The Commander's Daughter (3 page)

“Nooo!” she wailed, crying softly into the comforter as she felt the large head of his shaft pushing into her bottom and stretching it anew. It had been a while since Grayson took her this way, so his plundering of her tender hole hurt more than usual. But it hurt so good.

He thrust in to the hilt immediately, not giving her body time to adjust as he took up a pounding rhythm. Two fingers thrust boldly into her pulsing sheath, rubbing against the thin membrane separating her two channels as his thumb strummed across her clit.

It took only a few thrusts before Izzy was once again on the precipice and everything stopped, only to start the process all over again as soon as her body calmed. She lost count of how many times he brought her to the brink before he moved her legs farther apart and moved his hand to prevent further clitoral stimulation.

Finally, he took up a hard and fast rhythm designed to bring his own release. With a final slamming thrust, he roared against the back of her neck as he filled her bottom with his seed.

Izzy held still as he pulled from her. Her need to come along with the tenderness of her bottom as he pulled free from her grasping channel were too much, and her eyes flooded with tears.

She stayed in place, weeping softly as Grayson cleaned her tenderly before picking her up and cuddling her close to his chest as he sat down in the chair.

“Please don’t make me punish you like this again, Isabella. I would much rather give you only pleasure,” Grayson said softly into her hair.

Izzy cried softly against her mate’s neck as he rubbed her sore bottom.

“I’m sorry, Grayson. I know I behaved badly and without respect,” she said quietly.

“It is more than disrespect, little fire; you physically challenged a warrior. This I cannot allow; though I don’t believe you have anything to fear from Liam, a warrior could snap you in half very easily. What is one of your most important rules, Isabella?” Grayson asked sternly.

“Never to place myself in harm’s way,” Izzy whispered with a shuddering sigh.

“Exactly, this is why your punishment was so harsh, though the lack of respect still would have earned you a trip across my knee.”

Izzy wrapped her arms tightly around him and pressed herself as close to him as she could. “I fear for our baby in that man’s hands, Grayson. He’s so cold and unyielding.”

She felt Grayson smile against her neck as he held her more tightly. “I was no different, little fire. It takes a mate to warm a warrior’s cold heart and teach him to yield as she softens his rough edges. He will learn not to take everything so seriously, he will learn to laugh and when to bend. Liam will not be able to do anything else because he will love our daughter with his whole heart once he’s claimed her.”

“Are you sure?” she asked worriedly.

“He has no choice. It is how we are made.”

* * *

Melody walked through town talking to everyone and smiling, but from a bit of a distance as Sassy kept her hackles up. She’d been on high alert since the moment they’d gotten to town and while the people familiar with her and Melody’s family found her vigilance amusing, no one was stupid enough to approach them.

She sighed and fussed at Sassy to stop scaring everyone, not that it would do any good. Sassy felt she was doing her duty by watching over her family. Nothing could convince Sassy that anyone not born into their family was safe to be within ten feet of a family member.

Melody walked along the sidewalk, trying to ignore the way everyone crossed the street to get away from them. This was no fun at all; at least with Liam she would have been able to carry on a conversation of sorts, though people tended to give him a wide berth as well.

“What’s the matter, pretty girl? No one brave enough to get close to your dog?” She looked up to see Jackson Marks on his motorcycle across the street. Jackson was an example of what the clean air and improved nutrients could do for an earthling. He stood just a head shorter than her brothers, which was very tall for a human, and had the same breadth of chest and shoulders.

She smiled; he was a good friend of Griff’s and Braeden’s, so she’d known him since childhood. “Apparently not. I was looking for some adventure now that Griff and Braeden have headed off to Ramel.”

“Wanna go for a ride on my bike?” he asked. He was one of the few who could walk up to one of the commander’s children and pet Sassy, largely because she considered him one of her charges as well. Melody loved him like another brother and knew he felt the same about her.

