Chapter 13

CHAPTER13

He liked her fire. He had since they’d met. She was feisty and stubborn, wonderful things in a mate, when you enjoyed punishing, because it would give him so many reasons.

But Krampus did not beg. “No, zaychik. The only one who will beg around here, is you. But…” He paused, pursing his lips as he considered an alternative. “If I break first then the first orgasm will be yours.”

It wasn’t that there was the slightest chance of him giving in before she did; that wasn’t possible. He was the master of his own body, and he could control his lust better than any mortal. More importantly he didn’t intend to play fair. It just set a bad precedent.

Her bottom lip pouted but she shrugged. “Okay.”

The idea of the challenge was a sadistic one. He knew it would engage her stubborn side and she would have to accept. He also knew it would be torture for her to delay the fulfillment of those fantasies. But he couldn’t resist when she’d trapped herself.

“It’s a deal then. Dates, but no orgasms. Agreed?” He lifted an eyebrow.

“Agreed.”

“Good.” He smiled. “Of course, there will still be punishment and other things.”

“Wait—”

“I’m Krampus, Aline. There will always be pain. But don’t worry, even if you enjoy it, I won’t let you come.”

Her shocked expression was almost comical. He could practically read her whirling thoughts as she realized what she’d done to herself.

Master pushed her against the wall, wedging his knee between her legs and he shoved his tongue between her gaping lips in a deep kiss. His body reacted as strongly to it as hers did, but he didn’t allow it to show. He lifted his knee until it was pressed firmly against her crotch, before he broke the kiss.

Her eyes were wide and a little dazed. “That’s cheating,” she said in a low breathless tone.

“I let you negotiate your terms, princess. It’s not my fault you weren’t careful.”

She scowled. “Princess? I think I prefer bunny.”

That made him laugh and he released her. “As you like, zaychik.” He tweaked one of her nipples through the t-shirt. “Come, I think our date could use some more adult activities, don’t you?”

He took her to the special dungeon he’d arranged just for her. Inside was every possible implement and kinky furnishing she could have imagined, and he allowed her to explore, while he watched indulgently.

“You know, we don’t need to actually play out this challenge. You can just beg now. I’m willing to agree we know each other well… enough. Do you really want to torture yourself?”

As she turned her eyes narrowed. “So waiting won’t be hard on you?”

He shrugged. “I want you, Aline. I think you know that. You affect me more than any woman ever has, but I’m not mortal. I can outlast you without much effort.”

She didn’t like hearing that and she shook her head quickly. “Maybe I’ll surprise you.” There was determination in her voice.

Maybe she would, but he wasn’t going to make it easy on her. “You might, but I think when your pussy is weeping to have me inside of you, you’ll rethink all of this. But let’s find out.” He pointed her towards a dark wood and leather contraption. “This is a spanking bench. It’s not only used for spankings, of course. It’s actually really versatile. Let me show you.”

And he did, with a variety of toys, for the next hour while he feasted off her pain and tears. She hovered on the edge, both emotionally and physically. Her pussy dripped, wanting his touch, even while her eyes leaked tears from the pain.

He spanked her until she was rosy red, and then he soothed and massaged the hot skin, letting his fingers move a little further down each time, until the tips were just brushing her tight little curls. They were wet with excitement, as he’d expected, but as soon as she started squirming and trying to push back, he stopped.

“We don’t want to ruin the challenge already, do we?”

She groaned and dropped her head down. It muffled her voice, but he could still hear her say, “This is definitely cheating.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“…no.”

“Good girl. Let’s see how you like the crop. I enjoy them because you can use them in a variety of ways.” He began slapping the leather down lightly across her cheeks, using just the flap so she could get a feel. “The handle works well as a cane too. Like this,” he let the rod whistle down a few times and she jerked and yelped.

“And of course… it fits into smaller places nicely.” He turned the crop, and swept the leather triangle up between her legs, smacking it firmly against her plump pussy lips.

“Ohfuck…” she blurted.

It was the last coherent thing he heard from her in a while, but her physical reactions had him regretting the challenge too. The way she squirmed and twisted did things to him. His cock stiffened and pressed uncomfortably against the front of his trousers.

The glistening trails of arousal that coated her inner thighs called to him and he dropped to his knees behind her, licking each drop away. Without planning it, the human tongue was replaced by the long prehensile tongue of the Krampus beast shape, and he almost forgot the challenge.

