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An intoxicating combination of excitement and fear fueled Tara’s struggles. She kicked wildly and tried to twist off Jon’s lap. He splayed one hand against the small of her back and trapped her flailing legs between his. She punched and slapped, but he simply ignored her efforts.

“Settle down, or this will be much worse,” Jon warned as his first slap landed against her bare bottom.

Instinctual defiance welled within her. “Screw you! I just stood there and took it this morning. I’m not doing it again.” Resisting him would make him more aggressive. She knew that and yet she couldn’t ignore her need to challenge him.

“That’s not the way I remember it. How about you, Isaac?” Jon smacked one side and then the other, making her cheeks quiver and her core clench.

“I remember holding her down while she twisted and yelled. In fact, she screamed so loud that Zion came running to make sure she was all right.”

Heat suffused her face at the memory. Having her potential mates humiliate her was bad enough, but knowing the pride leader saw her naked and out of control made her want to join a different village. “If you’re determined to do this, just get it over with.”

Jon chuckled, his warm fingers lightly stroking her bare skin. “Do you want our hands on your body?”

“Not anymore,” she insisted angrily.

“Another lie,” Jon growled. “Apparently, I’m not making my expectations clear enough.” He suddenly stood, pulling her up with him.

Hobbled by the clothing bunched around her ankles, Tara stumbled and nearly fell.

Jon bent and lifted her to his shoulder, his arm banding the backs of her thighs.

One of the others, probably Isaac, pulled off her boots and finished taking off her pants and panties.

Then the Shadows walked into one of the bedrooms and Jon set her down at the foot of the bed.

Tara didn’t bother pulling her sweater down because she knew what came next.

They worked together to rid her of the rest of her clothes and Jon closed magnetic cuffs around her wrists.

She wasn’t even sure where he’d gotten them. They just seemed to appear.

Jon cupped her chin and raised her face until she looked into his eyes. “One last chance, hellion. Are you here because you want us to touch you?”

Something dark and primal stirred inside her, urging her to test his strength.

Rydaria was a brutal planet ruled by savage beings.

Only the strongest and fiercest survived.

If her mates couldn’t control her, they couldn’t protect her, and she desperately wanted to feel safe again.

“I came here to talk and only talk, and now I don’t even want to do that. ”

“Very well. We will do this the hard way.” Jon motioned to Isaac and Kyle.

Tara struggled frantically, but they soon had her bent over the bed with her arms stretched out in front of her.

Jon pulled open one of the drawers in the large dresser across the room and produced several lengths of rope.

He used the first to fasten the wrist cuffs to the bedframe above her head.

Then her legs were spread, and Jon secured her ankles to opposite corners.

The position left her open and utterly vulnerable to whatever they chose to do.

Trepidation tingled down her spine, but her pussy moistened despite her fear. “Is tying a woman up the only way you can get her to have sex with you?”

“What makes you think I want to have sex with you?” Jon countered.

Turning her head sharply, she tried to look back at him. She was bound too securely. All she could see was the corner of the bed. “The fact that I’m naked and on display is a pretty good indication.”

“There are many things that can happen to a female while she’s naked and on display.”

She turned her head back around and tried not to panic. Why had this seemed like a good idea?

“Did I tell you not to lie to us?” Jon’s cold tone indicated that he was no longer playing. If she lied to him now, there would be harsh consequences.

“Yes. You warned me not to lie.”

“And did you lie again despite my warnings?”

She licked her lips and took a deep breath. “There was truth in what I said, but there was also misinformation.”

Jon’s hand slapped her bottom fast and hard to illustrate his displeasure. “Try again,” he said after six resounding spanks.

“Yes,” she snapped. “I lied to you.”

“Did you know what would happen if you came to our cabin?” Jon persisted.

“I knew you would try to seduce me,” she evaded. “I foolishly thought I could resist your efforts.”

“You’re still avoiding the truth.” He accented the declaration with more firm swats. After delivering a flurry of stinging slaps, he stopped and rubbed her burning bottom.

The caress fueled the smoldering heat and made the ache in her pussy more acute.

