Dark Company, page 14
Instead of responding with words, his large hand smacks the part of my body where my ass meets my thighs, sending pain ricocheting through me. One hand is large enough to cover all of one thigh and most of the other, sending the sharp, stinging sensation through my entire lower half.
I buck against him, desperate to be free from his overwhelming presence. He is far too large, smells too delicious, and feels too damn good against my heated skin. All it gets me is another swat to that sensitive area, but this time, instead of just pain, heat blossoms through my body until I’m nearly writhing on his shoulder.
His imposing hand against the swell of my ass shouldn’t feel this good. It should hurt. I should be bruised. Hell, I probably already am. Then why in the gods am I arching up to him, begging him with my body to do it again? Groaning, I stick my ass in the air and wiggle it back and forth, hoping to tempt him into touching me again.
“Settle, Karis. I will not ask you again.”
“Are you going to fuck me instead, strange Alpha?” I don’t know what possesses me to ask him that, but even as the words leave my mouth, I know that’s what I want so desperately.
I want, no, need, him to throw me down in the sand and cover my body with his and thrust deep inside me, easing that ache that pounds relentlessly between my thighs. He’s massive enough that he can probably shield my naked body from the others with his own.
“I will not. You are not mine to touch. Please stop embarrassing yourself in front of all these other Alphas.”
Stunned, I pause as I process his words. He’s embarrassed of me? An omega? My body is doing its damnedest to entice him, and he considers it an embarrassment? As if I have any sort of say over what my body craves. There is only one rational thread left in my brain, and it’s the only thing keeping me from forcing myself onto him.
He should be grateful that one such as I deign to grant him access to something that’s considered so rare on Stanlion that it has to be controlled, meted out to other Alphas like a substance that’s so addictive that it has to be watched with the utmost scrutiny.
None of the betas in the commune would dare say I was being an embarrassment, and yet, this Alpha with his respirators had the gall to say that to me. If I tear them out, will it send him into a rut? Make him so desperate for my pussy that he takes leave of all rational thought just to bed me?
A snarl rumbles up my throat as I claw at the fabric of his back. He hasn’t seen embarrassing yet. Once he’s bested by me, then he’ll know the meaning of the word. I’ll have his cock one way or another.
I have no concept of how the omegas on Stanlion behave, but he’s no longer in that dark place of repression. I am an omega that’s free of all of that, no doubt an anomaly. He’s so cruelly depriving me of my trophy fuck. The least he can do is take the place of that thin shaft that had no hopes of satisfying me, anyway.
I have no clue what this Alpha’s cock looks like, but based on the wide breadth of his shoulders, it’s got to be massive. More slick gathers at my folds as I picture him sitting there, still as a statue as I lower myself onto him, riding him until I can get this damned ache to stop.
Heat engulfs my body as I rub myself against him, my own growl low in my throat as he attempts to pry me loose. That he growls back in kind does nothing to deter me. In fact, the more he growls, the wetter I become until I’m sure I’ve soaked the front of his precious uniform.
I should be ashamed of how my body is reacting. Hell, I wasn’t even this wet when first confronted by Alexi, but for some reason, this defies rational thought. It feels right, natural. Perhaps it’s because I’m in the presence of such a strong Alpha, and my body knows what it needs to do to accommodate him. There shouldn’t be anything embarrassing about that.
I will have my shaft—whether or not it’s from him. Eyes wild, I look around at the men that surround us. His men. Strangers that desecrated the commune, polluting it with the stench of war and aggression. They all seem to be wearing respirators, which is probably why they didn’t go into a frenzy at the scent of so many omegas.
From what I understand, it doesn’t matter what their dynamic is, a male will want to fuck any omega that goes into heat. I guess I should be grateful. The respirators allow them to maintain their sanity while I start to lose mine. The scent of their bodies invades my nose as I look for the one that will ease this damned ache that won’t go away.
