Chapter Seventeen

“Before you get ready for dinner, we need to talk.” Dominic backed Zoey up against the velvet wallpaper of his bedroom’s far wall.

“Are you going to make me regret coming in here with you?”

“Definitely.” He grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head.  “You made me wait.  You drove my wolf crazy. You were so close, but you weren’t with me. I’ve been sleeping alone for three nights when I should have been sleeping with my mate.”

“Your mate? As in, me?”

“Of course, you numbskull. Sexy numbskull,” Dominic added hastily.

“Just checking.”

He bent down and nipped her neck, hard enough to make her yelp – but there was a hot pleasure in it too.  “You want to know about wolves and mating? Let me start educating you.” He bit her again, and she moaned aloud.  “The male has the right to discipline his mate when called for.  And it is called for in this case.  You moved on to pack property but refused to share my bed for the last three nights, and it’s cost me in pack prestige, to the point where several underlings thought they could rib me about it. They’re just about healed by now, the disfigurement shouldn’t be permanent, and they won’t do it again.  But because of your abandonment, I have the right to discipline you.”

“What?” she cried out indignantly. “Is that true, or are you making that up because you want an excuse to get kinky?”

“I don’t need an excuse to get kinky, you’re my mate.” He tangled his fingers in her hair and gave her head a sharp yank, tipping it back.  “But it’s true. It’s an ancient tradition, passed on down the centuries, from when shifter packs lived in secret.  But in modern times, we’ve adapted. The female mate gets to pick the punishment.  And the male makes sure that she enjoys it.”

Well, this was interesting.  “Wouldn’t that just mean that female wolf shifters misbehave all the time?”

“Oh, God, do they,” he said ruefully.  “Our females give us a run for our money.  But we deserve it.  Keeps thing fresh.  Now.  What punishment do you choose?”

“Uhh…” her cheeks went red. “I’ve always, sorta, wondered what it felt like to be spanked.”

“The way I do it?” He grinned fiercely.  “Very, very, good.”

Her heart stuttered in anticipation, and she licked her lips nervously. Of course he’d be very, very good. She remembered the feel of those huge, strong, hands on her body, kneading her muscles until she was limp with pleasure. A moan escaped her.

 

 He cocked a dark brow, and God help her if she didn’t just get damp all over again.

 

“That’s big talk, since I have nothing to go by.” Her voice came out way more breathless than she had hoped.

 

Dominic’s answer was to run his lips —those sexy, curved lips — down the side of her neck. She shivered and arched towards him, her hands still pinioned to the wall above her head by his hand.

 

His breath teased her sensitive skin. “You’ll beg for more, princess, and often. In fact, knowing you, you’ll misbehave again and again.”

 

She bit back a snarky response. Words were going to fail her anyway, as her senses were filled with his touch, his scent, his strength.

 

Dominic slid his other hand down her back, her back arching towards him. He took an appreciative whiff, and his hand curved around the flesh that hung over her panties.

 

 “But that’s okay by me, because a lifetime won’t be enough for all the things I want to do with you and your gorgeous body.”

 

Oh, God, a lifetime of this! Yes, please!

His sexy voice zinged through her body, blasting away any self-consciousness, and somehow her panties magically disappeared off of her. Oh, wait, what were her hands doing? Her bra magically joined her panties. She was naked, one raw conduit of need. Both his hands were now cupping her generous backside, kneading the flesh of her cheeks.

 

She fought the urge to climb onto him.

 

“Not yet, princess.” His voice was filled with laughter.

 

“I’m going to be the first to spank your delectable ass—” He picked her up effortlessly into his arms, as if she weighed nothing. She had never felt so desired before.

 

“—And the last.”

 

Swoon!

He carried her over to the massive bed, and sat on the edge of the mattress with her still in his arms. She was boneless with want, her skin against the wool of his suit, the breadth of his chest.

He lowered her carefully, as if she were a work of art, until she lay on her belly across his lap, her ass up in the air.

Dominic stroked her back, the sides of her thighs —everywhere but her damp girly bits —with his broad palms. It was driving her crazy with desire, and she lifted her butt up even more, her legs outstretched and on tippy toes, fighting a whimper at this sweet torture.

 

Finally — finally! — he slid one hand between her legs, and lightly ran his fingertips over the seam of her pussy. Her breath hitched as she squirmed, her legs parting wider in invitation.

 

He dragged his fingers through her dampness, and her legs trembled. He clamped one arm down, holding her secure in his lap, while he used his other hand to continue teasing her.

 

He leaned over, and she felt his breath against her hair. “Remember, you asked for this, princess.”

 

Then his hand descended on the rounded globe of her right butt cheek, right where the pretty lettering read “Love Bites”, with a quick and decisive smack.

 

“Oh!” she exclaimed, as the stinging sensation zinged right through her girly bits. Her butt rose of its own volition, her toes leaving the ground.

 

Smack! His broad palm came down again, this time on her left butt cheek.

More, please!

 

Oh wait, she said that out loud. Because he smacked her again. And again. And again. And a few more times. It was a good thing she wasn’t keeping count. She forgot what came after three. She quivered in between each stinging slap. The cries coming out of her made him smile.

 

His mate. His.

