Red: Beyond the Dark Read online

  He shifts his paws back to fingers and resumes touching my skin. I try to stand quietly, try to keep my breathing even, but it’s hard. It’s nearly impossible. I feel like the whole world is spinning and my heart is going crazy. I breathe in and out, but then I stop.

  I hold my breath.

  Nash kisses the back of my neck. Then he licks me, starting from my shoulders and moving down my spine. He alternates soft kisses with long licks until he reaches the top of my dress, then he takes the zipper in his mouth and tugs.

  I can’t see him, but I feel him moving, slowly lowering his body as he unzips my dress at the same time. The goose bumps on my arms appear rapidly, and I shiver in anticipation.

  “Lovely,” he murmurs, and I feel a little tug on my dress. The entire gown slides to the floor and I wrap my arms around myself.

  Nash isn’t having any of that, though. He bites my ass cheek hard and I squeal.

  “No,” he says sternly. “Not tonight, Red. Don’t cover yourself. Tonight, we’re celebrating. Tonight, it’s you and me, baby. You don’t get to be shy. Not for me.”

  “Okay, Nash,” I whisper, turning to look at him. He smiles, but motions for me to turn back around, so I do. I’m facing away from him now. Not being able to see what he’s doing makes me nervous.

  I’m not sure what to expect next. We’ve always had good sex – great sex, even – but this is something else entirely. Nash is turning into a beast, full of prowess and energy, and I love every second of it. I love that he’s feasting his attention on me. I love that he’s making me feel like a fucking goddess.

  He’s kneeling behind me now, and I’m very aware of the fact that my bottom is in front of his face. I’m a little embarrassed, but I’m also more turned on than I’ve ever been. Nash is behind me and he’s just looking at me. Something about this makes me feel feral. The raw sexual energy we’re creating is like nothing I’ve ever felt before and I just want more.

  More.

  All of it.

  “Nash,” I groan, and he slides his hands up my thighs.

  “You’re wet,” he says. He reaches between my thighs and cups my panties. They’re the thin, lacy black ones I picked out just for tonight. They’re the ones I wanted to be wearing when I told him about our future, when I told him the surprise. They’re the ones I wanted him to peel off me as we celebrated together.

  It looks like my fantasy is about to become real.

  “I’m always wet for you,” I murmur.

  “I think about you all the time, Red,” he says. “I can’t get enough of you and your sweetness. Look at this perfect pussy,” he strokes me over my panties, but he’s right: they’re wet. I can feel every bit of his fingers as he pets me like a kitten. This just makes me even wetter, to the point where I feel like I’ll never be dry again. I need him inside of me, and soon, but he hasn’t even finished undressing me yet.

  Nash grabs my panties with his teeth and yanks them down, pulling them off my body. When he stands up, he turns me around. I’m naked in front of him, but he’s still wearing pants, and I remember his plans to spank me.

  In the heat of the moment, I had all but forgotten.

  I got lost in everything he is.

  “Are you ready, my naughty girl?” He asks.

  Slowly, nervously, I nod my head, but it’s a lie. I’m not sure if I’m ready for what Nash has planned. I’m not sure if I’m ready for any of it, but my body is aching and if I don’t get a release soon, I’m going to break.

  “Yes,” I tell him. “I’m ready.”

  ***

  I crawl over Nash’s lap and he arranges me how he likes. I remind myself that it’s just me and Nash here: there’s no reason for me to be embarrassed. There’s no reason for me to be scared of what we’re about to do.

  My little pep talk does little to calm my nerves, though. The truth is that I’ve never felt anything like this before. I’ve never been so nervous or excited about something sexual like this. I’m not sure that I’ve fantasized about being spanked. It’s never really been something I thought too much about, but now that we’re here? Now I wonder what I’ve been missing out on.

  The bed supports my upper body, and I rest my cheek on the bed as he touches me. He’s playing with me, toying with me, but I like it. I like the way he’s petting my back, stroking my skin. I like the way he’s taking his time.

  “You are a naughty girl,” he tells me once more. “You looked so sexy tonight, baby. I saw the way all the wolves were looking at you.”

  At me?

  No.

  I shake my head softly. He must notice because he grips my hair and pulls it back, tugging on it slightly.

  “Did you see the way everyone looked at you, Red?”

  “No.”

  “They were devouring you with their eyes, princess. Each of those wolves wanted to be the one who got to fuck you tonight, but you’re all mine. Tonight, you’re mine.”

  Then he releases my hair and brings his hand down on my bottom at the same time. A loud crack fills the air and for a second, what’s happening doesn’t register with my brain. Then everything hits me at once: the sound, the pain, the pressure. The feeling of being swatted on the ass completely overwhelms me and I gasp.

  “That’s just the first one, baby,” Nash says, and he spanks me again. He hits me in a different spot this time, on the other cheek, and once more, I find myself breathless from the impact.

  The fire burns in my bottom, and I bite my bottom lip, but something happens as the warmth begins to spread in my backside. Nash begins to rub each cheek gently, and as he does, the heat grows, rises, and moves to my pussy.

  My clit begins to throb as I wiggle on his lap, trying to get more friction, trying to reach that unattainable goal. He chuckles and holds me by the hips, effectively forcing me to stay still.

  “Not just yet, sweetheart. Not just yet. Be good for me. Take your spanking like a good girl,” he says.

