Page 17 of Bound to the One-Night Stand

The Alpha’s head jerks for a moment as he leans back. “That’s not… How often did he have these ruts?”

“I mean, just the normal amount? About once a month?”

“Right. Once a month. And I’m assuming that’s how often you went into heat then? Kinda selfish to just leave you like that.”

“Oh,” I cry out, shaking my head. “No. I’m on suppressants. Please don’t think ill of Ale- the Alpha. He was just protecting me from his savage lusts. You know how Alphas can be.”

The man in front of me rubs his hand across the beard on his chin, bringing my awareness back to his lips. How I wish we could stop talking about Alec and have him pleasure me again. As it is, it’s the only thing keeping those errant thoughts at bay.

“Yes,” he finally murmurs. “I know how Alphas can be. Rest assured; you are in no danger from me. But if you’d rather feel safer, I can release you and let you go back to your friend.”

Do I want that? Do I want to be safe? Part of me longs torun back to Kessily and just sit at the bar all night. Besides, if I go over the drink maximum, I’ll not be allowed to play. Right? That would be an easy out.

But then, I’ve never been a coward. It would be a shame to start now. Tossing my head back, I shoot him a grin, pushing my bravado to the forefront. If he thinks it’s an act, he doesn’t let it show. After a moment or two, he answers in kind, smiling back at me.

Only, his is far more feral than Alec’s ever was. Again, that tingle of apprehension flows down my spine. Instead of turning into nervous sweats or quivering limbs, however, it morphs into an infernal heat between my thighs and butterflies squirming about in my stomach.

“Do your worst.”

“Oh, you poor, naïve little omega. Don’t bait a sadist like that. A less honorable man would take you up on your offer. As it stands, I’m here to give you a taste of the forbidden. That’s it.”

I shouldn’t feel bereft at his words. I shouldn’t want the promise of forever. I shouldn’t want this stranger to hurt me until the pain goes away. But I do. God help me. But I do.

When he walks back around the X where I’m unable to see him, my breath quickens, expanding my chest and deflating it just as quickly. My vision swims as my brain screams for oxygen. But I can’t stop. I can’t seem to slow it down.

I stand before the precipice of the unknown. Soon, this stranger, this Alpha, my temporary Master, is going to shove me off. My nails dig into the wood as my senses heighten.

The surrounding noises seem to fade as I focus on his footsteps. Too far. They’re so far away.Did he leave me? Does he not even want to do this? Before my mind can race too far into the future, the first lash hits my skin.

A loud yelp erupts from my lips, but not from pain. The sensation catches me by surprise. It’s far nicer than his hand was, and I certainly didn’t expect that. For some reason, I anticipated agony.

Instead, pleasure rushes through my limbs, sending relief flooding my soul until I hang there, allowing my Master to strike me with the leather. The whole time, I keep my gaze trained on the smaller flogger, waiting for the additional pleasure he promised.

My thighs ache and burn as I rock back and forth, desperate for more—more sensation, more arousal, more everything. But he doesn’t change up his rhythm. Over and over, he strikes my flesh. Right shoulder, left ass cheek. Left shoulder, right ass cheek.

He lulls me into this odd state of being, this liminal space between consciousness and wakefulness. The only other time I felt anything like this was when I was going under for surgery.

It’s this flipping of my stomach, an ache deep in my gut as the world threatens to tip over and spill at my feet. I want it to end and never stop. It’s this odd dichotomy that threatens to fracture me at the seams, all while keeping me held together.

“Now then, little slave,” he growls in my ear, sending shards of pleasure bursting through my body. “Ready for a taste of my paddle?”

He grazes what feels like the edge of the wood down my spine, allowing me to feel the unyielding curves before doing the same to my ass. He teases me, touching me all over until I yield.

“Yes, Master. Please,” I beg, my senses overwhelmed.

I’m beyond overstimulated. The only thing keeping me grounded is the short flogger in front of me. It’s my touchstone, my focus point. Straining against the restraints, I glide my fingers over the soft falls, smiling as the sensations travel up my arm.

“Tell you what. You take four hard swats from me, and I’ll give you the relief you long for.”

That sounds simply divine to me. “Deal,” I manage to croak out.

Is it my imagination, or do my words sound slurred? I try to shake my head but find I’m unable to move. All I want to do is lie there and feel this Alpha break me apart.

My breaths are slow and even, as if on the cusp of sleep. But I’m very much awake. Before I can fully drift off, his hand is there, hard against my ass. It should hurt or sting like it did earlier, but it doesn’t. All I feel is a shaft of warmth sliding over my skin, pulling me down even further.

“Is that how you answer me, slave?” The Alpha’s voice in my ear brings me back from the brink.

He’s asking a question. I know he is. I just have to piece everything together. My brain works far too slowly for my liking, but he gives me time to process. And there, as if a flashlight goes on, illuminating the thought I’m supposed to have, I understand what he’s asking.

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