by Lexi Blake
It was dangerous to forget he didn’t really love her.
His face softened. “Kaja, they’re stupid. Is that what has you so prickly? It will be yesterday’s news in an hour or so. They’ll find someone else to pick on. In a few weeks, things will calm down, and we can take that trip we talked about.”
That was what he’d said weeks before. Their “trip” kept getting put off. And she knew her status as an outcast and a beast wouldn’t blow over. “No. I want to leave. I wish to leave this plane. I want to go back to the forests.”
“No.” He turned and walked into the front room of their apartment.
“What do you mean no?”
He walked toward the bedroom. “It means what I said. You’re not going anywhere. You’re my wife. You’ll stay with me. Now I’m done arguing with you. You can eat supper or go hungry, but you’re not going to leave.”
He dismissed her so utterly that she felt something nasty start to kick around her brain. She looked around the apartment. It was so perfect. Perfect art. Perfect furniture. Perfect rug. Everything was in its place, and that was what Dante was trying to do with her. She had her place, and she wasn’t to leave it.
She picked up the glass vase Dante claimed was a masterwork and threw it across the room. It shattered when it hit the wall. Something about the destruction made Kaja feel satisfied. And it did what she’d intended. Dante turned, his eyes wide.
“What the fuck was that about?”
“You cannot keep me in a cage.” She could see plainly now that this grand place was exactly that—her new cage. This whole plane was a cage. Perhaps she could have handled it if he was here with her, but she’d been forgotten. It was better to be alone than to languish here.
His hands clenched into fists. “I have papers that say I can do anything I want with you, Kaja.”
And he thought she was stupid. “I know all about your laws. You cannot keep me. You cannot make me your slave.”
“You’ve been talking to your tutor, love? Well, she’s a very smart vampire, but she is a peasant. The laws we have are there so we don’t look like barbarians, but I assure you no one is going to come between a royal and his consort. I haven’t been abusing you. No one is going to question my rights. Try going to the police. They’ll pat your head and bring you home to your…cage.”
Weeks of tension had built inside her, and now it came rushing out like a volcano finally erupting. She wanted to hurt him the way he’d hurt her. “Then maybe I will take your advice. I’ll find another royal. All of you royal vampires seem to sniff around consorts. I’ve heard royals aren’t very picky these days. They’ll even fuck a beast. Well, when they think to. Maybe I can find a royal with a bit more of a sex drive.”
“You are pushing me,” Dante said, his voice a low snarl. “I don’t know why. I’ve done nothing for the last few weeks but work for our future.”
“I don’t want this future.” Frustrated tears filled her eyes. How could she make him understand? How could she tell him she felt smothered here? “I want to call Meg and go to the Faery plane.”
He moved faster than her eye could track. She’d noticed since he’d started taking her blood that he seemed stronger, faster than he was before. “You are not going anywhere. I am on the edge. Don’t do this. I can’t promise you that I won’t do something I’ll regret. Back down now, consort.”
She knew what she should do. It was there in his stance and his voice. She was “pushing his buttons,” as they said on this plane. She’d been studying. Vampires were ridiculously possessive of their consorts, and they could be very domineering. It was one of the things she’d missed over the last few weeks. Even their sex had been bland.
“No. You don’t own me.”
His fangs seemed larger than ever before. “I thought to let them finish our playroom before we used it, but you made that choice, love. If you’re leaving then I should at least get what I can now.”
He picked her up, cradling her to his chest.
“Dante, put me down.”
He didn’t bother to reply, simply carried her down the hall to the second bedroom. All the last week, deliveries had come and workers had been walking in and out of the room. She’d been told not to take a peek. It was supposed to be a surprise. Now her heart raced as she realized she was going into the room he said was for play. Sex. That was what he meant by play. He meant sex, and Kaja got the feeling it wouldn’t be easy, lazy sex. It would be rough.
He was right. If she was going to leave, she wanted a last time with him. She would never forget him, and she could hold the memory in her heart.
