Chapter 9

CHAPTER9

It had been a long time since he’d been with a human. Even Krampus had needs, and most of them did dabble in the mortal realm to fill them. The BDSM clubs of Earth were useful to find a casual partner.

The human conventions of safewords and all the rules attached didn’t make such engagements ideal, but he knew how to play by the rules when he needed to. Such encounters were always single events though.

None of them had ever come home with him. The only humans he’d ever brought to his realm before had been the yearly ‘guests’, and their accommodations were separate from his home. They stayed in a dungeon that was specially crafted to torture and teach them their place.

Aline was his first real visitor, and he’d intended to dazzle and delight her with her new home, but things had rapidly spiraled. He couldn’t say he was displeased with how things had gone. Her hot, wet mouth around his cock had been delightful.

The way she’d worked her muscles, stroking his cock on all sides, as he’d filled her throat and stolen her air, was indescribable. He hadn’t expected much from a virgin, or close to it, and it was clear she’d had very little practice—but he could work with that.

She took to the praise well. He could feel a little pulse of arousal every time he’d told her what a good girl she was being. It had been accompanied by a delicious wash of shame, which had magnified the arousal.

She was perfect.

Another night he’d have her sucking his cock for hours, taking him over the edge over and over, until she was exhausted. His supernatural endurance and ability to recover immediately would give her more than enough experience to overcome the lack.

But not tonight. He stood up, stretched, and then adjusted his pants as he looked down at her. She made a pretty picture, curled on her side with his cum splattered all over her face and chest. Her hair was a tousled mess and tear tracks glittered, still wet on her cheeks.

He nudged her bright red ass with the tip of his shoe. “Up. It’s time I showed you around your new home.”

“Can you show me the bathroom first? I’m…” She looked down at herself and didn’t bother finishing her sentence.

He chuckled. As much as he loved seeing her splattered in his seed, marked with his scent, he could understand why she’d want to wash. “It can be the first stop.”

She rolled over and sat up, wincing as all her weight settled on her sore bottom. She hunted for her scattered clothes, gathering them up, but when she started to put them on, he stopped her.

“You don’t need them.”

Her head snapped up. “I can’t just wander around naked,” she protested, with a hint of a whine in the tone.

He leaned down and helped her to her feet. “Why not? The servants won’t care and there’s no one else here but us.”

“S-servants? You have servants?”

“Of a sort. I’ll explain later, but you won’t see them unless you need them. No need to worry about it.”

It didn’t seem to reassure her much. “I don’t feel comfortable walking around naked where strangers might see me. Besides, I’m cold.”

She did seem to be shivering and he frowned. He’d forgotten humans were always cold. His realm was fully controlled by his wishes and desires. The magic made it easy for him to make it warmer throughout, ensuring her comfort.

It would take a little while for her to notice the temperature had gone up, and he’d have to explain about her new home, but he was trying not to introduce too many shocks to her at once. “You may get dressed if you like, but I would think you’d rather wash first. Unless you enjoy sticky clothes.” He jerked his chin at her splattered chest.

She looked down and sighed. “Right. Okay, bathroom first and then dressing.”

That was fine with him as long as they were moving. He was feeling an unexpected surge of excitement at the idea of getting to show off his home to someone. Especially someone who he hoped would be his mate.

There weren’t many novelties anymore, not after living so many years, but this would be one. Of course he had access to the memories of the Collective, both his current siblings and the ones who had come before them, but it wasn’t the same.

“I guess we can start the tour here.” He swept his arm out. “This is my study. I come here to relax.”

“Am… I allowed to come here too?”

He blinked. “I suppose, if you want.”

“I thought maybe it was private just for you,” she said, as she turned to look around. They’d been in there for a while already, but he had been keeping her busy.

Until she’d asked, it had never occurred to him that he would need to set up rules for her. Now he took a second to consider what should be off limits. His work area of course would have to be.

She’d see things there that would frighten her too much, and there were things locked away in that part of his realm. Old… things. It wasn’t a safe place for a human to be unattended. He’d have to be clear about that.

“I’ll be very clear when we reach a place you’re not allowed to be on your own, but you won’t be able to enter. Anywhere that’s safe will be available to you. The estate is large, so there will be plenty to explore.” Large was an understatement.

His home was whatever he needed. It was a whole world, controlled entirely by him. It had been created out of the ether when he first came into existence and since that first moment it had worked to fill his every need, at times anticipating his desires before he was even aware of them.

