Ewan grabbed Sasha and threw her over his shoulder. If she was going to act like a stubborn child, he was going to treat her like one. She let out a squeal of enraged surprise followed by a forceful whoof of air. Ewan stepped to the left, into the nearest available room, and kicked the door closed behind him. This was where the shifter intended to take Sasha. And it was certainly equipped for all sorts of erotic play.
Anger rose fresh and hot in Ewan’s chest. She’d come here tonight looking for this. He stood, feet planted on the floor, and took in the sight of the room. A sex swing hung from one corner of the ceiling, one wall was adorned with bondage gear. The king-sized bed in the middle of the space was equipped with a sturdy headboard and footboard complete with leather cuffs, long scraps of silk, blindfolds, leather crops and others with feathered tips. It was a room designed for pleasure and the realization that Sasha had willingly sought this out made Ewan’s gut tangle into an unyielding knot. Not because she wanted a little wild and kinky sex, but because she’d wanted it with someone other than him.
“Put me down.”
Sasha pressed her palms against his ass and pushed herself upward. Ewan’s jaw squared and his jaw clenched so tight that he felt the enamel on his molars grind. He deposited her to her feet and she took a stumbling step back as she pushed against his chest. She bumped into the foot of the bed and reached out to steady herself on the footboard, rattling the leather cuffs secured there in the process. Ewan couldn’t help but picture her laid out on the coverlet, her ankles and wrists secured in place, helpless to do anything but lie there while he pleasured her. His cock stirred behind his fly and his gut clenched as a wave of white hot lust shot through him. He’d agreed to get close to Sasha to protect his other secrets from Gregor. He tried to convince himself that she had no effect on him. That she was nothing more than a curiosity he’d needed to work out of his system. Sasha wasn’t a curiosity. She was a fucking drug and Ewan was on the road to becoming an addict.
“What in the hell are you doing here?”
Ewan was taken aback by Sasha’s indignant tone. His lust was quickly replaced again by anger. He turned and locked the door before coming back to face her. The last thing he needed was some randy asshole barging in to try and join in the fun. “What am I doing here? What in the hell are you doing here?”
“I don’t need your permission to go anywhere or do anything.” Sasha’s eyes flashed silver, an indication that her temper was about to crest.
“Oh really?” Ewan knew better than to take her on, but he couldn’t help himself. “Did you, or did you not, proclaim that I was your mate? Do you often make such claims before seeking out other males to fuck?”
Sasha’s eyes went wide. She gripped onto the footboard and leaned forward for emphasis. Ewan’s mouth went dry as he looked at her. Her expression, livid eyes bright with silver, face flushed, her breasts pressing against the tight tank top she wore and threatening to spill over the deep V of the neckline. “You sent me away!”
“You bit me!”
Sasha let out a bark of disbelieving laughter. “Vampire!” She jabbed a finger at her chest. “It’s sort of what we do.”
“What? Sink your fangs into your victim’s throats without asking permission?”
Sasha’s brow furrowed with hurt and Ewan felt a stab of momentary regret. She was right. What she’d done was simply what was in her nature to do. He couldn’t fault her for it and yet, centuries of hate and conditioning had convinced him to do just that. Quiet settled between them, so thick and heavy that it nearly suffocated him. Ewan fought the urge to rub at his chest and instead crossed the space between them and put his mouth to hers.
Ewan had fucked Sasha, but he’d yet to kiss her. Her lips were as soft as he imagined, full and silky as she yielded to him. Ewan deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth over hers, forcing her lips to part with his tongue. She kept her grip on the footboard, creating space between their bodies, and a growl built in Ewan’s chest. He didn’t want an inch of space between them. He wanted her hands on him. Any reservation on her part wasn’t acceptable.
As much as he hated to break their kiss, Ewan pulled away. Just enough to speak against her mouth. “Touch me.”
Sasha leaned back in a show of defiance. “No.”
