Beast

Chapter Sixteen

Kaja stared at the machine in front of her. Like everything else on this plane, she found it confusing and difficult.

“What would you like to drink, mistress?”

Though the machine had no face, it still spoke. It still asked her questions she wasn’t sure of how to answer. Everyone did that here. Everyone had questions. She could still feel the press of the people called reporters from earlier in the day. She’d been out with her mother-in-law shopping, and the reporters had found their car. When she and Alana had gotten out, there had been a rush to surround them. Kaja had changed out of sheer fear.

She could still hear the shocked shouts and see the flashes as the reporters took pictures and video.

Dante’s mother had been horrified. Oh, she’d pretended to be angry with the reporters, but Kaja had heard her calling someone known as a lawyer.

Kaja had caused this family an enormous amount of trouble. It was time to seriously consider moving on.

“Mistress? Have you changed your mind?”

No. She was still thirsty. She simply didn’t know what she wanted. It was very much how the last few weeks had gone. She was stuck in limbo, trapped between loving Dante and facing the knowledge that she did not fit in to his world.

“Tea.” Alana often had tea. Kaja had watched Dante’s mother speak to the machine.

There was a short hiss, and the machine went into motion. Kaja stared at it, but she didn’t really see it. She saw Dante in his perfect suit as he came home from work each night. He would come in and try to talk to her, but she didn’t understand half of what he said. He asked about her tutors and her classes and seemed very pleased that she was rapidly learning what he called academics. But the rest seemed to elude her.

Now, she’d utterly humiliated her new family. She’d heard the news of her failure reported on the DLs that everyone here seemed to watch. She was being called the Dellacourt Beast.

And Dante was further away than ever. He still made love to her, but he was always working. He didn’t have time for her anymore. Now that they were back in his home, he seemed to understand that he’d made a mistake.

She wanted to talk to Meg.

The machine finished. There was a lovely teacup with a saucer and steaming liquid sitting in the center of the machine. “Does my mistress wish for cream and sugar?”

“Yes.” She’d never had cream and sugar, but it seemed like something interesting to try.

“And where should I put it? Directly on your thighs and buttocks?” The machine’s voice became distinctly nasty.

“No.” Kaja took a step back and heard a chuckle.

Dante stood in the doorway, his jacket gone. He still wore his tie, but his hair was utterly perfect. He was cool and collected, and the very image of the modern vampire. He was a man who should be married to the perfect consort, not one the press reviled.

“Mom put the beverage dispenser on ‘weight management’ mode. It gets bitchy. You have to learn how to talk to it. You’re the boss, sweetheart.” He got down on the machine’s level. “Look here, you piece-of-shit machine. She said she wanted cream and sugar, and if you don’t give it to her, I will pull your plug, shove you into the recycling bin, and you’ll come back a toaster. Do you want that?”

Immediately a stream of white came from the machine’s dispenser followed by a cube of sugar. “I hope you enjoy your beverage. Please let me know if I can help you further.”

Dante reached in and grabbed the delicate cup and saucer. He indicated that Kaja should sit at the table and placed it in front of her. He turned back. “Give me three fingers of Scotch. Single malt. Fifteen years.”

The machine seemed to race to do his bidding. In no time at all, he was picking up the glass and sighing as he sipped the Scotch. He’d been drinking a lot of Scotch lately. Still, he turned and sat down at the table in front of her. “I heard you had a rough day.”

The tea smelled lovely, but she suddenly knew her stomach wouldn’t accept it. She pushed it away. “I made a mistake.”

She waited for him to berate her. She would take it. She knew she shouldn’t have allowed her four-legged form to be seen.

Dante’s lips quirked up. “Not a mistake, Kaja baby. You were beautiful. I told you, I think you’re gorgeous any way you are.”

The doors to the small kitchen opened, and Alana Dellacourt walked in. Her face was lined with worry, but when she realized she wasn’t alone, she seemed to force a smile on her lips. “Oh, hello, Dante, Kaja.”