Melody’s eyes grew excited at the prospect of riding the large motorcycle. She imagined the wind in her hair as they rode fast through the countryside. Jackson would keep her safe; he knew what would happen when her brothers got home if he didn’t. Surely her parents wouldn’t object to a ride with Jackson. He’d practically lived with them as they grew up. “Okay, meet me at the gate to the house. I have to put Sassy up.”

* * *

Liam watched with disbelief as his mate climbed onto a motorcycle with an unknown male. He was beyond furious she would do such a thing; using the transfer mechanism attached to his belt, in seconds he shimmered into the road ahead of the speeding motorcycle.

The human male driving saw Liam in the road and had to skid sideways to avoid him, barely keeping his bike and Melody upright.

He watched as Melody screamed and wrapped her arms tighter around the human to keep from smashing into the road.

“What the hell, man?” the human cried as he straightened the bike and helped Melody to her feet at his side.

“You will remove your hands from my mate immediately,” Liam instructed as he walked toward them.

“Your what?” Melody and the human exclaimed almost in unison.

The man backed away from Melody warily. “Mel, you should have told me. I would never have taken you on the bike if I’d known.”

His mate seemed to shrink from the censure in the human’s voice. “I don’t know what he’s talking about, Jackson.”

“Melody was not aware of our mating. She was, however, aware she did not have permission to ride your motorbike,” Liam said firmly, staring into Melody’s eyes with dark promise.

“Stop!” Liam’s mate held her hand up as if to ward off his rapidly approaching form, backing away from him as he moved closer.

When he just kept coming, she turned to run, but quickly found herself caught and tossed over a broad shoulder.

The human male eyed the scene with obvious concern. “Mel, will you be okay? Should I get your dad?”

“Concern yourself not with my mate, earth man. I will see to all her needs, including necessary discipline,” Liam assured him.

The earth man blinked, but seemed to understand this was not a situation in which he could interfere.

* * *

“Put me down this instant, Liam!” Melody cried and beat on the hard back beneath her with balled-up fists.

“It would behoove you to stop this foolishness as it will only add to your punishment,” Liam explained calmly as he strode up the street as if walking with a yelling woman across his shoulder was an everyday occurrence.

By the time he carried her back inside the house, Melody was almost hyperventilating with fury. It didn’t help to see Sassy, the generally protective dog, dancing around at Liam’s feet like he was part of their family.

“Bite him, Sassy!” she commanded.

Liam swatted her upturned bottom sharply for the order before setting Melody on her feet beside him in the foyer, “The dog recognizes from my scent that I am your mate so she will not attack me.”

“Stop saying that!” Melody screamed up at him.

Liam sighed and went down on one knee, tugging the still struggling girl over the other one. “You will not leave this house without an escort again. You will wear shoes that cover your feet outside this home and you will under no circumstances ever touch another male you are not related to.”

His hand began to bounce off her jean-clad bottom with loud clapping smacks. Liam ignored the way she tried to wriggle away from his punishing palm as he built a fire in her backside he knew would not be quickly extinguished. He enjoyed watching her wriggling backside move as he delivered her spanking. Her curves bounced delightfully beneath his hand.

“Owww… ohhh… please stop!” Melody wailed as Liam continued to build the heat in her bottom.

Liam continued the same relentless rhythm, covering every inch of her bottom and moving down the top of her thighs. He paid special attention to the sit spot in the tender crease of her bottom, ensuring she would remember this discussion when she sat for the rest of the day.

Melody was sobbing softly when he stood her back on her feet in front of him. “You will now go to your quarters and stay there for the remainder of the day.”

She pulled away from him, wiping her tears away with an angry glare. “I hate you!”

“This will not always be so,” he informed her indulgently, knowing it was not unusual for a woman to react thusly after correction.

* * *

Izzy and Grayson froze as they came out of their room in response to the sounds of Liam spanking their daughter.

Melody ran up the stairs, stopping for a moment in front of them in the hallway outside of her bedroom. “Did you know?” she asked them softly.

