"It's about d.a.m.n time." Ever playful, she batted her eyelashes at him and made no attempt to free her hands.

"This is your last chance to change your mind."

"Like that's going to happen when all along I've been trying to-"

"Since we are not wed and you do not wear my bands, we'll have to improvise." He released one hand, tugged her behind him, and searched the sub for suitable material.

During a Rystani marriage ceremony, a woman accepted bands that allowed her husband to control her body with his psi in the areas between those bands. Most men banded their woman's foreheads, wrists, and ankles. In return the brides were allowed to place one band on the husband. The man's band was symbolic-since with only one, there was no s.p.a.ce between.

On their one night together, Zical had kept his pa.s.sions reined. It had been her first experience and there was no point in following custom if one was to be executed as he'd expected. And while Dora was inexperienced, she'd been exposed to the customs and s.e.xual practices of many worlds. However, he was Rystani through and through.

He believed in the old ways.

Now she would experience what it was to accommodate his every desire. And she and Zical would discover her true nature.

She pointed to ties that held the pillows in place on the bed. "Will those do?"

Another woman might have fought the idea of bondage, but Dora not only seemed turned on by the notion, she was urging him on and making suggestions. Her willingness to comply stunned him, until he remembered that she had no idea how far he was about to go. Or how little say she would have during their encounter.

The notion of having her completely at his mercy shattered the very last of his reserve. She would be his. However he wished, in whatever manner be decided. The delicious power fueled his desire, pumping him with a savage need to plunder. Only a tiny speck of sanity kept him from ripping off her clothing.

Releasing her wrist, he folded his hands across his chest. "Take of your garment."

"Yes."

183.

Dora could be more quickly naked than any woman he'd ever known. She had no modesty regarding her body, and he expected the clothing to drop to the floor within seconds.

However, a saucy smile twitched across her lips and she allowed her fingers to play with the knots at her shoulders that kept the garment on her body. As if sensing his impatience, she deliberately upped the tension by complying-even as she made him wait.

Ever so slowly, she untied the knots while she boldly held his gaze. And finally, when the knots were loose, she peeled down the top showing one inch of cleavage at a time. Clever minx. Once again she was attempting to take control. But she would learn.

Before she slid the top down to show her nipples, he stopped her with a gentle tap on her wrist. "Hand me those ties."

He though it fitting and symbolic that she should hand him the ties that he would use to bind her. At his command, she didn't so much as raise an eyebrow.

And when he tied her wrists behind her back, leaving her clothing covering the essentials but ready for him to uncover whenever he so wished, she did not struggle but leaned forward to ease his task. OH, she seemed compliant, but body was already stirring with needs.

And he had no doubt that before long she be wishing she'd obeyed him and taken off her garb at his first command.

Joy flooded Dora. Although, she'd had a wonderful time during their previous lovemaking, she'd been aware that Zical had restrained the full strength of his s.e.xual desires. He'd clearly been worried he'd overwhelm her with his need to dominate, and while she'd appreciated his concern, the savage man standing over her was ever so much more exciting.

Shed always suspected that although Zical appeared most civilized, at his core, he was pure Rystani. And Rystani men did not ask. They took. Demanded. Commanded.

They dominated.

And Dora was about to experience the full force of his s.e.xuality. The quickening she'd felt earlier accelerated until pure antic.i.p.ation filled her. She'd yearned to share his elemental nature. She wanted to take all he could give. Nothing was s.e.xier than having his full focus, his every brain cell centered on her.

Dora thought that once he'd tied her hands, he would remove her garb and they would make love on the bed. But Zical had other ideas. Placing a hand on the small of her back, he led her to the sub's window.

"You will hold still or suffer consequences."

184.

At his mild threat, her pulse escalated. She had no idea what those consequences would be, but from his s.e.xy tone, she suspected he was looking forward to them and her excitement notched op another level.

Outside, the boiling lava flowed with spectacular gushes. And the pockets of gases revealed an ever-changing panorama. She spied several different creatures living in the h.e.l.lish heat, but her mind did not stay on the view. Not with Zical standing so close, looming over her, his reflection, superimposed on the boiling lava scene outside, intense.

