Zane I wanted to worship her.

I wanted to worship her a.s.s.

Aria stood with her back to me, bent over at the waist, her hands wrapped around her widespread ankles which I'd bound to a spreader bar. I could have bound her wrists, too, but I figured I'd need her on her knees at some crucial point. Or she'd fall to her knees, at least, considering what I was planning.

After bathing her, I'd brought her back into the bedroom. In silence, I'd bound her, positioning her with her back to the armchair I now occupied, then given her the two word command: "Bend over."

My c.o.c.k throbbed in my hand, wanting to sink into her wet heat, but first things first.

She'd struggled with the command. Most women did. I had to admit, I enjoyed that internal battle playing out, knowing all along I'd win. She'd be bent, her a.s.s spread wide, open to my gaze, awaiting my attention.

But not yet. I wanted to watch her first. Draw out this act of complete submission. I leaned forward, resting my arms on my legs, and inhaled the scent of her - musky soap, my own, combined with her unique smell.

Christ, eyes closed or open, I was in heaven.

"Put your hands on the stool in front of you, Aria." It was so she could brace herself when I buried my face in her a.s.s. Dropping to my knees behind her, I grabbed hold of her a.s.s cheeks, pulled her wider, and did just that. I f.u.c.king buried my face in her a.s.s, opening my mouth over her c.u.n.t, licking and taking as she whimpered and moaned. I didn't start slow, no way I could hold back, but dove in instead, tasting her p.u.s.s.y, sucking her c.l.i.t, licking circles around her a.s.shole, my c.o.c.k screaming to be invited to the party as I tasted every inch of her.

"Oh...G.o.d, Zane. I..." The long moan came just as her knees gave out. I gripped her thighs, holding her upright while sucking on her c.l.i.t, rubbing my bristly face against her most tender parts, drawing a long, slow o.r.g.a.s.m from her, the first of several, I hoped.

"I can't stand. Please."

Her legs wobbled like Jell-O, and I eased her down. She pushed the stool out of her way and settled on her elbows, her knees spread wide because of the bar, still offering her a.s.s up to me.

"More?" I asked.

She only nodded, arching her back deeper, and this time when I went down on her, I placed my hands on either side of her p.u.s.s.y lips and pulled her apart, wanting nothing to touch her c.l.i.t until I was ready for her to scream my name. The flat of my tongue on her p.u.s.s.y, I licked her more slowly this time, dipping deep inside her c.u.n.t then teasing her c.l.i.t with the tip of it.

"Please, let me come, Zane. Please!"

"Shh. Not yet." I wanted something else first. I wanted to taste all of her.

Dragging my tongue from her c.u.n.t, I traced the s.p.a.ce up to her a.s.shole. She stiffened instantly, rising up onto her hands, her wide eyes on mine as I straightened, grinning from ear to ear.

"Give it to me, Aria."

She shook her head while I teased her c.l.i.t, making her eyes roll back.

"Give it to me."

"I can't." Her expression was one of panic as she glanced at my c.o.c.k, thick and hard and ready.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to f.u.c.k it yet. I just want a taste. For now. But I want you to give it to me."

She stared, and as much as she wanted it, shame kept her from asking for it. From giving it.

But I'd have her. I'd own every inch of her, and she'd be a limp, whimpering pile on the floor by the time I was through.

I slapped her a.s.s hard, never taking my eyes from hers. "Give it to me." Another slap.

"I..."

"You want to."

Her face burned a deep crimson and she looked away, but nodded.

"Then look at me and ask for it. Get back down on your elbows, lift your a.s.s up high, and ask me to lick it. Ask me to make you come with my tongue inside your a.s.shole." I worked her c.l.i.t as I said it. I wasn't above a little manipulation. And, within a few moments, she was back down on her elbows, facing forward.

"Please..."

"You'll be asking me to f.u.c.k it later, too. This is good practice."

She arched her back, dropping her head when I stopped playing with her and pulled her p.u.s.s.y lips apart again.

"Lick it, Zane. Lick my a.s.shole. Make me come."

"You forgot to say please."

"Please!"

"That's a good girl." Dipping forward, I did as she asked, licking her a.s.shole, circling it with my tongue, pressing two fingers into her c.u.n.t as I did, and when she began to move her hips along my face, running her a.s.s the length of my tongue, I worked her c.l.i.t again, pressing the tip of my tongue against the tight ring as she began to moan. She came again, falling forward this time, soaking my fingers, her hips convulsing, until, finally, she lay flat on the floor, her legs wide, a tiny shudder every few moments the only sign of life.

I rose to my feet and wiped my mouth, my c.o.c.k p.i.s.sed at me for denying it release. In the bathroom, I wet a washcloth and brought it back, pausing to look at her lying at my feet, her eyes closed, her legs still bound and spread, her a.s.s as inviting as ever, knowing as I knelt to clean her that she was truly the one person who could bring me to my knees. She was the only one ever to hold that power over me.

We spent the day dozing in bed. I'd been with women. Not a lot, but enough, and Aria was the first I'd ever wanted to stick around with, to lie in bed and just hold each other, to look in her eyes until she blinked away, feeling awkward. I wanted to keep her here for as long as I could, but it wouldn't be long because it couldn't be.

"Hungry?" Her stomach had growled more than once, and I was starving.

"Yes. But I don't want to get out of bed."

"Well, princess, I don't serve dinner in bed."

