Taken by Passion: King of Hearts (Wonderland Book 1) (11 page)

Or how much more she’d be forced to take.

It grew so quiet that Alice wondered if Jarronn had left her. Was this her second punishment? Being left in a jungle, alone and vulnerable, naked and on her knees? She wanted to look up, but she didn’t dare. He’d made it clear she would be punished a third time if she didn’t follow his damn rules.

“You are due yet another punishment,” he added. “You have brought yourself to orgasm many times since your arrival.”

Alice’s cheeks burned. How did he know?

The grass and earth felt damp and soft beneath her knees, and she was incredibly attuned to everything around her. Water tumbling from the falls and into the pools seemed louder than ever and she heard plopping sounds like fish jumping. Calls of birds, monkeys, and other creatures made the jungle feel more like a living entity than simply a place.

She imagined posting photos to Instagram of this gorgeous world. Too bad her mobile phone hadn’t made it here with her. She’d have enjoyed photographing all the amazing things here. When she finally returned home, she’d have proof of her visit to this incredible wonderland.

The thought of returning home made her again think of the blonde woman outside the window. A picture of that same woman had been on one of the cards Jarronn had showed her. What did it all mean?

Gradually her anger faded and then somehow seemed unimportant, although she wasn’t sure why. She thought about all that had happened and was curious how she had ended up in this erotic wonderland. How would she get home? There had to be a way back. Alexi would be worried sick and probably running the damn police department by now.

Alice missed the feel of the bracelet on her arm that she’d worn since their eighteenth birthday—Jarronn had apparently taken it along with all her clothing. Somehow the bracelet being gone widened the chasm that now separated her from her twin. Would she ever be able to return to San Francisco and see Alexi again?

Alice forced herself to turn her thoughts to the here and now. To her nakedness and the desire raging throughout every cell in her body. All that was happening to her was just so surreal, so unbelievable. Perhaps she was asleep now and she’d actually dreamed everything. Including seeing Jarronn shape-shift from a white tiger into a man.

Could it possibly be real? Or was all of this some kind of illusion?

And that man…she was so incredibly attracted to Jarronn. The power in his presence, the way he made her feel from just the look in his eyes when he watched her. Predatory, hungry…
insatiable.

Alice’s memories reeled back to the moment when she’d first watched Kalina’s subservience to the men by the fountain, and to how she’d imagined herself in the woman’s place. It had turned Alice on to think what it would be like to give up all control to a powerful man, to be submissive to him, and to in essence, be his slave.

And now here she was.

You’d better watch what you wish for, Alice.

A moist breeze stirred Alice’s hair and the air was warm and balmy against her bare skin. The leather collar felt comfortable, and the cool metal of the chain lying down her back only made the throbbing within her beyond intense.

“You may stand, Alice.” Jarronn’s voice startled her. She’d been so deep into her thoughts and surroundings that she hadn’t noticed his approach.

She very nearly looked up but managed to catch herself in time. As gracefully as she could, Alice rose to her feet, keeping her hands behind her back and her eyes lowered. Her legs tingled with the rush of blood circulating through her, and she swayed.

Jarronn’s hand grasped her upper arm, steadying her and nearly shocking a cry of surprise from her at the same time. “You may look up.” His tone was low and vibrant.

Alice tilted her head back so that her gaze met Jarronn’s. His eyes focused on her in a sensual gaze that made her feel as if she were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She became incredibly aware of his naked body just inches from hers. How could she want him so badly? Did any of this truly make sense?

But that power in him called to Alice, the way he mastered both himself and her. Yeah, she’d dreamed about being dominated, and about being erotically punished, too. And this man was fulfilling all those fantasies, even if he was driving her nuts by not letting her come. By not taking her fast and hard and fucking her senseless.

Jarronn brought up one hand, and she had no inclination to flinch. Even when he raised a red leather flogger to her eye level, she wasn’t afraid. Very slowly, and very gently, he brushed the leather straps over her cheek in a whisper-soft movement.

Alice’s heart pounded and she shivered as he continued the sensual caress, trailing the flogger over her lips and then down the curve of her neck to her breasts.

His gaze never left hers, even as the flogger teased her nipples and then moved lower toward her mound. “Do you trust me, Alice?”