  “I thought I was a bad girl,” I say, but I instantly wish I’d kept my mouth shut instead of being bratty.

  “Oh, darling, if you want to be a bad girl, I can play that way, too.”

  This time, he spanks me hard and fast, not giving me breaks or little rubs between swats. I manage to count four before I lose track of how many times he’s spanked me, and my eyes begin to swarm with tears. They roll down my cheeks, but I’m not afraid.

  Nash has me. He has me and he’s not going to let anything happen to me and in this moment, even through the pain, I know he’s in control of me, and my body, and everything that’s going to happen. I know he’s taking care of everything and right now, just right now, I don’t have to worry about a fucking thing.

  I am safe.

  I am cared for.

  I am so very loved.

  “That’s it, baby,” he says, running his hand through my hair. He traces my spine and cups my sore bottom, gently massaging me. “You did so great,” Nash murmurs. “I’d say that deserves a reward. What do you think of that, darling?”

  I say something, but I’m not sure what. I think I say yes, but maybe I just nod. Maybe I just mumble. I don’t know. At this point, I’m too far gone, too far lost in the feelings and emotions Nash has managed to yank from my chest today. I’m too lost.

  Gently, he pushes my legs apart.

  “Look at this perfect little pussy,” he says. He runs a finger through my folds and I start to shake. I want more. I want so much more. I want him to touch my clit. I want him to rub me, to touch me, to make me explode right here on his lap. I want him to make me scream his name. I want everything from him.

  “Nash,” I manage to say.

  “You like this, sweetheart?”

  “Yes.” Fuck, yes. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

  “I’m going to make you come, Red. I’m going to make you come for me. I’m going to make you say my name until it’s branded on your lips, until there’s no one for you but me. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Nash.”

/>   I don’t know how I manage to speak because he starts rubbing my clit, as promised, and it doesn’t take much to send me over the edge.

  In less than a minute, I’m fisting the blanket in front of me, writhing in sweet passion as I come. I explode. I feel like my heart stops beating as I completely lose myself in this moment. It doesn’t matter because Nash is right here to take care of me. He’s right here with me. He’s here.

  When I open my eyes again, I’m on my back. I’m in the center of the bed and Nash is in front of me.

  “Baby, you look gorgeous when you come,” he says. Then, before I can say another word, he thrusts into me. I open my mouth as he fills me, but no sound comes out. I don’t think I can say anything else. I don’t think I have any more words in me to say.

  Nash raises my legs so they’re over his shoulders. I’m practically bent in half, but I don’t even care. I just want him to keep going. I just want him to keep doing what he’s doing. I just don’t want him to ever stop because I can’t imagine a life without him in it.

  I can’t imagine my life without Nash.

  The sex is just a reflection of how I feel about him. It’s just a reflection of how we’ve come so far with one another. We haven’t always been in perfect sync and I know that in the future, we’ll have to keep working on our relationship, too. We’ll have to take time to focus on each other and keeping things hot and spicy and steamy because one day, in the not-too-distant future, it’s not going to be just me and Nash anymore.

  There’s going to be a third.

  ***

  Nash palms my breast as he watches me, looking at me, just eating me up with his eyes. He traces my nipple with a finger, then pinches it gently.

  “You’re mine, Red,” he says.

  “Always and forever,” I whisper.

  He flips me over, positioning me on all fours. I feel like a little doll. His fingers dig into my hips as he continues making love to me, and then Nash squeezes my bottom. I hiss at the contact with my tender skin, and he chuckles.

  “Sore, baby?” He asks.

  “Um, a little,” I admit.

  “Good. I want you thinking of me.”

  “I’m always thinking of you.”

  When Nash comes, he whispers my name. Once more, I’m caught off guard by how fucking wonderful he is, by how amazing our life together is, by how far we’ve come in just a year.

  “Happy anniversary, Scarlett,” he whispers to me.

  “Happy anniversary, Nash.”

  He cuddles up next to me and we hold each other for a minute, then I realize it’s time. It’s time to tell him. It’s time to let him know what’s going to happen this year. It’s time to let him know we’re going to have our own little family.

  “Nash?”

  He must sense a change in my tone because he quickly looks up at me. He’s fully focused for someone who just came, and I quickly rush to reassure him.

  “It’s nothing bad,” I say hastily. “I just…it’s just…”

  “What is it, baby?” He asks, confused.

  I take his hand and I place it on my stomach. He looks at his hand, then back at me.

  “Scarlett?”

  “You’re going to be a daddy, Nash.”

  A grin spreads across his face and for the first time in a long time, Nash looks completely giddy with excitement.

  “I’m going to be a daddy,” he repeats.

  I nod, smiling, as he kisses and holds me. He’s already whispering to our baby, whispering sweet stories and telling him or her how excited he is.

  Nash and I have a long way to go. Our journey to parenthood is just beginning, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that we’re in this together.

  Always.

  The End

  About

  Sophie Stern writes paranormal and contemporary romance featuring bears, dragons, wolves, and bad boy billionaires. She loves to travel, pole dance, and hang out with her super-sexy ex-military hubby.

  Visit her at SexySophieStern.com to join her mailing list, find out about sales, and stay up-to-date on her latest publications.

  Other Books by Sophie

  Alien Stories

  Alien Dragon

  Honeypot Darlings

  The Bear’s Virgin Darling

  The Bear’s Virgin Mate

  The Bear’s Virgin Bride