Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

K at stood and brushed the sand from her clothes. "I'm going back to the house," she said as she turned and began to walk away.

"Wait, Kat," Jed said, trying to pick everything up and get the horse and cart safely situated.

Kat ignored him and continued to walk away. Once he had everything back in the cart, he turned to follow her, but was too late to stop her from taking the wooden steps up the side of the cliff that rose between the beach and the beginning of the rolling hills of the vineyard.

"Shit. Shit and shit," he swore, turning the horse and cart and heading for the only path that would accommodate them. How the hell had a romantic picnic and talking about the future turned to her decreeing a vendetta against the Darkness?

T hat had gone a bit better than she'd thought it might. She was certain he'd planned to lull her into acquiescence by talking about a future as a sommelier. Kat wasn't at all sure she was going to even survive long enough to have a future.

She could hear him calling her name from the beach but kept steadily climbing the stairs. He really was a gorgeous hunk of wolf, but he would only end up dying if he tried to claim her. She hadn't cared for the spanking he'd inflicted earlier in the day, but the delicious coupling that had come after had been extraordinary. The thought of what it might be like to truly revel in his embrace crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. It wouldn't be fair to him, and it might prove a major distraction.

Kat managed to get back to the house and up the stairs without anyone seeing her. She could hear the sound of loud, raised voices coming from the study. It sounded as if Damian Steele was having an argument with Marco DeMedici over the phone. She wondered if she might be able to use that distraction to leave the property. Jed would need to come the long way with the horse and cart and that might just give her the time she needed. Rushing up the stairs, she entered their room, tossed her clothing and toiletries in a duffle she found in the closet, grabbed her purse, and slipped back down the stairs to exit via the kitchen door.

She was quietly securing the door behind her when she suddenly felt not only a presence, but an enormous burst of energy behind her. Jed was pissed. Only one way to handle it, and that was to just brazen it out.

Turning to face him, she drew a deep breath. "You made better time than I thought you would."

He nodded to the duffle. "Yes, I can see that. Give me the duffle, Kat."

"No. I really did enjoy this morning," she said in an imperious tone, "but I have things to do and they don't include picnics on the beach. I apologize if I made you think there could ever be anything between us."

She watched him like a mongoose eyed a cobra. To the casual observer, he appeared calm and collected. The problem was that even though he had yet to truly claim her, she could feel his emotions and knew he was seething inside. Part of that she chalked up to male pride and feeling as though she'd played him. He didn't make a move, just rumbled low and steady, allowing her to feel the anger rolling off him.

"You're going to have to learn to give me some kind of warning for these volatile mood changes of yours," he said quietly. "Do you have a safeword, Kat?"

That threw her. What the hell was he talking about? "When I'm playing, yes."

"What is it?"

"None of your business," she said, watching as members of the Sonoma pack started to gather.

"That's an interesting and cumbersome safeword. Why don't we try something shorter like, Chianti?"

"I can assure you, Chianti is not my safeword. And we aren't playing."

"Not yet, we aren't. Mainly because I haven't wanted to push you. In Italy I figured finding out I was your fated mate was a bit of a shock. Then in San Francisco, there was the whole being possessed by an evil demon. It occurs to me that every time I make an excuse for you and give you an inch, you take a mile. That stops now."

She lifted her chin. Couldn't he see that he needed to choose another? Whatever the Darkness was, whatever it had done to her, couldn't be swept under a rug as if nothing had happened. He was easily the sexiest alpha wolf she'd ever known. She'd been half in love with him as a teenager but had set such foolish notions aside long ago.

"What is it you think you're going to do?" she said, raising her voice so others could hear. "Take me up to your shower and fuck me again?"

Kat wasn't sure what it was that drove her to challenge him in such an open and direct manner. She would have been far better off to mollify him, act like a nice submissive she-wolf and then slip away while he was asleep. But for some reason, something inside her couldn't do it. She wanted a head-to-head confrontation.

"I thought I'd skip the shower part, but maybe that's not a bad idea, since I understand an alpha's claiming mark can be quite bloody," he snarled.

"Josiah," snarled his mother, listening to them argue.

"Kinzie," growled Damian. "Enough. You stay out of this."

"I will not," she said, turning on her mate.

"You will or I'll finish what I started this morning when you pleaded with me to stop."

Kat was momentarily distracted, and Jed's second alpha wave suddenly pushed at her, refocusing her attention and energy.

"I will not take any vows to you, and I will not be forced into a pairing that is not of my choosing," she said angrily. "You show up in Italy and announce to my father and Marco that I'm your fated mate. Did anyone bother to ask how I felt about it? No. Then some ancient evil takes up residence in my body and tries to force me to kill people. Let me tell you, that was no picnic. Now you come along and demand I just do as you say? Not happening. I told you, find another."

She knew what he wanted. He wanted her to behave like a good little she-wolf and go along with all of it. To take her vows and become his mate, perhaps mistress to the Sonoma Pack, or maybe like Travis and Skylar they would forego tradition. Instead of following in his father and mother's footsteps, they would follow in his aunt and uncle's. Would that be so bad?

"Chianti, Kat, or I toss you over my shoulder and you and I will finish this in our room."

"And if I say Chianti, which is really a ridiculous choice of a safeword, then what?"

"I prep the jet and take you back to Italy to the DeMedici Pack. What isn't going to happen is that you are going to go on some lone quest against an evil that has existed for who knows how long. What's it to be?"

"Who the fuck do you think you are giving me ultimatums?" she growled, unleashing her own temper.

"I am your fated mate. Choose now, Kat—safeword or face my wrath."

"Wrath? What kind of word is that? Who do you think you are, some medieval conqueror?"

