Zara's Surrender Page 5

  Zara was caught between wanting to assert herself and desperately needing this man to dominate and possess her in a way far surpassing that which she had ever experienced. The bulbous head of his cock probed between her legs, seeking her heated core. Once he found it, Noah grasped both her hips to hold her steady and rammed himself into her with a great groan, causing her to shudder and her pussy to quiver as she climaxed and cried out for him again.

  He chuckled. “Now, that’s my very good girl. Coming for me as I mount you before I even tell you to or start to fuck you properly.”

  He held her fast as he began to thrust in and out. Zara couldn’t seem to find a way to resist him. All she could do was tremble at his touch. Her entire body shivered in response to his commanding possession. She tried to get up at least so that she was leaning on her forearms. Noah released one hip and delivered a stinging blow to her derriere then ran that same hand up her spine and pressed against her neck to gently force her back down.

  “Get out of position again and I’ll use your bottom hole instead of your pussy to take my pleasure,” he growled.

  Zara ceased even trying to put up a token fight as he pumped his hips against her well-punished ass. Each time he bumped her with his pelvis, his cock was shoved all the way to its hilt inside her. Zara was certain the tip touched her cervix. He grunted and groaned as he pummeled her core. His cock was large and filled her completely. All the textures of his manhood registered as they skimmed along the walls of her heated sheath. There wasn’t any place he didn’t fill and rub as he stroked.

  Noah thrust with incredible power. Each time he drove inside her, he reignited some of the sting spread across her backside. She tried to inch forward. All that earned her was another hard swat before he grasped her at the juncture where the back of her neck met the top of her shoulder and held her in place, making sure she understood he would be in charge and that she would stay where he wanted when he was using her. She tried to think of it that way, but couldn’t. While it was true he was in control of their coupling, he seemed to take great pleasure in providing her with as much or more pleasure than she had ever dreamed she was capable of.

  He seemed intent on wringing as many orgasms out of her as possible. He was right; he knew more than one way to dominate a woman. She screamed into the bedding as she came again. Noah stroked her harder and faster, his cock swelling immediately before he began unloading waves of creamy cum in her pussy.

  “God, yes!” he called as she pulsed all along his length.

  He remained tight up against her ass with his rod sheathed deeply inside her. It took both of them a moment to catch their breath. Finally, he withdrew from her and rocked up off the bed. Zara stayed in position, not wanting to give him an excuse to swat her again.

  “Up you get,” he said, reaching for her hand to help her.

  “Let go of me,” she seethed, her anger returning to the forefront.

  The chuckle that came in response was infuriating. She wasn’t so stupid as to think she could outfight a man like Noah, but she really would have given anything to have been able to punch him in the nose.

  “Settle down, Zara. Let’s go take a shower and have something to eat.”

  “No. You want a shower, go take one. I’m fine just the way I am.”

  “Naked and smelling of having been fucked by me? While I admit I find it enticing and intoxicating, I want you where I can see you.”

  He offered her his hand, and she batted it away. She knew the gesture was childish, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. He shook his head and once more fisted her hair before stalking off to the small bath, forcing her to follow. Once inside, he closed and locked the door.

  “Let me out,” she said angrily.

  “Knock it off, Zara. Behave yourself, or after we’re through in here, I’ll give you a lesson in humbling I think you badly need.”

  “I hate you.”

  “Really? Seemed to me as I was fucking you, and you kept climaxing, that it wasn’t hate you were feeling.”

  “You provoking a physical response from me doesn’t negate how much I loathe you.”

  “Loathe? Well, aren’t we the fancy writer.”

  He retained his iron grip around her wrist and adjusted the shower. Once he had it where he wanted, he removed his jeans. As he stepped in, she leaned down and bit his hand.

  “You nasty tempered bitch!” he said as he dragged her under the spray with him.

  The water was amazing. It had just the right heat and intensity and felt good after all he’d put her through today. Zara closed her eyes and enjoyed the relaxing spray. Her eyes flew open, and she almost jumped out of her skin when he began washing her body with a soapy bath sponge. It was all she could do to keep from purring under his ministrations. Once he had them both clean, he turned off the water and pulled her out then dried them both.

  Her nipples were hard and begging for his attention. He didn’t disappoint. He leaned down and sucked one of them into his mouth while he brought his hand up to play with the other. Without thinking, Zara pressed herself against him and moaned at the way her body responded to him. When he released her nipple from his teeth, she found him staring intently at her. He brought his mouth down hard on hers as he kissed her roughly, eliciting another pleasured moan from her lips.

  Fisting her hair yet again, he opened the door and headed into the kitchen while she trailed behind him. Seeming unconcerned they were both nude, he lifted her and bent her over the counter edge. She tried to get down but received a hard wallop to her backside, causing her to wail in distress.

  “You better learn to stay where I put you,” he barked.

  Zara had no fight left. This time, she remained in place and watched as he grabbed something out of a bowl he’d had sitting on the counter. She saw him pick up a paring knife and use it on whatever he had in his hand. He returned to her, using his body to hold her thighs open. He reached up between her legs. Mortified, she realized she was very aroused and drenched. He took some of her natural lubrication and slathered it all over the object he held in one hand. With the other hand he pried her ass cheeks apart and pushed whatever was in his hand against the sphincter that guarded her back channel. She tried to get away.