Most of them are betas, but several are Alphas as well, though none are as large as the one holding me except for one. He stares at me, his brow furrowed in thought, but he doesn’t at all seem taken by me. None of them are. What type of men are these that an omega as pretty as I am, and going into heat doesn’t tempt them?
None of them look at me. Instead, they keep their eyes down on the ground, refusing to meet mine as this brute carries me out of the commune without even asking if I want to go. Indignation burns through me, filling me with a heat that has nothing to do with the estrus that twists me about. How dare he take me away from my new home and among men that won’t even give me the chance to look into their eyes?
Howling, I squirm and buck. Anything to get free and run to the haven of the commune. I’m not thinking straight. I can’t be. Not with the way this Alpha handles me. He holds onto me as if he owns me, something I vowed just this morning will never happen.
Again, he drops his hand onto my ass, peppering the skin with his hard swats until my entire body aches. My nipples brush against his upper back as he jostles me, sending a torrent of need flooding through my body. This is nothing like when Alexi was teasing me. This is far worse.
If I don’t escape soon, I won’t be able to free myself from this brute. Already his scent is becoming embedded in my nose. It’s a wild, masculine scent that smells of sun, earth, moon, and stars. It’s as if he’s an entire universe wrapped up in one muscle-bound male.
“Please. I - I need-.”
“I can’t give you what you need, princess,” he murmurs, his voice sliding against my skin like cool water down a parched throat. “I cannot touch you without the fear of breaking you. You are not mine to have. Please. Do not ask this of me.”
His voice breaks, as if he’s welling up with emotion. But he’s an Alpha. Alphas don’t have emotions. What sort of man is holding me? And what will he do with me if he doesn't take me?
Chapter 9
Altris
My balls tighten at her plea. It’s only by the grace of the gods that I have my respirators in. It was smart to have them. I had no idea what type of place I’d find her in, but I wanted to be prepared. Even with them in, the sweet, honeyed scent of her slick teases me with faint wafts that leave me hungry for more.
Already my shaft swells with blood until I’m hard enough to fuck her into the middle of next week. It doesn’t feel like the forced ruts, but it’s close. Too close. I can’t be in her presence much longer for fear of taking her and hurting her. Unable to stand her maddening weight against my body any longer, I take her into the nearest tent and plop her onto the ground.
There’s no way this little brat won’t try to escape, so even though she’s technically royalty, I have to chain her up like she’s a hardened criminal. She stares at me with those enormous eyes of hers, the pupils so wide they’re nearly black. But I can still see the ring of gray around it, the same gray that flashed at me in annoyance while everyone else just quivered in fear.
What manner of omega is this? Nothing I’m doing or saying is deterring her. When I spanked her, she seemed to crave it, even arching that perfect ass out for me to strike her some more. She upsets my calm in a way that’s dangerous, and it’s not just her scent.
Everything in me screams to consume her, to tame her, but I can’t. If she were any other omega, I’d be well within my rights to go into a rut and claim her, but I can’t. Jaxxon would kill me. Granted, with the way my balls are aching, perhaps death is a far more merciful outcome.
Her nipples strain up from her body as I gather her wrists into one hand and slam them against the wooden tent pole in the center. From there, I grab the nearby restraints and cuff her hands before looping the chain on a nail. Karis twists and turns, showing off her lovely curves, just barely hidden under the virginal gown, as she tries to pull free.
The more she twists, the more the gown gives way until it splits down the front, revealing far more than any man is allowed to see. But I can’t turn away. The image of her, mostly naked, is forever seared into my brain. Is that the nature of a gown like this? To tear at the slightest provocation?
Unable to help myself, I kneel forward, locking eyes on her as I pull at the gown in a feeble attempt to cover her back up. The moment my hands get near, she twists again, wrenching the fabric in my grasp, making it far worse. The flimsy garment rends some more, splitting until it’s on other side of her in tatters, no longer hiding anything from my gaze.
I’m rooted to the spot, unable to turn away. It takes my decades of training just to advert my eyes, much less keep from wanting to touch her. All the feelings I had when looking at her picture slam into me, cutting off my air. I wanted her then, and my body never forgot it.