Kaja wanted to hide. She’d put Dante’s mother in a terrible position. She’d embarrassed the poor woman. She started to get up, to excuse herself like the etiquette tutor had taught her, but Dante’s hand came out and covered her own. He grinned up at his mother.

“I saw the DL story about your brush with the paparazzi today. Nice use of four-letter words, Mom.”

Alana actually laughed. “I also used my four-inch Louboutin stilettos on one of those jerks. He tried to touch Kaja’s fur.”

Dante’s fangs popped out. “Who?”

His mother waved him off. “I’m not telling you because I don’t want to bail you out of jail. I took care of it, son. He won’t be walking for a bit. Calm down. It was only natural. No one has ever seen a shanimal before.”

Dante’s hand slapped at the table. “Motherfuckers! I told Meg. I came up with that. I totally came up with that.”

Alana shrugged and ordered a wine from the beverage dispenser. She smacked it when it asked if she really wanted the calories. “Well, CVN news is claiming to have named the new species. And more.”

Dante’s eyes lit up. “Was bestiality mentioned?”

His mother sighed, but ruffled the top of his head as though she’d known he would ask. “Yes. You’re being called a pervert of the first order.”

“Nice.”

Now his mother slapped his perfectly coifed head. “It isn’t nice for Kaja.”

Kaja watched their byplay with growing curiosity.

Dante shrugged. “It will blow over. Something new will happen, and the fact that Kaja’s also a wolf will totally blow over. Maybe I should give them a photo op of me and Kaj playing with a Frisbee in a park.”

“You will not,” Alana said, giving her son a stern look.

“I am very good with a Frisbee. I catch it every time. I am also good with rubber balls,” Kaja added. Dante had taught her several games. Kaja liked them. They were fun. And they allowed her to run when every other time she seemed to be forced to walk.

“Dante! Don’t you dare do that with her,” Alana nearly shouted. “What are you trying to do?”

Dante’s eyes narrowed, and he sat back. “I’m trying to find our way. She isn’t some properly bred Fae consort. She’s different. I won’t force her into some mold because that would make it easy. I like Kaja the way she is.”

But the way she was would get them all in trouble. Even Kaja could see that. She’d learned enough about Dante’s home to know that personal lives affected the stock market, and the stock market was the most important thing on this plane. She still didn’t quite grasp how a list of valuations made the world go around, but it seemed to be the way here. And she was going to cause Dante’s company trouble.

“I will try harder.”

Dante held out a hand. “Kaja, don’t listen to them. You’re fine. And I won’t allow the press to define our marriage. Now, I got a call from Julian Lodge. I’m supposed to meet with him in an hour. It’s something supersecret.”

Alana went very still. “Have you done something you shouldn’t? Maybe we should send you in with a guard.”

Dante frowned. “Julian Lodge isn’t calling me in to have me killed. He contracts out that sort of work. I have a suspicion it’s about Beck and Cian.”

“You’re leaving?” Kaja asked. She only saw him at night, and now she wouldn’t even get that?

Dante’s face closed down. “I won’t be gone for long. Well, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. And I should tell you now that I have to leave for DC in a couple of days. I shouldn’t be gone long. A week or so.”

Her heart felt too small for her chest. “I will go with you.”

She didn’t fit in here. She’d fit in even less if Dante wasn’t around at all.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dante said, his voice tight.

Alana patted Kaja’s hand, a sympathetic look on her face. “You don’t want to go to stuffy old Washington. We’ll have fun, dear. We’ll go shopping and see a show. But for tonight, I’ll keep you company. Colin should be here soon, and we can all have a nice dinner.”

More shopping. Less Dante.

She’d become an inconvenience. Like she’d been with the pack. These people might be nicer about it, but she was being relegated to the back of the room again. It hurt even more this time since, for a while, she’d believed she might belong.

She would never belong here.

Kaja stood. “Thank you, Alana. I believe I will skip dinner this evening. I would rather go to my room.”