  Noah’s hand came down, connecting harshly with her swollen and painful backside.

  “It’s going in, Zara. If you need another spanking for that to happen, I can accommodate you. Do you want to fight or surrender?”

  “No, please. I don’t want to be spanked anymore,” she cried—tears once more welling in her eyes.

  “Then you show me you’re going to behave.”

  He waited until she sighed with resignation and forced her body to relax and receive whatever he was planning to do.

  “That’s better,” he said gently before parting her ass cheeks and pressing the object against her rectum.

  Zara stiffened in anticipation of his inserting the object, but Noah waited until she forced herself to accept this was going to happen and quit trying to evade him.

  “Better,” he said as he inserted it deep into her.

  It wasn’t much bigger than his finger, but she didn’t like the feeling. When it burned, Zara realized he had gingered her bum. She was being subjected to figging. The feeling wasn’t something she enjoyed, and she started to squirm.

  He chuckled. God, she hated it when he made that sound.

  “As I said, I know more than one way to humble my woman and make her think twice about biting me or disobeying me again.”

  “Take it out,” she demanded.

  “No, I think it needs to stay a little while longer until you’ve learned the lesson that you will mind me.”

  She writhed from the burning sensation caused by the oils in the ginger root. She knew enough from reading that it wouldn’t actually harm her, but nothing she’d read had done justice to the level of discomfort the thing caused.

  “Please, Noah. I won’t bite you again. I’ll start behaving. Please?”<
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  “Just a few more minutes.”

  “Why?” she wailed. “I’m not doing anything wrong.”

  “You’re being punished for biting me and as an object lesson so that you think twice before acting out or trying to run off again.”

  Noah caressed her bottom in a reassuring and yet possessive manner. Zara understood he was laying claim to her in no uncertain terms. It flashed through her mind that it might be to her advantage to indulge him until he let his guard down and she could pursue her story. With all that had happened, she knew it was one worth pursuing. And yet, she was experiencing a level of arousal and emotional re-awakening that made her want to stay.

  ***

  Noah smiled as he watched Zara wiggle her bottom, trying to lessen the sting of the spanking she’d received over his knee or to somehow dislodge the ginger root from doing its work. He wondered if she had any idea how sexy she looked doing it. He wasn’t so foolish as to think this was the only time they’d tangle. In fact, he was quite sure that taming Zara would be a lifelong process…one he was looking forward to.

  He pondered the notion of when he had come to the conclusion Zara was the woman he’d been seeking all his life. He shook his head. He realized that, like for Croft, it wasn’t some romantic or sexual encounter that had done it. It was about the time she finally gave in and succumbed to the second spanking. His colleagues were going to have a field day at his expense. He, who had always said he wanted a nice quiet girl who liked to fuck and made his life easy, was going to end up with the most stubborn and spirited one of the whole lot.

  At least, he thought he got half of the equation right. Zara’s response to his dominant possession of her as he fucked her the first time had been incredible and fulfilled any and all fantasies he’d ever indulged. The very thought of mounting her again caused his cock to harden in anticipation.

  “Noah, please?”

  He leaned over her, “Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He smiled. He’d never been much for honorariums, but coming from Zara, it soothed his ire at her earlier behavior. He reached between her legs and gently stroked from her soaked pussy up to where he had lodged the ginger causing her to shiver.

  “Behave yourself, Zara. Next time, I’ll most likely use my cock in your bottom hole to remind you of who is dominant. And we both know who that is, don’t we?”

  She nodded.

  “Tell me,” he whispered, lightly playing with the ginger and causing her to squirm.

  “Please?”

  “Say it.”

  “You are.”

  He kissed her shoulder and removed the ginger plug, rinsing it under the water in the kitchen sink before tossing it away and washing his hands. He saw her start to move out of his peripheral vision.

  “Did I tell you it was okay for you to get up?”

  “No sir. I just thought—”

  “Think again. You stay.”

  He went back into the sitting area and retrieved their plates. He made short order of cleaning up the kitchen—washing the dishes and setting them in the rack over the sink to dry and then wiping down the counters and sink. Noah ran his hand up her flank as he approached her—much like he would if she were a fractious filly he meant to teach to yield to him. Gently grasping her hair in his fist, he indicated she could get down off the counter then led her back to the bed.

  “You get tucked into bed. I’m going to check the security feed and lock down the cottage for the night. When I’m done, I’ll come join you,” he said, holding up the covers for her.

  “I don’t want to sleep with you,” she said spitefully but without any real rancor.

  Noah patted her bottom and waited until she complied and got into bed.

  “That’s all right, sweetheart. I don’t intend for you to get a lot of sleep.” He leaned down to kiss her.