Stepping back, I can only watch in amazement as fury lights the depths of her eyes. Once more, she has the audacity to growl at me, snapping her teeth as if she can attack me while being so restrained. It’s almost as if she has no concept of how dangerous things are between us right now.
All she knows is the desire that runs through her body, demanding she ease the throbbing by any means possible. Again, she growls, the soft sound skimming down my spine to settle in my balls. It’s laughable. Something so small and delicate thinks she can take me on.
To my knowledge, she’s the first woman to ever not shy away from my touch or growl. If only she was another omega, I might actually be able to bed her without killing her. There’s a steel to her spine that’s absent from the omegas in the High Sanctum.
They’re docile, refined. The omega before me is nearly feral in her need to fuck me. No. Not me. She only turned to me when I stole her away from some beta cuckold that she was supposed to fuck instead. Is it merely because I’m an Alpha? Crossing my arms, I study her, taking in the firm set to her jaw.
They told me she was a beta. Why the fuck is she staring up at me with pleading eyes in the shade of an omega? Even the insignia on her wrists speaks to her beta birth. Why didn’t Annora tell me? Does she not realize how dangerous this is? If Karis goes into a full-blown heat with these Alphas and betas around, I can’t guarantee her safety.
Anger burns in my gut as I stare at the watery tears that track down her face. Her plump lips, the same shade as her pink nipples, darken as she bites down, attempting to hold in the whimpers I hear clawing at the back of her throat. She stares up at me as if I hold all the answers to the universe, as if I can rid her of this ache she feels as keenly as I do.
She deserves better than an Alpha like me. She deserves someone who can worship her body, who can bring her to the pinnacle of pleasure before taking his own. She deserves someone knowledgeable, someone that can squeeze every ounce of sensation from her trembling form. I can’t. I barely know what my own hand feels like. To fuck Karis would be to fuck a pristine.
It doesn’t matter that blood smears her inner thighs, showing proof that her innocence was indeed lost on that altar today. She’s still as good as pristine. She’s never known a human cock, and mine cannot be the first. Fuck. Why did she have to disobey me? Why couldn’t she leave herself intact? Knowing she possessed a barrier would have made it so much easier to leave her alone.
With her virginal barrier, I wouldn’t be able to take her without someone knowing. Now that everyone knows she’s already defiled, I could have my way with her, and no one will be the wiser. She took away the one protection she had. A growl vibrates my chest as I stalk back over to her. She fucked up, and she needs to know it.
“You stupid, stupid girl. I told you not to mess with that statue. Why in the hell did you disobey me?” My words come far harsher than I intended them.
I see the pain written on her face as she stares up at me with those eyes that burrow into my soul. In that moment, she looks like a fragile doll, already shattered, with the fine lines of her sorrow threading under the clear veneer that holds the porcelain in place. I’m not here to break her any further, but my very nature causes her distress.
But then it’s gone. In a few breaths, her lips pull back into a silent snarl as she writhes on the floor, attempting to get up onto her knees. With a swift nudge of my foot, I send her sprawling back to the earth with a soft thud. No need to have her loosening the bonds I so painstakingly put her in.
What vexes this omega so that she must fight me at every turn? Reaching out, I grab hold of the nearest ankle that flails about in a comedic attempt to kick me. No one else has ever been so bold as to try to kick me. The action alone causes my balls to continue to draw up near the point of pain.
What this omega needs is a firm hand and a good fucking to tame her. Though I crave to be that Alpha, I know I never can. Not without Jaxxon’s permission. If only we weren’t so far away from Stanlion. If we had transporters, it would have only taken us a matter of hours to get back home, but none of them could be spared.
Now that we have a new king, all our modes of swift transportation have to be at his beck and call if he needs them. And so, we’ve resorted to walking, living like the nomads we just left, bound to the whims of the weather. As if that’s actually the problem. Even if I had all the permissions in the world, I could still never bring myself to harm someone such as her. Blister her ass? Of course. Damage her beyond repair? Absolutely not.
