STORY EXCERPT

Valerie closed her eyes and smiled into the darkness. Stephen and Micah were Drake and Emme’s two youngest sons, and Valerie had had a major crush on both since she’d first laid eyes on them. Stephen was eight years older than her and Micah was nine, but neither man was mated. They lived a mysterious but intriguing lifestyle that Valerie would love to explore further, if only she could get past her shyness to do so.

Then again, Abby didn’t make it easy for her to do that. She didn’t approve of the BDSM lifestyle that the Jargonians and a great many residents of the village lived, so she had tried to keep Valerie from going to the Jargonian’s house as much as possible. Valerie was constantly caught between her unrelenting curiosity and lust for the brothers, and her sense of duty to Abby who had given her a home and now treated her like a cherished daughter.

“Valerie, are you asleep again?”

Abby’s whisper sounded so hopeful, Valerie didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth, so she kept silent. The woman leaned over and kissed her hair softly, and then she left the room. Valerie waited until she’d heard the door to Abby’s bedroom close, and then she adjusted her comforter and curled up on her side, the way she preferred to sleep.

She let her thoughts turn toward Stephen and Micah. Each time she went to the house, the two didn’t miss the opportunity to either draw her into the conversation they were having, or offer to answer her questions about their lifestyle if she brought it up. And she almost always found a way to bring it up.

They’d never made her feel as if she were an intruder in this village, or in their home. And although she was much younger than them, they didn’t treat her like a schoolgirl, or as though she had no intelligence. They asked her questions about her village, and seemed to know exactly how far to go, watching carefully for signs she was uncomfortable talking about home or about why she’d run away that day.

There was no way they could know, of course, that the murderer was her father, and each time they backed off on the questions or changed the subject, the guilt she felt at not telling anyone the entire truth was all mixed up with their concern for her, and their instinct in knowing how far to go.

Were they like that as Doms, too? Did they know exactly how far to push a sub? Valerie squirmed as she imagined being tied to a spanking bench or a St. Andrew’s cross in their dungeon, and having both Stephen and Micah flog her. Would that ever happen? Would they even want to play with her, or were they only being nice because of what she’d been through?

A sound outside caught her attention, but she was afraid to get out of bed again and look out the window. Had what she’d seen truly been a dream, or had her father found her and was watching the house, waiting for his chance? Should she tell someone that she’d seen him three separate times in the past two weeks? No. They’d say she’d imagined it. They’d tell her that there was no way a jaguar shifter could enter this village undetected.

But each time she’d seen him had been after the dream had woken her, and each time she’d seen him at night. When she’d walked away from the window and returned a few minutes later, she could no longer see him. If anyone had told her that same scenario, she’d have believed it was a dream or the result of an overactive imagination. So why then would anyone think otherwise hearing this story from her lips?

She’d been here three months. Why would he come now? And how would he have found her? And if he had, why hadn’t he simply marched up to Drake Jargonian’s house on Overlook Drive and demanded that his daughter be allowed to return home? The jaguars here had no quarrel with him. Her father may be a murderer, but he wasn’t mixed up in the League of Exitium.

She was of age now, but that didn’t mean the same thing in her world as it did in the human world. The Jargonians, who were the law and order in this village, might very well tell her that she was still her father’s property, no matter her age, since she was unmated. That was the law in her village, and Valerie had no reason to believe it wasn’t the same here.

But she knew she couldn’t return home. She simply couldn’t. And even if she told Drake and Emme about the things her father and uncle had done, they might not believe her. Valerie had heard rumors in this village that there were shapeshifters who didn’t believe in mixing the species, but she’d never heard tales of jaguars murdering one of their own because they’d taken another cat as a mate. Her father, her uncle, and their “business associates,” as both referred to the men, had been doing that for so long that Valerie found it difficult to recall a time in her life when that hadn’t been her day-to-day reality.

But did the jaguars in this village have any real power or authority over the men in her village? The jaguars here had no issues with the species mixing, but their main focus was ridding the shapeshifter world of the League, not interfering in the day-to-day life in obscure villages around the country. She might be inviting trouble to the very people who had given her food and shelter, no questions asked.

Just because they’d taken her in didn’t mean they had any interest in stopping what went on in her village. They might not agree with it, but if they wanted to stop it, surely they would be fighting that cause as well. Valerie had one other idea, but she didn’t like it. She could run again, but where would she go?

She rolled over and tried to clear her head so that she could sleep, but scenes from her childhood played over in her mind. No matter what happened, she knew she couldn’t return home. If he had found her, she’d have to run again. She had no other choice.