And figure out a way to contact Meg. Meg would be able to tell her how to leave this place.

Dante was on her heels as she walked from the room. “Kaja, you need to eat.”

She continued on her path. “I am fine.”

He grabbed her elbow. “Kaja, go back to the dining room and eat your supper.”

He was using that voice on her, the one that usually had her panting after him. Now it simply made her a bit angry. He was pushing her aside. He had brought her here to this place where she didn’t belong, and now he was leaving her to languish. He’d taught her what she wanted and then took it all away.

“I am going to my room. I will stay there. I will not leave the house again. Now, let me go.” If he wanted to leave her, then she didn’t have to obey his commands. That was another thing she’d learned. She wouldn’t mindlessly follow someone else’s commands. She was the only one who would ever really look out for her, so she was done being meek.

He took her by the elbow and began to walk with her. “Fine. We’ll go to our room. You seem to want a fight. We can do that in private.”

She dug her heels in, but he was so much bigger than she was. He simply hauled her along. “I’m not trying to fight. I’m trying to be alone. I want my own room. You have enough rooms that I should be able to have my own.”

He turned on her, his face a mask of irritation. “Now you want your own room? Really? Just a couple of weeks ago we had far too much space. Now I’m encroaching on yours?”

A few weeks ago she’d thought life would be different. “It’s only for a little while.”

His brows made a curious V on his forehead. “What is that supposed to mean? Is this some shanimal thing?”

And she hated that. She pushed away from him. “I am not a shanimal. I am Kaja. If you can’t use my fucking name, then don’t talk to me.”

Yeah, she’d learned how to curse, too. And it felt good.

His jaw hardened. “Kaja, do you want to explain what this is about?”

“I want to leave this place.”

He crowded her until her back was against the wall. The door to their room was so close. If she could reach it, perhaps she could bar his entry.

“Really? And where do you plan to go, consort? You don’t know how to drive. I doubt you could find your way around the house, much less the city. So, I have to assume you have a place in mind. Did I turn my back too soon? How have you been spending your days, Kaja? Or, should I ask who you are spending your days with?”

He ground the questions out of his mouth as though each word hurt to say it. Kaja was very confused. “I have spent the days with your mother or Susan.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, but now I have to wonder if you’ve met another vampire. If you have, you should know I’ll kill him before I allow you to leave me.” His eyes deepened to the rich green of the forest. She could feel his persuasion creeping in. He wanted her. It rushed against her skin like a wave, but she wasn’t buying it. He wanted to fuck. It didn’t mean he wanted her.

“I’m not meeting some other vampire.” Kaja nearly spat the words at him. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they don’t exactly want to welcome me. I’m the Beast, remember.”

It was what they had called her when they weren’t laughing. They had called her a beast, and humiliation had washed over her. All she’d thought about as they had taken her picture was getting back into Dante’s arms.

It was dangerous to forget he didn’t really love her.

His face softened. “Kaja, they’re stupid. Is that what has you so prickly? It will be yesterday’s news in an hour or so. They’ll find something else to pick on. Now, be a good girl and go have your supper and go to sleep early. In a few weeks, things will calm down, and we can take that trip we talked about.”

That was what he’d said weeks before. Their “trip” kept getting put off. And she knew her status as an outcast and beast wouldn’t blow over. “No. I want to leave. I wish to leave this plane. I want to go back to the forests.”

“No.” He turned and walked into the front room of their apartment.

“What do you mean ‘no?’” Kaja asked.

He walked toward the bedroom. “It means what I said, Kaja. You’re not going anywhere. You’re my wife. You’ll stay with me. Now, I’m done arguing with you. You can eat supper or go hungry, but you’re not going to leave.”

He dismissed her so utterly that Kaja felt something nasty start to kick around her brain. She looked around the apartment. It was so perfect. Perfect art. Perfect furniture. Perfect rug. Everything was in its place, and that was what Dante was trying to do with her. She had her place, and she wasn’t to leave it.