"What I am, mate, is the wolf who will have your obedience, your submission, and your vows. Last chance, Kat."

From somewhere deep inside, she knew that the next words out of her mouth would change her destiny forever.

"Fuck you."

A feral smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "I was so hoping that would be your answer."

Before his words could even register, Jed had reached out and hauled her into his chest, forcing her body against his. He used one hand to pin both of hers behind her back, and the other came up to trap her head by grasping her jawline. Then his mouth came crashing down on hers and his tongue surged past her lips to dominate her mouth.

Every nerve ending and pleasure receptacle sprang to life in that one moment. She wanted… Kat wasn't at all sure what she wanted, but whatever it was, she wanted it from him. His lips moved against hers, changing from controlling to seducing. She didn't want his seduction, but she needed his strength, his fire, and his passion.

Jed's hard body pressed to hers left no doubt in her mind as to her mate's anger and lust. His cock throbbed between them, and she had to fight not to give in to her need to feel him spread her legs and make a place for himself there. Kat brought her knee up to try and injure him, but he was too quick, and he deflected the blow. He moved his hand from her jaw to her hair where he grabbed a fistful of her dark wavy locks. He released her wrists only to land a scorching smack to her backside, reigniting the sting he had inflicted in the shower that morning.

Jed reached down to wrap one arm around her legs and hoisted her up and over his shoulder. Loud cheers and protests went up as he secured her in place. He stalked past his mother, who was being kept out of the fray by his father. Damian held the door open for Jed as he reentered the house.

"I'll see that dinner is brought up to you," called Damian.

Jed didn't break stride, didn't say another word to anyone. He rounded the corner in the hallway and headed up the stairs, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. He entered their—no, his—room and closed the door behind them. Setting her down, he removed his belt, securing her wrists with it before practically dragging her to one side of the room and attaching the binding to a large ring set high in the wall. Where the hell had that come from?

"This used to be the room my Uncle Linc and Aunt Grace used. When I came home from the SEALs, Uncle Linc convinced my father that since he and Grace spend most of their time in the city, I should have this room. As you can see, my uncle was not averse to restraining my aunt for either discipline or pleasure."

"Which do you think this will be?" she snarled.

"A little bit of both."

Jed produced an ornate dagger that he used to quickly and efficiently remove her clothes except her shoes. Those he disposed of by forcing her leg to bend at the knee and yanking them off one after another.

"Now," he said with a hint of satisfaction, "that's better."

She was naked and bound to the wall, but there was enough slack in the restraints that she could twist around to face him. She didn't feel fear—she wasn't afraid of Jed. But he did make her feel vulnerable and very aroused. He chuckled as he watched her nipples pebble and become painfully stiff. He pinched one and gave it a twist, sending pain and then pleasure down in a straight line to her pussy. Heat and desire surged through her system.

"You're a bastard. I will make my feelings known to my alpha, Marco DeMedici. Your father has not honored our..."

What more she might have said was preempted by Jed turning her back to face the wall before his strong hand connected with her naked and exposed backside.

"You stay where I put you—in the position I put you."

"Motherfucker," she swore. The hand landed again, and she yelped.

"Watch your language, mate. I don't like you swearing in general, but from now on, when you're being disciplined, every single cuss word will earn you an additional five swats," he growled.

If she'd wanted to provoke him, she'd accomplished her goal. The waves of anger rolling off him were exceeded only by swells of lust.

"I hate you," she seethed.

He chuckled. "No, you don't. But I suspect right about now, you'd like to. You might want to be careful about what you say because I'm going to force you to eat most of your words when you take your vows to me."

"How can you do this to me? Do you have any idea what I've been through?" she sobbed.

"No, because up until now, you have refused to tell me. I promise you, that ends today. From this point on, you don't keep things from me, and you don't plot some kind of Don Quixote revenge."

Jed crossed to the walk-in closet, opened the door, and returned without his shirt and holding a stout leather strap in his hand. "A gift from my father."

"Your father's a sick fuck," she snarled.

"I'm sure there are many who would agree with you. Unfortunately, none of them are here today to save you from what I'm sure is going to be a very painful lesson in submitting to your mate. And that's another five to be added to your spanking."

Jed brought the strap down across her ass with a reverberating slap. Fire licked across her skin, making her hiss. Damn, that thing hurt. But behind the pain came arousal as the heat seeped into her flesh. He drew the strap back and brought it down again, the snap bouncing off her backside with a sound like thunder.

Tears welled in Kat's eyes, but she didn't make a sound.

The strap landed again. Kat had always hated being spanked, often choosing to behave properly in order to avoid it. She also despised impact play of any kind. But there was something about Jed, about the way he handled her, and the absolute control he had that unnerved her. Not in a frightening way, but in an arousing one. The way pain morphed into heat and then pleasure was perverse but intoxicating.

Along about the fifth stroke, Kat could feel herself drifting into subspace. The world had come into soft focus and been narrowed down to just the three of them—her, Jed, and that wicked strap. She didn't have to relive the horror of the possession of the Darkness. There was no room for that here. No room for the shame and guilt she felt for having been part of it. She chewed her lip to keep from crying out and let the heat and the peace intensify.

Again and again the strap landed, each time pushing her further away from the pain of all that had gone before, instead allowing her to focus on the pain her mate was inflicting on her backside. There was no future, no past, only the present, where nothing mattered but the rise and fall of the strap and the arousal that raced through her system. That arousal made her nipples harden, her clit engorge, and her pussy throb with painful need. Everything else was a distant distraction that she could drown out by focusing on the rhythmic sound of the strap and the feelings of pain, pleasure, submission, and acceptance.