The Barbarian's Captive (9 page)

“Even though our ways may seem antiquated to many, they work — and always have.”

“You have no crime and corruption on Primaria, where everything is sunshine and roses?”

“Your sarcasm is not appreciated, mate, nor will it be tolerated. So curb it, please.” His golden gaze was penetrating, and despite his affected courtesy, she didn’t confuse it with anything other than an order. “And no, ours is not a Utopian society. I know of none that are. We have disputes, but we also have a strong family structure where most of our disagreements are resolved. In these instances, the male as the head of the family unit addresses any misdeeds. For conflicts that arise outside the family and affect the public good, we have a civil council made up of respected elders who mediate and — in extreme cases — hand down penalties. That occurs rarely. Our males usually deal with things under their own roofs before it gets that far.”

She scowled, having been on the receiving end of his idea of dealing with things. “You mean your men deal with freethinking women by beating them.”

“Eva,” he said, frowning. “Is that what you call the spankings I’ve given you? Beatings?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off first.

“Be honest in your answer.”

She wrinkled her nose. His palm on her had stung, though it hadn’t done any permanent damage. In fact, when she’d inspected her bottom for redness and bruising an hour after the last one, there had been no residual marks. The warmth and tingling had even subsided, which, if she were being honest, had been rather… disappointing.

“I require a response. Do you think I beat you?”

“No, but you’re huge; you could do some real damage.”

“Yet, I won’t — ever. Not only because I don’t want to cause you harm, but also because we have laws which dictate very clearly the extent of female punishments within the family.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. In general, physical chastisement is limited to a spanking across the buttocks or thighs. Usually, a few swats with an open palm is sufficient. Worse misdeeds may result in a paddling, or a lashing, but never to the point of true injury. Closed fists, any blows outside the fleshy backside, or excessive force are all expressly prohibited and dealt with harshly by the council.”

She gaped at him. What kind of place was he taking her to?

He noticed her skeptical expression and continued his explanation. “Let’s look at your military background again to put this in perspective. You had rules of conduct to follow, correct?”

“Of course.”

“If you broke the rules were you punished?”

Eva shrugged, not liking where this was leading, but answered honestly. “Yes.”

“How so?”

“Early in our training, running or push-ups are common. After that, we are most often assigned extra duties, ones that no one ever wants, like cleaning the bathrooms, digging trenches for untold reasons, or trash disposal. Sometimes privileges are taken away, and for severe infractions, confinement, demotion, and possible dishonorable discharge — the last two causing a hit directly in the pocketbook.”

“Push-ups?”

“They’re strenuous exercises done in repetition. I did so many early on that my shoulder muscles screamed and ached for days. Once I had to run so long I puked.”

“Hm, screaming muscles for days, or running until your stomach heaves — I’m assuming that is what puked means. Both sound harsh — and much worse than a warm bottom. What about these confinements and demotions? I’m assuming this is a reduction in rank, which can be a humbling experience, a blow to the pride.”

“Yes, and if the soldier has a family, they are impacted by the reduction in pay that goes along with it. Confinement for me would be intolerable. Three days in the brig without anything to do except stare at the four walls? No way. I’d rather take the spanking.”

Her hand flew to her mouth as soon as she realized what she’d said. Her gaze narrowed.

That’s one point to Max Kerr.

He laughed. “That’s how our women feel too. Secondly, since emotions are often high during disputes and conflicts, a spanking allows a cathartic release, and a chance to clear the air. Being confined or others being punished as an extension of their actions would tend to cause resentment, I should think.”

“A few spanks and it’s all forgotten?” Not much of a deterrent, especially since Kerr had provided other rewards afterward.

“The laws only address corporal punishment. Any other consequences are up to the male.”

“I don’t like the sound of that. What consequences, exactly?”

“Let’s just say our men can be very creative if the behavior doesn’t change.”

“I definitely don’t like the sound of that. What if I break a rule twice? Do you string me up by my toes?”