Kaja picked up the glass vase Dante claimed was a masterwork and threw it across the room. It shattered when it hit the wall. Something about the destruction made Kaja feel satisfied. And it did what she’d intended. Dante turned, his eyes wide.

“What the fuck was that about?”

“You cannot keep me in a cage.” She could see plainly now that this grand place was just that—her new cage. This whole plane was a cage. Perhaps she could have handled it if he was here with her, but she’d been forgotten. It was better to be alone than to languish here.

His hands clenched into fists. “I have papers that say I can do anything I want with you, Kaja.”

And he thought she was stupid. “I know all about your laws. You cannot keep me. You cannot make me your slave.”

“You’ve been talking to your tutor, love? Well, she’s a very smart vampire, but she is a peasant. The laws we have are there so we don’t look like barbarians, but I assure you no one is going to come between a royal and his consort. I haven’t been abusing you. No one is going to question my rights. Try going to the police. They’ll pat your head and bring you home to your…cage.”

Weeks of tension had built inside Kaja, and now it came rushing out like a volcano finally erupting. She wanted to hurt him the way he’d hurt her. “Then maybe I will take your advice. I’ll find another royal. All of you royal vampires seem to sniff around consorts. I’ve heard royals aren’t very picky these days. They’ll even fuck a beast. Well, when they think to. Maybe I can find a royal with a bit more of a sex drive.”

“You are pushing me, Kaja,” Dante said, his voice a low snarl. “I don’t know why. I’ve done nothing for the last few weeks but work for our future.”

“I don’t want this future.” Frustrated tears filled her eyes. How could she make him understand? How could she tell him she felt smothered here? “I want to call Meg and go to the Faery plane.”

He moved faster than her eye could track. She’d noticed since he’d started taking her blood that he seemed stronger, faster than he was before. “You are not going anywhere. Kaja, I am on the edge. Don’t do this. I can’t promise you that I won’t do something I’ll regret. Back down now, consort.”

She knew what she should do. It was there in his stance and his voice. She was “pushing his buttons,” as they said on this plane. She’d been studying. Vampires were ridiculously possessive of their consorts, and they could be very domineering. It was one of the things she’d missed over the last few weeks. Even their sex had been bland.

“No. You don’t own me.”

His fangs seemed larger than ever before. “I thought to let them finish our playroom before we used it, but you made that choice, love. If you’re leaving then I should at least get what I can now.”

He picked her up, cradling her to his chest.

“Dante, put me down.”

He didn’t bother to reply, simply carried her down the hall to the second bedroom. All the last week, deliveries had come and workers had been walking in and out of the room. She’d been told not to look in the room. It was supposed to be a surprise. Now her heart raced as she realized she was going into the room he said was for play. Sex. That was what he meant by play. He meant sex, and Kaja got the feeling it wouldn’t be easy, lazy sex. It would be rough.

He was right. If she was going to leave, she wanted a last time with him. She would never forget him, and she could hold the memory in her heart.

He kicked open the door. It flew back and slammed into the wall.

She struggled to see. The room was utterly transformed from a nice bedroom into something dark and exotic. Dante didn’t bother to explain the strange cross on the wall or why there were so many hooks in the ceiling. He simply walked to the center of the room and set her on a plush ottoman. It was circular and large.

Before she could move, he had her hands in his. He dragged them behind her back, and cold metal snapped around her wrists. She tugged, but her hands were locked together.

“Clothes, off. Command 125.” With his words, her clothes receded around her body, shrinking to a neat pile at her knees. Dante smiled, but it was a harsh thing without an ounce of humor. “I programmed your clothes, love. I could have had you naked at any time.”

Her eyes slid from his. “Well, you did not want to.”

He tugged her head up. “Is that what this is about, Kaj? Baby, I’m trying to figure this out. You think I don’t want you?”

It was so much more than that, but it was something she could answer. “I think you like sex, but I’m just a body.”

