Taming the Raven's Son (Galactic Lust) (11 page)

He slapped supplies down on the table. “Not in the least.
All I meant was that I don’t break
everything
I touch.”

Of course he doesn’t.

Jacob never joked with Heat about his size or strength like
some others. The guards in particular enjoyed chiding him about being a
lumbering oaf. “I’ve never met a more agile, coordinated man in my lifetime.”

Heat laughed. “Why, thank you, Jacob. You aren’t saying that
because I’ll soon thread a needle and darn you up like a ripped shirt, are
you?”

They shouldn’t have been laughing, especially with Sage
supposedly lying near death in the med unit. Sovereign could barge in at any
given moment. The fact she’d merely been squished a bit and didn’t require more
than a single minute for healing caused him great relief.

Jacob sat in a chair and extended his arm across the table.
Heat positioned himself at the opposite side and threaded the needle.

“Absolutely barbaric.”

Heat grabbed his wrist and held it down. “You’ll bleed out
if we don’t tend this. I’ll close it. In a few hours, you can take her place
and have it fixed right.”

Sage lay in the comfortable bed through the long hours of
the night. Not a single muscle hurt and in fact, she felt better than she had
in a very long time. Jacob lay on his side, cuddling her, breathing into her
hair. He’d warned her to sleep, or at least pretend to. She’d obeyed that time.
She couldn’t guarantee what would happen in an hour, though.

Mortification warred with anger as she imagined how she’d
looked, spread wide as Jacob examined her. Somehow she’d managed to ignore the
fact that Sovereign most likely watched their intimacies. She could not,
however, disregard the fact others had witnessed her at her most vulnerable.

The head of an intergalactic company shouldn’t have a
submissive bone in her body. Even under the threat of torture, she should
remain strong and capable with a
fuck-off
attitude. She’d been trained
in the art of negotiations. The only thing she’d managed to do consistently was
grow angry or scared. Could her pathetic reactions be due to being cast from
her element?

She thought about what had motivated her from the onset of
her misadventure. She’d initially wanted the pain from the bastard striking her
to cease. Once she’d regained consciousness, she’d found herself still captive,
having been purchased as a plaything for Jacob.

Incredible. Me, a sex toy
.

She wasn’t a creature of passion. Shit, she’d believed she’d
been born non-sexual. Jacob had taught her otherwise. What crazy, secret power
did he possess? Was it his sexy voice, his incredible build or how he smiled
ever so slightly by crinkling the corners of his eyes when she’d pleased him?

Maybe it stemmed from the fact she’d had little choice. She
played along to avoid more pain.

An image of the chairman of the board intruded into her
thoughts.
Always conduct yourself in a manner befitting your station at the
company. The reputation of Bastillous is paramount to its continued success.

Had Sovereign recorded the images of her and Jacob together?
Of course he had. Nothing viewed in the universe could ever be considered
secure. And why would Sovereign encrypt the event? He had no reason to. If
anyone scanned the planet, pulse waves of recordings could be easily viewed, no
matter when they’d been taken.

The word “submit” rolled through her mind. It generated
anger in her chest at all she could lose in the world she’d come from. Sadly,
it also ignited a fire deep within when she related it to what she’d
experienced with Jacob.

Would they send a rescue party for her? Would they find her?
If they did, she’d likely be ruined.

Ruined!

The company wouldn’t want her back. If she ever escaped,
they’d investigate her disappearance and certainly stumble upon her time on
this desolate outpost. Even if the Board didn’t discover her transgression into
submission, her associates would. They’d scan everything available to find dirt
on her. It was how most people moved up the ladder. She’d take a big fall from
her seat of power. She’d have nowhere to go. Women of authority didn’t succumb
to the likes of a Governance hunter.

“You’re safe,” Jacob whispered. “Stop trembling.”

“I’m ruined.”

“How so? You’re whole, warm and wrapped in my arms.”

The arms of a hunter!
Which was another facet of this
travesty she’d placed on hold until she sorted out all the other sleep
depriving problems.

A random shudder raced down her spine. He couldn’t really be
a hunter, could he? He demonstrated emotion, compassion. He laughed and showed
anger. Hunters didn’t display such things.

Her stomach turned.

He wouldn’t be able to demonstrate normal emotions unless
he’d been raised differently, as he’d claimed. Perhaps not being paired with
another hunter had somehow altered him. But if he grew to be so different,
would he still be considered a hunter? Surely he could’ve disposed of Sovereign
long before this with his abilities. Why wouldn’t he?