Ewan’s frustration mounted. Passive aggression wouldn’t do anything to calm the temper that simmered just under the surface of his control. Before he’d insulted her that night in the stockroom, Sasha hadn’t been able to keep her hands off him. Now, as punishment, she withheld what he wanted. Ewan didn’t respond well to aggression of any kind. Nor punishment. Hell, he’d defied his own leader, the most feared warlord in supernatural history. He expected nothing less than total surrender from Sasha. There was a time and a place for playing games. Tonight, however, Ewan wasn’t in the mood.
That piece-of-shit shifter had taken Sasha’s hand and placed it on his cock. He’d pushed her when she didn’t want to be pushed. The bastard was lucky Sasha had stayed Ewan’s hand, otherwise that particular piece of him would have been the first to go. Maybe it wasn’t wise to make demands when she’d been faced with unwanted advances only moments before. Ewan wanted to be understanding and gentle and all of those things he expected more sensitive males were, but it simply wasn’t programed into his biology to be any of those things. He was burly, demanding, insensitive. Selfish, gruff, and rough around the edges. Hell, maybe he was every bit as bad as that piece-of-shit shifter. The only difference being that in the short span of two encounters, he already felt a possessive instinct when it came to the spirited vampire. He didn’t want another male’s hands, lips, or anything else on her. Didn’t want another male to so much as look at her with interest.
Ewan wanted Sasha for himself. And that all-consuming, insufferable want was sure to be his undoing.
He wouldn’t force her. Wouldn’t take her hands and put them where he wanted them like the shifter did. But neither would he plead for the favor. A warlord never bowed to anyone, not even a lover. If he truly was her mate, it was a fact Sasha would have to come to terms with.
He kissed her again. He wouldn’t force her, but he’d sure as hell do his best to persuade her to do what he wanted. Ewan had a tactical mind and he was more than prepared to win this battle of wills. She wanted him. The rich perfume of her arousal invaded his nostrils. She was simply too proud to admit it after being hurt.
Her grip on the footboard tightened as though she needed it to keep her from reaching out. She might not have wanted to touch him, but Ewan wasn’t about to impose those kinds of restrictions on himself. He closed the space between them until his body pressed against hers. Gripped the back of her neck with one hand and let the other slide around her back to cup her ass.
Ewan thrust his hips and Sasha allowed an indulgent moan. He abandoned her lips. Kissed the corner of her mouth, across her jawline, to the base of her ear. “Touch me,” he demanded once again.
Her response was nothing more than a murmur. “No.”
She punished him for rejecting her bite. If he didn’t want her fangs at his throat, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of her touch.
“If you won’t touch me, then maybe I should tie you to this bed?” Ewan slid his hands down to circle her wrists. “Maybe it’ll satisfy that stubborn streak of yours.” He took her earlobe between his teeth and bit down gently. “Or maybe it’ll frustrate you to the point that you beg me to let you touch me.”
She let out a soft snort that didn’t carry half the confident weight he expected she wanted it to.
His grip tightened and she let out a slow breath as she melted against him. So she liked the prospect of being bound and at his mercy? It would certainly keep those wicked fangs of hers at a safe distance. Heat gathered in Ewan’s gut at the memory of that sharp sting followed by a rush of delicious heat. For something so reviled among their kind, the act certainly hadn’t been a hardship to suffer through. That didn’t mean Ewan was about to entertain disaster by letting it happen again.
He was more than willing to push his boundaries with Sasha. She was a female who knew her mind and what she wanted. If she didn’t like what he was about to do, he had no doubt she’d make it known.
He moved his hands from her wrists to her waist and tossed her over the footboard and onto the mattress. She let out a gasp of surprise but didn’t move a muscle as he rounded the bed to stand beside her. He braced his arms on the mattress and bent over her. “Touch me.” She knew what he wanted and he’d warned her of what the alternative would be.
