Then, in one fell swoop, he lifts me up and throws me over his shoulder.
“Stark, what on earth?” I hiss, looking around the dark camp. Noemi is still curled up against Ephyse’s side, asleep. Anassa and Cratos are asleep as well.
In several long strides, Stark is moving us away from the fire and away from the campsite. “Cratos found a hot spring earlier. You heard Anassa’s orders. You stink.”
My face heats. I slap at his back, but I know my hands probably feel like an annoying gnat to him rather than anything meaningful. “Let me down, you brute!”
We’re moving deeper into the forest now, his arm clenched firmly around my upper thighs as I squirm in his tight hold. “It’s time for a bath. I’m going to scrub you, your royal filthiness.”
He’s right; I need to clean up, but something about the way he’s ordering me around has me wanting to fight against his authority.
Within a few minutes, we’re at the hot spring—a gorgeous pool of steaming water in a secluded clearing. I have to admit, it looks inviting.
Stark drops me unceremoniously at the side of it. “Strip,” he demands. His dark eyes are blazing, and heat—entirely unrelated to the springs—whispers through me, curling low in my gut.
Suddenly, this feels like it has nothing to do with my need to wash—and entirely to do with the fact that we may be facing our deaths tomorrow.
We have one night, these few precious hours, until we confront uncertainty.
And I want nothing more than for Stark to take me roughly, to make me forget all my fears and drown out all my insecurities until all I can sense or feel is this. Him.
Us.
So I step toward him, tilting my chin in defiance. “And if I don’t?” My tone is hard, but I know he can hear the flirtation underneath it.
His lips curl. “You’ll get a spanking.”
I take another step toward him, our chests almost touching. “Make me.” Then I reach out through our bonds and send consent his way.“I want you to make me. Please.”
He shivers slightly as it reaches him, then he stares at me with open need.“Just tell me to stop if you want it to stop at any point.”
Stark puts one foot up on the boulder next to him. Then he grabs my wrist and pulls me harshly toward him, bending me over his knee. In one swift move, he yanks down both my trousers and my panties.
My bare ass and cunt are exposed to the cold air, and I tremble from anticipation.
“You like to be treated like a filthy princess, don’t you?” he growls, his hand coming down to palm my ass cheeks.
“Yes, Alpha,” I whimper as his calloused hand caresses me. Ido. I love the way he treats me: debauchery and worship all at once.
The air shifts as Stark pulls his hand back and then swipes it against my backside in a sharp sting.
A moan tears out of me. I can tell how careful he’s being with his touch; I know Stark at his worst, his most violent. This is a strong man playacting at being rough, and the thought makes wet heat build instantly between my thighs.
Stark caresses the spot he slapped on my cheek, then slides his fingers down, feeling how slick I am for him. As I watch, he brings his thick fingers to his mouth and licks them clean.
“Again,” I beg. He’s growing hard underneath me, against my torso, and I wriggle against him.
Stark lifts his hand and brings it down on my other ass cheek. I let out another moan, and he groans in response to it.
“Are you ready to be a good girl?” he asks tightly. He scowls down at me, but all I can feel is his desire throbbing against my stomach.
“No,” I tell him petulantly, and he swats at my ass again. I twist against his grip, and he does it again.
Then he holds me in place with one arm while using the other to yank my boots off my feet, tossing them to the ground. Socks go next, and he pulls my trousers and panties all the way off so that I’m entirely bare from my torso down. He lightly slaps my ass one more time, then shifts the arm that’s holdingme down. He yanks my jacket off, firmly tugs my shirt over my head. Last to go is my breast binding, which he rips straight through.
By the time he’s finished tearing my clothes off, I’m quivering with need. I want to turn in his arms and straddle him, sink onto him and never let him go.
But I also want to see how much further I can push him.
