by D. M. Shane
“Don’t you dare touch me,” I seethed, but his face was deadly calm. Dangerous. I’d intentionally sparked his ire, and now I would pay. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. He cricked his finger at me and pointed to the floor beside him. I shook my head and refused to move.
“Fine. We do this the hard way.”
Arkkadian sat down at the foot of the bed, grabbed my leg, and pulled me toward him. In the blink of an eye, I was face down on the mattress with my hips across his lap, butt in the air. From beneath me, he released the button on my jeans. I tried to squirm away, but a firm hand planted in the middle of my back, effortlessly pinning me in place. Then my jeans and panties were tugged halfway down my thighs.
“What in the hell are you doing?”
The answer came in the form of a smack across my bare bottom, and I screeched at the resounding sting across my skin. It shocked me more than it hurt.
“Count. We’ll start with five. And you will call me sir.”
“What the fuck?”
“Stop talking and count,” he ordered, softly rubbing the spot where he spanked me. “For every spank you don’t count, you’ll receive five more. I’ll forgive the first one.”
“I am not a child! You can’t spank me!” Before I could speak another word, his land landed where the curve of my cheeks met the top of my thighs, and I jerked. This one stung a little more. “Ow! Stop it!”
“I said, count! I gave you every chance. We’ll stop at ten,” he said, massaging the spot where his hand had landed again, soothing the sting.
“Stop! Let me up!” I kicked my legs out, trying to slide off his lap, but he wrapped a leg over both of mine. I swung my fist back in retaliation, catching him on the arm, but Arkkadian grabbed both of my fists and pinned them uncomfortably behind me.
A third smack came down across my bottom, and again, Arkkadian soothed the spot. He leaned down close to my ear and whispered, “Count. I won’t tell you again. You’re lucky I’m not adding another ten for that punch you just threw.”
“Okay! Three!”
“One. We’re starting at the beginning. The first two didn’t count. No more talking. Understood?”
I nodded, floating somewhere between anger and humiliation.
“Say it.”
“Okay! One!”
“One what?”
“One, sir!”
Another smack rained down.
“Two, sir!” Another. His hand soothed the spot again.
“Ouch! Three, sir!” Smack!
“Four, sir!” I ground out. Again, he rubbed soothing circles, but my backside was on fire now, the sting of each slap starting to spread. Mixed with the sensual caress of his hand upon my flesh, it was a heady feeling I unexpectedly found myself enjoying. I didn’t want to enjoy it.
“Five!” I wailed as his hand landed again. “Please stop! I’m sorry!”
I didn’t know how much more I could take. Though my backside burned, a wetness grew between my legs. I’d become aroused despite the shame I felt, and tears of embarrassment pricked my eyes. It wasn’t the spanking I couldn’t take. It was the betrayal of my body I couldn’t handle.
“No, you’re not, keep counting,” he said, ignoring my pleas.
And so it went, Arkkadian’s fingers kneading my hot and achy flesh after every expertly placed swat on my tender bottom and me counting until he stopped at last.
By the tenth, my voice cracked and no other sounds came forth as I openly sobbed through ragged breaths. Arkkadian rubbed slow, sensuous circles across my skin, easing the pain. Then I felt a finger graze across my moist nether lips, sparking desire deep down in my core.
Shocked by my body’s traitorous reaction to the spanking, I buried my face in the bedspread. Arkkadian pulled his hand away, and then my panties were being tugged back up. He lifted me into his arms and carried me around the side of the bed, where he gently laid me down on the pillows.
“Stay there, I’ll be back,” he ordered.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I buried my face in the pillow and cried, wondering what just happened. I’d just become fully aroused by a spanking. A punishment. I was mortified, but mostly, I was angry with myself for provoking him. He’d warned me, given me chances, and I just couldn’t shut my stupid mouth. I was so busy wallowing in my misery that I didn’t hear him return to the bedside.