  Chapter 6

  Beast! thought Zara—a beast that seemed intent on bending her to his will. Well, she wasn’t about to be bent. She could hear him moving around the cottage. She should be trying to figure out how to get away from him, how to feign sleep so he’d let her be, but her nipples ached for his touch, and her pussy was pulsing in anticipation of being possessed by him again. And that was the real problem…Noah Taylor didn’t just spank her, or fuck her, or fig her for that matter. No, what he did was possess her. When he stroked her with his cock, it wasn’t just the physical sensations that overwhelmed her, it was the emotional and mental ones as well.

  There was no question in her mind that she needed to get away from him. Not only did he seem bound and determined to keep her from getting the story on Abdal’s operation and the hostile takeover being precipitated by Springer, Zara was fairly sure he meant to dominate her life.

  When Damian died, she told herself she would never let a man have that kind of power over her again. What Noah was already exhibiting made what she had with Damian pale in comparison. If she let herself become emotionally entangled with him, he would destroy her carefully resurrected half-life and force her to accept her place at his side. Who was she kidding? Noah didn’t want her at his side as his equal. What he wanted was her writhing beneath him and always a step behind him. He would lead; she would be relegated to following. And when she didn’t, he’d give her reason to wish she had.

  The floorboards creaked as he made his way around the cottage then returned to the bedroom. She kept her back to the door and tried to ignore him. The bed sagged as he sat on the opposite edge. His hand was warm and reassuring as he reached under the covers and ran it down her spine before gently fondling her derriere.

  “I know you’re awake, Zara. And even if you weren’t, I’d probably wake you up to fuck you again before we go to sleep.”

  She flipped onto her other side so she could glare at him, a strategic mistake. He really was magnificently made. His bronzed-and-broad shoulders that bore an elaborate tattoo, that seemed to be of tribal design, on the right one made her catch her breath. His back was heavily muscled, as was the rest of his physique. He smiled as he watched her and gently lifted his finger to trace up her throat to her lips before leaning over to kiss her.

  “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he said in a voice full of awe.

  “I’m not.”

  “You are.”

  “Don’t,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  “Don’t be nice. I won’t be able to stand it if you’re nice.”

  He smiled and leaned down to kiss her again. This kiss wasn’t like any of the others. It wasn’t harsh or demanding. It wasn’t comforting or sensual. It was full of feeling and caring, coaxing her to embrace what she was feeling—to trust that it was real and that he could make her whole again. If she wasn’t careful, it would be her undoing.

  Zara didn’t even know a tear had started to slide down her cheek until he brushed it away with his thumb and kissed her again.

  “It will be all right, Zara. You don’t have to fear anything.”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” she challenged softly.

  He threw his head back and laughed. “No, sweetheart, you don’t have enough common sense to be afraid of me. You’re afraid of yourself. You are the proverbial moth to my flame.”

  She nodded. “If I get too close, I’ll get burned.”

  “That won’t happen. I may clip your wings to keep you from flying away, but I’ll keep you wrapped safe and warm in my arms.”

  “No, you won’t. You’ll beat me or fuck me whenever you choose…use me in any way that suits you.”

  He smiled again. She couldn’t seem to get a rise out of him. Technically, that wasn’t true…she could see his cock becoming more rigid by the minute. That, too, was impressive—he had both length and girth, and she could vividly recall how it felt when it was enclosed in her cunt.

  “I have not, nor will I ever, beat you. I will spank you when you need or deserve it. And, last time I checked, you seemed to get as much pleasure from our fu
cking as I did. The way your pussy spasms all along my cock when you come and continues to pulse against me even after I’ve spent myself in you…quite possibly the most amazing feeling in my life. I doubt I will ever get tired of that. And yes, I will have you whenever and however I please, but I’ll make sure that you get just as much from the encounter as me.” He grinned at her. “Whether you want to or not and whether it is completely pleasurable for you is another story altogether.”

  “You’re a prick,” she spat at him.

  “Careful, Zara. As you can see, my prick is well primed to take you right now. I would think at this point, you’d be looking to have me focused on taking you gently, but you keep giving me snark, and I’ll figure you have yet to learn your lesson. For the record, I have plenty of ginger here in the cottage.”

  “Do you and your buddies often fig your victims?”

  He shook his head. “No, I may well be the first, but if you aren’t careful, that won’t be the only time it happens. Ginger has a lot of health benefits and keeps easily, so we keep it on hand. For you, though, my guess is it’ll be used mostly for object lessons.”

  Noah reached for her, but she pushed his hands away.

  “Keep away from me, Noah.”

  “No. Come here to me, Zara.”

  She tried to scramble away from him, but he quickly had hold of the nape of her neck to prevent her retreat. He lifted the covers and smiled as he saw her stiff nipples and her body flush with desire. Noah tossed the covers off them both. As he climbed the rest of the way into bed, her eyes were riveted to his cock, which was now fully erect.

  He pulled her toward him and tilted her hip away from him so she lay on her back. Zara started to struggle…mostly with her feelings and reaction to Noah. He smiled. It wasn’t friendly or even sensual, it was feral. He was the predator; she was his prey. She squeaked as he knelt on the mattress with her legs on either side of his. Grasping her thighs, he slid her along on her back and buttocks toward his staff.