Chapter 37
The punishment started as soon as we got to the car. Arthur kept me in his arms, settling me into his lap. His body heat and the wine were turning my skin into an inferno that I couldn’t escape from.
I squirmed in his lap as the heat spread all the way to between my legs. I made a mewling sound deep in my throat when I couldn’t find any friction. Arthur’s arms around me tightened.
“Patience is a virtue, little wolf,” he breathed into my ear and I squirmed some more. I ground myself into his groin, but the angle was wrong. I still couldn’t feel anything. I moaned in frustration.
I twisted in Arthur’s arms, straddling him. I could feel his hard length pushing against his pants now. I rocked over it, finally finding the friction I was looking for. I let my head drop, nestling into the place between his shoulders and neck.
“You’re being incredibly naughty,” Arthur purred, but he did absolutely nothing to stop me. His hands trailed my body until he was cupping my bottom, his fingers kneading into my skin.
I put my lips over the pulse point in his neck, relishing in the steady thump thump of his heart. I grazed it with my teeth, letting my fangs come out as I did so. It would be so easy to mark him like he did me.
Except I didn’t get that chance. I was suddenly on my back with Arthur above me. “I don’t think so, little wolf. That is a very big step and I’m not letting you take it when you’re drunk. You’ll just have to be satisfied with this.”
‘This’ meant tearing off my panties and burying his head between my legs. He lapped at my clit and I fisted my hands into his hair. Every swipe of his tongue sent me higher.
“Scream my name, Almara,” Arthur growled and the vibrations sent me careening over that edge. I screamed his name, my back arching off the seat as the orgasm swept over me.
“That’s a good girl,” he said, crawling up my body to claim my lips in a kiss. I could taste myself on him and it made me dizzy with more desire. I was already raising my hips to meet his, my hands going to his waist band.
I managed to undo his belt buckle before Arthur pulled back with a dark chuckle. “You’ll have to wait until we get home for that. But first, coffee.”
I hadn’t noticed that the car had pulled to a stop or that driver was talking to someone about a coffee order. Heat that had nothing to do with lust spread over my cheeks. I yanked down my pencil skirt, embarrassment sobering me up better than coffee could.
Arthur watched me with amusement, his eyes crinkling with a restrained smile. I gave him my best glare, which wasn’t all that scary to be honest.
The driver lowered the partition and handed Arthur a take-out cup of hot coffee, which he then handed to me. I wrapped my hands around it, focusing on the bitter aroma instead of wanting to die from mortification.
“Drink,” Arthur commanded and I let the liquid slide down my throat. It warmed my gut, but in a much different way than the wine. The longer I drank, the more alert I became.
Damn this coffee is good, Lily said and I couldn’t agree more. The car was moving again and I glanced over at Arthur. The look on his face made my breath hitch. His smile was full of dark promises that I knew he was going to fulfill as soon as we got to the house.
Arthur wasted no time getting me to the bedroom. He placed me gently on the bed before going to one of the dressers and rummaging around in the top drawer. He turned, four silk ties in his grip.
I looked at him questioningly but he just smirked. He came to my right side, grabbing my wrist and using the silk to tie it to the headboard. He repeated the process with my other wrist and both my ankles.
I pulled on my bonds, testing them. While they were loose enough not to hurt me, I still couldn’t move very much. I looked at Arthur, eyes widening.
“That’s not even the best part,” he whispered before slipping something over my eyes. The world was plunged into darkness. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t move. I was completely helpless.
I could hear rustling as Arthur moved around, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where he was. My breathing turned ragged. I didn’t know whether I was turned on or scared. Maybe both.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Arthur trailed a feather-light touch up my arm. But then he was gone again. I tried to even out my breathing and focus my hearing, but Arthur used that moment to wrap a hand around my ankle.
Claws drifted over my skin as he took off my shoe. When my foot was free, those same claws slid up the sole. I tried to jerk my foot away on instinct but the tie wouldn’t let me.
“Are you ticklish, little wolf?”
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to answer. But my silence was answer enough. Arthur stripped off my other shoe, running both hands up and down my soles. I thrashed in bed uselessly, crying out with pained laughter.
The onslaught stopped and I lost track of him again. I heard things hit the floor and could only assume it was Arthur’s clothes. The thought of him naked and prowling around the bed caused a full body shudder.
“You seem overdressed,” Arthur mused and with a gust of wind, my clothes were ripped from my body.
“If you keep destroying my clothes, I won’t have any left,” I moaned as the air hit me, raising goosebumps on my already sensitive skin.
“It’s okay. I’ll just buy you more,” Arthur whispered directly into my ear. I jerked in surprise, my head whipping toward him. He gave me a small kiss before disappearing again.
“I thought I was paying for my own stuff,” I replied, straining against the bindings.
Arthur let out a surprised bark of laughter. “I lied, obviously. The money you’ve been earning has gone straight into a savings account.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest. I had thought I had fallen in love with him despite his cruelty. But I was beginning to realize that maybe I had utterly misjudged him. Maybe he had never been cruel to begin with.
I felt the bed move with his weight. He was crawling up between my legs. His breath ghosted over my center and I gasped. Without warning, he plunged his tongue into my opening.
“Mmm. I can’t get enough of how you taste. Did you know it’s already your fertile window again?” Arthur asked and I brought my hips up, seeking his mouth again. I honestly didn’t care. I just didn’t want him to stop.
“So eager for me. Shall I put a baby in you now?”
I moaned as his weight settled on me, his hand guiding his erection to my sex. He rubbed it against me, coating the head in my juices. Then he slid in, inch by glorious inch.
Arthur groaned as he fully sheathed himself inside me. His forehead touched mine and I raised my lips to his. He devoured me, his tongue mimicking what was happening farther down.
My orgasm hit me out of nowhere. I screamed into Arthur’s mouth and he swallowed it.
“If you ever kiss anyone else, I will gladly rip their hearts from their chest. You. Are. Mine.” The last three words were punctuated by rough thrusts of his hips. He came on the last one with a guttural moan.
He collapsed on top of me and I pulled on the ties again. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, to hold him as he softened inside me. But Arthur had other plans.
“I’m going to leave you tied up a little longer. Once I’ve had my fill, then I’ll let you go,” he said and I moaned as I felt him harden again. It was going to be a long night.