He might not have if his actions placed the lives of his
people at risk.

“Sage?”

His voice held genuine concern. For some strange reason, it
also brought tears to her eyes. Such conflicting emotions tortured her poor
stomach. “I’m still very tired.”

He rubbed her belly and abdomen. “Let me rest a bit longer
and I’ll feed you.”

She cringed at the thought of anyone witnessing her sitting
passively and being fed. The head of Bastillous Corporation should bite any
hand attempting to feed her. The board would expect her to flatten anyone
controlling her in any way.

Her spine melted as he kissed her ear before licking the
rim. How could he disarm her so easily? What special powers did this man
possess?

“You’ve been through quite a bit. Your thoughts won’t let
you rest.”

He’d merely stated facts but she wanted to deny he knew
anything about her. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t appreciate how you’ve
treated me.”

“And how,” he said, turning her to her back, “have I treated
you, Sage?”

“You—you know exactly what you’ve done.” The words hadn’t
left her mouth before he slid his lips over hers.

He stole her breath in one second and dissolved her bones in
the next with tender, passion-filled kisses. Her brain scrambled as she fought
to remember why she should shove him away. As if reading her thoughts, he
grasped her wrists and raised them above her head until the heat of his lips
and tongue melted her will.

She struggled to gain her breath and bearings. He used his
body to render her helpless. Even as she strained beneath him, he held her down
and waited for her resolve to weaken.

“Don’t fight me, Sage. Let me have you.”

“No,” she managed to whisper before he kissed the denial
from her lips.

“Offer up your burdens, your uncertainties and your fears.
Give them to me and let me carry them for you.”

As if he could!

He too was a prisoner in this bizarre place. But he
whispered to her so quietly. No one could hear. Was he performing? The blankets
covered them, no one could see what he did. She wiggled until she’d managed to
turn away from him. “Don’t do this to me.”

He stroked her cheek and kissed a path to her ear. “Shh.
Speak quietly.” She shivered as he leisurely licked. “Don’t do
what
to
you?”

“Pretend to care. Fuck me if you want, but don’t lie to me!”

He stilled. “You disobeyed me when I told you to remain
still when the beast attacked. You required the medical unit after your last
transgression. And now you’re calling me a liar.” The flat tone of his voice
spoke volumes. She’d insulted him. She didn’t care at the moment.

“Hey, whatever. This is your world, your rules. I didn’t ask
to land here.”

“Do you think you would’ve fared better with anyone else in
the Dungeon where you were discovered?”

She probably wouldn’t have. She couldn’t simply admit it,
though. “Maybe. I’ll never know, will I?”

“No. Fate threw you in my path and here we are.” His grip on
her wrists tightened. “You, a self-proclaimed person of importance and me, a
depraved cast-off of the Domineer breed.”

“Wait, I never said—”

“The change in you is palpable. Even someone like me can see
and sense the revulsion you feel.”

“I haven’t said or done anything to give you that
impression. I simply don’t want to be here.”

“You’ve made that clear. Yet here you are, under the control
of a hunter.”

“You being a hunter is
your
phobia, not mine. I don’t
want to be under anyone’s control.”

“Silence!” He threw the covers aside, stood and dragged her
to the edge of the bed. “Until our time together comes to an end, you damn well
will obey me.”

“Go to hell!” Blind rage consumed her and before she could
stop herself, she’d slapped him. Hard. In the face.

He swept her into one of his brawny arms and carried her
across the room. She’d no sooner landed on her feet than he pulled her
midsection over a cloth-covered bench. Regardless of how hard she struggled, he
secured her wrists to soft leather shackles near the base of the oddly shaped
furniture. Too late, she tried kicking her feet high enough to flip herself
over. He secured one ankle and then the other.

She twisted and tugged to no avail. He’d bound her to the
bench in an obscene position, bent at the waist, supported by the cloth-covered
center beam, her arms and legs widely spread. The green nightdress offered no
modesty either. It wadded at her waist.

Heat rushed through her body before frigid waves of ice
slithered along the inside of her skin. She moaned as the fight left her
tortured limbs. She’d goaded him into this. Why couldn’t she have just left her
mouth shut so what happened between them remained beneath the sheets?

“I’m sorry!”