Even with Jaxxon standing there, watching me take her, allowing me to, I couldn’t. Not unless something stronger than the gods compelled me. My body is made for destruction, and that’s not what she needs. I can’t take the chance of hurting her, of seeing that flash of pain in her eyes. For some reason, I could handle it from almost any other person, but not Karis.
Taking that slim ankle that’s far softer than it has any right to be, I stretch her out, chaining the limb to a nearby piece of furniture, then go back to secure the other. By the time I’m done, she’s completely spread out, her body taut between the three hold points.
Gods, but my cock leaps as I watch her there, her pretty lips spewing out words that no female, much less an omega, should know. She’s a conundrum and a pretty one at that. A gorgeous omega wrapped up in a fiery bow. Stalking forward, I note the quick inhale as her breath thrusts her chest up to me in an offering I cannot indulge in.
“Answer me, omega.” Once more, the growl vibrates my chest, filling the tent with my fury. “Why did you take away your virtue like that? What lies did they fill your pretty little head with?”
“You think I’m pretty?” She bites down on her lower lip and looks up at me with a beckoning glance.
Of course, that’s what she takes from all of this. Once more, the haughty beta that haunts my dreams flashes back into my brain, merging with the omega below me. It’s all an act, done to force me to abandon my beliefs and iron will. Well, it won’t be that easy. As long as my respirators hold out, I’ll be in control.
I just have to ensure that my men keep theirs in at all times. It’s not that I don’t trust them, but I know what an omega in heat does to a man, and when one looks as luscious as she does, it will be hard not to be tempted. This also means I’ll have to switch out with Leon while we guard her.
He’s the only other man I trust with a mission as important as this. The princess must be delivered back to Stanlion unmolested. It doesn’t matter that she’s begging for it, she’s nearly out of her mind with the heat. Even now, she thrusts her hips up, forcing the scent of her pussy into the air.
My fingers curl into fists as I loom over Karis, desperate to reach into my uniform and stroke myself until my cum covers her body. What part would I mark first? Her perky, pretty tits? Or that mouth-watering pussy that’s spread open wide, just begging to be filled?
No!
I cannot think this way! I cannot allow her to sway me like this. Gods give me the strength to resist such a temptation. It’s like she’s made for me, the perfect match for my ferocity. The one person to not cower before me. It could be she’s being bolstered by the heat, but there’s something else, something so different from anyone in Stanlion.
It’s like a cool breeze in the sweltering heat, water lapping at your feet after a long day, or what I could imagine would be a tongue darting out to lap at the cum welling up my shaft to coat my tip. She’s dangerous, the one thing that’s been able to shatter my calm.
For the first time, I know why men die for their omegas. I know why songs are written about them, why they are referred to in hushed, reverent tones. I never dreamed of being able to have my own goddess, yet here she is, in flesh and blood, begging me to take her body as my own. I want to rend the world apart if it means keeping her by my side. Fuck, I might even fight Jaxxon for her if I have to.
Gods know I could take him. But that’s wrong. All of this is wrong. What type of sorcery does she hold over me that I’m willing to fight the man I waged war for, that I helped put into power? This cannot happen. If only she hadn’t made it so easy for me to take what she’s offering.
Taking my fist, I slam it against the pillar holding her delicate wrists, shaking the tent with my wrath. “I could fuck you, little omega. I could delve into that sweet pussy of yours and take my pleasure, splitting your slim body in two as I work you over. Your barrier was the only thing keeping you safe. I told you, no, ordered you not to mess with that statue. Now, you’ve put yourself in harm's way.”
Sinking down into the soft sand, I level a glare at her. Anger and sorrow beat in my chest as she continues to look at me with that trustful, needy expression. I could hurt her. No, I would hurt her. Though she is without a barrier, she is still new, virginal, untried. Someone like me would rip someone like her to shreds.
