“And the chain?”
Tark lifted the chain and I noticed a small crest had been stamped into several tiny golden disks that were woven into the shining strand. “This symbol is my birthing mark, and the mark of my line. It signifies that you are mine. Until I claim you and mark you permanently, it is also your protection.”
“Protection?” I didn’t understand how rings in my nipples were going to protect me from anything, but the way he continued to play, I didn’t really care.
“No one will dare touch what belongs to the high councilor.” He sounded like a possessive caveman. “Enough questions. Place your hands above your head and allow me to examine my mate.”
I froze, my hands locked in front of me. “Tark, I don’t—”
“This…” He moved his hand a little lower and gently tugged on the chain, sending a hot sizzle of pleasure from both of my nipples directly to my clit, “…is also a tool I will use to make sure you learn obedience, gara. Just one of the many ways your body will learn to submit to mine—and keep you from arguing.”
He let go of the chain and it fell onto my skin once again, the once cool metal now heated by his touch. Tark gently wrapped each of my wrists in his big, strong hands and slowly maneuvered me until my hands were above my head on the exam table, as he’d requested.
“Or, I can flip you over onto your belly and spank you once again. It is your choice.”
I almost rolled my eyes and realized he would definitely consider that impertinence.
“That is not much of a choice,” I grumbled.
He offered a small smile. “You are learning quickly, gara. Know this, I will never harm you. But I will also never allow you to hurt yourself. Bron—” he spit out the man’s name, “—is new to my se
rvice, and after how he behaved, I will summon a new medical officer immediately upon our return to the palace. I wouldn’t let him treat my frim, let alone my mate.”
So he hadn’t been taking the doctor’s side earlier. Had I just remained quiet earlier, Tark would have dismissed the man and I would have been in this exact spot—without the sore bottom.
Tark’s dark gaze drifted up from my thrusting breasts to my face. “I am going to touch you now, and you must tell me if you have any pain or discomfort from your transfer.”
His hands stroked down my bare arms to my breasts, across the curves of my ribcage to my hips. Goosebumps broke out across my skin. He was learning my body like I was a fascinating specimen, something he had never seen before, and not necessarily in a sexual way. But his gentle touch calmed my fear, and without fear to hide behind, I could not stop myself from focusing on other things.
The heat of his hands. The racing of my heart. His touch was like fire on my flesh and he was very thorough. Despite the mental argument against allowing a stranger to touch me so intimately, and despite all the stress of the last few weeks, my body knew what to do and what it wanted. It responded with a desire so swift it shocked me. His hand moved up my legs and slipped between my thighs.
I gasped at the light contact, my body arched off the table as if he’d applied an electrical shock. I squeezed my knees together, pinning his hand in place. He released his hold on my wrists and traced the soft curve of my abdomen until he found the chain and gave a soft tug. I cried out and closed my eyes. The sight of him over me, so dominant, so intense, made me consider things I would never, ever think to do. Like allow a complete stranger to play with my pussy. No, not allow, want. I wanted my mate to touch me.
What the hell was wrong with me? Had the transfer made me lose my mind? Had it made me horny? Was there some kind of sexual neuroprocessor stimulant that upped my libido? But then again, it could just be the testosterone oozing from his pores.
“Open your legs, gara. Now. Do not be afraid.”
“I’m not… I don’t…” I wasn’t afraid that he’d harm me. Quite the opposite. I was afraid of myself, afraid that I’d give him anything he wanted. I didn’t know him at all, but his gentle hands and firm commands threatened to break down all of my barriers, break all of my rules about men. And I’d just met him.
I felt him move closer, and his mouth closed over my nipple; the swirl of his tongue pulling on the small ring made me moan with pleasure. “Open for me, mate. Let me see what is mine.”
His touch. His kiss. His heat.
My mate. Mine. He belonged to me as much as I belonged to him. At least for now.
I let my knees fall wide and opened my eyes as he moved away from my breast and closer to my core.
Coming up on my elbows, I looked down my body and my eyes widened once again. “I have no hair.” I’d thought it had felt different… down there, but I’d been too distracted by the nipple rings and chain and the spanking to notice my pussy had been made bare.
“It is sensitive for you, yes?” He asked the question, then bent low to blow a soft breath of air over my pussy lips. He may not have touched a woman from Earth before, but he certainly knew what he was doing. He blew on me again and I shuddered. He was staring now, his face so close that he could surely pick up my own scent and I wondered…
“Am I… shaped like the women on your planet?”
“Mmm.”
I thought he would ignore my question, but apparently, he had decided to investigate. Tark lifted something from the side of the table, and moments later a cold, hard object was slowly inserted into my core. I pushed with legs and arms in a scramble to get away.
“Stop. What are you doing to me?”