Wolflord: A Dark Shifter Romance Read online

  Arielle was fast losing any resistance that she might have had to the alpha of Dundalk. Her thoughts were focused completely on how he made her feel and the sound she could hear coming from him. She was lost in the sensual web he was weaving and the sonorous hum that wrapped all around her. Her body trembled in anticipation and she knew if he chose to claim her in the captain’s cabin, she would not refuse him. What she felt washed away all her silly romantic notions about what her claiming might be.

  Her sigh, which bordered on rapture, was cut off as he lifted his hand and brought it back down on her delicate globes in a resounding smack that made the blows she had endured from Tristan feel like affectionate love pats.

  Arielle shrieked in response and tried to extricate herself from the monster’s grip, but he held firm as he laid down a series of slaps that resulted in pain exploding from each one. She yowled and struggled.

  “Nay, lass, I gave you the choice to behave or not. You chose disobedience, which will get you punished every single time. You are quickly developing a bad habit of putting yourself in danger, and I mean to put an end to that. Eire is a far wilder and more dangerous place than Britannia. You will not leave the castle grounds without my permission. Doing so will earn you a bright red fanny.”

  “You bastard! When you let me up, I’ll run you through with my sword!”

  His hand increased in both tempo and strength as it rained fire all across her rump. Each time he landed a swat, the pain increased exponentially. Arielle kicked and squirmed with all her might, but she was no match for the strength with which he held her.

  “You, cushla macree, will not threaten me or call me names when you’ve earned yourself a sound spanking. I’ve already warned you about playing with swords but let me amend that. You pick up a weapon, any weapon, and I’ll take my sword belt to your beautiful backside and decorate it with a set of stripes that’ll make you wish you’d never thought about looking at one.”

  Arielle had to make him stop. She had thought Tristan had been harsh with her; she’d been wrong. All the lovely, erotic feelings she’d experienced when Ruari first put her over his knee had vanished the moment his hand had made harsh impact with her bottom. Or maybe not all of them. Arielle realized, much to her dismay, that her nipples had hardened to the point they were painful and the proof of her desire for Ruari had increased to the point she feared it would leak onto the leg of his breeches. The same breeches encasing the turgid rod that seemed to be growing and throbbing in concert with the symphony of pain he was inflicting.

  “Ruari, stop,” she pleaded.

  “Had enough?” he said, bringing his hand to rest lightly on her upturned rump.

  “Yes.”

  His hand spanked her again.

  “Ruari, no,” she wailed. “It hurts. I’m sorry. I’ll behave.”

  The hand stopped. “Will you?”

  Arielle gulped, trying to stifle the tears that had begun to flow and nodded.

  He landed another stinging, upward swat that caught the tender underside of her bottom.

  “When I ask you a question, cushla macree, you will answer me respectfully. Do you think you can behave?”

  “Yes, Ruari,” she cried softly.

  “Are you sorry for running away from Calon Onest, stowing away, disrespecting the captain, tossing your gown into the harbor, and disobeying me?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Ruari.”

  “Do you have any idea how lovely I find the sight of your pretty red bottom draped over my knee?”

  Arielle wasn’t sure how to respond to his question. She could feel the evidence of his arousal pushing and straining to get free. She was confused by the conflicting feelings—both physical and emotional—his treatment was causing. Part of her wanted nothing more than to get away, but the growing part wanted to capitulate and revel in the need he had created and that he seemed to share. Not knowing how to verbalize her emotions, she growled low in her throat in supplication and failed to stem the tears that had begun to leak from her eyes.

  Ruari’s hand caressed her fiery bottom, which caused her to moan in something that bordered on ecstasy. She felt the rumbling noise that he emitted to the depths of her soul. One of his hands rubbed the small of her back and stroked her spine. He used the other, the one that had so easily brought her to tears, to trail down from her punished globes to between her legs.

  “Spread your legs for me, lass,” he purred.

  He nudged her upper thighs and she parted them. He slipped his hand between her legs and explored the warmth he found there. Arielle mewled in quiet protest, but his answering growl silenced and soothed her almost immediately.

  “That’s my good mate.”

  He reached further between her legs and found her swollen nub. His fingers surrounded it, tugging gently. Arielle gasped as a jolt of pure arousal shot through her system. Arielle had pleasured herself in the past, but it had never felt like this. She could feel her channel pulsing with a life force she had never felt. Her legs trembled and her skin quivered. The more he focused his attention on that bit of bundled nerves, the more erratic and labored her breathing became.

  Arielle felt a wave of warmth rise up from the nerve center he was manipulating. It rose from the actual spot Ruari fondled, to her belly and on up to her swollen nipples. The tremors of pleasure intensified as she felt herself nearing the edge of completion that had always frightened her. She tried to pull back from the abyss, but Ruari intensified the stimulation he was providing as he growled low in his throat. She realized that she would be unable to stop herself from tumbling over the edge. Clasping his leg, Arielle let go of the last remnants of her control and screamed in hedonistic and unfamiliar abandon.