He kicked open the door. It flew back and slammed into the wall.
She struggled to see. The room was utterly transformed from a nice bedroom into something dark and exotic. Dante didn’t bother to explain the strange cross on the wall or why there were so many hooks in the ceiling. He simply walked to the center of the room and set her on a plush ottoman. It was circular and large.
Before she could move, he had her hands in his. He dragged them behind her back, and cold metal snapped around her wrists. She tugged, but her hands were locked together.
“Clothes, off. Command 125.” With his words, her clothes receded around her body, shrinking to a neat pile at her knees. Dante smiled, but it was a harsh thing without an ounce of humor. “I programmed your clothes, love. I could have had you naked at any time.”
Her eyes slid from his. “Well, you did not want to.”
He tugged her head up. “Is that what this is about? Baby, I’m trying to figure this out. You think I don’t want you?”
It was so much more than that, but it was something she could answer. “I think you like sex, but I’m just a body.”
He groaned and hauled her against his. “So untrue. Gods, if you could sneak a peek into my brain during the day you would know it’s always Kaja—all the time. I have to concentrate to not think of you. You invade my thoughts all day. I sit in meetings and all I can think of is you riding my cock. It plays hell with me. I can’t properly explain why talking about marketing gives me a hard-on.”
She didn’t understand him at all. “But you are never with me.”
His eyes had softened now that he had her naked. “It’s work. You don’t get it. This is the way my plane runs. You’ll settle in.”
She wouldn’t, but she wasn’t sure how to make him see it. How could she make him understand that her heart hurt every time he walked out the door? “I won’t. No one will accept me.”
His hands cupped her shoulders. “I accept you. You have to understand. I can’t let you go. I won’t let you go.”
She felt deliciously vulnerable. She was naked, her nipples puckering in the chilly air. She couldn’t move her hands. The way they were chained behind her back thrust her chest out. Dante couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her breasts. It was so odd. She was naked, and he was clothed. He looked like a perfectly powerful vampire, proper even in his business suit, though his erection was tenting those expensive pants of his. She would still call Meg when this was over, but she wanted this time with him.
He ran his fingertips over her nipples. “I have responsibilities. Can’t you see that? I have to provide for you. I have to not be a fuckup.”
It was important to him. He took his work seriously, and she understood he needed to have a place in this society. Appearances were very important on this plane. She was going to ruin his. She was never going to be the lady consort he needed, but for tonight she could be his comfort, and he could be hers.
She lowered her head. He sighed, and she could feel him open to her. His relief at the fact that she was submitting practically poured across her skin. He didn’t want to fight—not her. There was a fight building in her Dante, but she didn’t sense that it was a fight with her. He’d been genuinely surprised at her anger.
Oh, it was getting so easy to read him when they were truly intimate. When they were together and open, she didn’t want to run. When she could
feel his soul brush hers, nothing could keep her away. But the times when he held it back from her, those times caused an aching chasm to open inside.
He pulled away, his hand running through his hair. “Sorry. I was pushing myself at you, wasn’t I?”
She bit back a sob. “I didn’t mind.”
“I don’t understand this connection thing. I wasn’t raised to expect it the way Beck and Ci were.”
Mates on her plane, true mates, could speak without talking. She would never have that because Dante feared the binding. She would always be alone. It wouldn’t work if he never wanted it. None of this would work. She should have remembered that. When he found a place for himself inside her brain, she was in his. It couldn’t be nice to be her. She wouldn’t force that on him. “I will behave. I will go and have my supper and cause no trouble.”
He cursed and pulled her hair back. “See, I’m fucking up again, and I don’t want to. I want to do what’s right. I just haven’t figured out what that is yet. You want this? You want me to flood you with myself?”
She looked at him through a veil of tears. “I think you’re so beautiful, but it does not mean anything if it isn’t shared. You do not want to see me. My essence is not lovely. I understand.”