“Hardly. I like your dainty feet and the pink paint on your toes.”

She flushed. A pedicure was a guilty pleasure she allowed herself in compensation for enduring the unbecoming flight suits and utilitarian hairstyles that were part of her uniform. But he’d changed the subject and didn’t answer her question. “You’re being deliberately vague.”

“Yes.”

Her scowl returned, as did his chuckle.

“What about a real crime, like stealing or harming someone, or if the dispute is between two of the men?

“That’s where the council comes in.” Lightly placing his hand beneath her chin, he angled it toward him and searched her upturned face. “You aren’t planning on stealing or harming someone, are you?”

“No. I’ve always been non-violent and followed the rules. Until recently.”

“Good to know,” he said, lifting his lips to hers in a warm, tender kiss. “Obeying my rules should come naturally then, once you accept that I am your mate and in command of you.”

He released her wrists and brought them around to his chest, again transferring them into one of his own. Then his free hand found her bottom, squeezing each cheek in a sensual caress before his hand popped sharply across the crest of first one, then the other. Immediately after, the slow massage resumed, his hand heating her skin in a very different way now.

Shocked, Eva pushed up on her forearms and stared down at him. As he gazed intently up into her eyes, his fingers trailed lightly from the crest of one cheek, slowly down the lower curve to where it met her thigh. His body shifted, one of his legs moving between her own and separating them. He cocked his thigh so that it rode between her own and her knees and lower legs rested full on the linens. With his glimmering gaze locked on hers, her lips parted on an indrawn breath as his fingertips slid between her spread thighs and found the wet seam.

A small noise caught in her throat as he hitched his leg forward, shifting her body so that she came off her arms and rested on him chest to chest. Then he traced downward, delving between her lips, almost touching the sensitive nub at the front that had begun to pulse with eager anticipation. At the last moment, he reversed direction, and moved back up along the cleft of her bottom, gliding all the way up to the top at a scintillating snail’s pace. Here, his palm came into play again, connecting firmly as he alternated swats from side to side. And with each forceful blow that splatted on her behind, her pussy made direct contact with his bare thigh, sending jolting vibrations directly to her clit.

Her entire body trembled as the heat of arousal rippled through her. She wanted him, despite everything. Looking down into his eyes, she saw that damned black brow quirk upward in silent acknowledgement. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.

“I can give you pleasure when you are a good, or a smarting backside when you are bad.” His hand came down again, although instead of a spank, he squeezed and kneaded her flesh, separating her cheeks as he massaged so that his fingertips grazed wonderful wet places in between.

“It is up to you to decide which path you take, mate. This has been but a sample of both.”

She breathed out raggedly as she squirmed, needing more friction as she ached with desire.

“Demonstration is over. Let’s finish up your punishment, shall we?”

Fire rained down on her backside as need burned hot within her, one taking precedence over the other, pleasure and desire winning out. She moaned in between pants, desperately wanting to come. “Max, please.”

“Are you going to obey from now on?”

“No!” Defiant, even though she knew she couldn’t win, she growled her frustration as another flurry of swats made her writhe against his leg, trying to bring some ease for the ache. “Yes… I can’t...” She shook her head, further resistance and the need to come warring fiercely inside her, before she blurted out. “I don’t know.”

Her last response, the only one that was completely honest.

“Surrender is inevitable, sprite. Nonetheless, I am a patient man, and will endeavor to help you understand and adjust to the way it will be. In the meantime, we will undoubtedly have many such lessons until you figure it out.” A half dozen more spanks ensued, a trio landing on each cheek in quick succession before he released her wrists. He rolled them until she lay atop once more, ordering gruffly, “Spread your thighs wide for me, Eva. I want you now.”

In this, she did obey — because she wanted him too. As soon as she wound her legs around his hips, he entered her, sinking in steadily. He was so large the feeling of fullness took her breath away. Seeming to know this, when he bottomed out, his long cock nudging up against her cervix, he paused. His mouth didn’t stop, opening over hers as his agile tongue sent shivers of desire racing through her. She drank in the tantalizing taste of him as her muscles relaxed and took more of him, a surge of wetness easing his way.