  As she slipped over the edge, a groundswell of pure pleasure washed over her. She surrendered to the sensation and felt as though her essence had separated from her body and was set free. Her only tether to reality was the vibrato of Ruari’s growl and the hand that she now knew could inflict pleasure and pain in equal measure. The surge that enveloped her was powerful and resulted in an enormous feeling of bliss that caused her to almost black out.

  Arielle felt him release her nub and stroke down, separating her labia and tickling the entrance to her core. He collected some of her honeyed essence before bringing it to his nostrils, inhaling deeply and sucking it from his fingertips. Ruari continued to stroke her fevered flesh soothingly as he rumbled to her.

  Ruari helped her to her feet. She reached for her breeches, but he stayed her hand.

  “Nay, cushla macree, you are never to wear breeches again.”

  He made short work of stripping her of her remaining clothing including her boots, corset, and chemise. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared as he stared at her now naked breasts. He reached up to stroke the outline of her areola, before tweaking the pebbled tip. She swatted his hand away.

  Placing his foot on the rung of the desk chair, he tugged her over his knee and swatted her hard an additional three times, resulting in her yowling.

  “Naughty mate. You are mine and I will touch you wherever and whenever I choose. The powers that be have gifted me with a mate with beautiful tits and hips that will make it easy for you to easily conceive, carry, and give birth to our offspring.”

  He lifted her other breast, seeming to enjoy its heft, pinching the nipple at its center, before running his hand possessively down her side and flank. The comforting growl, which seemed to come from his chest, changed to a sound of seduction and lust and she felt its compelling call. He crushed her naked body against his. She could feel the large, hard bulge of his erection as it pressed against her. Her feelings of desire burst forth like the phoenix rising from the flames.

  “I can’t wait to bed you, mate,” he growled before his head descended and his mouth captured hers, thrusting his tongue past her teeth.

  She clung to him and moaned. The sound morphed, as he continued to plunder her mouth, into the sound that was half growl and half purr. It was a she-wolf
’s answer to her fated mate’s summons.

  Ruari released her, stepped back, and shook his head as if to clear it. He reached past her and snatched the sheet off the bunk. Before she had time to guess his intentions, he wrapped her in it and lifted her over his shoulder. She wriggled and tried to protest and received another hard swat to her upturned rump.

  “Enough,” he growled as he picked up the sword.

  “You can’t take me to the castle wrapped in a bedsheet.”

  “I can and will, unless you’d rather I carry you naked into our keep.”

  Arielle wanted to protest but feared he would do as he threatened.

  Ruari went up on deck, spoke briefly with Lucien, and then disembarked and headed for his horse. He handed her to the harbor guard, who had been holding his mount so he could swing up into the saddle. He looked down at her.

  “Would you prefer to yield and sit upright, or do you want to continue to misbehave and ride face down over my horse’s withers?”

  “I’ll yield. Please, Ruari, let me get dressed.”

  “You have nothing appropriate to wear. You’ll be confined to our chambers until we can have some things made. Bridget is far too slim for her gowns to be able to be altered to fit your more voluptuous curves.”

  He brought her up to sit in front of him and turned his horse toward the castle. They spoke little as he cantered through the countryside and into the bailey. Castle Dundalk was larger and far more grand than Calon Onest. One of the stable boys came out to take his horse. Ruari stepped down and then slid her back over his shoulder to carry her into the keep.

  Chapter Five

  Arielle looked up from the ground as she heard a feminine voice call, “Ruari! What on earth...”

  “Bridget, the she-wolf over my shoulder is my fated mate, Arielle of Calon Onest. Cushla macree, this is Bridget, my brother’s widow. Have Connor and Seamus sent to my chambers at once. You may attend as well.”

  “Attend what?” Bridget asked.

  “You and the ranking members of our clan will hear my mate take her vows before I take her into seclusion to mark and claim her.”

  “You said I could have some time to plan a pair bonding ceremony,” cried Arielle.

  “That was before I heard you call to me as you climaxed over my knee and I saw you naked. You can spend your time while we are in seclusion, tied to me and planning a celebration of our pairing, but I will have you claimed and marked as mine before our eastern border sees its next sunrise. My cock grows painful in anticipation of our first coupling.”

  Ruari rubbed her backside sensuously as he turned so that she had no choice but to look the other woman in the eye.

  “Ruari...” Bridget started.

  “You will do as I ask,” he snarled, “or find yourself confined to your room until my mate and I have rejoined the clan after our seclusion.”

  Bridget ducked her head in deference to his authority and said meekly, “Yes, my lord. I will find Connor and Seamus. We will join you as soon as possible. Does your mate need help getting dressed?”

  “My very naughty mate chose to dispose of her only gown. She can take her vows standing at my side as I place the family ring on her finger as she is... or naked and on her knees. But there will be no more delays. Before sunset this day, Arielle will no longer be a virgin and will bear my mark.”

  He turned and bounded up the staircase before heading down the hall and throwing open the massive door at the end of the hall. As if he could sense her disquiet, once inside the room, he set her down gently and kissed her with restrained passion.

  “Do not fear, cushla macree, I will be as gentle as I can be despite my need to mount you and spill my seed in your womb. I know you are still a maid and will take my time. I’ll give your body time to learn to accommodate my need before I knot and tie you to me, but I will mark and claim you as mine this night.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked quietly. “Cushla macree?” The words felt odd as she said them.

