Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

M ariah shook her head, trying to lessen the effect of his call. Simon walked around the end of the bed, his intent clearly written on his handsome face. She had to get away. There was no way this would end well for either of them. Why couldn't he see what a clusterfuck this would be? She was the daughter of a business tycoon and a turned she-wolf, a Jersey girl. He had grown up in a fucking castle and now expected her to live here too? Was he nuts?

She leapt back onto the bed, landing on her hands and knees, and tried to crawl away from him. If she moved fast enough, maybe she could get to the door and escape. She had no idea where this castle was located, but she could figure that out once she was free. She had run back to London once, she could do it again.

Mariah felt Simon's fingers close around her ankle. She tried grabbing for the bedding, but it didn't prevent him from dragging her back across the bed toward him. He quickly tossed her face-down over his knee, lifting the hem of her dress up and over the back of her legs to expose her naked backside. She could feel the cool air in the room drifting over her flesh, raising goosebumps.

"What a good mate. I had planned to tell you not to wear panties any longer, so well done. And I must say, your ass is even more delectable than I imagined. I suspect it's been a long while since you were disciplined so if you give over, I will make this easier for you."

Oh God, could he just shut up and cease that wicked rumble that she both heard and felt? She couldn't think. Well, that wasn't true, she could think, but the thoughts she was having had nothing to do with getting away. His cock throbbed beneath her. And how was she supposed to think about escaping when every part of her being longed to feel him sink his shaft into her wet heat and breach her with his knot? No! No! That was not what she wanted!

Liar! Said the little voice inside her head. Did that voice not understand that before she experienced the ecstasy of the knot she would experience the pain of a spanking?

Mariah knew she had to get away or she was lost. Would lost be so bad? The rumbling increased as did the throbbing of his cock, and she was pretty damn sure she could feel a knot forming. Did he mean to mark and claim her while he had her knotted to him, directly after a spanking? This was not going the way she wanted. None of it.

"Simon, don't do this," she pleaded.

"Will you take your vows in front of your parents via video chat?"

"Fuck you."

He chuckled. "That, dear mate, is what I intend to do repeatedly over the next thirty-six hours."

She was about to unleash a torrent of curse words when her ability to speak, to think, and even to breathe vanished as his hand came down with an intense swat to her backside, making her call out—not so much in pain, as in frustration and outrage. She felt the warm wave of her slick threatening to begin dripping onto his leg.

"No!"

"Yes," he soothed, caressing the place he had struck.

A brief updraft of air and his hand came back down to smack another part of her ass. With that, Simon fell into delivering a spanking of rhythmic intensity. His hand came down relentlessly, landing in distinctive strikes across every inch of her backside. Simon had positioned Mariah so that her ass was in the most vulnerable position, allowing him to spank and caress her with his fingers as he allowed them to move between her legs. With each strike it became obvious that caressing the opening to her core with his fingers was part of his plan.

Instinctively she tried to reach her arms behind her to lessen the effectiveness of his spanking, but all that did was annoy him. He caught both of her wrists in one hand and used them to pin her down. He continued to pepper her backside with stinging blows. After a few minutes, the pain began to recede and desire began to creep into her veins, warming her blood and making her pussy tremble with need. Her clit pulsed in synchronized rhythm to the movement of his cock and her nipples were painfully hard.

As he continued to punish her behind, the slaps lost their distinctiveness and morphed into one indistinct source of pain. It ratcheted up both pain and arousal and her natural lubricant began to pool at the mouth of her core, settling there to ease the way for his possession. Her anger, outrage, and pride were being steadily overtaken by her need to feel his cock surging in and out. She ached for him to breach her with his knot and tie her to him. The harder he spanked, the deeper her need.

Finally, she couldn't hold back the tears and she began to cry in response to all that had happened—his kidnapping her, his declaration that she would be his, and her abandonment by her father. How could he let this happen to her?

As she cried, her thoughts a maelstrom of regret and remorse, she realized Simon had ceased spanking her and was merely holding her in place with one hand while he caressed what she was sure was a red and swollen backside with the other. His cock still throbbed beneath her, and she could feel the knot that was now fully formed.

"Had enough?"

She nodded and was rewarded with another swat.