It had been his idea, to make a point, but he’d underestimated the effect she had on him. He wanted to fuck her now, immediately, and not wait a moment longer. A slew of curses rolled through his mind.

He wouldn’t be the one to break, but he’d never been so tempted by anything in his long life. It was very clear that he was going to have to push her to give in quickly, before they both went insane. His tongue slid between her plump folds; the tip flicked against her clit drawing a loud moan from her.

The tongue stroked and licked, doing things to her that no human man could do, and she loved it. The sounds she made spurred him on until he could barely think. He pulled back just in time. A second longer and she would have climaxed and that probably would have been cheating since she’d have had no way to stop it.

His breathing was rough and ragged when he stood up. He gave her an extra hard slap on her left flank, just because he was frustrated.

Aline yelped, straining against the straps that held her in place, and the distraction of the pain meant she didn’t realize for a few seconds that he’d stopped the pleasure. “Wait, don’t stop. Please, I was almost there.”

The pleading was pitiful, and normally he would have enjoyed it, but he was also on the edge and he didn’t like it. “No orgasms, remember? I promised not to let you come.”

Her mouth trembled and for a second, he thought she might cry.

“Unless you think we know each other well enough now?”

Her lips firmed and she glared. “No.”

Fuck. Well, he supposed it was too much to hope she’d give in that quickly. “Then I guess I’ll continue just with the pain.” At least he could work out his frustrations that way.

With her arousal so high to provide a buffer for the pain, he was able to work her over for a good long time before she reached her limit. Afterwards he held her in his arms, while they sat in front of the fire. She seemed to enjoy it and he… was starting to understand the appeal.

It didn’t do much for his aching cock and every time she moved, he was reminded that the challenge was his own idea. He could have kicked himself, but until she gave in, he would simply have to deal with the discomfort.

It set a pattern for the days to come. They took turns choosing adventures to have in the mornings and afternoons. The evenings he devoted to exploring the realm of sadism with her. She’d have enjoyed it more with orgasms, but as Krampus he still found it nourishing.

Her pain tolerance was high, especially with that near-constant driving hunger to be fucked. It took quite a lot of pain to push back the arousal and that pleased him. Testing the limits and edges of his endurance was something to look forward to each day.

But he was surprised at how much he enjoyed the dates. She chose simple things. Often mundane activities that were normal in her world.

They saw movies, had picnics, and played board games in front of the fireplace. He expected to be bored, but he wasn’t. Spending time with her was always fun, no matter what they were doing.

On his days, he picked more exciting adventures that showcased the magic of his realm. He brought her places that humans normally couldn’t go, and even though they were crafted by illusion, they were real enough to her.

They bounced around on the moon. No spacesuits were required, of course. The empty wasteland kept her occupied for hours, far longer than he had expected. She enjoyed launching herself off the surface like an acrobat and he kept having to retrieve her as she flailed in the air.

He took her to see the penguins in Antarctica and she spent the day sliding on the ice with them, while he watched indulgently. There were small flaws in the illusion. She never seemed to notice that the temps weren’t nearly cold enough, or that the penguins were never aggressive with her. For his purposes, reality was less important than her enjoyment.

Eventually she realized that he could be coaxed into changing his home to suit her. When she begged him to make it snow in the dining room, he saw no harm in it.

“More, more, more,” she chanted as she held her hands out and tried to catch the snowflakes.

He turned it into a blizzard, and the snow flew fast and furious, until the floor was covered in several inches of snow. She jumped up from the table and ran to play in it.

When a snowball hit him in the face, he growled. His first instinct was to punish her for daring, but there was something about the shining eagerness in her face that stayed his reaction. Instead of spanking her, he picked her up and threw her into a deep drift that had appeared just for that purpose.

She clawed her way out of the snow pile laughing hysterically. Another snowball flew at him, and he ducked just in time. “You think you can beat me, zaychik? I don’t think so!”

Another drift appeared and he used it as a barricade, while he crouched down and formed a pile of snowballs. She must have had the same thought, because a minute later there were volleys flying back and forth.

He was a winter creature. He was most powerful at this time of year, and he was used to the snow, but he’d never played in it like this. The novelty of the snowball fight amused him, and they continued until she was shivering and red-faced from the cold.

It had been his turn to pick the date, and he’d decided on an elegant meal, no illusionary restaurant, just the two of them eating together. But the skimpy dress she was wearing wasn’t warm enough for the unexpected blizzard. He’d forgotten how easily humans got cold.