“Aislin, roll onto your belly, please. I brought some arnica. It will help,” he said gently.
“Go away,” I whimpered into the pillow.
“No. I punished you, and now it’s my job to take care of you. That’s how this works. Please do as you’re told,” he softly said, though his voice still pricked with authority. “I’d rather not have a repeat, would you?”
He waited patiently for me to comply, and then I felt the mattress give as his weight pressed down beside me. I squirmed as he lowered my panties, the fabric scraping painfully across sensitive skin, stoking the coals back to life. This was even more embarrassing than the spanking. The heat radiating off my backside was nearly unbearable.
“This will help, I promise.”
I flinched at the first touch, but it didn’t take long for the salve to take effect. The burn eventually abated, and I found the kneading of my soft flesh relaxing. Ever so slowly, though, the familiar warm feeling of arousal enveloped my body again, spiking higher and higher. Strangely, I also felt a sense of relief. The anger. The frustration. The stress. I’d been wound tighter than a two dollar watch, but now, I felt like it had all floated away on a cloud.
Arkkadian’s gentle voice interrupted my thoughts. “How do you feel?”
How did I feel? Confused mostly, but yes, relieved. Like I’d given the anger away. I’d given it up to him. I’d ceded control, if only for a moment, and it had felt so good. I told him as much.
“That’s good. Your body recognized your need to submit.” I wanted to pretend I didn’t know what he meant by that, but it would have been a lie.
Once again, fingers dipped low enough to glide across my sweet center. No one had ever touched me there before. Not until now. Instinctively, I tilted my hips back, granting him easier access. The longer Arkkadian massaged my tender skin, the more aroused I became. Fingers slid between my wet folds. I moaned at the sensation, and a whole new kind of fire stoked deep in my belly as he slid a finger inside. I felt a sense of loss when he pulled his finger away before pushing inside me again. It wasn’t long before I ground myself on his hand as he slid a second inside, instantly setting every nerve ending alight with desire.
Then I heard him inhale. Deeply. I froze. Oh, my God! Could he smell me? Flustered, I jerked away from Arkkadian’s ministrations and pulled my pants back up. I tried to sit up, but my sore bottom screamed and made me hiss, so instead, I jumped out of bed and stormed into the bathroom. Then I slammed the door shut and locked it behind me.
“Aislin?” Arkkadian called out from the other side.
“Go away.” I’d just let the man who spanked me touch me in an intensely intimate manner. What did I just do? What just happened? I spun wildly around, unable to think.
“I’m not leaving until I know you’re okay. Come out and let’s talk about this,” he said. “I know you’re confused. Let me help.”
“How would you know what I’m feeling right now?” Just the sound of his voice rankled. I just wanted him to leave. I needed space to process everything.
“Aislin, I can smell it,” he said.
Wait. What? Oh, God. Was he serious? Did he know ab—?
I yanked the door open. “What the hell does that mean? Smell what?” I asked, feeling my face suffuse with heat, even though I knew exactly what he meant. I was losing my mind. My chest heaved with every intake of breath.
Arkkadian smirked and looked me straight in the eye as he leaned against the door jamb. “You have no reason to be embarrassed. It’s natural.”
“No, it’s not. A spanking should not arouse me!” I slammed the door again before yanking it open a
second later. “You didn’t answer my question. What did you smell?”
God, I wanted to slap that smug grin right off his gorgeous face. Wipe the amusement in his eyes away. I ground my teeth while I waited for his answer, thinking how much I wanted to taste those smug lips.
“We’re not human. I can smell lots of things, including your arousal.”
“Oh, my God! This is ridiculous!” I slammed the door again and locked it.
Not human. Right. Uncontrollable laughter bubbled up. I was losing my mind. So why did I suddenly want to wrap myself around him and kiss him as if my life depended on it? And then, like a battering ram to the castle gate, it hit me. My laughter ceased instantly. We. Not he. He’d said, “We’re not human.” What did that even mean? Then Gideon’s wolf flashed in my mind, and I slid down to the floor, yelping when I landed on my sore ass.