  “Pulse of my heart. It’s a term of endearment,” he said, reaching up to gently stroke her cheek with his finger. “You know you’re my fated mate.”

  “What if I don’t want to be?”

  Ruari looked at her incredulously before chuckling. “It makes no difference. When our beta and omega join us, you will take your vows. If you refuse to speak them, they will be forced from you. Do you still doubt my ability to bend you to my will? I would think there’s enough residual sting in your beautiful bottom to remind you of that.”

  He turned away from her, went to the door, and shot the bolt home. He leaned back against it.

  “Remove the sheet, Arielle. Go lie on your belly at the end of the bed. I want to inspect my handiwork—both your red bottom and the sweet nectar leaking out of your pussy.”

  “You can’t be serious! Do you want to further humiliate me?”

  “The lock is thrown, and no one will bother us. I have no desire or need to humiliate you. You could, however, do with a bit of humbling. Now strip and do as you’re told, or you will take your vows naked and kneeling at my feet.”

  Seeing no way to defy him, she dropped the sheet and gathered all of her dignity before going to the bed and getting into position. The room was pleasantly warm, but her nipples stiffened anyway. As he began to rumble at her, the butterflies in her belly took flight and she could feel herself growing wetter. This entire series of events had her more aroused than she had ever been in her life. And the way he smiled as he sniffed the air told her he had caught scent of her arousal.

  He continued to call to her quietly and seductively as she heard his footsteps on the stone floor. She tensed in anticipation of feeling his hand strike her still very sore derriere.

  “Relax, Ari. You obeyed; you have no cause for concern that I will spank you some more. Once I’ve spanked you, and you have come for me at least once to atone for your behavior, all is put right between us.”

  She felt the bed next to her sink beneath his weight as he sat down. He reached out and caressed her buttocks. The sound that wrapped around her was filled with affection, lust, and possession.

  “You, my mate, have a lovely bottom regardless of its color. Have I made my point?”

  “If your point is that you are an arrogant bastard who thinks he will rule over me and plow my furrow to plant his seed whenever he wants, then yes, you have made your point.”

  He surprised her when he chuckled and rubbed the small of her back. “That’s as good a lesson to take away as any, I suppose.” There was a discreet knock on the door. “Be a good girl; get up and wrap yourself back up in the sheet while I let our witnesses in.”

  Arielle stood up but refused to cover her nudity, picking up the sheet and tossing it across the room. She glared at him defiantly.

  She watched as a feral smile spread slowly across his face just before he pulled her back over his knee.

  “You said you wouldn’t spank me anymore,” cried Arielle.

  “That was because you had obeyed me,” he explained as he brought his hand down on her naked rump in a flurry of swats that left her kicking her feet and trying to find some way to evade his punishment. “That’s not the way a good girl shows her mate she’s sorry for disobeying.”

  “Ruari, please; it hurts.”

  “Do you think you can obey?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Very well. You can stand up, but you stand between my knees. Understood?” he said, popping her sore derriere one last time.

  “Yes,” she said quietly.

  She stood unsteadily, not able to meet his gaze. He reached up and pinched her nipples, which only seemed to cause the turgid points to stiffen even more. Ruari reached between her legs and tugged on the engorged pearl at the top of her vulva before rubbing it in concentric circles, rumbling low in his throat. Arielle was finding it more difficult by the moment to stand on her own. She moaned as she tried to keep herself from swaying.

  Arielle’s arousal increase
d and she felt as though she was racing toward the edge of a cliff. A precipice she had learned not to fear at his hands. Her excitement increased as she felt it expand and begin to encompass her entire being. Just as she was prepared to tumble into the abyss of pleasure he was able to provide, his hand ceased all movement.

  Frustrated, Arielle cried out, and Ruari chuckled.

  “Nay, lass. The next time you come for me, it will be as I breach your maidenhead and mark you as my own.”

  Steadying her, he stood and removed his shirt. His chest was bare except for a few battle scars. She recognized them as such as she had helped tend the deep wound her sister had once received.

  “Much as I prefer your glorious body naked to my gaze, that’s not a sight I’m keen on sharing with the rest of the clan, especially your tits, ass, and the blonde hair at the apex of your thighs.” He thrust the shirt at her. “Put this on.”

  “It’s not going to preserve my modesty.”

  “Your modesty? Modest she-wolves do not parade around in breeches, nor do they throw their only gowns in the harbor rendering them unwearable. Put it on, Arielle, or I swear you’ll take your vows naked and kneeling at my feet. I am done indulging your temper.”

  Arielle slipped on his shirt, covering her nudity as he opened the door and admitted the woman he’d called Bridget and two men she’d never seen before.

  “Connor. Seamus. This is my Arielle, the new mistress of Dundalk. My beloved, our beta, Connor, and our omega, Seamus. You met Bridget earlier. I wanted you here to witness my mate’s vows. I, Ruari, alpha to the Clan Dundalk, take you, Arielle of Calon Onest, to be my true and lawful mate. What say you?”