“It doesn’t sound like it to me,” he muttered. Without
warning, he threw several items from the table against a wall. “Your apology
sounds like a last effort to appease me so that I’ll forgo the punishment you
deserve.”

She tried raising her head and turning to the side. It
didn’t afford her even a peek into what expression his face held. If his voice
was any indication, he’d beat her to death. Her legs shook and the ripple
traveled through her ass cheeks.

Shit, what I must look like!

He placed a hand on her lower back and she stifled a scream.

“Easy, Sage. You’re here to learn a lesson. Relax.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Relax?”

The flat of his hand landed squarely on her left cheek.

“Bastard!” Fire pumped through her veins.

The next slap landed on the other cheek.

“Let me lose!”

He hit her, the heat and sting of the strike spread to her
lower back and thighs.

She wiggled and twisted, lurching forward and back. “No
more! Stop!”

The cracking sound of his palm against her ass accompanied
the burning of the slap. A sob escaped before she fell silent and dangled
limply, suspended by her waist. Shame washed over her as her vaginal muscles
tightened. Reality dawned on her and she shivered, repulsed by what she’d
learned.

This turns me on.

“And now for your punishment,” he said.

He’d left her there with her ass in the air, legs spread for
the entire galaxy to see. The urge to pee overwhelmed her and she struggled to
control her bladder. After a moment, she realized the moisture dripping from
her slit had nothing to do with urine. It seeped from her pussy in a small
trickle. The pressure in her abdomen resulted from the growing, consuming
desire building within.

Something hard brushed against her ass, stoking the heated
skin into flames. “What can I do to stop this?”

“Nothing. You’ve earned a punishment and I’ll administer it.
This isn’t for pleasure. It’s to teach you a lesson. Prepare for the first
five, Sage.” He placed his palm on the center of her back before crouching close.
He whispered, “The room remains dark. He’ll only hear what we do.”

She was barely able to digest the information before the
impact from a paddle shifted her on the rack-like structure, tugging at her
wrists and ankles. The wood slapped both cheeks at the same time, covering
every centimeter of her cheeks.

She grunted, bearing the firm thumping of the second swat.
Deep inside, her stomach turned and her abdomen burned. Her head spun as her
vaginal walls clenched.

No one can see my reaction.
She needed to believe
that.

With that awareness came…freedom. Utter freedom to give
herself over to the measured discipline at Jacob’s hand. In an instant, the
rage burning her stomach fizzled as something stronger took its place.

The sound of the paddle hitting her flesh was dramatic. The
actual impact remained dull, vibrating her clit, pussy and breasts with each
strike while heating her rear end.

What is wrong with me? Are my emotions so screwed up I
can’t discern hatred from longing? Harder! Harder, Jacob!

The paddle landed a third time and then a fourth. Her eyes
rolled up as she struggled to spread her legs. When the broad base slapped her
ass the fifth time, the tiny claws of pre-climax heightened her senses,
readying her for a massive, gushing orgasm. All of her churning emotions melded
together. She reached for the closest. Lust.

Delirium clouded her mind as her body strained and stretched
in the confines of the restraints. Fingers cupped her chin, forcing her to
raise her eyes in the dimly lit room. The brilliant blue irises belonging to
Jacob had disappeared. Enormous black orbs lay where his pupils once resided.
He crouched next to her, naked, his gaze filled with unnatural longing.

“Sage?” Her name slipped from his lips, barely more than a
growl.

She closed her eyes to block him out. Even his animalistic
appearance added to the building, uncontrollable desire rising up from her
depths. She couldn’t shake the image of him squatting next to her, his thickly
muscled thighs spread, his long, fat erection nodding between them. She should
offer a protest. She couldn’t afford to sound excited. “Please, no more.”

“Look at me.”

When she did, tears dripped from her eyes.

“You want more,” he whispered, merely stating a fact.

Mortification couldn’t cool her skin or burning pussy.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” He scanned her expression.

She wanted to scream and tell him punishing her was
unforgiveable. But that would be a lie. He struck her as an observant man. He
knew this depraved treatment agreed with her. The problem went much deeper and
she couldn’t voice her concerns. What if he continued?

What if he didn’t?

“Another five,” he said, releasing her chin.

Defeat and euphoria forced her heart to beat irregularly.
She sobbed, dreading and anticipating the next five times the paddle would land
against her ass. Violent shaking turning into sickening chills of expectation.