Zical stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders, his fingertips playing lightly over her exposed collarbone. She wanted to turn around and press her body against him, tilt back her head and invite a kiss. She wanted to place her arms around his neck and taste his mouth. But with her hands tied, she had to wait for him.

Dora didn't mind waiting because she knew she was worth waiting for. And she had no doubt that eventually this man would give her exactly what she needed. Out of billions of souls, he was the one who fired her imagination, and she trusted her belief in him. Giving him power over her cemented her faith in his true nature.

And so she forced herself to remain silent as he skimmed his suggestive fingers over her shoulders. And when his breath fanned her earlobe and his teeth gently nipped the sensitive curve of her neck, she restrained a sigh of satisfaction. Shed given her body over to his keeping to do as he wished.

And when his hands closed over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and her clothing kept his flesh apart from hers, she did not fidget. Although she ached for his hands on her bare skin, she'd chosen to defy his order and understood she would now pay a price. Still, it was a more difficult lesson than she'd imagined.

His palms closed over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in sensual circles, teasing her nipples through the cloth. She understood she was supposed to hold still. And she tried. Oh, she tried. But no one could possibly withstand the scintillating heat he'd kindled without squirming.

Despite her determination to obey his demand to remain still, she couldn't. Her hips rubbed his groin. And he immediately stopped stroking her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

His tone remained mild as he roughly jerked the cloth up over her hips, leaving the material bunched at her waist. "I told you there would be consequences."

"I couldn't help it."

"I know." He chuckled, his tone warm and s.e.xy, therefore his next move took her by total surprise.

He slapped her bare bottom.

"Oh." It stung. And she tried to turn around but he held her firmly.

He slapped her right cheek. And she imagined two round pink flushes on her derriere.

"What are you doing?'" she squealed, not so much in protest but total amazement.

185.

The sound of the next slap startled her. The steamy tingle left her breathless. And unexpected excitement floored her as dampness seeped between her thighs.

As if he understood her confusion at her favorable reaction, he paused, giving her time to adjust. To tense. Slowly he ma.s.saged away the sting-but not all. And just as she relaxed, he spanked her again.

Her left side. Her right. Up high. Down low. Everywhere. This time he didn't pause, and as the sting spread over her entire bottom, she cried out. "Oh... oh... ah..."

Dora didn't like pain, but the slaps were easy to bear. Symbolic. She could let him do this, especially since the sting faded almost immediately, leaving the most indescribably delicious heat.

Finally, he stopped. "Ah, the sight of your pink bottom pleases me."

At his words, something inside her flared. Her skin was pleasantly warm, and between his earlier caresses and the heat he'd just applied, she realized that the tiny stings had caused the dampness of her synthari to slicken with sweet need. And she no longer cared if he never removed her clothing. She simply wanted him to take her amid all the luscious sensations he'd created, right now, right there from behind.

"Tell me how you feel," he demanded.

"The sting has faded, leaving... a tingling... ache," she admitted, more reluctantly than she would have liked.

''And you want me more than you did before?"

"It's strange, but it is so," she admitted, more reluctantly hoping he was done with this particular form of foreplay. Especially since it excited her and made waiting to see what he would do next a sweet torture.

"You have much to learn about desire."

She thought then that he might enter her body, but he stood behind her and again stroked her b.r.e.a.s.t.s through the material until she thought she would go mad with the wanting. The next time he told her to take off her clothes, she wouldn't be teasing him.

Already she deeply regretted that his hands fondled her through the cloth when she so badly wanted them directly on her flesh.

Her breach came in ragged gasps, but she tried to hold still, especially since she now knew the consequences of disobedience. But he'd stacked the probabilities against her, and when she once again lost her battle to hold still, her bared bottom felt oh so vulnerable. And this time she knew what was coming, making the waiting for the sting so much more intense.

His first swat was sharp, the heat causing her breath to come in rasps. He spanked her twice. Paused. But she sensed he was not done. And the heat between her thighs, the ache for his touch deep in her synthari, left her wild to gyrate her hips.

"Spread your feet."

She did. And when he tenderly stroked her nether lips, she released a soft moan.

"You like this? You're slick and ready for me."

186.

"Yes."

"But the sting is adding to your desire, yes?"