Sasha bucked her chin in a defiant show. Gods, that stubborn streak of hers drove him wild. Her eyes met his and flashed with feral silver. “No.”
“All right. Have it your way.” Ewan reached over her and hooked his fingers in the waistband of her leggings. “You asked for it.”
* * *
Gods, Ewan turned her on.
The last thing Sasha wanted to do was admit to him that she was more than prepared to beg for whatever the hell he wanted her to. She wanted to touch him so badly, her hands shook and her limbs quaked. When he’d threatened to tie her up, a thrill raced through her. So intense, she thought she might come from his words alone without him having to lay a single finger on her.
She’d showed up here tonight in search of excitement and found that nothing compared to the feelings Ewan evoked in her. But being here with him—in this place that overwhelmed her senses with sex and desire—was almost more than she could take.
Sasha let out a slow, shuddering breath as Ewan rounded the bed toward her. His hungry gaze devoured her as it raked from her feet, up the length of her body. As he braced his arms on the bed and leaned over her, Sasha’s heart raced. Her breath quickened and her senses became awash with his scent, his body, his sheer size as he leaned over her. “All right. Have it your way.” His fingertips slid against her skin as they dipped beneath her waistband of her leggings and Sasha’s stomach muscles twitched in response. “You asked for it.”
Her breath stalled in her chest as he pulled abruptly away. He reached for her feet and pulled off both of her ankle boots, tossing them to the floor along with her socks. Sparks of electricity ignited along her nerve endings as he once again went for her waistband and pulled her leggings and underwear down the length of her legs, stripping them off in one fluid motion. He grabbed her left foot and secured one leather restraint around her ankle. Sasha’s breath left her lungs in a rush. Wet warmth spread between her legs as anticipation sent chills over her bare thighs. He rounded the foot of the bed, seized her other foot, and secured it with the other restraint. She’d thought he was full of shit when he threatened to tie her to the bed, but she should have known a male like Ewan would never bluff.
“This is why you came here, isn’t it?” His gaze burned through her as he strode with slow, measured steps to the head of the bed. “To be restrained. To be pleasured. To be fucked.”
She’d come here to find a male who’d make her forget Ewan had ever existed. To banish the memory of him once and for all. Instead, Fate mocked her—as usual—by throwing them together once again.
He gripped the hem of her shirt and stripped the sheer, V-neck tank from her as well. He reached beneath her and a smirk tugged at his lips as her back arched to allow him access to her bra. The clasp came undone with a tick and he pulled that from her as well, discarding it somewhere beside him as he took her hand in his and guided it above her head so he could fasten the leather restraint around her wrist.
She barely knew Ewan. He was a berserker. A sworn enemy. She couldn’t trust him and yet, she allowed him to tie her to the bed frame. Sasha wasn’t helpless. It’s not like a few leather straps could actually restrain her. But that was the point. All part of the game. She could break free at any time. It was a test of her control. Her submissiveness. Her resolve. Would she allow Ewan dominance? Or would she fold and take back her power?
Her will was just as strong as his. Stronger. She’d show him what stubborn was. She wouldn’t ever beg for the privilege of touching him. Instead, he’d plead for the favor of her touch.
“Answer me.”
She looked up to find his stern gaze trained on her face. The soft waves of his light auburn hair fell over his forehead and she was possessed with the urge to reach up and brush the locks away. It wasn’t wise to provoke a berserker’s anger but that’s exactly what she was about to do. Sasha raised her right arm to the headboard and wrapped her fingers around the metal in anticipation of being bound.
“That’s exactly why I came here,” she said low, and did him one better as she added to his list of lewd acts. “To be bound. Used. Pleasured. Licked. Sucked. Fucked.”
Dark shadows passed over his gaze like storm clouds blocking out a golden sunset. He rounded the bed and bound her other wrist, tightening the leather strap until she felt the bite of the restraint on her skin. “Who here touched you, vampire? Who so much as laid eyes on your bare skin? How many here used you tonight?”