He groaned and hauled her body against his. “So untrue. Gods, if you could sneak a peek into my brain during the day you would know it’s always Kaja—all the time. I have to concentrate to not think of you. You invade my thoughts all day. I sit in meetings and all I can think of is you riding my cock. It plays hell with me. I can’t properly explain why talking about marketing gives me a hard-on.”

She didn’t understand him at all. “But you are never with me.”

His eyes had softened now that he had her naked. “It’s work. You don’t get it. This is the way my world runs. You’ll settle in.”

She wouldn’t, but she wasn’t sure how to make him see it. How could she make him understand that her heart hurt every time he walked out the door? “I won’t. No one will accept me.”

His hands cupped her shoulders. “I accept you. You have to understand. I can’t let you go. I won’t let you go.”

She felt deliciously vulnerable. She was naked, her nipples puckering in the chilly air. She couldn’t move her hands. The way they were chained behind her back thrust her chest out. Dante couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her breasts. It was so odd. She was naked, and he was clothed. He looked like a perfectly powerful vampire, proper even in his business suit, though his erection was tenting those expensive pants of his. She would still call Meg, but she wanted this time with him.

He ran his fingertips over her nipples. “I have responsibilities, Kaja. Can’t you see that? I have to provide for you. I have to not be a fuckup.”

It was important to him. He took his work seriously, and she understood he needed to have a place in this society. Appearances were very important on this plane. She was going to ruin his. She was never going to be the lady consort he needed, but for tonight she could be his comfort, and he could be hers.

She lowered her head. He sighed, and Kaja could feel him open to her. His relief at the fact that she was submitting practically poured across her skin. He didn’t want to fight—not her. There was a fight building in her Dante, but she didn’t sense that it was a fight with her. He’d been deeply surprised at her anger.

Oh, it was getting so easy to read him when they were truly intimate. When they were together and open, she didn’t want to run. When she could feel his soul brush hers, nothing could keep her away. But the times when he held it back from her, those times caused an aching chasm to open inside.

He pulled away, his hand running through his hair. “Sorry. I was pushing myself at you, wasn’t I?”

She bit back a sob. “I didn’t mind.”

“I don’t understand this connection thing. I wasn’t raised to expect it the way Beck and Ci were.”

Mates on her plane, true mates, could speak without talking. She would never have that because Dante feared the binding. She would always be alone. It wouldn’t work if he never wanted it. None of this would work. She should have remembered that. When he found a place for himself inside her brain, she was in his. It couldn’t be nice to be her. She wouldn’t force that on him. “I will behave. I will go and have my supper and cause no trouble.”

He cursed and pulled her hair back. “See, I’m fucking up again, and I don’t want to. I want to do what’s right. I just haven’t figured out what that is yet. You want this? You want me to flood you with myself?”

She looked at him through a veil of tears. “I think you’re so beautiful, but it does not mean anything if it isn’t shared. You do not want to see me. My essence is not lovely. I understand.”

He growled at her. “You don’t understand a thing, Kaja, but I am beginning to.”

He kissed her, his mouth covering her own, his tongue plundering. He hauled her against his body. His erection prodded at her belly.

“I’ll give you what you want, Kaja. You give me what I need first.”

Kaja gasped. His desire sparked across her skin and into her brain like lightning striking. He wanted so much, all of it from her. He wanted her soft and willing. He wanted her trust and her submission. He wanted to be in charge of her because no one thought he could handle anything. She was important to him. She could feel it.

“You threw a priceless vase at my head, Kaja,” Dante said, his voice deepening.

Yes. She had done that. At the time, it had seemed like a good thing to do. Not so much now. She glanced around the room. There were some very odd toys lying about. She bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Dante.”

His fangs gleamed in the low light. “Not going to do it, sweetheart. You’re in for some serious punishment.”

There was that word again. Punishment. It made her nervous and excited all at the same time. He hadn’t punished her since that day under the waterfall. He had mentioned that he’d gone easy on her then. “You said you had a meeting with the scary vampire. You do not want to be late.”

