Alpha's Fire (Shifter Ops 4)

The decor and layout are much like the room I woke up in, except we’re in a circular tower. The wind whistles outside, but this bedroom is snug and warm, a fire already laid. The black onyx fireplace is shaped like the mouth of a giant dragon. Flames dance between its fangs.

The four-poster bed is bigger than the standard king, made of polished black wood with silk curtains gathered at each corner. The curtains are black with a pattern in gold, the same pattern I saw downstairs–triangles made of three interlooping rings.

Gabriel lays me down on the satin coverlet and draws off my boots. I let him undress me. I'm limp, racked with pleasure. My orgasm was enough to leave my legs like jelly, but my sex is still throbbing. My body misses Gabriel’s touch.

Gabriel opens a carved wooden box sitting on the bedside table with one hand. With the other, he gathers my wrists and snaps something into place.

“What the–?” I raise my hands, blinking at the cuffs around my wrists. Twin-wide bracelets of polished gold.

He snaps a second pair onto my ankles before I think to fight.

“Gabriel–”

“Shhhh. Relax. I'm going to give you what you want.” He opens a panel beside the bed and keys something in. “I'm going to give you what you need.”

There’s a beep and some sort of metal strips come flying out of the bedposts. They attach to the cuffs on my wrists and ankle. I tug, but can’t get free. I’m bound to the bed by the cuffs and the robotic rope. The cuffs aren’t gold, but some sort of magnetic alloy strong enough to tie me down. Is that even possible?

“Do you like them?” Gabriel asks as I examine my bonds. “The design is of my own making. My old world knowledge combined with the new.”

“No!” I’m not sure if it’s a lie or a truth. My body quivers, a live wire, but I’m pissed. I stare at the sinfully handsome man watching me with that air of faint amusement. “What are you going to do to me?” Instead of sounding scared, my voice comes out breathless, sexy.

Again, my body's completed that peculiar alchemy, turning my fear into arousal. I am splayed out on this giant bed like a virgin sacrifice on an altar. Gabriel has removed his suit jacket and hung it on a nearby chair. Still not a hair out of place.

“Calm yourself, Tabitha. Whatever I do to you, I promise you will like it.”

I tug at the cuffs. “I don't like this.”

“Lies.” His whisper turns soft and sibilant. “I can smell your arousal from here.”

I try to press my legs together, but I can't because of the tight bonds.

He chuckles, and damn if the sound doesn't make me even wetter.

Then he raises a skinning knife.

I gasp and twist.

“Hold still,” he orders, and the robotic arms tethering me down tighten. My arms are taut in a spread eagle, my body bared to whatever he's going to do.

With swift, decisive moves that look practiced, he slices off my clothes with the wickedly curved blade.

My skirt and my blouse flutter into pieces that he tosses away.

He rests a knee on the bed between my legs. “It's time I tasted my bride.”

“Bride?” I gasp over my pounding heart. “I don't remember you proposing marriage.”

He chuckles. “This is the way for my kind.” He caresses my bare calf above the cuff. “We find the female that belongs to us, and we take her into our keeping. I've shown you my castle. Soon I will show you my lands, my armies. All my treasures. You'll be in awe at what I can give you.”

“So I’m supposed to be impressed because you're rich?” I scoff, even as my breath hitches from his hand sliding up my leg. “That's not going to work. My mother's been trying that for years.”

“There are other ways of persuading you.” He sets down the knife and rolls up his sleeves. Damn if the sight of his forearms isn't the hottest thing I've ever seen. I thought invoking my mother would dampen the flames of my arousal but nope.

I squirm, wriggling as best I can even though I can barely move. “So you're just going to fuck me like this?” I angle my head to glare at the cuff on my right arm then at him.

“No.” He’s still slowly rolling up his sleeves. “Not tonight. Not even if you beg. Not even if I want to. You'll have to wait for that pleasure.”

“Good,” I reply, which isn't as eloquent as I'd like. His proximity and smoky scent is doing things to me. All my thoughts are flying out of my head.

He leans over me. “First I'm going to examine you. Then I'm going to worship you as you deserve.”

He trails the knife down my shoulder. A flick of his wrist, and he's cut the strap of my bra. Another flick, and he's bared both my breasts. My panties are next to go.