He grinned then and he looked more handsome than ever, and my breath caught in my throat. “You want me, woman. You want my hard cock filling you. You want me to touch you everywhere, claim you, mark you as my own. Admit it.”
“No. I don’t want a mate, Dax. I want to save Seth.” I shook my head but my heart was pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it, even through my armor. I didn’t want his words to be true, but they were. Holy hell, I did want it. I wanted all of it. But not until I had my brother back safe and sound.
“I will help you retrieve your brother. I gave you my word.” He leaned in, not giving me any air. “You want me to take care of you, too, to keep you safe.”
“No, I don’t. I take care of myself.”
“Not anymore.”
“This is bullshit, Dax.” I shoved against his chest. “We’ve got to go. We’ve to a rescue mission to plan.”
“You are the most difficult female I’ve ever met.”
I pushed my finger against his chest. “You are the most pigheaded, chauvinistic, arrogant—” The dark gray scrollwork that adorned the bright gold cuff taunted me as I poked at him. It was a sign of ownership, like a collar on a dog. Wrapping my hands about my wrist, I tugged at the stupid cuff. “Get these things off of me. I’ve changed my mind.”
I heard a growl rumble from his chest. He took hold of my wrist and tugged me down the hall. He was se
arching for something. When he pressed an entry button, a random door slid open and he shoved me inside. The room’s motion sensor turned on the light and I could see that he’d pushed me into a narrow room full of electrical panels. I had no idea what they did, but one wall was covered in cables and blinking lights. The floor and other walls were blue, indicating this room was maintained by engineering.
“What the hell, Dax?” I said, followed by a long string of swear words.
“Put your hands on the wall.” He looked over his shoulder and pressed a button beside the closed door, engaging the lock.
My mouth fell open. While the suggestion was pretty hot—at least in connection with the pervy thoughts his command brought about—now I was pissed.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’m not fucking you in a closet.”
“Who said anything about fucking?” he responded calmly.
“Then what are you doing?”
“I’m going to spank you, of course.”
I pressed my back against the wall opposite the electric panels, my hands flat on the cool metal. “What?” He was truly out of his mind.
“You need it.” Dax took a step closer. Damn it, he was so big and this room was so fucking small.
“I need what? A spanking?” I laughed then. “Yeah, right.”
“You lied to me, repeatedly. I warned you, mate. You are mine now, and I will do whatever I need to do to make sure you know that.”
“You are crazy. Are all Atlan males this difficult, or is it just you?”
“You are still lying to me, and to yourself. In time, mate, you will come to me and tell me when you are scared, when you need my touch to soothe you, to ease your panic. Until then, it is my job to know when you need a firm hand.”
“On my ass? I think not.”
“You won’t admit you’re scared, that everything that has happened today is overwhelming. You are strong. I know this. But I am stronger. You can trust me to take care of you, Sarah. You are lashing out instead of admitting the truth. You dare me to discipline you with your lack of respect, your insults of my character and my honor. I can only assume you need me to take control but do not know how to ask me to do so. And so I will not wait for your admission, Sarah, I will simply give you what you need.”
His promise made my stomach lurch. He was so big, huge even. He was an alien, an Atlan warlord in charge of hundreds of soldiers, thousands. And as much as I tried to put on a brave face, I was terrified. My brother was most likely dead, as the commander had said, or on his way to becoming one of the Hive. I couldn’t fail him. Now I was mated to Dax and I wasn’t a normal, meek Atlan woman. Surely I would fail him as well. As soon as he realized I wasn’t what he wanted, he’d rip the cuffs off his wrists and send me packing. I’d go home alone and defeated. Lost. All my family gone.
I felt the first tear burn a trail down my cheek and shook my head in denial, turning away from Dax so he wouldn’t witness my weakness, so he wouldn’t know that he was right. I did need him to take control. The pressure was crushing me, suffocating me, and the idea of letting go, of surrendering… everything to someone else was like a seductive drug in my system. My mind screamed that it was wrong, but my heart pounded with both fear and longing, the war within threatened to tear me in two.
“Put your hands on the wall, Sarah.”
I only shook my head. While I craved it, it didn’t mean I’d let him know it. I must stay strong. I could hear my father’s voice in my head, demanding I never cry, never show fear or pain. You have to be tough, Sarah, the world won’t tolerate weakness.
Dax took a step closer, easily hooked a hand about my waist and spun me about. I had no choice but to place my hands on the wall, afraid I was going to fall. He tugged on my hips and pulled them out so I was bent at the waist. I started to rise, but a big hand came down on my pants-covered bottom.