Tamsyn
Her lover was a big, handsome, stupid lummox.
Three days after finally being intimate with him, Merrick still wasn’t touching her the way her body craved, and it was infuriating. He’d woken an untamable beast inside her, poked it with a stick until it went feral, and then politely advised it to go back to sleep.
Just to make things worse, he checked her twice daily to see how she was healing, those magic fingers probing her folds gently, and enraged the beast into a snarling, greedy monster. Especially when he slathered cream all over her unmentionables with gentle care.
All right, yes, maybe she’d struggled to walk properly for a day… or two… but that was only because her muscles weren’t used to strenuous physical exercise. Besides, she was fine now, wasn’t she? Aside from the constant, nagging ache in her belly whenever he was near.
She knew it wasn’t because he’d finally had his way with her and lost interest—if the fire in his eyes when he looked at her wasn’t obvious enough, the bulge in his pants was always on full alert in her presence.
“Still sulking, little owl?” Pressing a kiss to the top of her head in passing, Merrick padded to the coffeemaker.
Tamsyn scowled at her breakfast, poking her spoon through the sloppy mess of milk and cereal. Not for the first time, she was tempted to stick the metal utensil beneath the cast to find the itch driving her mad.
“Busy day today,” he continued cheerfully, ignoring her silence. “Linnie’s asked to see you for a quick check-up, and then we have a meeting with Elias, Jasper, and Anarchy.”
There was so much wrong in that sentence, it was unbelievable.
“I’m scheduled to work tonight, so we need to figure out what to do with you. I thought you might like to come hang out with some of the other subs for a few hours, get to know everyone. There’s the added bonus of knowing they’ll stop you from running blind into a damn orgy.”
Her scowl darkened; she didn’t need a reminder of that , thank you—although an orgy sounded pretty fantastic right about now when her insides were quivering, getting wet just from the sound of his stupid voice.
“Darlin’, you feeling okay?” Merrick’s warm hand covered her forehead lightly from behind. “Don’t bite my head off, but… when is your period due?”
Glowering at the ridiculously tall idiot over her shoulder, she snapped, “My what?”
Merrick rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. “That time of the month where your back aches and your stomach cramps? Hormones go wild, tempers flare, things get a bit… messy.”
Oh, that.
Mouth twisting in disgust, Tamsyn turned back to her bowl, tossing her spoon into the milk with a splash. Shoving it away, she slipped out of her chair and batted his restraining hand off her shoulder.
The elders called it The Rejuvenation.
It was celebrated in the younger girls, a sign of transformation from child to adult, opening up the window of trade.
For a wife, however, particularly a bred one, it was a death sentence—an omen that she was unfit for purpose, voiding the contract.
“I’m not going for a check-up, and you can meet those people on your own.”
The tension in the room changed subtly, charging with something primal and electric. She felt the current ripple over her skin, lifting the fine hairs, as she headed for the door.
“Time for your first lesson in submission, little owl. Sit down, please.”
The power in his voice slowed her steps. Her irritation was strong enough to battle with it, even as part of her collapsed to the ground, begging for forgiveness.
“ Sit. Down .”
One more step and she was at the threshold.
“Darlin’,” he crooned darkly. “Think carefully about what you do next.”
She heard the warning and chose to ignore it, taking that step.
“Oh good,” Merrick rumbled. “Now I get to play.”
His bare feet slapped on the kitchen tiles, heading in her direction. Slow and unhurried, which told her she was in trouble. Big, stupid trouble. Predators didn’t rush when they stalked their prey—they bided their time until they had the perfect opportunity to pounce.
Unless, of course, the prey panicked and ran.
With a frightened eeep, Tamsyn bolted for the bedroom.
Merrick’s laugh followed her down the hallway. “Darlin’, you can’t run fast enough or far enough to get away from the spanking aimed at your ass. Gonna smack that shitty attitude out of you and make you feel a whole lot better.”
She raced into the bedroom, her robe flapping around her legs, skidding around the bed and charging for the bathroom. Oh, bad idea. She’d be trapped in there with no room to evade him; not that she had a chance in hell of doing so—he was bigger, stronger, taller, and faster.
Spinning around, she jumped onto the bed as he filled the bedroom doorway. Standing in the middle, she felt her belly erupt with an explosive flutter of butterflies when he grinned wickedly at her.
“Don’t ever make your Dom chase you for a punishment, Tamsyn. It makes everything worse in the end. Not to mention, if he has a chase kink—like I do—you’re gonna flip his switch.” He leaned his shoulder against the jamb, eyebrow raised. “Now if a naughty little sub with a bad attitude comes to me, could be I’ll be lenient this time.”
She wasn’t falling for that.
The mattress wobbled under her feet as she shifted her weight, ready to leap off either side of the bed if he made his move. Despite her foul mood, she could admit the thought of being chased—by him—sent her heartbeat soaring.
“Ten. Nine. Eight.”
Tamsyn frowned. Why was he counting?
“Seven.” He straightened, stretching as he spoke. “Six. Five.”