ADULT EXCERPT

Stephen held up the silk. “We’re going to blindfold you, Valerie. You won’t be alone, and we’ll tell you what’s going on. But some subs find this helps them relax more into the moment.”

“All right. Thank you, Sir.”

She couldn’t see a thing through the blindfold, including what little light was inside the dungeon, but she didn’t mind that as much as she’d thought she would. She took a deep breath and caught the scent of their combined colognes, the smell of the snow on their boots, and the odors of vanilla and leather in the room. She hadn’t noticed any of those before. The music filled her head and made her a bit woozy. This had been a great idea. Stephen and Micah had obviously done this before.

“Better already,” said Micah. “Her aura is entirely different now.”

“I had a feeling it would work.” Stephen brushed a finger along her left breast, and Valerie groaned. “You will have three safewords from now on, Valerie. ‘Green’ for go, just like on a traffic light. It means you like what we’re doing and you want us to keep going or up the intensity. You will use ‘yellow’ for anything that makes you afraid, or if you need something adjusted like a limb. Also use that one if you need water or a bathroom break. ‘Red’ stops the scene immediately, no questions asked. Do you understand these words and their uses?”

Even his voice quality had changed, or perhaps she hadn’t heard the subtle tones before he’d blindfolded her? It almost lulled her to sleep. Valerie felt completely safe and secure. She was totally under his and Micah’s protection now. “Yes, Sir. I understand.” Her voice sounded breathy and far away, as though she was in a tunnel or underwater.

“Good girl.” He took her hand. “Take small steps. We won’t let you fall.” She had no idea where in the dungeon they were. It wasn’t that big, but she also hadn’t studied the layout the few times she’d been here before, so she had no points of orientation as they walked. “I’m sitting, Valerie, and Micah is going to help you drape yourself over my knee.”

She sighed out loud as the image of that floated up. Her breathing grew rapid and her pulse began to race. This was really happening. She was positioned over Stephen’s right thigh, and she could feel his muscles tense through the fabric of his pants. Hands caressed her ass cheeks, teasing, and she began to moan and squirm against him because the lust was overwhelming. One of them clasped her wrists and gently brought her arms behind her back. She felt leather cuffs wrap around each wrist and heard them clip together.

“What color are you, Valerie?” asked Micah, his voice soft yet full of command.

“Green, Sir.”

“Good girl. We’re so proud of you. Remember your safewords. Are you ready for your spanking?”

Oh stars… “Yes, Sir. I’m ready.” Was she? Too late now. This was it.

Four hard smacks were delivered to each ass cheek in quick succession, and Valerie cried out in surprise. It really fucking hurt, but the stinging also sent shock waves of desire straight to her soaked pussy and throbbing clit. Hands caressed her again, and she could actually hear them each breathing, harder now than before. Even their touch was different, but she wasn’t sure whose hand was where, and that made it more exciting.

Her arousal spiraled to crazy heights as the man she assumed was Stephen delivered six blows to each ass cheek this time. Valerie moaned and writhed against his leg, but her mobility was limited because of the cuffs around her wrists. Her ass cheeks were on fire already, but at the same time, she didn’t want him to stop.

When hands caressed her again, this time they also brushed across her asshole and her wet slit. She whimpered with the need to come, but she had a sneaking suspicion it would be a long time before they let her do that.

“What do you think?” asked Stephen. “Has she had enough from me for her first time?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a round or two with this, and then I’ll take my turn.”

“Oh stars,” she whispered. How could she take more, and then the same from Micah, and still walk later?

“Excuse me?” Micah’s voice was hard, and it sent shivers down her spine. “Was that a safeword, Valerie?”

“No, Sir.”

“All right. Just checking.”

The next sensation felt like a leather strap or perhaps a soft paddle. Whatever it was, it stung like fucking crazy. He struck her ten times in a row with it, and Valerie wasn’t sure she could hold on. But when he finished, her nipples tingled and she knew all she’d have to do was flex her Kegel muscles and she’d come. She’d never been so damn turned on in her life, and she craved more.

“I am so proud of you.” Stephen’s voice was filled with awe, and as he slipped two fingers into her wet pussy, tiny contractions coursed through her body. There was no way to stop them.

“Sir…I’m sorry. I couldn't stop it.”

Stephen chuckled, and pulled his fingers out. He reached under and brushed them over her clit as the orgasm continued to tease her, not quite there, but definitely noticeable. “It’s all right. I love that your first real spanking made you that aroused. But it’s not over yet, Valerie. You know that, right?”

“Yes, Sir,” she whispered.