“Wait! Jax!”
I stop and whirl. Ronan points at a dot on the landscape. A small figure hurrying out of the damn forest.
My heart leaps into my throat. It’s Riya—it has to be. But what if it’s not? No, it is.
All three of us run for her.
Tarren gets there first and I pity Riya, because Tarren—when he’s mad—is a fearsome being to behold. Not that he’d ever harm her. But his sheer size and now the facial scar makes his visage terrifying when he glowers. And he is furious. I can tell by the set of his shoulders, the stomp of his feet. He’d been the most frantic out of the three of us—if you can quantify such things. His need to protect her and the helplessness of not knowing where to find her made him crazy with worry. And yes—there she goes up over his shoulder. Tarren claps his meaty hand down on her upturned ass as he carries her inside.
Ronan and I meet them at the dome, not that Tarren’s waiting for any being.
“Where have you been?” I demand, but Tarren carries our upside-down mate into the chamber. “To the forest? To look for Argrax bark?”
“I-I…”
I’m trying to make sense of what happened, but Tarren’s still in warrior mode. He drops her onto her feet, quickly spinning her to face away from him. He pins her hands to the wall with one hand and starts to paddle her ass with his palm, fast and hard.
“Ow! Ah,” She cries out, but I hear no indignation, and believe me, I’m listening for it. Because we don’t even know her story yet and Tarren’s already taking his frustration out on her ass.
No, she knows she deserves this, whatever she’s done. And I’m fairly certain I was right.
I pull a hoverchair around and sit, watching Tarren’s punishment. Ronan joins me in his own seat. The spanking isn’t too harsh, but Riya’s squeaks and cries are real. I suspect she’s more afraid than hurt.
I don’t blame her. Even I don’t choose to tangle with Tarren when he’s mad, and I’ve known him my whole life.
He spanks over her clothing, not bothering to strip her. I won’t make the same mistake. And yes, I do plan on punishing her next. I think we should each choose a punishment, because she scared the horns right off our heads.
As Tarren spanks her, the tension goes out of his face and the cords in his neck stop straining. I’m about to tell him it’s enough, but he seems to arrive at the same conclusion. He releases her and walks away without another word.
Riya stays in the position he left her, trembling. Her breath rasps in fast and hard. Her surrender, her submission here, has my cock throbbing. My anger and irritation are completely gone. Now it’s just about pleasure. My pleasure. Her punishment.
I stand up and stroll to her side, leaning against the wall where she’s still propped, her ass out and ready. Maybe she thinks Tarren’s going for an implement. Maybe she’s just afraid to move without permission.
“Take off your clothes, Riya.” My voice comes out silky soft, laced with danger and the promise of more pain.
She eases her hands from the wall and faces me, entreaty in her expression. Her lower lip trembles.
I stroke my thumb down her cheek. “You know why Tarren’s so angry?”
Her eyes dart to my cousin, who’s turned to stone where he sits in the corner.
Her head wobbles around like she’s not sure whether to shake it or nod.
“Because he was so afraid. We didn’t know what happened to you, Riya. We feared for your life.” I tilt my head in Tarren’s direction. “So this is what happens when you scare a giant warrior. You get a sore ass and a being who will require a very, very long cock suck to forgive you.”
I meant it to be sexy, but Riya’s eyes fill with tears.
I pull her into my arms. “Shh, sweet girl. He’ll get over it. We all will. But first we need to talk. And then there’s your punishment to discuss. And I believe I gave you an order.” I arch a brow at her.
She scrambles to take off her clothing, our strong little mate so contrite. I have to squeeze my cock through my pants to take the edge off my erection.
I sink back into my hoverseat to watch. “That’s it, beautiful,” I say when she finishes, and open my thighs. “Come here.”
She stands in front of me, awkward and blushing, her fingers knit in front of her pussy.
I pull them apart. “Hold them behind your back. I need to see what belongs to us.”
She sucks her lower lip in between her teeth, which nearly makes me groan. I want to be the one nipping that lip. Soon enough.