Bound

  and imagined he had tied them down.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered as he left her mouth. His

  hands traveled down her torso, making her skin sing wherever he

  touched her. “I want to kiss you everywhere. May I?”

  Don’t ask. Just do it. Take me. Instead, she sweetly replied, “If you like.”

  He nodded and kissed his way to her breasts. The kisses were

  gentle, like little butterflies landing and taking off again. He took one

  nipple in his mouth and curled his tongue around it. He drew on the

  little bud, sucking and playing with it. Meg bit back a moan. Even

  though it wasn’t as rough as she liked it, it still felt good. It felt

  fantastic. Beck plucked at her other nipple with his fingers. Meg

  imagined that he had placed her in nipple clamps. He would tighten

  them just to the point of pain, and then his eyes would heat as he

  looked at her, trussed up and gilded for his pleasure. She would be his

  plaything.

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  His hand left her nipple, traveling down toward her pussy. He slid

  a finger through her labia. His head came up in surprise as he found

  the folds of her pussy already slick.

  “You’re wet.” His fingers slid all around her pussy, delving deep

  and then shallow, as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was

  feeling. “You’re soaking wet.”

  Meg’s face flushed. She tried to pull away. She was sure he would

  take it as proof of her wantonness. “Sorry.”

  He put his hand around her throat to stop her from squirming, and

  she felt a fresh rush of arousal spark through her. His hand was still

  moist from her pussy as he circled her neck. He couldn’t know what

  his hand collaring her neck did for her. He would be shocked if he

  did.

  “You still want me,” he said with a great amount of relief. It

  seemed to break something in him, and he kissed her harder than

  before. He was still careful, but he seemed less tentative. Meg felt his

  iron-willed control. He was using it to hold himself back. Meg wanted

  to beg him to let go, to use that will on her. She would like it. She

  craved it. But she held her tongue, knowing he wouldn’t welcome that

  part of her.

  Then she wasn’t thinking at all as his hand trailed back down, and

  he started to rub little circles around her clitoris.

  “Tell me you want me,” he ordered in a rough voice.

  Her body tightened at the masculine will in his voice. “I want you.

  Please.”

  “Yes, wife, I will please you,” he promised as he disappeared

  under the blankets. He forced her legs apart, spreading her and

  placing himself between her thighs.

  When his tongue replaced his fingers on her clit, Meg fought not

  to scream. His tongue slid all over her pussy, lapping and sucking and

  nibbling. He ate her like he was enjoying a rich dessert. She held her

  hands tight over her head and pretended he’d tied her ankles down,

  too. She imagined she was completely at his mercy, and he had none.

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  He licked from her clit to her slit then plunged his tongue in there. He

  moaned as though he loved her taste and couldn’t get enough of her.

  He fucked her with his tongue. Meg pressed against him as he firmly

  stroked her clit with his thumb. She went flying, keeping her mind

  open so that she knew he felt her orgasm.

  He reared up, the blanket he’d pulled over them falling to the side.

  He got on his knees and purposefully slid his cock over her soaking

  pussy, moistening it. He pulled down on her hips, slamming her onto

  his pulsating cock.

  Meg nearly screamed. It felt so good to be impaled on him.

  Nothing in her life felt as good as Beck ramming his cock into her

  cunt. He looked down at her with stark eyes. His face was savage in

  the fire’s glow, and though she had just come, she felt it build again

  as he pounded into her.

  He was so big inside her, she felt like she might split in two, but it

  was a good pain. She wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to

  tempt him deeper. She hadn’t taken all of him yet. He stared down at

  the place where his cock met her pussy.

  “It’s beautiful,” he muttered as he watched himself fuck her.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  She felt beautiful. She let her hands trail down his strong back to

  his muscular buttocks and let her nails dig in lightly. She wanted all

  of him.

  “You open up for me.” He spread her legs further and shoved that

  last inch in.

  Meg had never been so full. This was connection. This was what

  she’d missed all of her life.

  He leaned forward so his pelvic bone ground against her clitoris as

  he swiveled his hips and panted. His long, dark hair flowed all around

  her. It tickled her skin, making her feel like he was touching her in a

  hundred spots. Then, only one spot mattered as he pushed himself

  deep one last time.

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  This time Meg didn’t hold back her moans. She groaned as he

  stiffened above her. She could feel his cock pulsing deep inside her,

  jetting his cum toward her womb. The orgasm rolled across her,

  leaving her trembling as he fell forward against her body.

  She wrapped her arms around him. She could feel his heart

  beating against her breast. He nuzzled her neck. His cock was still

  inside her pussy, and if she could sleep that way, she would. He was

  everywhere, all around her. She never felt so safe.