He laughed outright. “Nice try, Kaj. Trust me, when Julian Lodge finds out I’m late because I was disciplining a very bratty young lady, he’ll forgive me. Nothing is more important to that man than discipline. Show me your ass, and be glad I don’t use a ball gag on you. The next spiteful words out of your mouth will cause me to stuff something in there. Do you understand?”

She understood the desire that came off him in waves. It was easy to submit when she could feel how much Dante craved this. Just talking the way he was got him hard. Every word pulsed in his cock. Gods, she could feel it in her pussy. He wasn’t hiding, and the connection between them sparked and crackled. She did as he asked. She turned awkwardly on her pedestal and kneeled over, leaving her ass exposed. Her hands were chained together behind her back, so she rested her cheek against the soft velvet of the ottoman.

“Yeah, that’s what I want. Look at that. Such a pretty ass. What should I use on this pretty ass? I’ll be honest, love, I’m surprised that such a bad girl has such a gorgeous ass.”

His hand slapped at the fleshy part of her buttocks. He didn’t hold back. The pain bit into her skin and had her eyes tearing up. He smacked her ten times in rapid succession, the blows raining down. Kaja cried out. It hurt, and yet she felt the intent behind it. He enjoyed watching her skin redden, knew that it would make what he did later even sweeter.

She was beginning to hear his thoughts.

Such a sweet ass. It’s going to feel like heaven to fuck that ass. Mine. Mine. Mine.

He spanked her. She counted. Twenty. Twenty-five. Pain morphed into a pleasant feeling that had her almost floating outside her body. Thirty. He was calming now. She could feel it.

He stopped briefly. “Don’t think I’m done. That vase really was priceless, and I still owe you for not running from the goblins when I ordered you to.”

She felt something slightly cold dribble between the cheeks of her ass. She clenched her teeth. She knew what was coming. He’d made her wear the training plug several nights over the last few weeks. Each time the plug got larger, filling her anus with what felt like warm flesh. When she tightened her anus around it, it delivered the hated ginger oil and made her tight ring feel like it was on fire. And she’d taken a strange pleasure from that as well. She’d enjoyed that moment when he would work the plug in. She’d come to crave it.

“That’s right,” he said, fitting the plug to her anus. “See, it’s opening for me. So much easier than a week ago.”

He rimmed her asshole. She whimpered a bit as he began working it in. He loved to hear her little cries. It made his dick twitch. The connection was easy to hold on to now that he’d stopped fighting it. When his cock pulsed with desire, she felt it. Gods, he loved dominating her. There was nothing in Dante that wasn’t focused on her, and she got a glimpse of what sex had meant to him before he’d met her.

Fun. Playful. He’d had a lot of women, and not a one had touched him past his cock. He’d been entertained. Not once had he wanted this.

Responsibility. He was responsible for her. It had been scary in the beginning, and now he longed for it.

He used to lie back and enjoy the sex. A blonde with large breasts flashed through Kaja’s brain. She would ride Dante, and he liked it. He would sit back and let her have her way with his cock. He would never have shoved the busty blonde across his lap to spank her ass.

The plug slid home, and Kaja felt something settle deep inside her. She was different for Dante. She was something more.

“See, that is really amazing,” Dante said, his breath harsh. “I can feel it. I feel that fucking thing.” He pulled on the plug. “Wow. I can feel the plug in your ass. Why did you complain about this?”

Kaja smiled. She loved the connection now more than ever. She clenched hard around the plug and winced as the burn began.

“Damn it, Kaja. That is not fair. Holy hell.” But he pushed the plug in further. “It’s not going to save you. I felt every smack on your ass. I also felt your pussy begging for more. I won’t back away from the connection between us, love. I will never back away from this again.”

He fucked her ass with the plug. The oil burned for a moment, stimulating and making her ultra-aware of what was happening to her. She relaxed her anus and allowed the plug to start vibrating.

“So much better,” Dante said with a sigh.

