Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

EMMELINE

My breath stills in my throat as he looms above me, looking every inch a dark god set to devour me. Is this what I signed up for? Is this what I agreed to?

Though the fear niggles its way into my brain, I can't deny the arousal flooding my system. It's unlike anything I've felt before. When I tried the butt plug, I thought that was the height of my desire. But oh no. I'm dead wrong.

Now everything makes sense. Now I understand why Mother didn't want me messing around with Alphas outside of her presence and interference. There's no way I could contain myself around them. Not like this.

Granted, the stiff shirts at the dinner never exuded this type of ferocity. They were restrained, but not in a way that denoted anything else under the surface. There was no heated passion wafting from them. They were cold, statuesque, and just as unfeeling.

Perhaps if I had married one of them, he would have changed, turning from a calm, collected businessman into this inferno blazing out above me. But then, I don't really think that's possible. Not like him. Not like Branson.

"Your thoughts seem far away, Princess. What's so deeply on your mind?"

"I- Nothing you'd want to know."

"Try me." He lifts the rope into the air as he gives me a lop-sided grin. "I'd like to think I'm open minded."

"I was just thinking how different this moment would be if I was married to someone my mother approved of."

The deep frown he gives me makes my stomach flip and my heart race. "I know you're very new to all of this, but it's not considered polite to think of another man when your husband is about to tie you up and have his way with you."

"No!" I cry out, worried I've actually upset him. "It's not like that. I'm not... That is... It's not sexual. Not really. And I promise, the thoughts were in your favor."

"Easy, Princess. I was just giving you a bit of a hard time. What differences do you think there are? Other than my lack of finances."

Heat fans over my face for a moment. "In all honesty, I didn't even think about the money part of it. More like the feelings they gave me when Mother brought them over compared to how you make me feel."

"Oh?" The purr in his voice is feral, predatory, as he looms back over me. "And how did they make you feel?"

"Bored, cold..." I pause as I search my brain, trying to figure out exactly what I feel. "Apathetic?"

"And how do I make you feel, Princess?"

"Desirable," I blurt out. "On fire. Trembling from head to toe. Exhilarated. Safe?"

"Safe?" he laughs. "I make you feel safe?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"Ahh. Well then, I suppose it's time I disabuse you of that notion. The last thing I want is for you to feel safe. And deep down, you know it too. You want to be swept up into a whirlwind, to be out of control, to have me be in control instead of you."

"H- how do you know that?"

With a dark smirk, he runs his fingers down my breastbone, completely ignoring my aching nipples. Somehow, that action makes me throb all the more. "You asked me to hunt you down and devour you. Maybe not in those exact words, but the gist is there. You want me to ravage you, to give you an excuse to tell your mother why you fucked the poor Alpha who dares to sully her daughter?"

"Oh no. When you put it like that, I-"

"Don't you worry, Princess. I have no problem being your villain. I don't mind shredding your innocence with my cock while you scream for me to stop. I'll be your plausible deniability, and you'll be my virginal sacrifice."

My heart slams into my chest as my breath stills in my lungs. This. This is exactly what I want and need. I just couldn't put it into such graphic, yet succinct, words.

Tears well up in my eyes. Hopefully, they're the last I'll cry over this whole ordeal. Besides, once he takes my virginity, there's nothing left to cry about. It will be done. My mother won't be able to say a thing. Again, that stab of fear slices through my gut, causing me to tense.

As if he can read my ever-shifting moods, Branson takes his hand and splays it over my breastbone. "Shhhh, Princess. I got you. Just lie back and let me make you feel good. No one is going to touch you ever again. Not your mother, not your father, no one. I don't plan on giving you back."

"But you don't know me. How will you know if you'll still want me, desire me, after you sleep with me?"

"Because I've never run from anything in my life. When the going gets tough, I just get tougher. Will our marriage be perfect? Hell no. No marriage is. Even though I know my parents love each other dearly, they still squabble. It's human nature. It's what you do after the disagreements that count. I vow to you, my dear bride, that I will work it out with you. Thick and thin, no matter what. Can you promise me the same?"

"You don't know my mother. She-"

Branson eases forward and curls his hand around my throat, choking off the rest of my sentence. The pressure is firm but not implacable. I can still breathe, but somehow, I don't want to. A haze drifts over my eyes as my stomach flops about like a fish demanding air.

Just as I think I'm about to go under, he releases me, allowing me to fill my lungs. Once I can breathe, he does it all over again, teasing my consciousness as he controls the very air I so desperately pull into my body.

"I'm going to speak, and you're going to listen. Understand?"