  He rolled off her, and she could feel his disappointment.

  “I lost my head at the end, love.” He spoke through clenched

  teeth. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I know I keep saying that,

  but I mean it. Did I hurt you?”

  Meg turned her back to him, so he wouldn’t see her face.

  “I liked it,” she said hollowly. She had until he opened his damn

  mouth again. “I’m not some fragile little thing. I won’t break, Beck. I

  liked it, especially at the end.”

  He sighed and put a hand on her hip. “No, you didn’t. You’re just

  trying to be a good wife. I’ll be more careful next time.”

  “Sure.”

  There wasn’t going to be a next time. The sex was incredible, but

  it wasn’t worth the way he made her feel afterward. She thought what

  they shared was beautiful, and he kept making it something to be

  ashamed of.

  He pulled her close, wrapping his thick arms around her body. He

  threw a leg over hers. Meg found herself thoroughly trapped in his

  embrace. She tried to pull away.

  “Stay still,” he ordered quietly. “It’s cold. I’ll keep you warm.”

  “And if I don’t want to be warm?” Meg squirmed against him.

  “Then I’ll keep you warm anyway,” he said, his voice rough with

  command.

  She sighed. He was so frustrating. He was the essence of the

  dominant male. It was in everything he did. Why did he deny it? Meg

  settled down. There was no way she was getting away from him. He

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  set his face against the nape of he
r neck. His warmth was so sweet.

  Meg found herself pulled in again.

  She was leaving in the morning. He had explained that he would

  get up and go find them some breakfast. While he was hunting, she

  would leave. Dante was wrong. It wasn’t up to her to train him. It

  wasn’t up to her to teach him that it wasn’t wrong to love the way he

  wanted to. He wouldn’t listen, and she would end up hating him and

  herself.

  She would leave, and he would find a more proper bondmate.

  “Good night, love,” he whispered in her ear.

  She was silent because good night was good-bye, and she just

  couldn’t say the words.

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  85

  Chapter Seven

  Meg felt the minute he left the small bed they slept in. She felt

  him disentangle himself, and she certainly missed the heat of his

  body. He had draped himself around her all through the night,

  tangling their limbs together. She had never slept so well in her life.

  She remained still, listening as he dressed, rebuilt their fire, and

  prepared to hunt for their breakfast. He leaned over and kissed her

  softly before he stalked off to find food.

  Meg remained perfectly still as she forced herself to count to one

  hundred before tossing on her clothes. She pulled on the boots last.

  She retrieved the small saddle bag Dante had given her the day

  before. She briefly looked through it. There was food and a canteen,

  and what looked like a first aid kit. He’d also slipped his business

  card in. It declared him Head of the Green Sales Unit. She shook her

  head. Used car salesman to the core. There were a few other things

  she didn’t recognize, but she threw the bag over her shoulder and

  wondered which way to go. She decided on south, since she could

  make it back to the market. Perhaps there would be someone on the

  road who would help her.

  As she began to walk, she wondered how Beck would take her

  leaving. Her heart hurt when she thought of him. How could she get

  so close to someone in so little time? She was smart enough to know

  that he was a heartbreak waiting to happen. He couldn’t accept

  himself. How was he ever going to accept her? The endless forest

  seemed to fly by as she walked briskly, unable to get her mind off the

  faery prince.

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  He was a victim of his own success. He had proven to her, once

  and for all, what she wanted in a relationship. Then he’d turned

  around and told her he wouldn’t give it to her. She had suspected for a

  while that she preferred to be submissive during sex. She wasn’t sure

  how she felt about submission outside of the bedroom, and that was

  the reality that gave her pause when she thought about the lifestyle. It

  was probably asking far too much to get what she wanted in the

  bedroom and still remain autonomous outside of it.

  She had been walking for a good half an hour when she felt the

  panic attack threatening her. What the hell was she doing? Her blood

  pressure was rising. She could feel her heart beating a hundred miles a

  minute. She was lost. She turned, but everywhere she looked was

  exactly the same. Hadn’t she passed that tree before? She was sure

  she had. It leaned the same way as the other one. Which way was she

  supposed to go?

  Oh, why had she ever left the comfort of their bed?

  It was stupid decisions like this that always got her in trouble. She

  was impetuous. She had never been out of Texas, but she thought she

  could navigate on an entirely different plane of existence? She should

  have waited until she made it to a village. Maybe there, she could

  have hired a guide or something. What the hell was she doing walking

  through the woods alone?

  “Can I help you, miss?”

  Meg started and spun on her heels. She barely missed clocking the

  little man with her twirling bag. She ended up on her ass in the dirt,

  looking up at the strangest thing she had ever seen. Given her recent

  travails, that was saying something.