Vampire. As though addressing her in such a generic, impersonal way would somehow hurt her. Ewan had cut her deeply once already. She steeled herself against his words. He wouldn’t cut her a second time. His attention wandered from her face in favor of a slow perusal of her body. Suddenly very aware of her nakedness, a chill stole over her, coaxing goose bumps to the surface of her skin and causing her nipples to pearl. The rich musky scent of Ewan’s arousal bloomed around her and she breathed deeply of the intoxicating aroma.
Sasha wanted to call him out on it. To point out that it wasn’t fair for her to be completely naked while he was fully clothed. But she knew that any protestations would fall on deaf ears. He wanted her to believe he was in charge. Sasha could play along. For now.
She bucked her chin up and met his gaze with a defiant stare. “Aren’t we supposed to establish some sort of safe word before we get started?”
“Safe word?” Ewan smirked. “Oh love, there isn’t a word in existence that will keep you safe from me.”
He wanted to scare her, but all his posturing managed to do was excite her even more. Everything about him raised the stakes. Took Sasha out of her comfort zone. She’d play this game as long as he wanted to. Anything to keep feeling this way.
Ewan stroked a finger from Sasha’s belly button upward, between her breasts, to the hollow of her throat. She let out a quiet moan as she squirmed against the restraints. “You didn’t answer my question.” His gaze darkened once again as he leaned in close. “How many males have had the pleasure of your body tonight?”
She allowed for a slow seductive smile. “What if I told you I’ve been here every night for a week and have lost count of how many males I’ve allowed between my legs?”
Ewan didn’t take his eyes from hers. He reached between her legs and gently dragged his finger through her slick folds, settling at the knot of nerves at her core. Sasha’s back arched as a sharp stab of pleasure shot through her. Her lids fluttered as her hips pressed upward toward his touch.
“I would say that you’re lying to me,” Ewan said darkly. “Because your wet, swollen flesh tells me the last time you were satisfied, it was me to do it.”
Arrogant bastard. He was right, though. Try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to even think of anyone else, let alone allow another male to touch her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of honesty, however, whether he knew the truth or not. He’d turned her away. Treated her bite as though it repulsed him. He didn’t deserve her honesty, her compliance, or anything else.
Sasha didn’t look away. Instead, she kept her gaze locked with his.
“The only reason that shifter is still breathing is because you willed it so.”
Ewan placed his palm on her lower abdomen and slid his hand up her torso and over the swell of one breast. Sasha’s breath caught as he gently plucked at one pearled nipple. Another jolt of electric pleasure shot through her and Sasha swallowed down a whimper. Gods, he knew exactly how to touch her. How to tease her. As though he were completely wired in to what she wanted and needed. Was it the tether that made it so? Or something else altogether?
“I made a concession for you tonight, Sasha, and it’s the last time I ever will. If I find you in the company of another male with his hands on you in that way ever again, I’ll kill him before he can take his next breath.”
Her gut knotted with indignant anger at his possessive show. He had no right to make any claim on her after outright rejecting her. His palm wandered to her other breast and he cupped the flesh there before plucking at that nipple as well. Her anger dissolved under the intense sensation and Sasha pulled at her restraints as her back bowed off the bed.
“You don’t own me, berserker.” Sasha’s words held little conviction as she strained toward his touch.
Ewan chuckled. The sound carried so much masculine confidence that it made Sasha grit her teeth in frustration. He’d barely touched her and she was already reduced to a panting, squirming mass of nerves.
“Oh no?” His fingers hovered over her. Not quite touching. The barest whisper of contact. Sasha arched toward him and he pulled back. “Your body tells a different story.”
Her own body betrayed her. All Sasha had wanted was to get him out of her head once and for all. But now, he’d managed to work his way so far under her skin she knew it would take nothing short of a stake through her heart to get him out of her system.
So much for taking charge. Sasha was lost. To him.