He scoops me up and stands, then takes several large strides over to the edge of the hot springs. Then he sets me down.
“Get in,” he growls. “Now.”
Before he can so much as blink, I turn and sprint away from him. My heart pounds in my ears as my feet crunch over the frozen fallen leaves around us. Stark curses loudly, and I hear him quickly ripping off his own clothes. I smile to myself, and keep running.
This is thrilling and exactly what I need—the perfect distraction from whatever tomorrow holds. One last night to safely lose control.
Then comes the sound of his huge body moving in pursuit through the dark forest. Anticipation races from my head to my toes.
I’m fast, but he’s faster—his legs are longer, thickly muscled. It doesn’t take long for him to catch up to me. His fingers brush mine, but I keep moving. I can hear him lunge, and his warm hand wraps around my ankle.
I fall face-first toward the ground. Even then, he’s faster than me. He somehow turns me and maneuvers a hand behind my head so I don’t smash it onto the hardpacked forest floor. We go tumbling onto the ground together.
I’m pinned beneath him, his tattooed, scarred chest tight against mine, and we’re both panting hard.
His rigid cock throbs against my stomach, and the sensation makes my nipples pebble.
“You dirty, feral creature,” he snarls at me. He reaches a hand down between us and strokes between my folds, then lets out a harsh breath when he realizes how wet I am already. “You love disobeying me, don’t you?”
I try to rub against his hand, to seek reprieve from this consuming need burning me up from the inside out, but he won’t let me have it. Instead, he moves his hand to my hair, pulling it just enough.
“Say it,” he demands.
“I love disobeying you, Alpha,” I moan. “Make me listen.”
He shifts and suddenly the head of his cock presses tightly against my entrance. I moan again and send him mental consent.
Stark slides into me roughly, seating himself to the hilt. I gasp at the sudden stretch, the expansive fill of him. He always feels like almost too much, but it’s perfect, erasing every coherent thought I might have, removing any worry.
We lock eyes then, and his demanding gaze softens slightly. He leans and kisses me, his soft lips a beautiful contrast to the stubble that grazes my face. I respond with fervor, wrapping my arms around his neck, drawing him somehow closer.
He slides his cock out of me almost entirely and slams back into me fully. I whine against his mouth and he does it again. Then he shifts backward, pulling me onto his lap. My arms are still around his neck, and his come around my back, holding me closely to him. I wrap my legs around his middle.
And then he gets his feet beneath him and stands. I whip my head around, looking at the forest. “What—”
“Eyes on me,” he commands. I obey him, and his stern gaze makes my toes curl. “You wouldn’t go in that hot spring on your own, princess. So I’m making you listen, just like you asked.”
He starts to stride back in the direction we came from, carrying me like I weigh nothing.
As we move, he fucks me, thrusting in and out me with an unbelievable level of control. Each step shifts us and makes us bounce in a different way, and I try not to squirm too much in his arms becauseoh fuck. It’s pushing me rapidly toward a peak.
Finally, we near the hot springs again. Stark bends down to grab a packet of soap out of his clothes, keeping me pressed against him still. He doesn’t bother setting me down this time; he’s not about to let me bolt again.
Instead, he walks straight into the hot springs with me.
The steaming water burns against my cold skin. Between the bite of it and the stretch of Stark inside of me still, I’m becoming overly sensitized. Still, hedoesn’t let me go. He moves us over to a rock outcropping, setting me down on the flattest part of it.
He pulls out of me slowly, and I moan at the indecent feeling of it in the wet heat of the water.
“Can I trust you not to run?” he asks, voice rumbling.
Sparking at the challenge, I shift away from him, ready to move.
Stark swipes his hands through the air, calling his shadebending power as Sovereign Alpha. The shadows come quickly to him, wrapping around my arms and ankles and binding me to the rock. I fight uselessly against it, but the shadows don’t give.
It’s strange being on the receiving end of this power. The shadows have weight to them but also feel like nothing—as if I’m being held in place by something invisible, even though I can see the darkness of them.
“Seriously, how are you so good at that?” I grumble.