  He was small, no more than four feet tall, with a stocky body. He

  was barrel-chested with squat legs. His torso was the longest part of

  him. His face was dominated by a large, doughy nose, and his skin

  had splotches of yellow across it. He needed to get his liver checked,

  she thought as she silently stared.

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  The suit was the most disconcerting thing about him, though. It

  was a brilliant, vibrant red. From the top hat on his head to the socks

  and shoes on his small feet, everything was red. The small man

  brushed invisible lint off his coat and shook the tails out. They trailed

  along the dirt. He looked down at her and waited for a response.

  “I’m lost,” was the only thing Meg could think to say.

  The red man cocked a bushy eyebrow. His accent was even

  heavier than Beck’s. “Are you, now? And here I was thinking you

  were out for a pleasant walk in the woods.”

  Meg shook her head. “I need to get back to the marketplace.”

  The red man frowned. “And why would you need to do that? See,

  I was thinking a girl like you would prefer to go home to the Earth

  plane.”

  On that announcement, the red man turned and began walking

  down the path. Meg scrambled to her feet to chase after him.

  “How did you know that?” she asked breathlessly.

  He winked a dark eye her way. “I know everything, little human. I

  know you couldn’t possibly want to stay here. Your home is waiting

  for you.”

  “Yes.” Even though he was a good foot and several inches shorter

  than her, he moved quickly. Megan had to jog to keep up with the

  little man. “I was taken from my home, and then they sold me at some

  tournament thingy and apparently now I’m married, but I didn’t say,

  ‘I do,’ so I don’t think I am. I just want to get home.”

  Yes, she should hurry. She needed to get home to her fantastic life

  on the Earth plane. She needed to get back to work, so she could go

  back to her dreary apartment at the end of a long day and microwave

  something she didn’t really want to eat and watch television. She

  didn’t want to stay and explore this strange place. She didn’t want to

  give that gorgeous hunk of a man a chance. She certainly didn’t want

  to meet the other, possibly even hotter, half of him. No, she wanted to

  go back to a place that probably wouldn’t even realize she had gone.

  She was an idiot.

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  Meg stopped in the middle of the little trail. A vision of Beck

  swamped her senses, and she was stunned by how much she felt for

  him. Oh god, I’m in love with him.

  It was stupid, and far too soon, and true. She already loved

  Beckett Finn, and here she was walking away from him. She hadn’t

  really loved Michael, and she’d given him three years of her life. She

  was walking away from Beck after a day? If she wouldn’t even fight

  for a man like him, she didn’t deserve to find love.

  Everything crystallized as she stood in the middl
e of the faery

  forest. She shook her head. She was in the middle of a freaking faery

  forest! All of her life, she had daydreamed and read fantasy novels

  and done anything she could to escape reality. In her daydreams and

  the stories she wrote that she never let anyone read, she was a

  different person. She was a confident, lovable woman who faced

  challenges head on. Maybe it was time to be the person she always

  wanted to be.

  She had waited for this all of her life, and now she was running

  away?

  “Come along, miss.” The red man looked at her curiously. “Well,

  what are you waiting for? I can get you home.”

  Meg shook her head. Her decision was made. “I changed my

  mind. I don’t want to go home. Honestly, my life there kind of

  sucked. Maybe life here will suck, too, but shouldn’t I give it a

  chance? When you think about it, it really is kind of cool. I mean, I

  have seen more weird-ass shit in the last twenty-four hours than most

  people see in a lifetime. Vampires! How freaking cool is that? They

  have their own plane and apparently are just as interested in their

  stock portfolios as they are in blood. And gnomes! Sure, they didn’t

  actually have any travel tips for me, so they weren’t like the ones at

  home, but the ones at home are ceramic. They aren’t half as awesome

  as the ones here. And the sidhe.” Meg sighed. “I think I care about

  him. He needs me. I can’t walk away.”

  “But don’t you want to go home?”

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  Meg rolled her eyes. “Screw my home. Somewhere out there is

  this superhot faery. He paid a lot of money for me. My ex-husband

  never took me to any place nicer than a Chili’s because he was a

  cheap ass. Beck already spent more on me than any man ever has, and

  then he had to do the Fight Club thing. No one ever fought for me before. Sure, he was kind of a dickhead afterward, but I think I can

  work on that problem. And I haven’t even met his other half. I think

  they’re identical. Twins should be identical, right? Even if they aren’t,

  even if he’s unattractive, I’ll be okay with it because Cian is a part of

  Beck. If I love one, then I have to love and accept the other. Right?”

  The red man took a deep breath. “You’re a strange girl. You speak