Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“Will you listen to me, obey me, and refrain from acting out dangerously against my family? I assure you, they will provoke you.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
That is still not the response I expect or need. Frowning down at her rear, I realize spanking her is not an option. I will start damaging her if I do not change course here.
I reach for my belt, unleashing it from around my waist. It is made of a light but firm material that snaps well when whipped through the air. It will not do her any real harm, but it will sting her cheeks with true fury.
“Fine, whatever is not what I want to hear,” I tell her, folding the belt up into shape with one hand while I use the other to keep her in place, gripping the fine hair at the back of her head.
“Tell me what you want to hear then… OWW!”
She squeals as the belt lands across her ass.
“That is what I want to hear,” I tell her. “The sound of you learning your lesson.”
“Asshole!” She shrieks the word.
“You need to work on your tone,” I tell her. “There is a way to behave when you are being disciplined, and screaming like a disrespectful cub is not it.”
“You’ve got no right to discipline me. This is my house. This is my asteroid. And you are my fucking lion!”
She really means it. This little human who is physically entirely at my mercy, who has become the vessel for my seed, still believes she owns me. Ava has almost no power whatsoever, and yet she believes in herself so deeply it is borderline delusional. I wonder at the ability of humans to assume that they are at the top of the food chain even when in the intimidating and punishing presence of true predator.
It is hard not to laugh, but I know that would come off as mocking, and I am not trying to mock her. I am trying to help her learn how to behave in a world that just suddenly and permanently changed.
My original plan was to find a human woman, purchase her, have a baby with her, and set her free. Love did not enter into the equation. It was a transactional arrangement when I conceived it, but this relationship has become anything but transactional. The moment I saw Ava, I knew she was my mate.
I do not see a scenario in which I let her go. Now that my brothers know who she is, and have met her, and know where she lives, I do not see any scenario in which I can let her go. She just went from being a distant stranger to a piece on the playing field. Which means she now has to learn how to behave in a way she can survive in a Leonid world.
Several more strokes land across her ass, less heavy, but more intense. I need to see some kind of indication that I am making an impression.
“I am your lion,” I tell her. “But you are my woman. My mate. I love you.”
“Wait. What? You love me?”
She is a bare-assed mess, hair over her face, traces of sweat from fighting me and tears from taking punishment she very much deserves, but with the revelation of love, she stops fighting me and starts listening.
“Yes, Ava. I love you.”
“You love me,” she repeats. “That’s fucking wild. I. Uhm. I love you too.”
That ends the spanking. I pick her up and I hold her close and I kiss her face, her lips, her nose, everywhere I can.
“I cannot lose you,” I tell her. “So please, for both our sakes, do as I tell you.”
She makes no promises, and I am not in the mood to further demand her acquiescence. We have declared our love and verbally cemented the mate bond we have shared from the beginning.
Besides, if she will not do as she is told, I will make her do as she is told.
Ava pouts at me, reaching back to her sore hindquarters. “That really hurt, you know.”
“Good. It was supposed to.”
It occurs to me this may not have been the best way to introduce discipline. I never imagined she would be capable of such utter defiance. Doesn’t she see that I am just trying to keep her safe? Doesn’t she understand that safety means submission?
No. She understands none of those things because she has always lived alone here on this asteroid, at least as an adult. She is used to depending on herself and herself alone. Coming to the underground auction was her first attempt at reaching out for help, and that has now backfired. The very crops she wanted me to save have been destroyed thanks to my careless brothers. The Growlers are still at bay, but does that matter? I cannot help but feel I might have failed her.