The boundaries stretched when more space was desired. He’d felt the dimensions change weeks ago, right after he’d met her, and he’d known it was so he could create some areas to make it more welcoming for her.

He’d briefly considered giving the whole place a modern update for the same reason, but he mostly preferred the old-world styles. His home was similar to a castle, but without the unnecessary military defenses. It was cold stone and heavy wood throughout most of the rooms.

Which wasn’t to say he didn’t enjoy his comforts. He didn’t really feel the cold himself, but he did like a cheerful fire and every room had a large fireplace for the ambiance. He ate human food only when he felt like it, but there was a kitchen anyway. And while most castles were dark places, he preferred large windows to let in the light.

He showed her all of this as they walked down the long corridor to the Master suite. The carved wooden doors were massive, but they opened with a single touch, swinging in to admit them to his lavish bedroom—to their lavish bedroom.

She stopped in the doorway and stared. “This is your bedroom?” Her voice was hushed and filled with awe.

“It is.” He turned to look at her. “Do you like it?”

“Holy fuck. I mean, what’s not to like it’s gorgeous.” She didn’t make a move to step inside, even though he could see the yearning to get a better look.

“The carpet will be softer on your feet.” Unlike the corridors, the bedroom had plush carpet in a rich red color.

She looked down and took a tentative step over the threshold, but then she stopped right there.

He could feel her trepidation and frowned. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to look around?”

“I just…” She swallowed and shook her head. “Guys are always trying to show you things in their bedroom and then…”

One eyebrow rose as he stared at her. “Little rabbit, I just fucked your mouth while you knelt on the floor of my study. Do you really think there’s anything I would do in here, that I wouldn’t be happy to do to you in any other room?”

Her mouth worked soundlessly, opening and closing a few times, before she sighed. “I guess not. Um, you’re throwing a lot of new things at me all at once and I think I’m just overwhelmed.”

He reached out and stroked her messy hair. “This is a whole new world for you—literally. My world, but now I’m excited to share it with you. You consented to give me everything, all of you, everything I wanted, didn’t you?”

“Y-yes, but I didn’t really believe you could do the things you promised. And…” she trailed off.

“And you didn’t know what you were agreeing to? That’s true. But if I’d told you who I was, and that I was going to carry you off to a magical realm, I don’t think that would have made it easier for you to believe.”

She snorted and it turned into a laugh. “No, that’s true. I’d have thought you were insane.”

“Are you having regrets about our agreement?” Part of him dreaded asking. She had agreed and he could hold her to it, but if she was already regretting it… did he really want a resentful mate?

Aline drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly and shook her head. “No. I’m… confused and overwhelmed. A little bit scared, I guess. I’m still not sure this is all real—that you’re actually some mythological creature who gets off on punishing people, but I also can’t figure out how you’d manage to fake all of this.”

“Nothing explains everything, but the truth. There’s no need to force yourself to believe right now. If it makes it easier, pretend it’s a dream and just enjoy it.”

“You don’t feel pain in a dream,” she whispered. “I felt all of it, so it can’t be a dream. You could be a wacko with an obscene amount of money and contacts in special effects though. But then, I guess I’d have to wonder why you’d go to such lengths just for me. I’m really not worth all the trouble.” She hugged her arms around herself.

The lost expression on her face called to him. He couldn’t pin down what he felt. There was some combination of pity, sympathy, and desire at play. The first two were foreign to him and he wasn’t sure how he should respond.

Was it an appropriate moment to kiss her? Sex would probably distract her, but he’d denied her orgasms for the night, so he doubted that would make her feel better. He ended up patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. “Maybe a hot bath? You wanted to wash anyway.”

Oddly it did seem to help. She perked right up and let out a happy squeal when she caught sight of the immense bathtub. “It’s almost big enough to swim in!”

He’d never been interested in baths, so the room had been much smaller a couple of weeks ago. The addition seemed to please her though. “Not quite. If you want to swim, you should just use the pool.”

“You have a pool?” She made an effort to draw her attention from the tub to stare at him.

“We have everything,” he assured her. “Anything you want, I guarantee you’ll find it here. But for now, you can have a bath and relax. Maybe it will help you adjust.”

“I’m not sure anything is going to help with that.” But she was eagerly turning the faucets. Steaming water poured out at full force, and she was ridiculously pleased at the water pressure and the heat available.

