Page 20 of Their Defiant Mate

“Fuck. You!” She made each word a separate curse, then braced for his reaction.

The room fell silent and tension gradually mounted. Footsteps sounded as the males moved around behind her. She caught glimpses of them in her peripheral vision, but mostly they were out of sight. What was Jon doing? Would the others participate or just stand there and watch? Lexie never spoke about the specifics of what went on between her and her mates. She admitted that discipline was still a part of her life, but never explained what that entailed.

Tara’s heart thudded and her breaths came in ragged pants. Fear and excitement were having a tug of war inside her and she couldn’t decide who was winning. All she had to do was apologize, admit that she wanted them to fuck her, and this would end. Why the hell was she being so stubborn?

You want the pain, her inner voice clarified.You’re angry and afraid, and you need them to overwhelm you.

“This is our first night together,” Jon said solemnly. “We had planned to go slowly, to ease you into your new role. But Zion is right. You need to be mastered.”

Tara heard a subtlewhooshinga millisecond before fire exploded across her bottom. She cried out, shocked and alarmed by the intensity of the pain. “What the hell is that?” She tried to turn her head and see what he was using, but the restraints held her securely.

“Misbehavior results in consequences.”

Jon swung the mystery implement again and Tara went wild. It had to be some sort of strap because it delivered mild impact as well as a fiery sting. Anger burned through anticipation, and she struggled with all her might. She twisted and bucked, crying out and demanding that he stop. None of it did any good. He continued to spank her, one biting swat after another.

Soon her entire bottom throbbed and heat sank deep into her abdomen. Her core clenched painfully each time the strap landed, and she’d grown so wet that a humiliating rivulet trickled down the inside of her thigh. She closed her eyes and tried to disappear into her mind. The pain was harsher than she’d expected, but what frightened her most was the savage need now burning inside her.

“Please,” she whimpered. “I need… I’ll do anything, just stop.”

Rather than delivering the next swat, Jon slid his fingers across her well-spanked bottom and eased them between her thighs. He brushed over her sodden folds, clearly avoiding her clit. “You beg sweetly, hellion. But you need to be more specific. Tell us what you need.”

She sobbed, overwhelmed by her desperation. “I need you to stop spanking me.”

He squeezed each of her cheeks in turn, dragging a soft cry from her throat. Then he traced a slow, tantalizing line from her clit to the hidden pucker of her bottom hole. “Why did you come here? No more lies and no evasions.”

She tensed. His fingertip rested against her opening, a silent warning that he expected an honest answer. “I don’t want to leave the village,” she finally admitted and then rushed on. “I nearly died out there. I was cold and hungry and afraid all the time. I can’t live like that again.”

His finger pushed against her stubborn opening, easing just inside. She shook her head and murmured protests, her hands clutching the bedding.

“Is that the only reason?” He kept his finger inside the ring of muscles, a silent reminder of how much worse the humiliation could get. “You want us to feed and protect you?”

“I’m attracted to you, to all of you.” She sobbed, hating how much she’d surrendered. “I haven’t felt connected to any of the other coalitions.”

“But you feel connected to us?” His finger drove steadily deeper.

“Yes,” she cried, wiggling to avoid the unwanted invasion.

He slid his finger in and out. The penetration was slight, but it was much too easy to imagine his cock stretching her, claiming her as she writhed and whimpered beneath him. “Not there,” she pleaded. “I’ll be good, I promise.”

He chuckled and removed his hand, stepping back from the bed. “She’s all yours, Isaac. How do you want her?”

They untied her ankles and then her hands. Tara heaved herself up and turned over, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed. It hurt to put pressure on her bottom, but lying down made her feel vulnerable. And her legs shook too badly to support her weight. The magnetic cuffs still encircled her wrists, but at least she could see them now.

Jon moved over by the wall and stood with his arms crossed over his brawny chest. His dark gaze gleamed with desire as he waited to see what the coalition leader would do with her. His turn would come, but Isaac had the right to fuck her first.

Isaac took off his shirt and then his boots. “What must happen for you to stay in our village?” Isaac took up where Jon left off.

She pressed her thighs together and covered her breasts with one arm. “I have to be claimed by a coalition.”

“We can fuck you without claiming you,” Isaac reminded. “A formal declaration of courtship will protect you from the other coalitions and we will provide for all your needs. However, it gives us the right to enjoy your body. You’re Lexie’s best friend. I presume she explained all of this to you.”

She nodded, nervously licking her lips.

“The proper response is, ‘Yes, Sir,’ or ‘She did, Sir.’”

Speech was impossible until she swallowed past the tension in her throat. “She told me, Sir.”

“Are you agreeing to be claimed, or just to being courted?”

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