Page 23 of Joined By Magic

I clamped my lips together to keep from blurting out the answer he wanted. A tiny thread of my rebelliousness still clung on through the pain and teasing pleasure.

He let out a sharp breath, pulled his hand away from my needy pussy, and battered me with another flurry of brutal, heavy slaps. I couldn’t hold back a cry as my sore skin screamed. I flailed and tried to kick my legs but couldn’t.

He paused, and I slumped, breathing hard. His hand resumed its teasing, and I whined as he brought me to the edge of release again, then stopped. My pussy clenched on his maddeningly still fingers. The urge to resist drained away as my body cried out for more. Pain I could handle, but frustrated pleasure drove me crazy. The need for his touch swamped my brain.

“You’ll sleep manacled tonight, Talia, and collared, as it should be. The extra freedom hasn’t been good for your behavior.” As he spoke, glowing bracelets appeared on my wrists, and an answering warmth at my neck told me a matching collar lay there too.

“There will be no touching yourself at night. Behave, and I might let you have some fun before I take what’s mine. So, I’ll ask you again. Where do you deserve to be fucked, my filthy girl?”

Something in his voice, a moment of softness, undid the last of my resolve. “My ass. Fuck my ass, Your Highness.” I paused, then gave myself over to him completely. “Please.”

He sighed and released the pressure on my neck, tracing his fingers up the side of my face before standing. I heard him settle onto his box again. “That’s better. Now strip and kneel, as I instructed you before.”

This time, I rushed to obey. The chill hit my skin as I threw my clothes in a heap and landed on my knees before him, floating in a fog of desire. I kept my eyes down in perfect royal protocol until something unfamiliar touched me. The tip of the riding crop. The prince used it to lift my chin, and I met his gaze.

“Spread your knees. Hands on your thighs. Don’t move.” His eyes consumed me as I complied, my palms resting on my thighs. The heated need on his face sent shivers over my skin. He trailed the crop down the slope of a breast to tease my nipple, and my lips parted as desire curled through me at the featherlight touch. I fought to hold still as he traced my body, though my fingers twitched to slide between my thighs.

I moaned when he moved the tip over my aching, sensitized clit. The slight friction had me grinding my hips back and forth, but he pulled away and lashed the crop down in a sharp slash on my inner thigh. The bright pain faded, and he resumed the slow, maddening movement against my clit.

“Don’t move. Break instructions one more time and you don’t get to come at all. I’ll bind your hands and leave you desperate all night.”

Torture. I managed, “Sorry, Your Highness,” and put all my will into keeping still.

He increased the pace, but the effort of holding static made it impossible to relax and find the point where my climax would set me free. I could have screamed. I balanced on a knife-edge, unable to get the release I desperately needed. “Please,” I gasped out. “Please, I can’t like this, I need . . .”

“There’s my insatiable little slut. I like it when you beg.”

He dropped the crop and stood. “All fours on the bed. Ass in the air.”

I scrambled to follow his clipped instructions, face resting on the cotton sheet. I heard a rustle of fabric, then he was behind me, rubbing his cock through the soaked mess of my needy pussy. He gathered the moisture he needed, then pressed against my ass.

I tried to breathe, preparing for the moment he’d enter. I was used to it by now, but the pain still tore a gasp from my throat as he forced his way in. He filled me in the most intimate way possible and held there as my body adjusted to his size.

He brought his hand underneath our bodies to press against my clit. His voice was strained and rough as he said, “Take your pleasure, Talia. Come for me while I fuck you.”

I cried out as he withdrew, then slammed into me, hard. My hips found a rhythm all of their own, grinding back and forth on his hand as he fucked me with long, slow thrusts. Freed from all constraints, my pleasure rose fast as I let myself go, taking what I needed from his fingers. I came hard with a guttural cry, body clenching in a rush of electric pleasure. He grunted into my ear and sped up as I rode the high of the orgasm.

His hand left my pussy and clamped around my throat, holding me with a firm, possessive grip as he pounded me. His thrusts became frantic, and he gave a harsh cry of his own as he came, spilling deep into my body.

I closed my eyes and collapsed, everything spent as the heady rush of the moment passed. When he stood, I let out a grumble and shivered, missing the warmth of his body on my cool skin. He poked me with his foot. “You can’t sleep yet. Get cleaned up.”

Romantic as ever. I couldn’t help a smile as I forced my sleepy limbs into action.

Clean, I threw myself back under the cozy blanket and sighed as the prince settled next to me. His arm locked around my stomach, and I relaxed into him, replaying the last hour in my head. So much for my burst of defiance. The warmth of his magic still glowed at my neck and wrists, pleasant in the cool room. I closed my eyes.

“Let’s get you restrained.”

I jumped as the prince’s voice rumbled against my back. He touched my neck and both wrists, and his arm settled around me again. I tried an experimental tug with my hands. They moved, but only as far as my stomach, where they stopped as if chained. Locked in place with magic, just as I’d slept every night in physical cuffs in the palace.

“Could you have used magic all along? You didn’t need the restraints?”

“Yes. I like how they look on you, though. I’ll get a new set once we have a real bed.”

Curiosity kept me from my rest. “Do you enjoy it that much? Having me in chains?”

He pulled me tighter. “It’s a reminder you belong to me.” His voice held a warning note. “I’ve noticed your attitude since we left the palace, and I won’t stand for it. I’ve gone easy on you so far, but the next time you defy me, you’ll face a true punishment. Do you understand?”

His fingers traced the skin of my stomach in gentle circles that softened his harsh words—a nervous habit of his I didn’t think he was aware of. He was anxious. About what? Did he fear I’d run away? A flash of guilt seared me as I recalled the brief passing thought I’d entertained in the town. He had to know Alaria would seem like a paradise to me.

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