The Commander's Daughter (7 page)

* * *

Liam found the commander and his mate waiting for him in the kitchen. They both seemed rather subdued.

“I must bond with her,” he told his mate’s parents, willing them to understand. “Every day her fear and anxiety about our mating grows. I cannot continue to punish her behavior without the necessary bond in place. I fear to continue as we are will damage our relationship going forward.”

“I agree; I was wrong to ask you to wait, Liam. I didn’t realize the affect waiting would have on our daughter. She needs the assurance of your love to help her to adjust to the mating,” the commander told him earnestly.

The commander’s mate wiped tears from her cheeks, clearly distraught by her daughter’s situation. “I should have known. I remember how angry and confused I was and that was with the passion and tenderness my mate showed me. Without it I would never have completely understood our bond or what it meant.”

Liam sighed in relief. “I need to take her away. I would have our first few weeks of bonding be just the two of us so that we can learn each other. I will not bond with her today, unfortunately, as correction must come first. For her own good, my little mate can know no pleasure today.”

It was clear the warrior felt strongly about this, though it weighed heavily on his heart. Given the behavior Grayson had witnessed from his daughter, he could only agree with Liam’s assessment.

“Grayson, they could go to the cabin. It’s fully stocked and has everything they would need for a few weeks of privacy,” Isabella said quietly.

Grayson was surprised at Isabella’s willingness to help Liam, but knew she was moved by the emotion in Liam’s eyes. He cared for their little girl, and Grayson was relieved to know he was right about Liam. The young warrior would cherish Melody and love her as she needed.

Grayson nodded, got the keys for Liam, and gave him the coordinates for his transfer belt. “It is very remote. It is unlikely you will see another soul while you are there. We keep it for Isabella and me to get away for a couple of days at a time. It should serve well for your purposes.”

* * *

Liam thanked his soon-to-be bonded parents and excused himself. He transported quickly to the spaceport store to buy a few needed items for the discipline of his mate.

When he returned, Liam was relieved to find Melody exactly where he left her crying softly in the corner. “Come. You may rinse your mouth.”

Melody practically ran from her corner to the bathroom sink, spitting immediately and gagging as she rinsed the vile soap from her mouth. He had to bite back a smile at her reaction to a mouth soaping; perhaps this was one lesson that wouldn’t need repeating.

As his little mate scrubbed her mouth with a wet washcloth in an effort to remove every trace of the offending soap, Liam laid out a strap, small wooden paddle, and a small butt plug with some lube next to it on the bed.

Melody came out of the bathroom and he heard her gasp when she saw the items on the bed. “I promise I’ll be good.”

“Indeed you shall, little mate. I plan to ensure this is so.” Liam held his open palm out to her and waited. Melody looked from his hand to the bed several times before finally taking a deep breath and placing her hand in his own.

It was a good start. Liam led his reluctant mate to the straight-backed chair he’d moved to the center of the room and guided her down across his lap.

Feeling there was really little that needed to be said at this point, he brought his hand down hard on her upturned backside. Liam brought his palm down five times in the exact same spot on her left buttock before shifting and treating the right side to the exact same measure of swats. He moved methodically from right to left, darkening a new area to a becoming shade of red with each circuit until her entire bottom was a uniform color.

Melody yelped and kicked a little, but otherwise took the first part of her spanking well. When he felt she was suitably warmed up, Liam pulled her in a little tighter and scissored her legs between his own. Then his hand began to fall harder with no predictable pattern. He spanked until Melody was limply hanging over his knee, all tension drained from her body and her bottom a bright glowing shade of crimson.

Liam let her cry for a moment, then lifted her to stand before him. “Now I believe you are ready to begin your lessons in the proper behavior of a Ramelian mate.”

* * *

Melody’s breath caught in a gasp of dismay; did he say begin her lesson? Her bottom already felt like she’d been sitting on hot coals!

“You will return to your corner to think on your behavior, little mate.”

She scurried to the corner, grateful for any time that would delay the beginning of her lessons. Melody was already very sorry she’d behaved so badly all day and wished she could go back and just spend the day getting to know Liam.

“You will be very sorry indeed by the time we are finished here today and I hope you have a sincere desire never to earn such a correction again.”

Liam picked up the small plug and lubed it generously, carrying it with him to Melody’s corner. He guided her hips back and bent her at the waist with a firm hand.

Melody gulped when he bent her over and wanted to die in shame when he spread apart her bottom cheeks, but it wasn’t until she felt something hard and slick press against her bottom hole that she began to protest.

“Noooo! You can’t! Liam, please…” she cried out in desperation.

Twelve hard spanks to her sit spots were his only response, leaving her whimpering but accepting of her fate. She gasped as the intruder was eased partway in and pulled out, moaning as Liam continued with this gentle but firm motion, thrusting the small plug in and out a little at a time until it seemed to pop into place. Once it was in, he twisted it inside her to lock it into place, an action that brought Melody up on her toes in an effort to escape the overfull intrusive feeling in her bottom.

“Now you will straighten up and continue your time reflecting on your behavior,” Liam told her with another sharp swat that jolted the intruder inside her poor bottom. “Be thankful I used the smallest size, little mate; had I used a large one, this experience would be most unpleasant for you indeed. If the lesson must be repeated, I won’t be as lenient and you will likely find yourself with a much larger plug in your bottom.”

Melody cringed, finding it hard to imagine something larger forced inside her poor backside. A curious heat was also starting to build between her legs and the moisture gathering there mortified her; what kind of woman enjoyed being punished this way?

Liam left her in the corner for thirty minutes, leaving her to focus on the plug in her bottom fully before he finished her punishment. Melody groaned every time she shifted, causing the plug to move inside her.

Melody walked to him stiltedly when he called her from the corner, making her awareness of the plug very obvious.