She wondered at how easily the answer came to her, and why she didn’t question it more. Somewhere along the line she must have lost her mind, because there was no doubt within her that at least in intimacy she could trust Jarronn. She was certain he wouldn’t physically harm her—which seemed odd considering he was caressing her with a flogger for cripes sake.

“Yes, Milord.” She trembled as he pressed the flogger against her. “I trust you.”

“Trust must be absolute.” He lifted the flogger away and then brought it down against her hip, just enough to sting a little and cause her to gasp in surprise—and pleasure. The heat from the swat radiated through her flesh.

“You must trust me, no matter what I might order you to do.” He trailed the flogger over the skin still tingling from the lash. “Trust must be unequivocal, regardless of whether I am commanding your body or in matters of my kingdom.”

Alice nodded, but yelped when he lashed her again, this time a little harder. “Yes, Milord.” Her words came out in a rush. “I trust you in anything. Everything that you might command of me.”

Jarronn gave a nod of approval and stepped away. At once she missed his presence and the warmth of his body close to hers.

“On your hands and knees.” His command made him sound more like a king than ever.

Alice bit the inside of her cheek and winced. It was still sore from when she’d bitten it earlier. She hesitated only a second before she eased down onto the grass and she trembled at the thought of what she knew he was going to do to her. Would it hurt? Would he make her scream?

Yet even as she wondered this, her arousal magnified.

“Lower yourself so your head and shoulders are below the level of your hips.” He lightly trailed the flogger’s soft leather straps over her back and she shivered as she complied with his demand. Scents of grass, rich loam, and orchids filled her senses. The chain attached to her collar slid forward and pooled on the ground beside her face. As she pushed herself lower to the jungle floor, the crystal hearts dangling from her nipples pressed against her breasts.

“Very good, wench,” He said in a satisfied tone. “Now widen your thighs so I might better view your delectable folds.”

She was sure she’d never stop blushing. Her ass was probably bright red from the embarrassment that flushed through her body. Which would be even redder once he got through with that flogger, no doubt.

“You are exquisite,” he murmured while he caressed her skin with the flogger, along her spine and down to her ass.

She had always thought she had a fat rear end, but right now she felt beautiful and desirable and wanton all at once. She relaxed, enjoying the sensuous movement of the soft straps as Jarronn swished them over her hips and down along each of her thighs. She couldn’t help but moan.

“Do you remember why you are being punished?” Jarronn asked as he raised the leather away from her.

“Yes, Milord.” Alice’s voice trembled and she dug her long fingernails into the moist earth. “For disobedience. And for bringing myself to climax without permission.”

“Very good, Alice.” His voice was firm as he added. “If you make a sound, I will have to add lashes.”

The first lash fell across her ass and she cried out. He growled low in his throat and she clenched her teeth in an attempt to hold back more cries. She waited for the next lash. He kept her off balance and on edge by making her wait.

When it fell it stung, but she held back from crying or moaning aloud. Tingles erupted over her skin, and to her surprise she began to enjoy the stinging pain. In fact, it felt kind of good, and so stimulating that she wondered if it was possible to climax just from being flogged.

Another lash fell and another over her well oiled flesh, on her buttocks, her thighs, and her back. Each lash seemed stronger than the last, none falling in the same location consecutively. The stinging mounted, and Alice could barely keep from moaning. She wanted him to flog her harder and take her at the same time. Had anything in her life ever felt like this?

Pleasure and pain joined and separated, joined and separated. Fear rose up and died down. Trying hard to keep breathing, Alice gave herself up to the sensations, trusting Jarronn not to harm her.

The flogger fell upon her like warm rain and starlight, biting and soothing all at once, driving her into a world where fantasy and reality collided. It erupted into a blend of ecstasy and rich sensation, of desire and need.

If she could have arched into the lashes, she would have.

Pain stopped being pain, then. Only perfect fulfillment, release, even joy. Higher and higher she rose toward the peak of a climax that might surely devastate her once she tumbled over the precipice. If Jarronn only allowed her to.

“I’m close to coming, Milord.” She barely had the presence of mind to tell him and then beg him as her body trembled with the force of her need. “Please let me come.”