He hadn’t had their connection open when her poor little asshole was first getting used to the plug. He might have rethought it then. She bit back a grin at the thought. He seemed to like how it felt now. He pressed the plug in, and she felt him step around to the front.

He took her by the shoulders, lifting her to a kneeling position. He’d unbuttoned his shirt. Kaja could see his sculpted stomach muscles. She loved how lean and strong he was. The plug whirred in her ass, pleasure and jangling discomfort mixing in a concoction that had her off-kilter and waiting for more.

Slowly, Dante lowered the zipper of his trousers. His cock sprang free. He looked powerful and decadent with his huge cock thrusting toward her. His hand tangled in her hair.

“Take me deep. Get me hard.”

He shoved his cock into her mouth. She struggled to take it all because, despite his words, he was already as hard as any stone. She gagged, but opened her mind and let herself feel him.

So good. It was so good to fuck her mouth. It was savage and primal and perfect. It was so fucking tight.

It felt good to Dante, but more than simple pleasure invaded Kaja’s brain. He needed this. He needed it like he needed his next breath. Knowing she was submitting to him gave him peace and reassurance.

He did not want her to run. He would never allow it. He fucked her mouth in short strokes. He groaned as her tongue whirled around the head. He would never let her go. If she ran from him, he would be right behind. She was his. His.

He pulled his cock out. “Not so simple, love. I want to come inside you. I want to pack you with cock.” He leaned over and kissed her. “And I’m glad I’ve erased that fucker from your mind. He can’t hurt you again, Kaja. I won’t allow it.”

She’d been thinking about Sven. He’d been there in the back of her mind. She’d had what seemed like a fleeting thought that Dante was her only lover. His touch was the only one that mattered. Dante had heard her loud and clear. He didn’t seem embarrassed that she wanted only him.

“You better, love.” His eyes had narrowed. “I find out you want someone else and I’ll have them taken out. Do you understand?” He stopped. “You didn’t say that out loud, did you?”

She shook her head. Now he would get upset. “It is common when wolves bind themselves and the binding is strong, that they can hear each other’s thoughts during times of great emotion.”

His hand softened in her hair. “Cool. Um, if this is really going to happen a lot, you should know that I cuss in my head a lot and I think about your pussy all the time.”

She could handle that. She smiled and sent some thoughts his way. “This is what I think about.”

His cock. His mouth on her. Everywhere.

His breath hitched. “Fuck, that’s hot, Kaj. Hold that thought.”

She wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to do. She was chained and had a large, buzzing plug up her ass.

Dante was back in a second with another dildo, this one oddly shaped. It had a large cock but there was an extension that came off the base. It was a tiny little cup. There was a long strap that came out from each side. Dante moved behind her. “This one is for your pussy. It’s the best, Kaj. Top of the line.” He pressed her forward again. “This one doesn’t even come out for another couple of months. Talbot Industries makes the best sex toys. Though they have terrible names. This one is called The Jennifer. I would have called it Superhot Cock with Clit Sucker.”

She preferred The Jennifer. Dante shouldn’t be allowed to name things. He’d been the one to come up with shanimal first.

He slapped her ass. “I heard that.”

She shrugged as best she could. “I’ve decided I prefer werewolf. Though we simply called ourselves wolves.”

“I’ll just call you mine.” He parted her pussy and worked the vibrator inside.

She stopped thinking about anything but how full she was. She groaned as he placed the strap around her, and the vibe started to work. It was utterly soundless, but she could feel it fucking into her in slow, tortuous strokes.

“Here’s the good part.” Dante finished strapping it on.

Kaja felt her eyes cross as the little cup latched onto her clitoris and began to suckle.

Dante fell to his knees. “Oh, fuck. I’m sending Talbot a case of Scotch. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. It feels like it’s milking my dick. Kaj, you have to shield that, or I’m going to come. Please. Have mercy.”

She thought of a little wall between them. She could still feel him. He wasn’t shielding. His thoughts flowed over her wall like it didn’t exist. Perfect.