He called a halt to the game, ignoring the whine of complaint. “We need to get you warmed up,” he said as he wrapped her in a blanket and slung her over his shoulder.

The snow vanished as they left the room, returning to the ether, but the cold stayed with her, and he could feel her trembling.

He plunked her down in a seat by the fire and pushed a steaming cup of hot chocolate into her hands. “This will help.”

“N-needs m-marshmallows.” Her teeth chattered audibly as she tried to form words.

He sighed and a handful of colored marshmallows appeared and slowly began to melt. “Drink.”

She obeyed, with a look of obvious contentment. By the time the mug was half-empty, she looked a lot more comfortable, and had settled back in the seat. “That was a lot of fun,” she said, with a small happy sigh.

“It was, but next time remind me to dress you in warmer clothing. I don’t feel the cold the way you do.”

She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. “I wasn’t thinking about it. I was having too much fun. It’s hard to believe fake snow can be so cold.”

“It may not have been an illusion. Snow is easy enough to make. Besides, there’s a very thin line between illusion and reality here. Illusion or not, the cold is part of it. It wouldn’t have been the same if it hadn’t been included.”

“Warm snow?” She giggled. “I guess you’re right. It would have felt weird.”

He tilted his head. “Is there room under that blanket for me?”

“Of course!” She sounded surprised, which was reasonable, since it was the first time he’d initiated snuggling.

After some squirming and rearranging, she ended up in his lap and the blanket covered them both. It was nice, and even though he didn’t feel cold the way she did, the warmth of her body was comfortable.

“I’ve never done that before.” He mentioned it casually, not really expecting a response.

“What? Made it snow inside?”

Master snorted. “That too. Somehow it never occurred to me that I needed a blizzard in the dining room. I mean the snowball fight though. I’ve never really played in the snow. I’ve watched humans do it many times, but I never have.”

She twisted to stare up at him wide-eyed. “Really? We’re going to have to do it again then.”

“Are we?” His lip twitched at the corner. “Is it important for the growing closer part?” He was teasing, but to his surprise she shook her head.

“No, it’s important for the learning to relax and have fun part.”

“You seem to have a pretty good grasp on that already.” Aline was better at finding the fun in things than anyone he’d seen before.

Her lips thinned and she sighed. “I did when I was a kid. I think I’d pretty much forgotten about having fun, until you. There was never time. I had to work, or it cost money, or…” she trailed off. “I think that’s why I keep picking dates that revolve around things I did when I was younger. I’m finally getting to relive all of it.”

“Surely playing in the snow doesn’t cost anything.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “Playing in dirty city snow isn’t exactly the same.”

That was true enough. He supposed she hadn’t had the time or transportation to go outside the city. “What do you like about the snow?”

There was a faraway look in her eyes as she told him about her childhood. She talked about her parents, both gone now, and how they would play outside in the snow together. There was a hint of pain in her voice, a touch of melancholy, but there was happiness there too.

It was clear that she’d loved her parents and that losing them had been hard on her. The wound had healed enough that the memories no longer hurt though.

She talked for a while, telling him stories that made him smile. Finally she ran out of words and went quiet. The silence stretched out, punctuated only by the crackle of the fire. Finally she asked, “What about you? What did you do when you were a kid?”

“I was never a child, Aline. We come into existence as adults. I have the memories of all the Krampus before me.” He’d explained the immortal part, what the job was, that he had siblings, but he’d been vague about most of it.

“Wow, that sucks. I can’t even imagine missing out on being a kid and having someone to take care of you. So you were born just knowing everything?”

He didn’t miss the wistful note when she mentioned being cared for. That was one thing he could bring back into her life. As his mate, he would always be there to take care of her.

“We… aren’t born exactly. When a Krampus retires another just comes into existence. We’re identical to the one we replace, at least in the beginning. But everyone is shaped by their experiences and knowledge. So as we go out into the world and experience things, we gradually become individuals.”

Her brows drew down and she frowned as she considered this. “It doesn’t sound like much fun.”

“We have fun. Some of us more than others, but we’re very work oriented during the first phase of our existence. Later—now, I suppose, is when we relax a little. Having a mate changes us.”

“Have I?”

“Changed me?” He laughed. “Yes. It might not be obvious yet, but you have.”

“Good.” There was a smug tone in her voice as she snuggled back against him. “I’m glad.”

He tightened his arms around her, squeezing tight. “I am too.”