But instead of the punishing swats she’d braced for, there was only the slow, light touch of his fingertip tracing its way down her spine. “You aren’t, are you? By all rights you should be terrified of me. Of what I could do to you, your family. Even when I threatened to kill your father if he dared to try and take you from me, you were more pissed off than scared.”
There was… something in his tone, a sort of wonder that smothered the sarcastic retort burning on her tongue. “Because I know you’d never actually hurt me. Or my father.”
“I would have. If I thought he was a danger to you.”
More truth, though it still didn’t scare her the way it probably should have. “And that’s why I’m not scared. You would rather kill your best friend than let anything truly bad happen to me.”
“I would. You’re my everything, Aria.”
Emotion caught in her throat. “Because of the baby.”
“No. Because of you. Don’t get me wrong, knowing you’re carrying my child does make me feel even more protective than usual. But you, Aria, you’ve had my heart from the very first moment I laid eyes on you. It killed me, walking away from you, staying away from you, knowing you could never be mine.”
Oh, god. How was she supposed to fight that? To resist a man as powerful as him laying his heart bare at her feet?
She couldn’t. And so she wouldn’t.
“I’ve always been yours, Killian. Even when I walked away, even when I was so fucking angry with you I wanted you dead, I wanted nothing more than to be right where I belonged. In your bed, your arms, at your feet. So please, Sir, make me yours again.”
“As you wish.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Killian
Somehow, their play had shifted. Changed from playful and teasing to something deeper. Something more.
With that in mind, he moved to the cabinet that held the various toys for tormenting his sassy little princess. He would need to remember his play bag next time—if there was a next time at the club—or else he’d end up with duplicates of everything at this rate.
Grabbing the items he wanted, he made his way back to the throne. She was a vision, on her knees with her wrists suspended in leather, her ass pushed out toward him, covered in his handprints.
Mine.
That single syllable echoed in his mind as he set his prizes aside and picked up the bottle of lubricant. With his free hand, he spread her quivering bottom cheeks, exposing the puckered hole of her anus to his gaze. “Someday, I’m going to fuck you here. I’m going to claim every last inch of you. So we’re going to need to get you used to having this naughty little hole filled.”
Her shocked gasp filled the room when the cool liquid of the lube splashed against her hole. “Killian!”
Heaving a dramatic sigh, he pressed a finger against her entrance, rubbing and circling the puckered flesh, gently demanding she yield for him. “If you keep refusing to use my titles, I will fuck you here tonight and you won’t be allowed to come when I do.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Pushing deeper into her bottom, he chuckled softly. “Would you like to test me, princess?”
Silence met his question, and he let it drag out, let her work herself into an internal frenzy over the implied threat.
And after several long moments, she sighed. “No, Daddy.”
“Good girl.” Because she was, at her core, a good girl, whether she wanted to admit it or not, he softened his tone. “Can you relax for me, princess? This is for your pleasure as much as mine, but it will be much harder on you if you stay so tense.”
“It’s a little difficult to relax with a finger up my ass,” she grumbled. But despite her argument to the contrary, her muscles loosened, allowing him in.
“I’m sure it is. But you’re taking me so well, princess. You’re being so very good for me.”
His praise relaxed her even further, and when he looked, there was a small smile curving her lips. Whatever she said to the contrary, his princess loved praise.
And so he kept on praising her as he worked to loosen her up, pushing a second finger in alongside the first as she whimpered at the intrusion. “You look so beautiful like this, Aria. Naked and on your knees for me, your bottom stuffed full. My good, good girl.”
A soft sigh slipped from her lips and she relaxed even further around him. Until, at last, she was ready for the plug.
