Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SERAFINA
I fold another shirt, settling it into my backpack on top of my weapons. I know we can’t actually spend more than a few days in Faerie, not without risking getting ill, but it feels better to pack for all contingencies.
I tuck a few bottles of painkillers, tissues, and handkerchiefs for nosebleeds, some instant ice packs, and a few instant heat packs in amongst my clothes. Hopefully, I won’t need to use them—or worse, try to explain to the guys how to help me use them—but I’ve learned over the years to be prepared. I’d feel stupid if I remember to carry them to school with me every day for episodes but forget them now.
With my luck, I’ll get lost, not be able to find the entry point back to this realm, and be stuck in stinky clothing with a bleeding nose when Devyn and Xander come to haul my ass back out. I have no doubt they’ll be watching the clock, counting down every minute we’re all gone. It has to be a struggle for them to let the rest of us go—as much as they argue with V, I think even he would have been a preferable chaperone in their eyes.
Foster and I have only a tiny bit of experience traveling between worlds, and Kian and Tristan have never visited Faerie before, but it isn’t going to stop us. For V, for Gage, we have to keep moving forward.
I wish I could’ve been allowed to visit Gage one last time—to tell him I know he’s innocent, that I don’t care what type of fae he is, that I care about him immensely—but Xander told me he’s under close supervision. No one is allowed to visit him.
I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do except declare war on the queen herself, which is very, very tempting currently. I just need to trust my mates to handle things while I’m gone.
A breeze from the window makes me whirl, reaching up to slide a knife from the braid in my hair.
“You’re becoming slow, Ms. Jenkins,” Xander rumbles, a dark eyebrow arching as he leans against the wall, and I roll my eyes.
“Are you channeling V now, Mr. Grayson?” I look him up and down, appreciating the way his charcoal-gray vest highlights his flat, toned stomach and narrow hips. “I think the role of stalker in our little group has already been filled.”
Even if he is currently unconscious.
I push the thought away, forcing a smile onto my lips.
“The few seconds it took me to respond while safe in my own room aren’t the end of the world,” I snark, carefully wiggling the knife back into its sheath so I don’t accidentally cut my hair.
I may still be getting used to the deep-pink strands, but I’m not going to risk damaging them. For all I know, on our trip they’ll change yet again since we still have no idea why it changed from my normal blonde strands in the first place. As long as it doesn’t turn lime green or something along those lines—I don’t have the skin tone for that, and I’m not giving up my pink clothing no matter what color it turns.
Cool, smooth shadows wrap tightly around me, freezing me in place. A band covers my mouth, preventing me from swearing at the jerk behind me. Shadows creep across the walls, the windows, and the door, sealing us inside a dark bubble only lit by my bedside lamp, the crystals dangling from it sending sparkling shapes to dance against the inky darkness.
“I already owe you one spanking, Ms. Jenkins,” Xander purrs into my ear as the band around my mouth releases. “Maybe a bright-pink ass would make sure you’re focusing on your safety—because if you’re injured in Faerie, I can guarantee you that you won’t sit for a week.”
His voice is rich and deep, and I shiver at the husky tone.
I squeeze my thighs together as heat works its way through my veins.
“You wouldn’t,” I hiss over my shoulder, even as my belly tightens with desire. “Everyone would hear you.”
I’ve already experienced one sexual encounter where I was walked in on. The last thing I need is another.
“Ah, but I’m not my cousin,” Xander teases me, wrapping a hand around my throat and tilting my head back onto his shoulder, his fingers dancing over the fragile skin before gripping me in a possessive hold.
Without his shadows holding me upright and still, I melt against him, even as I sneak a look at where my door should be, though it’s hard to see it amongst the cocoon of shadows. One of my other mates catching me with Xander? That’d be hot as hell. My parents…not so much.
“No one will be able to hear us or get into this room until I call back my shadows and allow it, Ms. Jenkins,” Xander tells me, his teeth nipping my ear and making me whimper.
His shadows slip underneath my T-shirt, sliding up my ribs, brushing the sides of my breasts, then moving down my shoulders to my wrists. In a flash, my arms are yanked behind me, my wrists bound firmly at the small of my back. I tug at my arms, rotating my wrists to find the flex the shadows will allow. Their hold on me is gentle, cool, but completely immovable—I can shift slightly, and they aren't hurting me, but they hold me securely in place without any way of escaping.
Xander releases my throat and strokes a hand down my back. “You’ll say red if anything pushes your limits or if you get faint or notice any of your seizure signs.” His voice is sharp, firm, and as he comes around me to grip my chin and stare down into my eyes, there is no doubt that he means every word coming out of his lips. “If you put yourself at risk during our play, then that play will not continue. I’ll push your limits. Test you. Make you scream for me. But I will not allow you to injure yourself. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” The words are soft and throaty as they fall from my lips, and I squirm again in my bonds.
He strokes his thumb across my lower lip, teasing the tender flesh. “You’ll get ten today. Don’t think I’ll be so lenient in the future.”
He grabs my hips, his shadows releasing my legs so that I can walk with him to my bed. He settles himself on the edge and draws me between his thighs so that he can pin my legs. He helps me lean over, keeping me balanced with his shadows since my arms are still tightly bound, and settles me so that my belly is pressed against his hard thigh and my breasts are against the soft fabric of my comforter.
“What is your safe word, Serafina?”
“Red, sir.”
“Good girl.”
Why does him calling me that make me feel like I could come without him even touching me?
His hands are quick and sure as he flips my skirt up around my hips and slides my leggings down, the calluses on his fingers rough against my skin. “Count, Serafina.”
The first blow surprises me, and I let out a huff as the sting sinks into my flesh. He rubs his palm over the prickling skin, turning it into something warmer, a heat I feel echoed between my thighs.