 

He paused to knead the areas he had hit. They were rosy, just like the way she had blushed so prettily earlier.

“How are you doing, Zoey Eastgate?”

 

He needed to know. He wanted nothing more than to give her a lifetime of pleasure.

“Very, very good,” she huffed.

“Told you,” he smirked, and he sniffed the air for confirmation. God, she was so delicious.

He slid a finger between her legs, and she shivered violently.

 

“More showing and less telling, Mr. Modest.”

 

“Hmmph. There’s nothing modest about me.” He pretended to be offended, but the proof was in the hard ridge pressing against Zoey’s side.

She shrieked in surprise as in one fluid motion he got up, and flipped her over so she was now bent over the bed, her face pressed against the mattress. He was on his feet behind her, with his broad palms on her sides. He trailed his fingers lightly along her curvy body.

 

“All this woman, all mine. How did I get so lucky?”

 

He squeezed her butt cheeks, still warm from the spanking. She shivered with the feel of his fingers on her lit nerve endings, where the smacks had ignited her flesh. She shifted her weight, leaning into his touch, before one hand slipped between the folds of her pussy, slick with her excitement. She jolted as if she had come in contact with a live wire, his touch on her clit.

 

A moan escaped as his fingers did delicious things, swirly things that drove her wild. And then.... he removed his hand.

 

What?

“Don’t even think of stopping now, you bastard!”

His response was a low, sexy rumble of laughter. “Somebody likes being spanked.”

 

“Damn it, I did, and if you don’t take me right now—oh!”

 

She gasped as he slammed his enormous length into her from behind, filling her up.

 

His hand returned to do its delirium-inducing thrumming against her clit, as he rolled his hips over and over against her sensitive butt cheeks, still buzzing from being spanked.

 

She clutched at the bedspread, thick waves of unruly brown hair fanning about her head, muffling the moans and sighs as her entire body was rocked with each thrust.

 

She wanted him, all of him, and she loved the feel of him buried inside of her, the tickle of his curls against her tingling skin, the way he made her feel like the most desirable woman he had ever known.

 

His fingers continued their hypnotic strokes, and together their breaths grew harsher and faster, almost in unison as they both began the climb towards the apex of pleasure. The heat coiled deep in her tighter, so tight, until with a loud cry she shattered.

 

He felt her pulsing around him as the waves of her orgasm rushed through her, sweeping him along to his own hoarse, guttural cry. He pumped her full of his hot, sticky seed, loving the look of her beautiful, round curves receiving every bit of him.

 

This woman. He would never get enough.

 

Finally, slowly, he pulled out of her, keeping a broad hand on the silkiness of her skin. He pulled her back up from the bed, taking her into his arms. He looked at her face, flushed as it was with pleasure, the freckles, or angel kisses as her mother called them, a dusting of gold accentuating her glow.

 Dominic tingled with pride and….another emotion.

 

I did that, he thought fiercely. I gave her the universe and stars, and I’ll devote the rest of my life making her the happiest woman alive.

 

He gave her the greatest gift he could think of at that moment -- the truth.

 

“I love you,” he said.

And she melted with joy.

 

* * * * *

Dominic walked to the back door of the limo, holding it open for Zoey.  She couldn’t help but feel a rush of warmth.  The big, scary killer was also an old-fashioned gentleman. And he treated her like a princess.

He was a complicated man, made up of many parts. Sure, some of them were sharp and spikey, but she was starting to see that those were walls he’d erected to protect himself. 

“Hey!” a voice shouted out from behind a cluster of palm trees.   Romano trotted up, looking expectant. “What’s up, boss?”

“Going to dinner.”

Romano’s face lit up. “Nice.  I’m hungry.  Where are we going? I’m in the mood for a rare steak.”

“We, as in my mate and I, are going to Sergio’s.  You are going to sit outside and eat a sandwich.”

Romano made a mournful face. “Sergio’s? I love Sergio’s.”

“We’ll bring you out left-overs,” Zoey promised him, elbowing Dominic.

Romano’s face lit up.  “Wait, are you guys going on an actual date? Did Dominic stop acting like an ass?” he asked Zoey. “When I come get Dominic in the morning, am I going to not-smell sex and – awwwkkk!” he struggled to breathe, which was hard to do with Dominic crushing his wind-pipe.

“Dominic, please don’t break your friend,” Zoey said, sliding into the back seat of the car. “You might regret it later.”

“Doubtful,” he grunted, but released his hold on Romano’s neck.

Romano coughed and wheezed dramatically from the front seat as their limo driver headed to Sergio’s until Dominic kicked the back of his seat and he stopped.

“You guys are like brothers who fight all the time,” Zoey laughed.

“He’s adopted,” Dominic said promptly. “His real mother was a troll.”

It was about a half hour drive, but traffic was light and Zoey sank into a warm haze of contentment.  Dominic’s massive arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she leaned against him in companionable silence. This felt good. This felt right.  Like she was exactly where she was supposed to be. 

Suddenly a blinding sense of panic choked Zoey.  “Obstacle.  Turn back!” she cried out.

“You heard her!” Dominic yelled.  He wrapped his arms around Zoey protectively, as the driver tried to make a quick turn in the middle of the street.

A massive explosion rattled the air, and everything went dark.