“Aislin, please come out,” Arkkadian begged.
“No. Go away.” I was on the express train to crazy town with a one-way ticket.
“Aislin, please.”
“You’re crazy. Or maybe I’m the crazy one.” I laughed. “Please, just go. I can’t do this right now.”
“Fine. Gideon and Sara will be here in an hour. I expect you downstairs when they arrive.” The command was clear in his tone, but the sound of silence was deafening when he turned and walked away.
15
Arkkadian
I sat in the old wooden rocker out on the front porch and fumed. My wolf prowled, begging for freedom, something he was doing a lot of lately now that I had found our mate. What I wanted was to go back upstairs and give Aislin a piece of my mind again for acting like a spoiled brat. She’d continued to push me, eventually landing herself in a compromising position over my knee with my hand on her sweet little ass. I had cautioned her more than once. I hoped the spanking would serve as a warning to keep her mouth in check from now on.
It was a pleasant surprise, however, to see my mate had a tough side. It was a sharp contrast to the anxiety she had previously exhibited. If she wasn’t afraid to fight, I could work with that. I could help her rebuild her confidence. I waited outside my bedroom door, but when it became clear she wasn’t coming out, I’d come down to the porch to calm down. Maybe the fresh air would clear my head.
A short while later, Gideon and Sara walked up the drive, hand in hand. Judging by what had happened upstairs, asking for their help had been one of my better ideas. They followed me inside, and I sent them to the den while I fetched Aislin. I knocked on the bedroom door as a courtesy, but received no answer. She was sound asleep on my bed when I entered.
She was sleeping so peacefully, unlike last night. Lycan hearing was excellent, and throughout the night, I’d heard every whimper and shriek as she dreamed. I gazed down upon her sleeping form, hating that I had to wake her, but we were long past due for a discussion about her past and our future.
I sat down on the bed beside her and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She lay on her side, facing the wall, knees pulled up and the blanket tucked under her chin. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and her eyes were puffy. Dammit. A small part of me felt guilty for making her cry, but she also needed to understand how things worked around here. At my gentle touch, she stirred and opened her silver eyes. She didn’t move, didn’t speak, but her eyes moved from me to the wall where they stayed.
“Hey,” I said softly. “Listen, about earlier…”
She cut me off. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
I caught the subtle clench of her jaw. She was still angry. I couldn’t blame her, but I wouldn’t put up with the attitude either.
“Look. I’m sorry I upset you, but I’m not sorry I punished you. I warned you twice, but you didn’t listen. I told you I don’t condone that kind of display. Had you been anyone else, your punishment would have taken place publicly. In front of everyone,” I explained. “Is that what you want?”
Her eyes widened a fraction. I had her attention now. She squirmed under the bedspread. Not so tough now, are we?
“Do we have an understanding?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Embarrassment was not my intention. I know you’re confused. It’s completely normal to feel those things. But as part of this community, there are some things I can’t let slide,” I said. “Got it?”
“Yes, but I’m not part of this community.”
“From now on, you are. You’ll understand more shortly. But before we go, is there anything you want to talk about?” I looked directly into her dazzling silver eyes.
She clenched her jaw again and looked away, but I reached out and tilted her head back, holding her chin and forcing her to look at me. “I want you to know those things you felt… it’s okay.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The lie clung to her lips, and she pulled away, scooting up toward the headboard. She tried to school her face, but the blush that crept into her cheeks betrayed everything she was feeling.
“Fine. Gideon and Sara are waiting, so I’d like you to come down and join us. Take a moment to collect yourself. Wash your face. You’ve got five minutes.” I got up and left the room, not giving her a chance to respond.
In the den, Sara had set out coffee and tea, and Gideon was watching news coverage of the fire. There was still nothing new to report. He shut the television off when I entered and plopped down on the end of the sofa next to his mate.