"Mariah, you know enough about D/s to know how to answer a question from your Dom, especially after discipline. Had enough?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Better," he said, releasing her and helping her to stand. "Now, get naked and come and sit in my lap."

"Why?"

"Mainly because I told you so, and because it pleases me."

"I don't want to."

"I'm not going to argue with you. When I give you an order, I expect to be obeyed. When I'm not, you'll be subjected to more discipline. Either take your clothes off now or I will strip you myself and spank you again."

"Simon…"

"Now, Mariah." His voice left no doubt in her mind that he wasn't bluffing and meant to be obeyed.

She took off the dress and flung it at him, then reached behind her back to unhook her bra. After untying her ballet shoes she removed them and slowly rolled her stockings down until she was completely naked. As she removed each item, she threw it at him. None of them hit him—he simply caught them. To add insult to injury, he seemed to find the whole thing incredibly amusing.

"My God, but you have the most beautiful nipples. Someday I'm going to spend some serious time suckling those pretties." He held out his hand to her. "Come here, pet. I won't bite. Well, I suppose that's not technically true, is it?"

She walked to him and stared pointedly at the enormous bulge pushing against the fly of his trousers. There was no way that thing was going to fit, and she thought about telling him so. Once again, her head was filled with the sonorous sound of his deep, low rumble. It rolled over and through her, soothing and seducing. It wasn't fair. She couldn't seem to fight him off. He drew her into his lap so that she was sitting sideways, allowing her head to rest against his chest. Because she really had no other choice, she allowed him to make her comfortable—well, as comfortable as she could be considering the state of her thoroughly thrashed backside.

"Why aren't my feelings in this matter important to you?" she asked.

"They are. Your feelings are always important. And if you were being honest about them, you would see that."

"So, you're calling me a liar?"

"Don't try to pick a fight with me, Mariah. All that will get you is spanked. Do it often enough, and it will get you welted. I wasn't suggesting that you were lying. I don't think you're being honest with yourself." The hand that had been resting on her thigh now reached between her legs. When she tried to deny him, the calming rumble became a growl. "You do not deny me." His fingers strummed her clit and played with her pussy, without ever penetrating her.

He wrapped an arm around her and used that hand to cup her breast and tweak her nipple, giving it a little tug before rolling it between his fingers. How the hell was she supposed to keep her equilibrium while one hand teased and taunted her between her legs and the other was now fondling her nipples? And on top of that, the warmth radiating from her ass kept reminding her that she'd just been spanked.

Thankfully he stopped having his way with her tits. Unfortunately, he sank his fingers into her mane at the base of her neck and tugged her head back, closing his mouth over hers. The arousal that shot through her system brought her dangerously close to orgasm. The kiss wasn't harsh or angry. That she could have relegated to its proper place in her mind. This was seduction, persuasion, cajoling, coaxing. He ran his tongue across the seam of her mouth and his teeth nibbled on her lower lip.

The moment she let her guard down and let herself relax into him she could feel his demeanor change. Gone was the seductive lover; he had been replaced by the alpha wolf. His tongue pushed past her lips and teeth, taking command of her mouth, sliding over and around as his hand held her in place for his onslaught. She could feel the instant they crossed the line to that place where he dominated and she submitted.

How was she supposed to think her way out of this situation when he was overwhelming her senses, pulling her into his spider's web where she would be trapped forever? How was she supposed to fight when all she wanted to do was surrender?

He continued to kiss her, lengthening and deepening each kiss, leaving her breathless. His fingers circled her clit and she screamed into his mouth when he pressed down on it with his thumb. He left his thumb where it was but allowed his fingers to part the petals of her sex, teasing the entrance to her wet heat. When she thought she would go mad from his teasing, he penetrated her with two fingers, curling them upward so that he brushed against that sweet spot deep inside her. She purred into his mouth and wound her arms around his neck, snuggling closer to him, rubbing her distended nipples along the planes of his cut chest.

Simon continued to fuck her with his fingers as he kissed her. When he plunged deep and pressed down on her clit with his thumb, her pussy tightened quickly, and it was as if she was a rocket and he had launched her into outer space. Her climax raced through her system, heating her blood and making every nerve ending come alive.

Mariah felt his fingers release her and watched as he lifted them to his mouth to suck the evidence of her orgasm from them. He brushed his lips over hers.