He growled at her. “You don’t understand a thing, but I am beginning to.”
He kissed her, his mouth covering her own, his tongue plundering. He hauled her against his body. His erection prodded at her belly.
“I’ll give you what you want, Kaja. You give me what I need first.”
She gasped. His desire sparked across her skin and into her brain like lightning striking. He wanted so much, all of it from her. He wanted her soft and willing. He wanted her trust and her submission. He wanted to be in charge of her because no one thought he could handle anything. She was important to him. She could feel it.
“You threw a priceless vase at my head,” Dante said, his voice deepening.
Yes. She had done that. At the time, it had seemed like a good thing to do. Not so much now. She glanced around the room. There were some very odd toys lying about. She bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry.”
His fangs gleamed in the low light. “Not going to do it, sweetheart. You’re in for some serious punishment.”
There was that word again. Punishment. It made her nervous and excited all at the same time. He hadn’t punished her since that day under the waterfall. He had mentioned that he’d gone easy on her then. “You said you had a meeting with the scary vampire. You do not want to be late.”
He laughed outright. “Nice try, Kaj. Trust me, when Julian Lodge finds out I’m late because I was disciplining a bratty young lady, he’ll forgive me. Nothing is more important to that man than discipline. Show me your ass and be glad I don’t use a ball gag on you. The next spiteful words out of your mouth will cause me to stuff something in there. Do you understand?”
She understood the desire that came off him in waves. It was easy to submit when she could feel how much Dante craved this. Just talking the way he was got him hard. Every word pulsed in his cock. Gods, she could feel it in her pussy. He wasn’t hiding, and the connection between them sparked and crackled. She did as he asked. She turned awkwardly on her pedestal and kneeled over, leaving her ass exposed. Her hands were chained together behind her back, so she rested her cheek against the soft velvet of the ottoman.
“Yeah, that’s what I want. Look at that. Such a pretty ass. What should I use on this pretty ass? I’ll be honest, love. I’m surprised that a bad girl has such a gorgeous ass.”
His hand slapped at the fleshy part of her buttocks. He didn’t hold back. The pain bit into her skin and had her eyes tearing up. He smacked her ten times in rapid succession, the blows raining down. She cried out. It hurt and yet she felt the intent behind it. He enjoyed watching her skin redden, knew that it would make what he did later even sweeter.
She was beginning to hear his thoughts.
Such a sweet ass. It’s going to feel like heaven to fuck that ass. Mine. Mine. Mine.
He spanked her. She counted. Twenty. Twenty-five. Pain morphed into a pleasant feeling that had her almost floating outside her body. Thirty. He was calming now. She could feel it.
He stopped briefly. “Don’t think I’m done. That vase really was priceless, and I still owe you for not running from the goblins when I ordered you to.”
She felt something slightly cold dribble between the cheeks of her ass and clenched her teeth. She knew what was coming. He’d made her wear the training plug several nights over the last few weeks. Each time the plug got larger, filling her with what felt like warm flesh. When she tightened around it, it delivered the hated ginger oil and made her tight ring feel like it was on fire. And she’d taken a strange pleasure from that as well. She’d enjoyed that moment when he would work the plug in. She’d come to crave it.
“That’s right,” he said, fitting the plug to her. “See, it’s opening for me. So much easier than a week ago.”
He rimmed her asshole. She whimpered a bit as he began working it in. He loved to hear her cries. It made his dick twitch. The connection was easy to hold on to now that he’d stopped fighting it. When his cock pulsed with desire, she felt it. Gods, he loved dominating her. There was nothing in Dante that wasn’t focused on her, and she got a glimpse of what sex had meant to him before he’d met her.
Fun. Playful. He’d had a lot of women, and not a one had touched him past his cock. He’d been entertained. Not once had he wanted this.
Responsibility. He was responsible for her. It had been scary in the beginning, and now he longed for it.
