“That’s not your decision.” She turns her back to me and marches toward the door, though where she thinks she’s going in a thin bathrobe with no shoes is anyone’s guess.
She reaches for the door handle, defiant until the very end.
“Donotopen that door,” I command.
With a devious glance over her shoulder, she says, “Or what? You’ll spank me,Daddy?”
I’m certain she meant it to come out like a taunt, but she failed miserably, the last word ending in a breathless whisper that leaves the air between us hot and crackling.
I take a step toward her, then another, falling back into our game with easy, sadistic pleasure. “If that’s what it takes to keep you safe, then yes.”
Better this game than facing what lies beyond the walls, I tell myself.Better this game than facing what lies in the dark depths of my heart…
“Oh, really?” she huffs out. “Finally ready to make good on all those idle threats?” She turns to face me full on and laughs, but it’s high and nervous, her robe trembling around her shoulders.
She didn’t bother tying it up again after I draped it over her, and now it flaps open, giving me a tantalizing peak at her nipples, stiff and begging for my tongue.
“There is no punishment I won’t inflict,” I say darkly, closing the last of the distance between us. “No discipline I won’t unleash. When it comes to protecting you from your own worst impulses, little mortal, Daddy will bemorethan happy to teach you a lesson… With his bare hands.”
Her breath hitches, her heart rate kicking up, but she doesn’t look away. Just squares her shoulders and flashes that maddening, smart-mouthed smirk. “You talk a good game, gargoyle. But you’ve been threatening to ‘discipline’ me forever. Frankly, I’m not sure you’ve got the balls to follow through. Oh, by the way? I’mimmortal, remember?”
“Be that as it may, littleimmortal, a lack of balls has never been an issue for me. But I’m pretty sure you know that already.” I drop my loincloth and push her back against the door, my cock stone-hard between us.
Another little hitch of breath. A slight widening of the eyes.
I lean in close and drag my nose down along the slope of her neck, across her collarbone, past the now-healed shoulder wound. She leans into the contact, her breath warm against my cheek as I glide up her throat and stop a hair’s breadth from her lips.
“The filthy things,” I whisper. “ThepunishmentsI could wreak upon this beautiful, unbroken body…” I skim my claws down the center of her chest, thumbs brushing her nipples. “The fae royals of old would wither and die just to witness it.”
A soft whimper is all she can manage, the scent of her desire washing over me in a hot rush that makes my head spin.
“Need to use your words, love?” I kiss a path to her ear, nipping the lobe between my teeth. “Say them, and this ends right now.”
She bites her lower lip and shakes her head, and when I finally draw back and meet her gaze again, she flashes that wicked grin I love so, so much and says, “I want it, Daddy. I want you to—”
“Come.Here,” I command, my mind already spinning with all the filthy possibilities as I drag her back to that bed.
Her mouth snaps shut, and the little immortal obeys, following without another word of protest.
I sit on the bed in front of her, positioning her between my knees.
It’s all I can do not to shred the robe with my claws and fucking ravage her where she stands, but that would only prove her point.
She’s right; Ihavebeen making idle threats.
That ends now.
“Take off the robe,” I whisper. “Let Daddy see his beautiful little brat again.”
She lowers her shoulders, letting the robe fall away once more to reveal her smooth skin. My mouth waters for a taste of her, my hands aching to touch her, to roam over every soft curve and dip, but I force myself to remain still. To catalogue the shapes and shadows with my eyes, one torturously slow inch at a time.
The firelight dances in her eyes, and she reaches for my wings, her lightest touch making me shiver. I could easily lose myself in this pleasure, but… no. Not yet.
I grab her wrist and deliver a dark warning. “You arenotthe one calling the shots tonight, Miss Avery. Now lace your fingers behind your head and donotmove.”
She does as I ask, and I tug her closer, wrapping my hands around her hips and holding her firmly in place as I bring my mouth to her nipple, painting it with the tip of my tongue, then sucking, my claws digging into her soft flesh.
I can feel the tension in her muscles, the slight twitch as she fights against the urge to lower her hands and bury them in my hair, but she doesn’t dare give in, and I reward her with a slow, torturous brush of my tail between her thighs.