“How’s she doing?” he asked.
“Frustrated. She was asleep. But she’ll be down in a minute,” I told him. “She’s a bit out of sorts after getting a little mouthy with me earlier.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “Arkkadian Rime, please tell me you didn’t. That poor woman.” She only used my full name when she thought I was being an ass, which, if I were honest, happened a lot.
“I warned her twice for screaming and cursing at me in anger, and she chose not to listen. I made it clear I won’t tolerate any disrespect,” I said.
“Arkken, you need to remember she’s not familiar with Pack life and she’s just been through something traumatic. I swear, for a man who’s been alive as long as you have, you can be such a daft fool. She probably feels like a prisoner. Explains her defensiveness,” Sara scolded me. She was right, but I wouldn’t be doing my job as Alpha if I let that kind of behavior slide.
I scented my mate just before she appeared around the corner. She stood in the doorway with a wary look on her face, arms crossed defensively.
“Who’s Arkken?” she asked.
“Me. Only close friends and family call me Arkken. Everyone else uses my first name or refers to me as Alpha,” I explained.
“Arkken.” She tested it on her tongue, then shook her head. “I like Arkkadian better.”
“You may use either, I don’t mind.”
“So, what’s a Pack?” She took a cautious step forward and stopped. She’d been listening in on our conversation.
All eyes were on Aislin as Sara embraced her in a hug and then led her over to the leather sofa next to the fireplace. Sara sat in the middle, Gideon and Aislin on either side of her. When she shivered, Sara wrapped a blanket around her.
“Please tell me this isn’t some crazy cult or something,” she said.
Gideon laughed, and Sara cuffed him on the back of the head. “Shut up, Gideon.”
I turned to Aislin and saw the quizzical look on her face, but Sara beat me to it. “Ignore my mate. Sometimes he can be a royal pain in the butt. Just like his brother.” Sara rolled her eyes with a grin.
“Hey, I resent that!” I laughed.
“All joking aside, you’re about to hear some bizarre things, except that every bit is true. I promise you’ll receive nothing but the truth, Aislin. Remember that there are good people here. Honest, hardworking people. Families. Children. We’re a community that shares a special bond because of who and what we are. What you are,” Sara emphasized. “I want you to listen to what Arkk
adian has to say with an open mind. I encourage you to ask questions. You may feel confused or even angry, and that’s fine, but know that you have nothing to fear here.”
“What do you mean? What am I?” She looked to each of us, confusion mixed with concern darkening her face.
“You’re one of us, you just never knew. Listen to Arkkadian, okay?” Sara said as she squeezed Aislin’s hand in support.
“O—okay.”
I pulled my chair out from behind the desk and pushed it over to sit in front of Aislin. “Do you remember upstairs when I said we’re not human?”
Her face flushed with embarrassment. I said nothing, but I knew exactly what she was thinking as I waited for her to answer.
“Wait. Did you really mean that? I thought you were joking.”
I shook my head. “Yes. And, no, I wasn’t joking.”
“Then if you aren’t human, what are you?” Aislin pulled the blanket snug around her, almost using it as a shield between us.
“Not I, we. We are immortal,” I said, gesturing to include everyone in the room, including her. “Specifically, Gideon and I are Lycans. Shapeshifters. As are all the men here in Eagle Ridge. You and Sara are Aeternus.”
Aislin steepled her fingers under her chin and tilted her eyes toward the ceiling in thought. Then she busted out laughing. That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.
“I’m losing my mind. You’re telling me you’re a freaking werewolf and that I’m sitting here in the middle of an entire compound full of werewolves,” she answered back in complete disbelief. “Fucking hell. This has to be a dream. I’m gonna wake up any moment now, nice and cozy in my bed, and none of the last few days will have happened.”
“We aren’t werewolves,” Gideon spat. “Those made up abominations from storybooks don’t exist. Please don’t insult us.”