Her eyes widened when he stepped into the room and shut the door.
“Four. Three. Two.”
Merrick stalked toward the bed, all those sinful muscles flexing. She loved it when he was barefoot and bare chested; with his jeans unbuttoned and his face slowly losing that mischievous edge, he was dominance personified.
Unfortunately for her, she got lost in his eyes as she was prone to do, and didn’t think to flee to safety when he reached the end of the bed until it was too late.
“One,” he growled, and lunged forward. One huge hand hooked around her calf, yanking her toward him, while the other snared her hip.
There was the brief sensation of falling before she bounced onto the mattress with a disgruntled oomph. She kicked instinctively as he dragged her over the sheets, wrestling her out of the hindering robe, then found her leg trapped against his hip.
“When offered the chance to submit, you should probably take it.” Merrick flipped her over onto her stomach, then hooked an arm around her waist and picked her up.
The room spun as he turned and sat, dumping her over his thighs and laying a forearm over her shoulders to pin her down. When she squirmed and kicked again, he huffed and changed position, twisting to sit at an angle so her upper body sprawled on the bed and her stomach pressed uncomfortably over his left thigh. His right leg curled around hers, preventing any unwanted movement.
“Just as a friendly warning,” he said conversationally, “I normally correct bad attitudes with an unlimited spanking. I can beat on an upturned ass all day until the temper turns to tears, little owl. I suggest you remember that in the future.”
She gave him a poor mimicry of his growl in reply.
Her butt twitched when he laid his palm on her, rubbing in slow circles over one cheek, then the other. The scrape of his calluses on that vulnerable area brought her skin to life.
“Because it’s your first infraction, you’re gonna take ten. It’s a punishment, so there’ll be no warm up. After each one, you’ll tell me you’re sorry for being rude.” The disapproval in his tone made her want to cry. “When we’re done, all will be forgiven.”
“Can I just say sorry now?” Her voice was so small, barely a whisper.
“You could. But the next time you walk out on me in a temper, what lesson will you remember? You’re entitled to your emotions, Tamsyn, but in a dynamic, there still needs to be respect. From you and me. Communication and honesty is essential.” The circling on her butt grew firmer, almost massaging her flesh. “If you don’t feel well, tell me. When you’re upset or off-balance, tell me. I can’t help unless you give me a place to start. And for fuck’s sake, don’t run unless you’re ready for the consequences.”
That, apparently, was the end of his lecture.
Tamsyn bit her lip when he stopped fondling her butt and lifted his hand. Unsure what to expect, it wasn’t until she felt the waft of air over her skin, then the hard clap of his palm on her cheek followed by a stinging rush of fire, that she realized what a monumental mistake she’d made.
She yelped like a wounded dog. “I’m sorry for being rude!”
“Perfect. Nine more.”
Oh hell, her butt was going to hate her before he was done. The next smack landed on the opposite side, just as hard, and her cry was shockingly raw before she repeated the apology.
Fire unleashed over her bottom again and again, barely having time to sink into her muscles before the next strike inflamed the burn. Never in exactly the same place twice, but he had no issues overlapping spanks.
By the sixth blow, she was choking on her words, trying not to cry.
By the eighth, there was no holding back the tears.
By the tenth… she was sobbing.
Merrick’s hand cupped her sex, his finger sliding up and down her slit with ease. “That’s my good girl. Let all that shit out. Hate to tell you this, little owl, but as much as you think you hate spankings, your body has its own opinion. This perfect pussy is wet and wanting.”
Hate was such a lackluster word to describe her animosity toward spanking. Her butt was slowly roasting under the imprints of his hand, and she was ready to swear her allegiance to being a good girl for the rest of her life if it meant never being in this position again.
It was the weirdest feeling to be in pain and yet still crave Merrick inside her. If anything, the desire was stronger, the ache in her belly deeper. Even when he kneaded her butt, really pushing that burn into her muscles, she wanted his cock buried inside her, mirroring that beautiful pain.
What the hell was wrong with her?
The tears were still streaming down her face, soaking into the rumpled covers. “Merk.”
She’d been beaten before—mainly by her father, sometimes by the other elders if they deemed her behavior unbecoming for whatever reason—but this… it was unlike anything she’d suffered through in the community.
Merrick’s strikes were firm, unyielding, and yet there was no malice behind them. The act itself should’ve been violent, but even though his hand connected with her body repeatedly and caused her pain, she didn’t feel the trembling fear that came with not knowing if she’d survive the castigation.
If she was honest with herself, she knew better than to walk away or flaunt her temper; if Merrick had been an elder, she would have been lucky if he’d only broken her legs or strapped her mouth shut for a month.
His hand retreated from between her legs and he made a soft, sympathetic noise. “No wonder you’re not in the best mood, little owl. Heavy flow today, huh? Sit up when you’re ready and take a seat on my thigh.”
Sit on her butt? The butt that was all glowing embers and flickering flames?
She’d rather take a nap and wake up when the wildfire was out.