I give him a weak nod, unwilling and unable to do any more than that as I drift away on a calm, placid lake.

"Good girl," he purrs, tightening his grip again. "Your mother cannot touch me. By law, I am your husband. By our signatures on the marriage paper, I'm your mate. And by my cock driving into your pretty little pussy, I'm the man who vows to love, honor, cherish, and fuck the living daylights out of you until death parts us. I don't give a fuck about the six months. You're mine until you demand I release you. And even then, I'm sure I can convince you otherwise."

"But what about love?" I manage to croak out, my heart rending in two.

"Love will come. I'm sure of it. I'm already crazy about you in a way I've never been about anyone else. They all pale to you. Your scent is a drug to me, chaining me to your side. The moment I helped you in your room, I was smitten. When I picked out a ring, it was with you in mind. It's only fitting that you are here by my side as my wife."

As I open my mouth to retort, he leans over and brushes his lips against mine. All thoughts flee from my mind as he runs his tongue along my bottom lip and eases it in, forcing it past my teeth. He moves in and out with shallow thrusts, making my body sing as pleasure sizzles along my synapses.

One hand runs through my hair and grabs at the scalp, tugging my head back so he can open me even further to his hungry lips. His other hand skims my body, leaving fire and pleasure in its wake. I don't care if he's my husband or not, it still feels naughty to let him have his way with me.

With a feral groan, he wrenches his mouth away from mine and stares into my eyes. His hot, heavy, panting breath washes over my skin, making it tingle as I come alive.

"I'm not going to demand that you run from me, seeing as there's not really anywhere for you to go. But know this, my little princess, you are never getting away from me."

He yanks his hand back from my body and grabs my wrists, hauling them up to the headboard. One hand encloses around both and pins them into place, stretching me out beneath his hungry gaze. In this moment, I've never felt so small, so delicate, or so vulnerable.

There's not a trace of hatred or anger in his eyes, but I see nothing gentle either. That man is gone. In his place is a feral Alpha intent on claiming me as his. The shiver racing down my spine is half fear, half arousal, and all wanton desire.

I tug a bit, just to give a token amount of resistance, just to say I did, but he holds firm. His dark growl slides over my skin, making my eyes nearly roll back into my skull.

"Is that the best you've got? I'm about to tie you up, making you helpless. A little tug is all you have for me? Surely you can do better than that. I'm sure that fancy school you went to taught you self-defense or something. Come on, Princess, fight me. Protect your virginal innocence for as long as you can."

My eyes widen at his words. He wants me to actually fight back? I thrust my hips into the air, doing my best to rock him off of me, but he doesn't budge.

My school never taught me self-defense, never taught me how to protect myself from an Alpha. And why would they? My primary school and college are both female only. Why would I need to keep myself safe from other omegas? A thread of unease slithers through my veins, forcing me to move.

Deep inside, I know he won't actually harm me, but my body doesn't know that. Not for sure. Gritting my teeth, I toss and turn, wrenching myself from side to side, as if that will somehow move his massive bulk off of me.

From between my thighs, his cock swells even larger against his sweatpants and bumps against my sensitive flesh. An odd sound, something between a sob and moan, erupts from my lips as I grind against him, seeking pleasure as opposed to freedom.

"Seems as if my naughty princess wants this. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. This won't do. I'm supposed to force myself upon you. You're so fucking wet, you're soaking through my pants."

With a hard tug, he jerks my wrists up and grabs the rope, tying them to the headboard with an ease that leaves me breathless. Everything he's done to me so far is with a skill and a finesse that makes me weak in the knees. Competency. It's the only word that thrums through my brain.

Once my wrists are bound, making it nearly impossible for me to wriggle free, I kick out with my feet, putting up a token resistance to the deflowering I crave. He chuckles as he swats my feet away, pushing them to the side as if they were nothing. My breath comes in haggard gasps as he grabs my ankles and wrenches my legs apart, baring me to his feral gaze.

"So. Fucking. Wet for me. God, you're just perfect, my naughty princess. But as much as I want to indulge, I find myself in a more sadistic frame of mind."

Everything freezes. Sadistic? But then, I asked for this, didn't I? I wanted this. Now, however, as he pushes my knees back toward my head, nearly bending me in half, I wonder if this is such a good idea.

"Hmmm," he murmurs, lowering them back down. "You're going to be here for a while. I'm a deviant, not an ogre."

He turns back to the small closet and rummages around. As much as I crane my neck, I can't seem to see what he's getting. When he turns back, he holds two large straps in his hands and a dark smile on his face.

"Time for your examination, little omega. The doctor will see you now."