She pulled me close when I made to climb out. "I meant I want to stay in bed with you, dummy." She kissed the side of my face then ran her tongue over the outer ridge of my ear. I shuddered at the light, shy touch.

"Me, too, but I've got to eat and," I pulled the blankets back, closing my hand over her jutting pelvic bone, "I need to feed you before you waste away. You're thinner than you were."

We climbed out of bed. I pulled on my jeans, and she wore my T-shirt, shrugging her shoulder at my comment as she gathered her hair into a loose braid.

"I eat, don't worry. It's just been hard since everything happened. I haven't had much of an appet.i.te, you know?"

"I get that, but things are different now, aren't they?"

She nodded, and her stomach rumbled again. "I'll tell you what, if you cook, I'll eat. Deal?"

I took her face in one hand and brought it to mine, kissing the tip of her nose. "Demanding, aren't you?"

"Nah. Just can't cook."

"Lucky for you, I can. Come on." We went down to the kitchen, and I set a bag of salad in front of her. "Think you can empty that into a bowl?"

"Ha-ha, funny."

"I'll put some steaks on the grill."

"So, tell me about my grandfather," she asked, once I'd set the meat to cook and she'd sliced tomatoes for the salad.

"Xander Marks. He's a complicated man. Ruthless, but fair. But don't f.u.c.k with him or he'll f.u.c.k with you back and that's never ended well for the other party."

"Oh yeah?"

"He's Alpha, Aria. You don't get to be the Alpha by being Mr. Nice Guy. People fear him. He's - well, he's Xander Marks. But he is also fiercely loyal, especially to his family, as you've seen."

She nodded, rolling her eyes.

"And even if he's a pain in the a.s.s most of the time, I actually respect the guy. After your mom and brother were murdered, he went after my father, and all of Savage Blood. He lost a lot of men though. That was the first and only time I've seen him act so impulsively, and that was what made him lose."

"So he went to war with your father?"

"War is a good word for it. I wasn't there, so I'm telling what was told to me, but he went crazy and wanted my father dead. h.e.l.l, he wanted me dead, and that was before he knew my involvement. All he saw was hate. That and revenge."

"What stopped it?"

"Well, Savage Blood was prepared for battle. Cain must have known Xander would come after him. I thought he'd kill Xander, too. But back then, I didn't care, didn't give a s.h.i.t about anything or anyone. I drank and I raged. And I broke all ties with my father and my pack."

"You must have felt so alone."

I studied her face. She was so good. Thinking of me, after what I'd caused to happen. It made me feel more guilty.

"I don't know what ultimately made them talk, Cain and Xander, I mean. They formed some sort of truce when they did. I guess it was good or there truly would have been war and a lot more people would have died."

"What could my grandfather have said to stop it? What could your father have said?"

I flipped the steaks over, thinking. "Wish I knew." I faced Aria again. "He means well, though, as far as you're concerned."

"I guess so, but he doesn't get to choose for me anymore. He lost that privilege when he abandoned me. And he did abandon me."

The way she said it, she wasn't open to talking about that. I didn't necessarily agree with her, but past was past and this wasn't a battle between just us.

"Besides, I'm twenty-two. I decide for myself."

"Steaks are ready." I plated them, scooped some salad onto each plate, and joined Aria at the counter.

"What about your father? Do you have any desire to patch things up?"

I stabbed a piece of meat and put it into my mouth, shaking my head. Truth was, I wasn't so sure about things anymore. I wasn't as convinced that Cain was the evil behind this as I had been those first years. Fly had always thought Ace was up to something, that he was manipulating my father. That part I couldn't believe. My father would not be manipulated. But, now, with this hijacked shipment and with Ace's role in things, I had doubts.

"Zane?"

"Sorry. I don't know, Aria. I don't have any intention of rejoining either pack and wonder if it isn't just best to leave well enough alone. I don't want to be dragged back into that world."

"But he's your father. If my father were alive, I think I'd try..."

"Well, your grandfather is alive. You could do just what you're suggesting I do."

She closed off.

I chewed another piece of meat while she put her knife and fork beside her plate, wiping her mouth, even though she'd only eaten a quarter of her steak. I set my utensils down and took her hand.

"Listen, what happened between me and Cain is my business. I realize you mean well, but please don't presume to think you know what's best for me, and I will do the same where Xander is concerned. What you decide about your grandfather is up to you. Let's leave our pasts behind us and remember that, ultimately, if either of us chooses that life, well, you've seen how violent it can be."

"Okay."

"Now, eat."

She took a bite of salad, smiling. "Tell me about Ace. He's your cousin?"

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"Not eavesdropping. I just overheard you and Fly talking."

"What exactly did you overhear?"

She flushed as she stuffed a bite of meat into her mouth. "Something about guns."

I raised my eyebrows, waiting.

"What? It wasn't intentional. I just...overheard."

"Hmm. I don't remember seeing you in the bar when we were talking."

"I may have been on my way into the bar when I heard you whispering."

"Ace is being groomed to take the position of pack Alpha once Cain is ready to hand over the reins."

"So he's essentially taking your place."

"Yeah."

"Are you happy about that?"

"I'm not. He's trouble. But I don't want anything to do with the pack, which means I don't get a say."

"You keep telling me that, but maybe you don't have a choice. I mean, maybe you have to be what you are. And if he's stealing from your father -"

"Not now, Aria." I stepped away, taking my dish and setting it into the sink.