Izzy knew the discomfort on her face was all the answer her daughter needed.

Melody gave them a look of betrayal before running into her room, slamming and locking it behind her.

How could they have let her be blindsided by such a thing? She knew it was intolerable to think Liam had been acting as merely a guard for over a month and they had all known what he was to her. All of them had known and no one had even tried to warn her.

Izzy felt so guilty that they could have betrayed their daughter in such a way. She knew Melody’s feelings must be terribly hurt by their actions.

Izzy leaned gratefully into Grayson’s embrace. “Oh, Grayson, I feel we’ve done our daughter a great disservice in not telling her about Liam.”

He sighed and placed a gentle kiss on her brow. “It will work out. God chooses our mates and he is never wrong.”

She nodded and followed her husband downstairs to greet her new son-in-law.

* * *

Melody sat in the window seat of her bedroom with her legs folded beneath her as she looked outside. The stinging in her bottom had long since abated, but the sting in her heart still hurt.

She heard a soft knock on the door, and then she watched the reflection in the window as her mother entered the room. She didn’t acknowledge her mother, but simply continued to stare out the window and at the world she now knew she would never get the chance to be a part of.

“Melody, we need to talk about this,” her mother began, stroking a soft hand over her hair.

“What’s to talk about? You’ve let that Neanderthal follow me around for a month and never thought to mention I was his property,” she said bitterly.

“Not his property!” her mother protested. “Do you feel your father treats me as property?”

Melody had the grace to flush. “No, but I always thought I would have a choice in when I chose to mate and some ability to pick one myself.”

“I’ve explained the ways of the Ramelians to you again and again, all your life. Why would you think this would never affect you? I admit I hoped it would be a long time before your mate found you, but it cannot be undone now that he has.”

“Mama, how did you stand it? At least I had some idea of what could happen, but you really had no warning at all. How can you love him?” Melody voiced the question in a whisper.

Melody’s mother smiled. “I didn’t at first. I fought him daily, I was rude and disrespectful… often disobedient and punished accordingly, I’m afraid. But then he would hold me tenderly and comfort me and at night he gave me pleasure I could never have imagined.”

Melody blushed hotly at the thought of her parents being intimate. “TMI, mother! Please!”

Her mother laughed. “Don’t be silly, love, you know we didn’t find you and your siblings under the turnip patch. Your father and I have a very healthy sexual relationship. And he loves me. He loved me from the moment he saw me; it took me a while to understand how it was possible and longer to really believe it. While I can honestly say I will never enjoy punishment, feeling cherished and treasured opened my heart in a way I couldn’t have understood until it happened. Now I understand the gift of my submission to him gives me freedom I could never have had without it and it’s a beautiful thing. He would never abuse that gift in any way.”

Since she loved her father and saw how much he treasured her mother, Melody really couldn’t argue the point. “But that’s you and daddy. Liam is frowny and stern; how can I trust he will ever treasure me or love me for who I am?”

“Your father assures me Liam has no choice. The Ramelian males are hardwired to treasure and love their mates beyond measure,” her mother assured her as she leaned down to wrap Melody in her arms.

Melody leaned into her mother’s embrace. “I thought I had more time.”

“I thought you did too,” her mother told her quietly. “But it was not to be. Liam has agreed not to claim you right away.”

Melody looked hopefully up at her mother. “He’s going to leave and come back in a few years?”

Her mother laughed again. “I think you know that wouldn’t be possible. He has agreed to give you a few weeks to get to know him before the bonding.”

“A few weeks?” Melody frowned.

“It’s better than tonight, but you have to try to know him. You can’t stonewall him or rebuff him at every turn. If you challenge him too much, he will bond you immediately,” her mother cautioned her. “He was relieved once your father explained the relationship between you and Jackson. Now he knows you weren’t running off to have relations with a strange man, but were with one you consider to be a brother.”

“Is he sorry he spanked me?” Melody demanded, hoping for a humble apology.