He slipped his hand between her thighs and teased her folds.

The empty ache flared, and her inner muscles clenched.

Tara moaned, helplessly lifting her hips, needing his fingers inside her.

Jon knew that discipline aroused her, and he was focusing her attention on the reaction.

Desire. He wanted her to admit that she needed them to fuck her. It was foolish to deny her body’s demands when his fingers were covered in the proof.

He lowered his arm to his side and she exhaled, thinking he was finished. But he only paused, allowing the tension to build. Then his hand fell again and again, alternating firm spanks and teasing caresses with cruel pauses.

“Stop!” she cried after four rotations. “I knew that ending up in bed was a good possibility, but I really did want to learn more about you.”

Slowly, his fingers parted her folds and circled her opening. Tara whimpered, needing fullness so badly it hurt.

“Why?” he taunted. “I thought you didn’t like bossy males.”

“I don’t like you .” She threw the complaint over her shoulder as she tugged against her restraints. She could barely move, which only made her angrier.

He spanked her silently for several long moments. The punishing slaps covered her entire bottom and even the tops of her thighs.

“Let me up!” she yelled. “You do not have the right to discipline me. And you never will!”

His hand covered one side of her bottom and gave the cheek a painful squeeze. “Stop defying me or I’ll have no choice but to escalate.”

This would be a good time to abandon the battle of wills.

They both knew she couldn’t win, but Tara wasn’t quite ready to surrender.

The last few years had been filled with compromise and loss.

She’d been exiled from Earth and forced to accept rules that stripped away her independence.

Anger was all she had left. Once she gave in to this new paradigm, there would be nothing left of Earth’s Tara Hughes.

“Fuck. You!” She made each word a separate curse, then braced for his reaction.

The room fell silent and tension gradually mounted.

Footsteps sounded as the males moved around behind her.

She caught glimpses of them in her peripheral vision, but mostly they were out of sight.

What was Jon doing? Would the others participate or just stand there and watch?

Lexie never spoke about the specifics of what went on between her and her mates.

She admitted that discipline was still a part of her life, but never explained what that entailed.

Tara’s heart thudded and her breaths came in ragged pants. Fear and excitement were having a tug of war inside her and she couldn’t decide who was winning. All she had to do was apologize, admit that she wanted them to fuck her, and this would end. Why the hell was she being so stubborn?

You want the pain , her inner voice clarified. You’re angry and afraid, and you need them to overwhelm you.

“This is our first night together,” Jon said solemnly. “We had planned to go slowly, to ease you into your new role. But Zion is right. You need to be mastered.”

Tara heard a subtle whooshing a millisecond before fire exploded across her bottom. She cried out, shocked and alarmed by the intensity of the pain. “What the hell is that?” She tried to turn her head and see what he was using, but the restraints held her securely.

“Misbehavior results in consequences.”

Jon swung the mystery implement again and Tara went wild.

It had to be some sort of strap because it delivered mild impact as well as a fiery sting.

Anger burned through anticipation, and she struggled with all her might.

She twisted and bucked, crying out and demanding that he stop.

None of it did any good. He continued to spank her, one biting swat after another.

Soon her entire bottom throbbed and heat sank deep into her abdomen.

Her core clenched painfully each time the strap landed, and she’d grown so wet that a humiliating rivulet trickled down the inside of her thigh.

She closed her eyes and tried to disappear into her mind.

The pain was harsher than she’d expected, but what frightened her most was the savage need now burning inside her.

“Please,” she whimpered. “I need… I’ll do anything, just stop.”

Rather than delivering the next swat, Jon slid his fingers across her well-spanked bottom and eased them between her thighs. He brushed over her sodden folds, clearly avoiding her clit. “You beg sweetly, hellion. But you need to be more specific. Tell us what you need.”

She sobbed, overwhelmed by her desperation. “I need you to stop spanking me.”

He squeezed each of her cheeks in turn, dragging a soft cry from her throat. Then he traced a slow, tantalizing line from her clit to the hidden pucker of her bottom hole. “Why did you come here? No more lies and no evasions.”