Page 26 of Tavarr's Mate
A look of relief washes over him and he draws me back into his arms. He smooths my hair behind my ears and rubs my back for several moments, before drawing away to start the water running in the bathtub.
“Let us clean up, and then I will take you for a walk in the village. Perhaps even a ride across the lake. I know you haven’t left Zandek’s house until now and you must be anxious to explore this town. Would you like that?”
“That sounds wonderful, Tavarr. Thank you.”
“In a few moon cycles, I will take you home to Hehna. I cannot wait for you to meet my family. My parents heard of your plight and were especially worried about you, and my sisters and their mates are anxious to make your acquaintance.” His eyes light up. “My sisters sent an all-new wardrobe for you, in fact. It arrived yesterday and the decorators put it away in the closet for you. As excited as my family is to meet you, we might have to arrange to travel there before my time helping Prince Kenan train his warriors is over.”
My throat burns and I swallow hard. “Your family truly wants to meet me?” I’d had a family back on Earth, but in truth, I’d felt like a stranger among them. I try to fight down a stab of self-consciousness, hoping Tavarr’s family likes me. Especially his sisters. I’m touched by their gift of new clothes, touched by their kindness even though they don’t yet know me.
“Of course, they want to meet you, Katrina.” He lifts me off the counter and steps into the bathtub. He sinks down into the warm soapy water and commences rubbing a soft cloth over every inch of my body. “You’re so small, sweet human. Especially your little hands,” he says, lacing his fingers through mine in the water.
“I’m considered tall for a human woman,” I reply, playfully splashing water on his chest. Some of it reaches his shoulders and leaves the tips of his hair wet, making my mouth go instantly dry. He looks so yummy, with his red skin gleaming with soapy water and his hair wet and disheveled from our mating.
“Keep staring at me that way, sweet human, and we’ll never make it outside today.”
I flutter my eyelashes at him and arch my back so my breasts stick out of the water, high enough to reveal my hard, pink nipples. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Tavarr.”
He lifts an eyebrow and scoots me off his lap. “Get on your hands and knees in the water, Katrina. I need to make sure you are clean everywhere.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Um, Tavarr, I…” Shame heats my face. Though we’ve bonded and I trust my new mate, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t embarrass me to take up such a vulnerable position in front of him. Especially when he’s giving me a rather scolding look.
“If I must ask you again, Katrina, you will sorely regret it.” He holds the washcloth up. “Turn and get on your hands and knees. Now.”
I feel my eyes go wide, and before I realize what I’m doing, I’m shaking my head and blatantly refusing to obey. How can I possibly display my privates to him in the bathtub while he cleanses me? It’s too weird. I grab the cloth from his hand. “I am capable of washing myself, Tavarr, but thank you for the offer.”
He seizes the cloth and rises onto his knees, coming at me. Before I have time to ward him off, he has me turned over the side of the tub, my front resting on the cool surface of a sitting area. I try to escape this position, but he places a firm hand on my lower back, holding me effectively in place.
“I had thought it would be a while before you disobeyed me, sweet human. Yet we’ve been mated for less than an hour and you are already in need of correction.”
My stomach flips, even as everything below my waist clenches. He’s serious. There isn’t any amount of playfulness to his tone. I swallow hard, telling myself at least he’s not yelling and raging at me. At least he’s not calling me names.
This is only a little thing. A little disobedience. He’d only told me to turn around and allow him to clean my privates. Well, I hope he considers it simply a small infraction. I flush all over again at the prospect of being touched so intimately, even though he’d become quite familiar with that part of my anatomy while claiming me.
“Please, Tavarr. I didn’t mean to break a rule already. Please don’t punish me.” My heart gallops in my chest, and when he cups my bottom, still wet from the soapy water, panic starts to rise. I once again try to escape his hold, but he responds by pressing down harder on my lower back and trapping me between his solid body and the other side of the bathtub.
“Since this is your first time, I will be lenient and punish you gently. You will only receive ten smacks to your wet soapy bottom, Katrina. When your spanking is over, you will remain in place while I cleanse you thoroughly. Do you understand?”
I gulp and nod. “Yes, Tavarr, I understand. But please, please be very gentle. Please don’t hit me hard.”
He caresses more water over my backside. Tears prick in my eyes. Why couldn’t I have listened to him, no matter how shameful his order? I sniffle. Yes, he promised to be gentle, but he’s huge and probably stronger than Vonn. What if he really hurts me? It’s a small comfort that he’s not punching me or kicking me, but this is the first time he’s had to punish me and not knowing exactly what to expect leaves me shaking and tears rolling down my cheeks.
“No, sweet human. No tears.” He lifts his hand from my back and brushes the moisture from my face. “You feel the bond between us. You know how much I care for you. You feel the light and the warmth. You know I would die to protect you.”
“You said you lost control while claiming me, that you didn’t mean to pound into me so hard. What if that happens now? What if you lose control and hurt me the way Vonn did?” The moment I utter his brother’s name, I regret it. A chill descends in the room and I feel him stiffen beside me.
“I am not my brother, Katrina. You didn’t feel the bond with him…did you?”
“No, of course not. I don’t think he felt it for me either, or if he did, he was blinded by his thirst for revenge.”
“Try to push him out of your mind, sweet human. He is gone and no one, least of all me, will ever hurt you so badly again. But when you are due for correction, Katrina, you will receive it.” He returns his hand to my lower back, and I tense, expecting the first slap to fall soon, but he continues stroking my bottom for several moments, as if waiting for my anxieties to lessen.
I shut my eyes and focus on the present. I’m here. With Tavarr. There’s no one else, and it’s just a spanking. He promised me ten smacks. Surely, I can survive such a lenient punishment. I’m his female, completely at his mercy, and he could do much worse if he wanted to.
“Now, when I give you an order, even if I’m telling you to do something that embarrasses you, sweet human, what are you to do?”
“I-I am to obey you, sir.”