“Well, this puts playtime on the back burner for a few days,” he murmured, more to himself than her. When her head snapped up, he chuckled. “Yeah, that got your attention, didn’t it?”
Tamsyn wiggled uncomfortably until he took pity on her and helped her find her balance on unsteady feet and wobbly knees. She eyed his thigh warily, knowing she was going to have sit at some point. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“So, you’re telling me your stomach doesn’t feel bloated?” He laid his big hand on it.
She glanced down, frowning when she realized it looked slightly distended. The weight of his palm drew attention to a vague tenderness she hadn’t noticed when that same broad appendage was walloping her butt. “Maybe a little.”
“Uh-huh. And there’s no cramping?”
She shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”
His jaw ticked. “We’ll get to that. Might need a stiff drink before we tackle it, but we will.” He held up his other hand, his middle finger wet and stained with her bodily fluids. “Period sex is messy, darlin’. It gets bloody quickly. I’m not averse to it, but you’ve had a taste of what sex with me is like now. Fucking you when you’re not feeling your best goes against my personal code.”
Seriously deflated, she dropped onto his thigh without thinking, sucking in a shocked breath as her butt sent out a distress signal that decimated her nervous system.
Oh, that was such a bad idea.
Merrick snorted. “When I said sit, I meant with some finesse, little owl.”
She wondered if a spanked bottom had the potential to spontaneously combust; if so, hers was a contender for the Most Likely To Do Just That award. Squirming didn’t help, it just spread the burning love from her crack to the crease where her butt met her thighs. “Maybe I needed something to distract myself.”
“From?”
Unable to help herself, she whined, “It’s been three days , Merrick.”
“I can count the days just as well as you, Tamsyn.”
“You can’t open the door and then slam it in my face!” she protested.
“Perks of being a Dom, darlin’.” Brushing her hair away from her neck, he kissed her sweet spot, rubbing his beard over the ticklish flesh. “Go take a shower. I’ll get you a tampon and some pain meds; you can have a nap—”
“I woke up like an hour ago.”
“—and then we’ll continue with our previously mentioned schedule for the day. If you behave and if you refrain from murdering me throughout the day, after my shift ends tonight, we will work on the basics—commands, positions, rules, limits. Yes?”
“That’s not sex,” she grumbled.
“No, but more often than not, obedient little girls get fucked.” He paused to consider, then grinned. “I suppose bad girls do too, only they get an ass fucking instead.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Hmmm. Wouldn’t I?” he crooned into her ear, then nipped her lobe sharply.
“N-No.”
“I have plans for your ass, Tamsyn. Dastardly, fiendish plans for it.” His tongue swept behind her ear, finding a super sensitive spot and making her shiver. “All of them ending with my cock balls-deep in that hot, velvety passage, filling you up with my spunk while I listen to you come… and scream… and come again.”
Her butt cheeks clenched tightly, giving her the additional sensation of her pussy squeezing on emptiness. He was such a tease—a filthy, devious tease. “So, you didn’t want to take my virginity because you were afraid of hurting me, but you’re more than happy to desecrate my butthole—which is considerably smaller and tighter? How does that work?”
“Man logic.”
“Huh?”
“Your pussy is a sacred thing, Tamsyn. It’s part of what makes you a woman. Life grows inside you and comes out of your vagina. In my mind, that makes it precious, and causing you pain there is both alluring and distasteful.” Merrick lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Your ass on the other hand is robust. The anus, if prepped properly, can stretch up to about seven inches before it incurs an injury. I think I read somewhere that you can fit two raccoons up your ass.”
The laughter came swiftly, almost doubling her over. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would someone put one raccoon up their butt, let alone two?” A sharp snort of laughter broke the sentence in half.
“Well, normal people wouldn’t dream of it, but someone obviously did some calculations and figured out that raccoons are flexible and so are assholes.” He grinned at her. “Just because it’s on the internet, don’t take it as truth.”
All she could imagine was someone bent over, their bottom exposed, and two stripey tails dangling from between their buttocks.
The idea of someone using poor, defenseless raccoons as a calculation measure was both appalling and hysterical; she couldn’t stop laughing even as she chastised herself for doing so.
It felt wonderful to laugh, to sit on Merrick’s thigh and laugh like she hadn’t in years. She couldn’t remember a single moment in all her life in the community when she’d been given the opportunity to express herself so freely.
It didn’t matter that she was naked, her butt aflame, with her wrist itching like a nest of bedbugs under the cast.
She was happy.
Tamsyn leaned against his chest as her laughter trickled into giggles. When his arms came around her, keeping her close to the rumble of his own amusement, she knew she’d lost whatever argument she might have had.
She’d take that shower and whatever pills he gave her. She’d have a nap, because she was starting to feel a bit rough—not that she would admit that to him. Maybe she’d suffer through the appointment with Linnie, and try not to have an anxiety attack when she saw the white-haired, glacier-gazed Jasper again.
She would be Merrick’s good girl, because she loved him.
*