He was shaking a bit as he stood. “Thanks. I have plans that don’t include premature ejaculation.”

But Kaja wasn’t going to wait. Her lower body was humming. Her pussy, her ass, and her clit were vibrating, and it sent her into shockwaves of pleasure. Her whole body shook as she let the orgasm run its course.

Dante’s hand ran down her back to her anus. “Bad girl. I would spank you again, but your ass is the most perfect pink. I don’t want to ruin it. No more orgasms until I get into your ass.”

He pulled the dildo out. Kaja bit her lip as something even bigger than the dildo began to invade. Dante’s thoughts battered her.

So good. He’d waited so long for this. For her.

He pressed his cock to her ring and pushed inside. “That’s right, baby. Open for me. Let me in.”

It felt so good. She was tight around him. Different. Darker.

Kaja closed her eyes and let Dante take over. His cock was squeezed deliciously. The pounding pulse of the vibe hit him like a rocket. He was caught between the vise of her anus and the vibration in her pussy. He wasn’t going to last.

He gripped her hips. The sight of her naked and bound and submitting filled him with satisfaction. She was beautiful. So fucking gorgeous. She was his, and he wasn’t going to let a bunch of hack reporters make her feel like she was less than she was.

What was she? Everything. She was his fucking everything.

He fucked into her ass. “Do you hear me, consort? I know what I’m thinking. I mean every word.”

Tears blurred her eyes. More than his words, she felt him.

I am a better man for loving you, Kaja.

He was close. So close. She felt his orgasm start, but he kept pushing his feelings at her.

She saw a picture of herself in his brain. She glowed. She was love and light and healing to him. She was comfort.

“I love you, Kaja. I love you.” He gave over and let the orgasm take him.

Kaja felt herself surrounded by Dante. His strength, his power, his love flowed through her system. He overpowered her. All of his thoughts, his feelings, his memories hit her as strongly as his pleasure. Her vision faded, and the world blinked off.

She came to with the most languorous sense of awakening. And the feel of someone biting her thigh.

She looked down her body, which was now on their bed. Her hands were free. She was spread out.

And Dante was feeding.

Such pleasure. He flooded her with it.

He released her. “I was right. I like it because I can smell your pussy.”

There was just a little bit of blood on his lips. He licked it up, but didn’t move beyond letting his head nuzzle her pussy. He laid his head down on it as if it was a pillow. “Although, I swear, Kaj, I can smell you all the time. I can smell everything, actually. And my eyesight is better. I have a little theory.”

She let her hand find his hair. Peace, blessed peace. “What’s your theory, my love?”

His head came up. A little smile crinkled his face. “I like that. Anyway, I noticed that I’m stronger.”

She’d noticed, too. He carried her around like she weighed nothing. He was faster than he used to be.

“I can see better than before. Everything physical about me is better.” He kissed her pussy, an affectionate gesture. “Pretty pink parts.”

He was easily distractible. “Dante.”

“Fine. I think it’s you. I think it’s your blood.” His arms surrounded her thighs. “When we’re connected, I see the world the way you see it. Experience it through your eyes, so to speak. You have better senses than I do. Feeding from you makes me stronger than I could have imagined.”

“That’s good,” she said, but she wasn’t really listening. She was thinking about fitting in. She couldn’t leave. She couldn’t ever leave him. Now that she’d felt his love for her, he would have to deal with her for the rest of his preternaturally long life. He would never be rid of her. She was good for him.

“The fat lot of good it’s going to do me behind a desk.” He sat up, a frown on his face. “I have to meet Lodge. If I hurry, I can still make it in time.”

He was leaving, but this time she was calm. He wasn’t leaving her. “I will wait up.”

He got off the bed and walked to the closet. He pulled out a pair of pants. “I don’t want that.”

She frowned. Well, she was tired. “I can go to sleep.”

“No, Kaj. I want you with me.” He put on the pants and walked to the bed, holding out his hand. “Come with me.”

She put her hand in hand his because she would follow him anywhere.