’t move,” he commanded as he massaged her opening with a cold jelly.
She squirmed when the pressure started.
Kytar smacked her ass with the flat of his hand. “Hold still.”
She tried, but as the cold relentless pressure built, sending shards of indescribable pleasure and pain, she clenched her buttocks.
“No,” Kytar commanded, smacking her ass again. “Hold still. Do not move. Stay open for me.”
“I can’t,” Marissa moaned. “It’s too much.”
“You can and you will submit to me,” Kytar said.
Marissa shuddered at the hardness in his voice. He held the pressure steady, waiting for her response. The light touch in her mind was barely noticeable as she fought her instincts. Breathing deeply of his cedar scent, she calmed and stilled beneath his waiting hand.
The pressure increased.
Her breath hitched as she expanded. “No…” she moaned.
“Relax,” he said, “take deep breaths. Open for me and it will hurt less.”
A sharp pain signaled his implacable decision to breach her virgin rectum. She was close to screaming when the pressure lessened as he pulled the implement out a little.
“Breath deeply, little one. This is very small. When I take you, then you can scream.”
His implied threat startled her. She’d never be able to take his width.
“Don’t tense.”
She tried to take deep breaths, to still her tightness and relax against his assault. The pressure started again and she widened. Ignoring her groans, he kept up his relentless force as the object moved deeper and deeper, millimeter by millimeter.
Her eyes rolled as she struggled to cope with the intensity of the sensations washing through her body. It felt good. It felt strange. She needed to scream. She needed the pressure released. But he kept up the relentless demand that her channel widen more until the thing was firmly seated, deep within.
All her attention focused on the new sensation. She wasn’t aware of Talcor moving to each corner of the bed and binding her extremities. He covered her with a blanket, while Kytar laid a hand on her shoulder and said, “Rest awhile, little one, and adjust to your position. We’re nearly done.”
She closed her eyes, feeling the object deep within and her only regret was that her cunt was empty. The pulse in her bottom and the sharp stripes on her back, blended into an aching need that tightened her empty cunt into one aching mass of need. She floated on the sensations, following one then the other, letting them wash through her taking her away from all conflict. No tormented protest filled her mind, no endless loop of her mother’s degradation played in her head. For once, Marissa was at peace.
She returned to the awareness of the anal plug sliding out. Warm hands massaged her back, rubbing a numbing lotion into her bruises. She sighed with pleasure, curling to his touch, grateful for the release from stimulation, if only for a few moments. He kissed along her shoulder, then leaned down to finish unbinding her.
“Turn over,” he murmured in her ear before raising up enough to let her move.
Marissa rolled over slowly, startled when she noticed Talcor silently standing guard at the door. Why was he always there? She didn’t voice the question though. She did as Kytar asked.
She lay on her back, looking up into Kytar’s eyes. Mindless, she didn’t even wonder what he might do next. He gazed deeply into her soul and gauged her for the next step. He moved next to her. Propping his head on one hand, he reached the other toward her breast. He waved his hand above her and her nipple reached out as if to feel his touch. As her need expanded, he kept his hand just out of reach. Then he did the same with the other nipple until both reached for the ceiling.
“You want me,” he stated. “You like what I do, little one.”
Removing his hand from above her nipples, he laid his arm alongside his body and looked at her. She remained motionless and quiet, simply waiting for his next move. She startled herself by hoping he’d take her now to that place he’d shown her, the one where she was mindless with need and longing.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Your companion,” Marissa replied without hesitation or pause. Then realizing what she’d said her eyes widened. Should she deny it? He’d proven the fact and she was startled to realize she no longer wanted to deny the truth, her body couldn’t lie. She wanted this man in every way possible. Any way he said. She needed his strength, strength that could send her winging out of control. She’d never experienced anything like the sensations he created.
“Do you submit to me?”
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.
“Talcor wants you. Should I let him satisfy his lust for you?” Kytar asked softly.
“What?” she stammered, not quite comprehending the question.
“Talcor, do you want him?” he demanded again.
Marissa struggled to make sense of his question. “But I’m your companion,” she automatically replied. “I don’t want another man.”
He laughed and stroked her face. “Excellent. I’m proud of the progress you’re making,” he said. Leaning forward, he captured her lips. His hands moved firmly on her breasts, wrenching a moan of need from her throat.
“Will you obey me during the ritual?” he asked, whispering into her ear.
“Yes,” she moaned. A thrill of fear paralyzed her when the words sunk in. Could she obey him as mindlessly as the ritual apparently demanded? She longed to have him take her fear but before she could voice her concern, she heard Talcor say, “I witness the surrender.”
Stunned, she looked at Kytar. Why were Talcor’s words so formal? What now? Before she could panic though, Kytar stood and swept her into his arms. Carrying her into the bathroom, he sat her on the edge of the tub and ran water for a bath.