"That's better," he said, helping her off his lap and standing up. "You crawl into bed."

"Not happening, Howard. The orgasm was great, and I appreciate it, but if you think I'm letting you shove that monstrosity up inside me, you'd best think again."

"I see. So, we're back to square one. If I were you, pet, I'd think twice before playing that game with me. I'll tie you to the headboard, fit you with an open-mouth gag, put your legs in a spreader bar and play with you until you're almost ready to come. But I'll never let you go all the way over. I'll fuck your mouth several times a day, sending my cum down your throat and you'll get nothing but frustration."

Mariah couldn't believe what he was saying, and he didn't look like he was bluffing. Where the hell had that nice, proper, Brit gone, and who had replaced him with this primitive alpha wolf?

"You're right, we don't know each other very well," he said softly.

Mariah's breathing calmed down.

"So I'll ask you once. Did I not spank you hard enough or long enough? Because if what you need is another spanking, I'd be happy to provide it. You have a delightful bottom to spank—soft yet firm, with silky skin that shows color so easily. Is that it, Mariah, do you need another spanking?"

"No, Sir."

"Then get into bed, mate. I have need of you."

She crawled into the huge bed, wishing she could do something to dissuade him. Her eyes were riveted to his heavily muscled and chiseled body as he removed his clothes. He was magnificent. And when he pulled off his trousers, she almost licked her lips as she got her first look at his cock. It was long, thick, and looked rock hard. At its base, a swollen ring of tissue formed an alpha's knot. He meant to shove that thing up inside her and tie her to him for hours.

"God, Simon, you're beautiful, but I'll never be able to take all of your cock, and you sure as hell won't be able to knot me."

"Nonsense. She-wolves mated to alphas have been bemoaning their fates for years, swearing that the knot would never fit. They were wrong and so are you. I will have you, Mariah. I will mark you as mine as I knot and tie you for the first time. I mean to breach you with my knot and feel your pussy contract all along my length. I want to rock you strongly while you dig your nails into my back and call my name. I want to make you come so many times that you lose count. Then when we've both had enough, I'll make you come one last time as I pump my seed deep inside you."

She shivered. This was not good. The man could nearly make her climax just by talking to her.

"No, Simon."

"Yes, Mariah," he said, drawing the covers down towards him and allowing his eyes to explore her curves. "There will come a time when I spend days in bed with you doing nothing but seeing how many times I can make you come, but tonight I want to be locked in your embrace as I mark you as mine. I swear to you, I'll make you crave my knot as you have craved nothing before."

Simon crawled up from the end of the bed, like a large panther stalking its prey. He hovered over her body and wedged himself between her thighs, making a place for himself. She could feel the intense throbbing of his cock as it was pressed between them.

Mariah could think of no other way to fend him off, to make him leave her be, or to convince him to take another. She didn't fear the knot as much as his marking her. Once she was marked, there would be no place for her to hide within wolfen society. It was bad enough to be marked in the first place, but an alpha's mark left a prominent scar and could not be mistaken for anything else. She began pummeling him with her fists, but he didn't seem to notice. When she finally landed a blow to his back near his kidney, he growled and his eyes took on an ethereal, feral glow.

Simon grabbed both her wrists with one hand and with the other he reached for one of the cords he'd used to bind her at the gala. Once he had tied her hands together, he tethered her to the headboard.

"I'm going to design a complete restraint system for this bed, starting with several rings in the headboard. I'm also going to install hard points in the ceiling. I've had the most intense dreams about fucking you while you're suspended."

"Kerf," she said and waited for him to stop, but he didn't. "Kerf."

"What the bloody hell is kerf?"

"It's the width of a piece of metal you remove by cutting it away from the main piece and my safeword."

Raising his head, he looked her in the eye. "Your safeword may be sacrosanct in a club setting, love, but not in our bed at home."

Simon chuckled as he lowered his head to her breast, sucking in its distended tip, making her moan. His tongue swirled around her nipple, and he gave it the slightest edge of his teeth before trailing kisses across her sternum to the other one. He was so damn good at that, Mariah mused. He used his hand to play with the breast his mouth had left behind. Her eyes rolled back in her head from the pleasure, and she arched her back, shoving the pebbled peak deeper into his mouth. With his free hand he found the swollen nub between her legs and began to fondle it.

