Chapter 10
Rixon
A fist pounded on Rixon’s door, making him growl.
He’d only just returned from dinner. Nearly two hours of entertaining courtiers, enough to make him consider gouging his eyes out with the fire poker on the hearth.
“What the fuck?!” he demanded, swinging the door wide, only to find Andrei panting and clutching his side.
“It’s…your lady witch…Sire.”
Rixon’s muscles tensed. Had a missive finally come?
His question was short-lived as Andrei proceeded to word vomit a near unintelligible explanation about a witch pursuit, needing to close the city gates, the call for additional city guards, and the return of his lady witch.
When he’d heard enough, he pushed past the man.
The stable doors were already open, light spilling out into the darkness when he jerked to a halt in the doorway.
He took in the scene before him, blinking.
Never mind that Anne and Elianna were there, their wielders too, removing saddles and settling their horses in.
What the fuck was Herrin doing here? They all looked worse for wear.
“Mina?!” he bellowed, stalking forward like a crazed demon, searching.
She popped out of a stall and froze. Their eyes collided and the world fell away. He suddenly found that he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. He was vaguely aware of Kam Tierney and his son, Aleck, bustling around, assisting the new arrivals.
“Everyone out,” he commanded, his voice turning lethally calm. There was a brief hesitation before the others burst into action. All the while, he didn’t take his eyes off Mina. “Shut the doors,” he added, when he sensed Kam’s hesitation on the threshold.
A click settled into the silence. He prowled forward, relieved to see Mina’s wide eyes taking him in. He didn’t wait for her to speak, taking her face in his hands, searching for unseen hurts. Her eyes bounced between his and then, “Rixon…” she breathed.
The sound of her voice made him snap.
He burst into motion, pinning her to the wall. His hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing just enough to hamper her air supply. “My sources inform me that you tore into the capital like demons were hot on your tail.”
“Rix—”
“Quiet!” He squeezed, cutting off her air supply completely.
Her eyes bulged but she didn’t fight him.
He leaned in until his mouth grazed the soft shell of her ear.
She shivered in his hold. Voice low, he murmured, “I don’t know why, and at the moment, I don’t fucking care.
The only thing I do care about is burying my cock so deep in your pretty little cunt that you forget all about why you were ever angry with me.
Then I’m going to fuck the defiance right out of you. ”
She jerked, and her hand began to claw at his fingers around her throat. He pulled back, pleased to see her eyes blackening, her face flushed and filled with lust. He released her with a little shove and she doubled over, gasping for breath.
Before she recovered, he reached for a bridle and quickly disassembled it. He took advantage of her surprise to bind her wrists. One of the great things about the stable, it was filled with all sorts of straps and places to secure them.
Mina gasped as he pulled her arms above her head, securing them to a nearby set of bars. “Rixon,” she cried.
Before she could say more, he found another piece of leather and slipped it into her mouth. “Rix—!” The rest of her protest came out garbled as he spun her in place to face the wall. He tightened it around the back of her head so she couldn’t speak.
“What’s the matter, little witch?” He leaned in, running his nose down the length of her throat, letting the natural smell of her fill his lungs.
In his current state, it did little to calm him.
His cock strained against the fabric of his pants, near painful, but it would have to wait.
Mina began to struggle, letting out a garbled string of commands, only, nothing happened.
His chuckle was low and amused. “Can’t use the bond against me when you can’t form words.
” He stroked a possessive hand down her side and she whimpered, some of the fight going out of her.
Did she know what she was in for?
He stepped back, glancing around. When he found what he was looking for he returned.
“Here is what’s going to happen.” He leaned in closer, his front flush to her back as he placed both hands against the wall, caging her.
One held the riding crop so she’d see it.
“I am going to punish you—for freezing me out, for leaving me without working through our issues, for making me fucking sick with worry. I’m going to punish you for merely existing and making me fucking feral.
I’m going to punish you for having a perfect little cunt, because I bet it’s dripping wet for me right now.
Then I’m going to punish you because I know you’ll like it. ”
She let out a strangled cry.