“Now you will bend over the back of the chair and place your hands in the seat. If you stay in position, I will give you fifteen with the paddle and then finish with ten from the strap. If you get out of position, swats will be added with both. You will find it best to stay where I have put you.”

She did as he asked, her toes barely touching the floor when she put her hands flat on the seat of the chair, leaving her bottom arched high for his chastisement.

There weren’t words to describe how the paddle felt when the first lick caught her right on the under-curve of her bottom, flattening the rounded cheeks and sharply jolting the base of the plug, only to leave and return in the exact same place with the same sharp force.

By the third swat, Melody was yelping loudly; by the tenth, she was howling. When the last swat fell, she could only sob miserably at the sweltering inferno that was her poor beleaguered bottom. Liam had applied each and every swat to her sit spot; she would feel it every time she sat for days.

Liam left her in place over the back of the chair, but rubbed her back soothingly as she calmed. “You have done very well, little mate. We are almost finished.”

* * *

He left her and returned with the strap; part of him wanted to take mercy on her, but Liam knew it was important he deliver every swat he promised. He took a deep breath and steeled himself to finish what he’d started.

The ten with the strap were completed quickly; he didn’t feel the need to swing the strap very hard as her very well-punished bottom would have felt even the lightest of strokes keenly. He also kept the strokes of the strap to the tops of her thighs, thinking the rest of her bottom had suffered enough.

Liam knew well the line of fire the strap left behind had a bite no less than that of the paddle, but it stung in a different way, as the heat seemed to grow. He brought the strap down quickly so she barely had any time to react to one stroke before the next fell, and then it was over and Liam cuddled her into his broad chest.

She whimpered in protest when he sat down in the chair again and placed her over his knees, but he stroked her back soothingly before spreading her bottom cheeks apart once again then gently removing the plug and dropping it on the towel at his feet to deal with later. The moment he was finished, he turned her in his arms and cradled her to his chest as he stood.

He whispered soft loving words to her as he held her, lying down on the bed with her and wrapping his big body around hers in an effort to give her as much comfort as possible.

Melody snuggled into his chest, crying out all of the fear and confusion of the last several days. He knew she was truly contrite for her behavior; as the tears dried on her cheeks and her eyes grew heavy, she pressed herself as deeply into his warmth as she could get. “I’m sorry, Liam.”

She was asleep almost before the words had completely left her lips. Liam pressed a gentle kiss to her brow and pulled the covers over both of them, content for the moment to be going to sleep with his little mate held tight in his arms.

It wasn’t the best beginning to their bonding, but it was definitely a start.

Chapter Seven

Melody woke, rolling to her back, then hissing as her sore bottom touched the bed, bringing the previous night’s punishment back in vivid detail. She quickly rolled off the bed, putting as little pressure as possible on her poor posterior.

As she stood, Melody realized she was in a totally unfamiliar room. Finding nothing in the way of clothing to cover her nakedness, she grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around herself before heading out the other door to find someone to tell her where she was.

Liam walked in before she got to the door. “Good, you’re awake.” He immediately came to her and hugged her close, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

“Where are we?” she asked, nervously chewing on her full bottom lip.

“Your parents gave us the use of their cabin. We are here to complete the bonding and learn each other, little mate,” Liam explained.

Melody backed away from him with a shake of her head. “No, you promised me a few weeks; it hasn’t even been one!”

“I should never have agreed to wait, Melody. Giving you time has not been the kindness your parents thought it would be; it has merely given you too much time to worry about the bonding and our life together.”

She glared at him. “You lied to me! You said I would have time! I want to go home!”

“Your home is now wherever I am, little mate; best you resign yourself to this.” His quiet words, though softly spoken, had an underlying thread of steel.

“You still lied! How can I ever trust you? You’re a liar!” Her accusation rang loudly in the room.

“You would do well to consider your wording, young lady. I did not lie; I agreed to wait because your parents convinced me it was in your best interest, but since then I’ve seen it is not. I will never lie to you, little mate, but what I think is best may change given the situation presented and I will always do what is best for you in the long run. What is best for our bonding,” Liam explained.

Melody sneered at him. “What’s best for you! I doubt I even factor into the equation!”

“I am quickly losing patience with your attitude, Melody. I thought we’d covered your attitude fairly well last night, but perhaps I was not thorough enough,” he said, raising a brow meaningfully in her direction.

She gasped and immediately covered her bottom with both hands. He started toward her again as Melody retreated with his every step until her back was against the wall and she could go no further.

Liam walked up to her and cupped her face in his hands as he looked down at her. “Little mate, you are always the only factor in the equation,” he told her fiercely before taking her mouth with his own.

Melody mewled in distress as his lips nibbled on her own, a sharp little nip to her lower lip bringing forth a gasp and opening her to his invasion. He stormed her mouth like a conquering army invading and laying claim to everything in his path.

She could do nothing to fight the tide of passion welling within her breast, suddenly needing him and everything he could provide as much as the air she breathed. Of her own accord her hands crept up his chest to wrap in the hair at the nape of his neck as she kissed him back with everything in her. Their tongues began a duel, stroking along each other as if to ferret out any secrets the other could be holding back.

By the time Liam’s mouth left hers, Melody could do nothing but cling to him as his lips traveled a path from her jawline down the sensitive column of her neck, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. She tilted her head helplessly to give him better access.

She barely noticed when the blanket was undone from around her breasts and dropped to the floor. His hands each cupped a breast, stroking his thumbs across her distended nipples as she arched her back, needing more.

Liam was happy to oblige; dropping to his knees before her, he sucked her left nipple deeply into his mouth, sucking hard as he used his fingers on her other breast and nipple, rolling it between his fingers and tweaking it sharply.