She might tell him and the rest of the world she didn't want him, but she could not lie to herself. She wanted Simon Howard and all he offered in a way she had never wanted anything or anyone before. Her body burned with need as wet heat gathered at the entrance to her core. He nuzzled her chest as he rained kisses over it. A moan left his lips as he lifted his head and inhaled her scent deeply. He looked her in the eye and his face took on a feral, ethereal glow. The shade of his irises turned from a sunny sky blue to a deep shade of indigo—the same two colors of blue in the scrimshaw.

To Mariah's consternation, Simon was a skillful and powerful lover and knew just how to evoke the responses he wanted. At times she felt much like a cornered mouse when it knows the cat is going to kill it, but only after the cat prolongs its torment by bedeviling it. He continued to caress and tease until her hips began to undulate in the same rhythm as his cock throbbed.

He reached beneath her to take her buttocks in his hand and held her steady. She thrust her hips up in blatant invitation. Simon moved, lining his cock up with her entrance. He moved up her body and let his parted lips linger in front of her mouth as if he meant to devour her. With no warning, he surged forward in a single thrust, driving himself completely inside her to force his knot past her entrance. The pain was intense, and Mariah screamed into his mouth as the knot began to swell. It slid forward and down to lodge firmly inside her, locking her to him.

As he lay quietly on top of her, allowing them both to catch their breath, the knot began to swell more and he hissed, indulging himself for only a moment before he turned his attention back to her pleasure. Slowly he began to rock within her.

Arousal, need, craving—none of the words she had could explain what she was experiencing. All Mariah knew was that he had awakened some demon of desire within her, and it would have no rest until he had completed pleasuring her. She wanted to move, but the strength of his hold held her fast and he rocked her with increasing speed and power. Mariah's body responded to his control, her pussy quivering and softening, accepting his possession and his knot.

Her orgasm swept over her like a storm at sea, devastating in its power and the speed with which it overtook her. Her body was completely alive, her skin was overly sensitized, and her pussy trembled and softened, accepting what she now knew only Simon could give her. The devastating truth wasn't just that she was being knotted for the first time, but that she was being knotted by her fated mate.

As her body continued to writhe in the throes of ecstasy, Simon growled contentedly in her ear in rhythm to the rocking motion of their bodies. He kissed her repeatedly, his tongue surging in and out of her mouth the same way his cock moved inside her. Steadily he increased the speed with which he held her in his thrall.

"More," he rumbled, and her body responded to his command.

Primal energy surged through her system as she repeatedly climaxed. His thrusting became more powerful and drove her to even more intense orgasms, one rolling in after the other until they began to lose their distinctiveness. Her nipples ached to the point of exquisite painfulness. She wanted him to be suckling them hard or pinching and tugging on them. Anything to alleviate the madness that had possessed her.

Relentlessly he rocked her body, hurling her toward the edge of the abyss once more. Her toes curled and every muscle in her body contracted. She wrapped her legs around his, locking him to her body as surely as his cock had locked her to him. Now her body was tilted at an even more perfect angle for him to pleasure them both. Her pussy spasmed again, clamping down on his hard length and her body shuddered in absolute capitulation.

Simon raised his head and Mariah tilted hers back, offering him her neck. He growled possessively and sank his teeth into the same place all alphas did to claim their mates. As his teeth pierced the flesh between the hollow of her throat and the edge of her clavicle, she screamed again, unable to tell if it was from rapture or pain and not really caring. He shook his head while he bit her, deepening the wound so that she would be marked as his for all time.

The rocking became more frenzied and feral. Their primitive and primal sides dominated and his cock seemed to swell inside her before at last he released his hot cum in a powerful gush, soothing her wrecked and ravaged pussy. She could feel the contents of his balls empty into her.

"Mine," Simon said possessively. He reached up to untie her, gathering her close and rolling to his back, taking her with him.

His hands idly stroked her back and he crooned and rumbled to her. He kissed her softly, soothing her aching and exhausted body. She nuzzled him and he held her close. Sated and replete, her eyes closed and the realm of dreams rose up to embrace her. Sighing, her mind taunted her that she had lost. But her heart whispered to her that she had won. She would chose to listen to her heart.