“One, sir.”
He only pauses for a moment before the next one hits, this one even harder, making me yelp as it lands.
“Two, sir.”
Again, he rubs in the sting, letting the heat sink into my skin. “Good girl. Are you liking your spanking, Serafina?”
“No, sir,” I lie without a qualm, even as I shift my hips, trying to get more pressure on my clit.
I’m so damn close to the edge already. All I need is just a little bit more to get me over the edge.
Three fast, sharp slaps land on the backs of my thighs, making me cry out and unsure if I want to arch into the blows or away from them.
He leans down until his lips are right next to my ear. “Little liar,” he whispers. “If you won’t tell me the truth, I’ll just have to find out myself.”
A rending noise meets my ears, and I see the scraps of what used to be my leggings tossed onto the floor beside me.
“Hey!” I object.
I liked those.
“If you’d been honest, they’d still be in one piece,” he tells me with another sharp smack.
“That’s got to be ten,” I whine, though I know we’re nowhere near it, and part of me doesn’t want him to stop.
“You know it’s not. Besides, those last few weren’t part of your punishment. They were for your momentary disobedience.” His fingers lightly stroke over my folds, and I gasp, trying to arch my back and get his fingers where I need them.
He moves them in front of my eyes so I can see that they’re coated in my wetness.
“You are definitely enjoying this. One day, you’ll lick my fingers clean, but for today, I can’t resist tasting you,” he tells me as his fingers move out of my line of vision while I groan.
The idea of him licking me off of himself has heat flaring inside of me, and I know my thighs are coated. I want to watch him clean his fingers, see him taste me…
“You’re enjoying this too much. Maybe I should stop.”
“No!” The word tears from me, and heat pools in my cheeks.
He’s teased me for so long, all I want now is to come.
“No?” he challenges me, his fingers dancing over my inner thighs, swirling in the wetness staining me.
“No, sir,” I hurry to correct myself.
He makes a light humming noise in his throat before stroking my ass again. “So fucking pretty. I love how your ass looks all warm and pink. It’d be even more gorgeous hot and red. Eight more. Be a good girl and count them for me.”
He begins to land harsh blows against me, peppering my entire ass, and I know there won’t be a single unmarked spot left when he’s done.
I manage to call out each smack, but the words get more garbled with every blow. “Ten! Please, sir!”
“You took that so well,” he praises me, stroking a soothing hand down my back as I slump over his knees. “Does my girl need something?” he murmurs to me, his fingers dancing so close to where I need them before moving away again.
“Yes! Please, sir! Please make me come.” I’m past the point of caring if I beg him. I’m so wound up, so close to the edge that my body is begging to go over…
It’s been too long since I’ve let myself drown in pleasure, and though I didn’t know a spanking could make me reach this point, I’m not about to turn it down.
“Normally, I don’t reward bad behavior, Ms. Jenkins,” he tells me firmly, even as he flips me over to lie on the bed, his shadows spreading my arms so I’m laid out completely spread-eagle for him. “But I want you entering Faerie still feeling me, knowing the pleasure I can bring you, and make sure you’ll come back to me so I can do it all over again.”
I moan my approval, thrusting my hips up, needing him inside of me.
“Oh no, Serafina. You aren’t getting my cock just yet. Especially after being such a naughty girl.”
“Xander!” I snarl, some of my buzz fading as my hot ass rubs against the fabric of my comforter.
He stands, still fully dressed, over top of me. Is it weird that I want to beg him for a show? To have him strip for me so I can finally see every inch of him? To release my hands so I can bury them in his hair while he uses his mouth on me?
“Do you need this, darling?” He strokes his cock through his dress pants, making me pant, unable to pull my eyes away.
“Yes!” The word is nearly a wail, though I’m too lost in sensation to feel embarrassed.
“Hm. We’re going to have to work on your patience, but we’ll do that another day. Don’t take your eyes off of me. Do you understand?” His eyes are bright behind his reading glasses, so hot and intense I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to.
Which I most definitely do not.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good girl.” He kneels between my spread legs, keeping his touch soft as he strokes me. “This will be hard and fast today, darling. You don’t need my permission. Come whenever you’re ready.” He slides his hands to my breasts, pinching and rolling my nipples as his tongue dances across my slit. “Fuck. You taste even better this way, darling. I’m not going to be able to resist licking you as often as I can. Maybe I’ll put you on the desk in my office, spread you out there, and feast on you for hours as I work.”
Well, fuck. That’s definitely an idea I can get behind.
He licks around my clit, never stopping his attention to my nipples as something smooth and blunt presses against me.
“Huh?!”
He chuckles, the sound deep and rolling, and I have to force my eyes to stay open as the vibrations roll along my clit. “I said you weren’t getting my cock. I didn’t say anything about my shadows.”
He sucks hard again on my clit as his shadows press into me, stretching my inner walls and making me thrash at the combination of sensations riding my body. The shadows are thick and hard, much to my surprise, the coolness of them even more stimulation against my overworked body.
His eyes are glued to me, never leaving mine as he flicks his tongue over me, swirling it right where I need it.
“God!”
He chuckles again as he lands a swat to my nipple. “Let’s stick to ‘sir’ for the moment. I’m not sure I’m a deity just yet. You’re going to come for me, darling. You’re going to come all over my face as my shadows fuck this pretty pussy. I’m going to be drenched in you so that I have your scent and taste all over me while you’re gone.”
He picks up his pace, his shadows fucking me ruthlessly as he sucks hard. His teeth scrape my clit lightly, and I shriek, shattering with pleasure as he pushes my body through it, extending the wave far past when I expected it would end.
Another slap lands on my pussy this time, and I whimper. “Naughty girl, closing your eyes. You’ll pay for that when you’re home again.”
I certainly hope so.