“There will be no safe words. No telling me to stop—because you can’t speak. Once I start, I will not stop, and I will do whatever the fuck I want to you. So I’m going to ask you right now, are we doing this? Because if we aren’t, I’m walking right the fuck out of here.”
Even though she couldn’t use the bond against him, she still had her magic.
If she really needed to, she could magic herself free.
He didn’t want that. He needed her to say yes.
Needed to know that she trusted him enough that she’d let him do whatever he wanted.
Mina liked it rough and he knew exactly how to please her.
He needed her to acknowledge that, now more than ever.
Mostly, he craved her submission. He needed to feel in control of this one thing in his life. Needed his world to settle back on its axis.
Was he being a possessive asshole? Yes. Was he borderline deranged? Also yes. Was he turned on by the thought of dominating her so completely that it was unhealthy? Fuck yes.
“Well?” he growled, losing patience.
She gave a brief nod and he sagged with relief. “Good. Then let’s get started.”
He took hold of her hips, pulling her from the wall, forcing her to bend slightly at the waist. Then he reached for the neck of her tunic and ripped it.
The sound of the fabric shredding, the sight of her bare back, her smooth skin, had him groaning.
She let out a whimper. He ran a finger down the knobs of her spine.
Next came her pants. These he slid down her thighs until they caught around her knees.
He kicked her feet apart as far as the pants allowed.
The sight of her bare ass—he groaned. Fuck.
The pink folds of her cunt were already slick.
How long until he had her dripping? It took everything in him not to drop to his knees and begin lapping at her like a starved animal.
He swallowed, then lifted the riding crop. He dragged the end of it down the smooth skin of her back. “I don’t know if it’s the darkness in you, your stubbornness, or both, but you’ve been a bad little witch, haven’t you?”
She didn’t answer. He brought the crop down with a snick, making her jerk.
“Haven’t you?” he asked again.
This time, she nodded.
“That’s better. Bad girls take their punishment. Are you going to take yours?”
This time, her nod came quicker. So did her breaths.
He struck her again—not yet hard enough to leave a mark. She wanted to hurt for him. She had admitted as much just recently. Still, he hesitated, waited.
A garbled word fell from her lips. Harder.
So he brought the crop down again. This time, it left a dark red mark.
He ran the tips of his fingers over it, tracing it.
She shivered beneath his touch. He whipped her again, and again, and again, alternating between her back and her ass, painting every part of exposed skin an angry shade of red.
With each slap of the crop, he felt more in control.
On the twelfth, she let out a soft whimper of pain.
He’d told her he wouldn’t stop, not once he got started, and still— “Had enough?” he drawled, daring her to take the coward’s way out, daring her to see what would happen if she did.
Another whimper and a shake of her head had something inside him—something dark—taking notice. Perhaps a piece of the thing living in her had burrowed under his skin, too. No, that wasn’t it. It was probably something more fucked up. Something left over from his childhood.
He began again, putting more force behind the punishment until her back and ass cheeks were a tableau of red welts. His only displeasure was seeing them heal whenever he slowed.
She began to snarl and tug at the restraints on her wrists, turning the skin beneath them red.
He hated knowing that if she wanted, she could magic her way out of this.
But he didn’t let himself think about that, falling instead into the fantasy of it.
He needed to feel like he had complete and utter control.
“Is this making you wetter, little witch?” he wondered. “Let’s see.” He reached down to rub the pads of his fingers along her slit and cursed. She was soaked—fucking soaked—so much so that the insides of her thighs were slicked.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “It’s hardly a punishment when you enjoy it so much.”
But gods, he was glad she did.
She let out a challenging growl. Like she had bested him at this. A low, sinister chuckle grated against his chest.
Already, he was feeling more himself. She pressed backwards, shimmying her ass for him in a signal that she wanted more—of his fingers, or the riding crop, he couldn’t be sure.
He circled her opening but didn’t yet enter, even if he was desperate to feel her grip him.
When he did it again, and then again, ignoring her clit, she let out a cry of frustration.