The lashes stopped. The flogger settled across her hips and he knelt down beside her. He didn’t even have to touch her. All it took was his command, “Come for me, Alice.”

The orgasm burst through her like a conflagration of epic proportions. Flames licked her skin, firing every nerve ending in her body, burning in her loins and across her stinging, electrified skin, straight to her soul. Her core spasmed so hard that her ass cheeks clenched and unclenched over and over again.

Heat infused her head, and it was like the Fourth of July behind her eyelids the way colors burst through her mind. Tears trickled from her eyes, spilling to the damp jungle floor.

She was vaguely aware of Jarronn picking her up as if she were as light as a child and cradling her close to his chest. It seemed as though her orgasm would never stop, her womb continuing to contract as he carried her. Where, she didn’t know, didn’t care. She just felt safe and secure in his powerful arms.

His warm masculine scent surrounded and comforted Alice as her tears spilled onto his sculpted chest. A splash met her ears and she found herself gradually immersed in the welcoming embrace of the glowing warm water. It soothed her body and made the tingling on her back and buttocks even more pleasurable.

Pleasure and pain. Pain and pleasure.

With Jarronn she felt more than she’d ever imagined feeling. But it wasn’t all about the pleasure and pain. Something more had grown in her heart. Something she wasn’t about to explore further. Not now and maybe not ever.

JARRONN HELD HIS FUTURE QUEEN TIGHT TO HIS CHEST and studied her lovely face as he moved across the lowest pool. Her tears called to his heart and soul, and he knew that she cried not from pain but from the sheer pleasure of her release. He sensed, too, her need for domination, and that at the most primal level the pain freed her from what she perceived to be the prison of her flesh.

He eased them both into the alcove and onto a seat fashioned from a shelf beneath the second pool. They were still in the warm waters of the lowest pool, but behind the small curtain of water that fed from the one above. The glow of the pools barely illuminated the area they were in now. He used his magic to cause an additional gentle light to emanate from the rocks behind them, so that he might see his future queen better.

Cradling Alice’s soft form in his lap, he kissed each of her eyelids, flicking his tongue over her wet lashes and tasting the salt of her tears until she no longer cried. He raised his head and saw her tentative smile. Her brilliant aqua-green eyes opened and when she looked up at him he very nearly ceased to breathe.

Jarronn stroked her long blonde tresses from her eyes. “You are lovely beyond any woman I have ever known,” he whispered, and her smile dimmed. He cupped her chin and frowned. “Why do you not see your own beauty?” Her lower lip trembled and he witnessed a thousand heart-wounds in her eyes. Anger at those who had hurt his future queen roared through him and he bit back a snarl of rage. Who dared to make his precious Alice feel as though she were anything but the beautiful, sensual woman he clearly recognized her to be?

Alice must have seen the fierceness in his eyes and thought his rage was directed at her. She swallowed, then hurried to answer. “I’m fat. I’m not slender and gorgeous like Kalina, or even my sister, Alexi.”

Jarronn had to rein in his anger. He stroked his knuckles down her cheek and she shuddered with obvious desire from the contact. “I do not understand,” he murmured. Very slowly he began touching her body, stroking the firm flesh of her arms, caressing the swell of her generous breast, loving the feel of her soft belly, full mound, and attractive thighs beneath his callused palm. “You are so enchanting, your body so lovely, that I fail to see why you do not recognize your gifts.”

Pink tinted Alice’s cheeks. “Where I come from, a woman is only considered beautiful if she’s thin and has a perfect figure.”

“It is clear your world is not deserving of you.” He scowled at the thought of anyone treating his future queen with anything but the utmost respect and awe. “You
are
perfect,” he murmured, and before she could argue he lowered his head.

Alice caught her breath as Jarronn’s face neared hers. Her heart fluttered and her senses spun as his mouth hovered a whisper away. His lips came down fierce and hard, claiming her like a powerful warrior king of old claiming his virgin prize. His stubble gently abraded her cheek and chin as his mouth moved over hers in a deep and sensuous kiss. Their tongues met and mated and Alice moaned at the rough feel of his catlike tongue. Jarronn purred, a primal sound that rose up in his chest and reminded her of the white tiger. Of
him.