Ander tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, you are, mate. You’re hiding from everyone, including yourself.”
A rush of pleasure flooded our connection as Jessica responded to his words, his commanding tone. She licked her lips. “Like what? I’m standing here naked wearing your collar. What could I be hiding?”
“How you like to be fucked,” I responded.
Her chin came up with that and I stifled a smile.
“You are going tell me how I like it?” She arched a brow.
“No,” I replied simply. “Your body is going to reveal the secrets you are not willing to admit.”
She backed up a step as I continued, “You want us to fuck you hard.”
“You want it rough,” Ander added. He lifted the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head, dropped it on the floor.
Her eyes fell to Ander’s chest and she stared.
“You need to let go, to be told what to do.”
“I—no.”
“You need to relinquish control when it comes to being fucked by your men,” I clarified. “You might be a warrior in your own right, but when you are naked and between the two of us, you will do as we say.”
She took another step back, her chest heaving as her arousal climbed. As she turned, I could see the flared end of the plug parting her ass cheeks. My cock pulsed at the sight. Cringing in discomfort, I undid my pants.
“What if I don’t? What if you’re wrong?” She lifted one hand to rub the top of her chest and side of her neck in a nervous gesture I found utterly endearing. She wanted what we were offering her, but was afraid to take it.
“Do you trust us, Jessica? Do you trust us not to hurt you? Do you believe we are strong enough, disciplined enough, to protect and care for you? Do you believe that our one desire is to make you happy, to meet your needs?”
Her hand froze on the side of her neck and she bowed her head, staring at her feet for several long seconds that felt like a millennium to me, and I was sure, to Ander as well. He held his breath where he stood next to me. We both did, waiting for her answer, waiting for permission to claim her. This one fragile female held our very hearts and happiness in her hands.
I walked to her then, pulling her into my arms so that her ear was pressed to my chest above my beating heart. I held her close, stroking the curve of her back and hip with one hand as Ander watched with an intense need I knew was mirrored in my own gaze. The other hand I tangled in her hair, holding her to me softly, like delicate crystal.
“Do you hear the beating of my heart? It beats for you. Every cell in my body is dedicated to you, to your comfort, to your safety, to your pleasure. The collars around our necks mark you as ours, mate, but in reality, we belong to you. We serve no other but you. We will fight for you, kill for you, die for you. We will do everything in our power to make you feel safe, protected, and loved. If you allow us, Jessica.” I cupped her cheek in my hand and tilted her head up so I could look down into her pale blue eyes. “Say yes. Accept our claim. Let us love you.”
One word. That’s all we needed to make her ours forever. One word would set us free, to touch, to fuck, to mark forever.
“Yes.”
I kissed her gently, softly on the lips in acknowledgment of her gift. I did not protest as Ander reached for her hand and gently pulled her away. I knew he, too, was starved for her touch.
I pulled my own shirt from my head and dropped it to the floor as Ander took a hold of Jessica’s hand and led her to the bed. “First, dear mate, you will be punished.”
“Punished—what? Why?”
He walked alongside the bed, pulling her forward so she had no choice but to crawl up onto the mattress. Only when both her knees were on the soft surface did he release her hand to slide his arm beneath her waist. “Your stubborn refusal to obey Nial earlier caused us to injure two of our brothers and damage the doctor’s examination room.”
“I said I was sorry about that. I didn’t understand.” She was on her hands and knees and his free hand caressed her bare bottom as he leaned over to speak in her ear.
“That is not good enough. You put yourself in unnecessary danger, mate, despite the fact that Nial warned you. Did you stop to consider what would have happened had Nial or I lost the challenge?” His hand came down on her bare ass, hard.
Smack!
A pink handprint appeared and she fought to break his hold, but she had no chance of escape. Her face flushed pink as Ander spanked her again. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Ander shook his head. “Language, mate.”
He spanked her again. And again.
She panted in his hold, her nipples pebbled into hard peaks and her eyes closed as she fought the arousal I could smell flooding her pussy. “This is stupid. I’m not a child.”