“Our apartment block is old. I’m lucky to get fifteen minutes of lukewarm water at home, and some days it’s barely a sprinkle. Do you know how hard it is to rinse soap out of your hair in a barely warm trickle of water?” she demanded.

He laughed. “I can’t say I do, but you won’t have any of those problems here.”

“That alone might be worth the deal. If I sold my soul, at least I got full value.” Her tone was teasing, but there was an undercurrent of worry.

“You didn’t sell your soul. Technically you sold your body, and maybe your heart, but I don’t traffic in souls.” His original form might have looked like a demon, but that form was crafted from their fears. He was in a supernatural class of his own.

He dropped a stack of thick towels on the ledge that surrounded the tub. A plush robe was folded on top. “You’ll need these.”

She blinked, brow furrowing. “Where did these come from?”

“Just adding to the value of the deal,” he said, laughing as he left the bathroom to give her some space. He didn’t care about privacy, hers specifically, but he also felt like she needed some alone time to think about things. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

She was climbing into the tub as he left the room, and a yelp, caused by her sore ass hitting the steaming water, followed him out. His lips curved into a smirk. She was so reactive; he was going to enjoy that.

Given what he knew about humans, and what he’d guessed about her, he had a feeling that privacy was going to lead to misbehavior. He’d teased and excited her, gotten her desperately turned on—and then denied her release. So, it was natural that soaking alone in the tub would turn into touching. He would have been surprised if it hadn’t.

That was fine, because he hadn’t told her she couldn’t touch herself. He’d told her she couldn’t come, which was different. The privacy he’d given her was only an illusion. He was very aware when her thoughts turned sensual, and her hands slipped between her thighs to stroke her hungry clit.

He allowed it to continue right up until the moment she was about to climax, and then he was suddenly at her side, pulling her hands up out of the water. “Naughty girl. I said no orgasms tonight.”

She let out a long frustrated whine. “But that’s not fair. I was so close. Please just let me finish.”

The begging didn’t move him. He enjoyed her self-imposed edging. “No. You need to learn that your behavior has consequences, and you won’t be able to get out of them here.”

“But—”

“I think you’re clean enough. Out of the tub. I still have plenty to show you.” He didn’t give her a chance to argue, just pulled her to her feet and lifted her out of the water.

“I thought you were going to make all my fantasies come true,” she said, her voice a low grumble of annoyance.

“I am. Are you going to pretend like this isn’t something you’ve fantasized about? You want to be controlled, dominated, and punished. Denying you pleasure is a combination of all three.”

“I wanted to come.”

He wrapped a towel around her. “You should be grateful I stopped you. I have a special punishment for girls who come when they aren’t allowed.” He knew saying that would make her curious.

She rolled her bottom lip under, biting down as she looked at him. It was less than a minute before she gave in and asked, “What kind of punishment?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. If he let her, she would talk herself into trouble, and it was tempting, but they had a whole year, and hopefully more, for her to explore all the ways he could punish her. “You wouldn’t like it. Put the robe on so we can get back to the tour, zaychik.”

He pushed the robe into her arms and waited for her to slip into it. Slippers had appeared by the door, to cushion her feet against the stone corridors and he pointed them out before they left the bathroom. “Those should fit you.”

She slipped her feet into them and sighed. “So soft. I love them.” She hesitated and then added, “Thank you.”

Master shrugged. “They’re just slippers. The stone floors are cold.”

“No, not that. I mean, not just that. I’m not sure what I believe anymore but I know you helped me out of a tight spot, and even if the rest doesn’t last, it’s definitely been an experience worth having.”

He tilted his head, examining her expression and then slipped beneath the surface to see if she was sincere. “Even though I denied you orgasms?”

Her cheeks pinkened. “You weren’t wrong when you said it hit my hot buttons. As long as you don’t make me wait forever.”

“Not forever. I’m going to enjoy teaching you about pleasure too much for that.” He reached out, drawing the back of his fingers over her cheek. The flush had warmed the skin. “I do hope you’ll continue to be so expressive.”

She rolled her eyes. “I can’t seem to help it. You… do things to me.”

That drew a laugh from him. “Oh, you have no idea how many things I intend to do to you, Aline.” He dropped his voice low and leaned in close, “Dirty, depraved things, little rabbit. I can’t wait to get started.”