He used to lie back and enjoy the sex. A blonde with large breasts flashed through her brain. She would ride Dante, and he liked it. He would sit back and let her have her way with his cock. He would never have shoved the busty blonde across his lap to spank her ass.
The plug slid home, and Kaja felt something settle deep inside her. She was different for Dante. She was something more.
“See, that is really amazing,” Dante said, his breath harsh. “I can feel it. I feel that fucking thing.” He pulled on the plug. “Wow. I can feel the plug in your ass. Why did you complain about this?”
Kaja smiled. She loved the connection now more than ever. She clenched hard around the plug and winced as the burn began.
“Damn it, Kaja. That is not fair. Holy hell.” But he pushed the plug in further. “It’s not going to save you. I felt every smack on your ass. I also felt your pussy begging for more. I won’t back away from the connection between us, love. I will never back away from this again.”
He fucked her ass with the plug. The oil burned for a moment, stimulating and making her ultra-aware of what was happening to her. She relaxed and allowed the plug to start vibrating.
“So much better,” Dante said with a sigh.
He hadn’t had their connection open when her poor asshole was first getting used to the plug. He might have rethought it then. She bit back a grin at the thought. He seemed to like how it felt now. He pressed the plug in, and she felt him step around to the front.
He took her by the shoulders, lifting her to a kneeling position. He’d unbuttoned his shirt and she could see his sculpted stomach muscles. She loved how lean and strong he was. The plug whirred in her ass, pleasure and jangling discomfort mixing in a concoction that had her off-kilter and waiting for more.
Slowly, Dante lowered the zipper of his trousers. His cock sprang free. He looked powerful and decadent with his huge cock thrusting toward her. His hand tangled in her hair.
“Take me deep. Get me hard.”
He shoved his cock into her mouth. She struggled to take it all because, despite his words, he was already as hard as any stone. She gagged but opened her mind and let herself feel him.
So good. It was so good to fuck her mouth. It was savage and primal and perfect.
It felt good to Dante, but more than simple pleasure invaded Kaja’s brain. He needed this. He needed it like
he needed his next breath. Knowing she was submitting to him gave him peace and reassurance.
He didn’t want her to run. He would never allow it. He fucked her mouth in short strokes. He groaned as her tongue whirled around the head. He would never let her go. If she ran from him, he would be right behind. She was his. His.
He pulled his cock out. “Not so simple, love. I want to come inside you. I want to pack you with cock.” He leaned over and kissed her. “And I’m glad I’ve erased that fucker from your mind. He can’t hurt you again, Kaja. I won’t allow it.”
She’d been thinking about Sven. He’d been there in the back of her mind. She’d had what seemed like a fleeting thought that Dante was her only lover. His touch was the only one that mattered. Her husband had heard her loud and clear. He didn’t seem embarrassed that she wanted only him.
“You better.” His eyes had narrowed. “I find out you want someone else and I’ll have them taken out. Do you understand?” He stopped. “You didn’t say that out loud, did you?”
She shook her head. Now he would get upset. “It is common when wolves bind themselves and the binding is strong, that they can hear each other’s thoughts during times of great emotion.”
His hand softened in her hair. “Cool. Um, if this is really going to happen a lot, you should know that I cuss in my head all the time and I think about your pussy most of the day.”
She could handle that. She smiled and sent some thoughts his way. “This is what I think about.”
His cock. His mouth on her. Everywhere.
His breath hitched. “Fuck, that’s hot, Kaj. Hold that thought.”
She wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to do. She was chained and had a large, buzzing plug up her ass.
Dante was back in a second with another dildo, this one oddly shaped. It had a large cock but there was an extension that came off the base forming a tiny cup. There was a long strap that came out from each side. Dante moved behind her. “This one is for your pussy. It’s the best on the market. Top of the line.” He pressed her forward again. “This one doesn’t even come out for another couple of months. Talbot Industries makes the best sex toys. Though they have terrible names. This one is called The Jennifer. I would have called it Superhot Cock with Clit Sucker.”