“I want you too,” she gasped when he let her up for air. “It’s beyond insane considering the situation, but still… I can’t help it.”

“You’re brave to admit it, my beauty, although your body has long since given you away.” As he murmured this truth against her mouth, he proved his words as he withdrew and slid in deeper, his cock gliding easily inside her drenched channel. “You’re weeping for me.” His teeth caught her lower lip, nipping it lightly before soothing the sting with the sweep of his tongue. “I hunger for you, too, sprite. And with no time to have you this morning, I have become ravenous. I’ll have to take you twice, perhaps three times a day to slake my need, for you are too tempting by far.”

He eased out, then surged home, filling her completely. “For now, hang onto me while I appease the need in both of us.”

Kerr began to move steadily inside her then, driving deep as his lips opened over hers, his tongue reclaiming her mouth with a heady urgency. The knowledge that he was as aroused as she was sent her spiraling toward a climax. When his hands slid underneath her and cupped her hot bottom, pulling her up into him with every downward thrust, she hurtled over the top and surrendered to his body’s unyielding demand.

She cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she came. He wasn’t long behind her, throwing his head back with a shout reminiscent of what she had first heard from him in the jungle. As he thrust deeply once more, he filled her with the incredible warmth of his essence.

Chapter 6

G
liding in and out of her slowly a few more times, Kerr gave her the weight of his body briefly, before he rolled them, still joined as one, onto their sides. Although her climax had passed, her body continued to hum with sensation. Usually after good sex, she relaxed and got sleepy. Sex with Kerr was a lot more than good; it was phenomenal. And instead of getting drowsy, she felt wired, restless, and warm. Very warm.

Inside, beginning where he filled her with his cock and his seed, heat began to radiate through her body. It spread upward across her belly, her breasts, up her throat and around to the back of her neck, blossoming hotly across her cheeks. He pulled her closer, his face dipping into the curve between her shoulder and her neck, moving his lips slowly across her skin.

“Max?” She moved restlessly against him, worried that she might be having a reaction to the translator implant, or the teleportation, or the air. Something was making her feel flushed all over.

“Max is my title, Eva.”

“It is?” she asked dazedly, barely comprehending his words as she shifted again, feeling feverish.

“Yes, or at least an abbreviated version. It’s actually Maxime Princep. Most shorten it to Max — or simply Princep — since it’s a mouthful. But my name is Kerr.”

“Kerr,” she repeated, trying to make sense of it all as she gazed up at his strikingly beautiful features. Except for his size and unique eye color, she’d never know he wasn’t human. “That suits you better. I didn’t think you looked like a Max. So what does Maxime Princep mean?” As soon as she said it, tasting the odd sounds on her tongue, the translation kicked in and she breathed, “Principal leader.”

“That’s right.” His lips tilting up in a slight smile.

“Is that like being the president, or something?” Startled, all other thoughts left her head. She had noticed he was respected; how much so, and what kind of power he held, hadn’t occurred to her.

“I’m not familiar with the term, so I can’t say. I am the leader, working with a council of elders as advisors.”

Having seen how the others deferred to him, and knowing him more now, she wasn’t at all surprised. What did take her by surprise was that suddenly she couldn’t breath and her skin was burning, especially the back of her neck. She struggled to get up, the warmth of his skin against hers making it worse.

“What is it?”

“Let me up. I can’t breathe.”

He rolled away, removing his arm and the leg that had encircled her, coming up behind her as she left the bed. Fanning herself, with both hands in front of her face, she began pacing agitatedly.

“Something is wrong. I need to see the doctor and have this thing taken out. I’m obviously allergic to it or something.” She rubbed her arms, one hand slipping around to the back of her neck where it burned the worst. Gathering her hair up on top of her head, she wiped her skin finding it wet with perspiration. “Something is very wrong!”