"I desire you enough."

She received two more sharp slaps for her response. "Oh... oh... oh." And soft whimpers of need told him more than she wanted to reveal, that she was enjoying his attentions, all of them. And the sharp bite from his palm and the heat of his caresses intertwined, creating increasingly higher waves of wild l.u.s.t, each rolling sequence sweeping her further into a tide of desire.

He delved between her legs, delicious friction combining with the burn, escalating her need. Her legs trembled. Her hands itched to run them along his flesh to encourage him. But she was supposed to hold still.

You didn't answer my question," he told her.

"Huh?" She couldn't think, could barely concentrate on his words. All the blood had gone to her synthari. Her mind was spinning at the fiery sensations.

"The slaps make you hot, yes?"

"Yes, but-"

Slap. Slap. Slap. She gasped at the heat, almost cried out for him to cease. Certain her bottom must be cherry red, certain she was about to o.r.g.a.s.m from the rising temperature alone, she fought to free her hands. But she was bound tight.

And she realized that something in him had snapped. Always before he'd been in total control of his pa.s.sions. Before he'd been careful. But now, be was no longer holding back. Because he couldn't. He wanted her too much to be careful. Wanted her too much to give her less than his full l.u.s.t. And knowing he couldn't hold back heated her so that she was as tingly and warm inside as she was outside.

And then his hand returned to fondling her, found the center of her synthari. The slaps, the heat, the friction all combined to make her frantic for release.

She could not hold still. She was about to burst with the pleasure.

And he stopped.

"What are yon doing?" Her voice rose with a plea and she cared not that she was begging.

He placed his hands on her waist, turned her around to face him, tilted up her chin.

"I'm doing exactly what I wish."

Her stomach dropped to her toes. She'd never seen this side of him before. She'd always wanted to... but now she didn't know if she was... if she could... Stars. She couldn't think when she was burning up with the wanting him.

"Ah, now you begin to understand what it is to take a Rystani warrior to your bed."

"Bed. I'd be happy to take you to bed. This is-"

187.

"What I want. What I want from you." He jerked her clothing down, let it pool at her feet. "With the air caressing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her already pebbled nipples tightened. He eyed her with predatory satisfaction. "Do you want my touch on your b.r.e.a.s.t.s?"

"Yes." Her answer was automatic. But when it finally dawned on her through her spinning thoughts that he meant to tease her b.r.e.a.s.t.s until she could no longer bear it, she realized that it would he rational for her yes to turn to no. But her body craved the full measure of his pa.s.sion. Since resistance wasn't even a remote possibility, she murmured, "Yes. Yes. Yes."

Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s seemed to swell under his touch, and the heat he'd kindled between her thighs, plus the fire on her red-hot bottom, had her twisting and squirming. "Please, Zical I must... you must... please."

She no longer knew what she said. She couldn't think. Only feel. Desire ripped through her, holding her hostage.

And he had yet to remove his sarong.

She could only stand there and wait for him to do as he pleased. Even knowing he would not heed her pleas to plunge into her, she hadn't been able to refrain from asking. Words would not hurry him. And every time she'd tried to wriggle against him, he'd turned up the heat. He'd left her no options.

And although she desperately craved release, she reveled in his taking whatever he desired. Submitting empowered her in a manner she didn't understand and freed her to accept the pleasure in a way that made her feel more alive, more on edge than she'd thought possible. And there was no place in the galaxy she'd rather be at the moment than standing naked before him, waiting for his next caress.

He led her to the bed. Dazed with desire, she watched him pile one pillow atop another in the middle of the bed, confused what he would ask next. She didn't have long to wait.

He patted a spot next to the pillows, his demand almost as s.e.xy as his kisses. "You will kneel."

She scooted onto the bed and kneeled. When he placed a hand on the flat of her back and guided her hips over the pillows, she finally understood. With her bottom tipped upward, her hands, tied behind her back, he had total access to her synthari. But apparently, he wanted even more.

"Part your legs."

She struggled to do as he asked.

"Wider."

She could not see him but he could see all of her. And then he tied her ankles to keep her spread open for him. She would have been happy to accommodate his wishes, but he didn't want her to have a choice.

"Comfortable?" be asked.