“Well enough to spank?” I asked.
Tiffani’s eyes widened and Dax chuckled. “Well enough, I assume.”
“Deek, I don’t think—”
“That’s right, you didn’t think.”
I was better right then, the world righting itself, finally coming into focus. And Tiffani was at the center of it.
“Putting your life in danger like that? Calling yourself fat and stupid? It’s time for a spanking, Tiffani.”
She sputtered as I stood and picked her up into my arms. She was the perfect handful, just right. For me. I would never let her go again.
I carried her to the bedroom, dropping the cuffs she’d abandoned onto the bed before entering the bathing room. I heard Dax down below, escorting everyone out of my home. Tiffani’s home. Our home. And no one was ever going to threaten her again.
She remained silent until we heard the front door slam shut, courtesy of Dax, no doubt. I pushed Tiffany back against the wall in the shower and turned on the warm water.
Biting her plump lower lip, her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at me. “You can’t spank me! I was trying to save you.”
I didn’t answer her right away, simply ripped the now wet dress from her soft body and let it drop to the floor. I washed her thoroughly, needing every ounce of this day, any hint of the drug or Engel, gone from her body.
My big hands were fast, efficient, for I didn’t want to fuck her here in the shower, with Engel’s blood swirling in the water at our feet. I wanted her cleansed and ready in my bed, mine. All mine.
Finished, I ignored the rise and fall of her chest, the darkening of her eyes, and stripped my armor, dropping it next to hers on the shower floor. I scrubbed the touch of Seranda from my body, Engel’s blood and hatred flowing away with the smell of fresh soap.
I inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of my mate’s wet skin, her heat, her wet pussy.
Oh, yes, she was hot and wet, ready for me. Her gaze lingered on my chest and shoulders, my hips. When she stared at my cock, her cheeks turned pink, her breathing grew shallow.
“I’m yours, Tiffani. Every fucking inch of me.”
Clean, I turned off the water as she watched me with uncertainty in her gaze. I intended to make sure she never, ever had that look in her eyes again. She was mine. And after today, she was never going to doubt it again.
I wrapped her in a towel, not bothering with drying myself, and carried her to the bedroom. “I’m going to spank you now, mate. But this spanking isn’t for punishment, although Gods knows you need one.”
“What other kind of spanking is there?” she asked, when I tossed her onto the bed. She bounced once, then settled. Grabbing her ankle, I flipped her onto her stomach.
I didn’t waste time as I pushed the towel up until her bare ass was exposed. The lush, creamy swells of her bottom made my beast howl and my cock harden.
She looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes narrowed. But she wasn’t moving. She remained where I put her and that boded well. She liked my dominant hand, my need to reestablish control. She needed this release as much as I did.
I climbed onto the bed beside her until my knee nestled the swell of her large breast. I placed one hand on her back and the other on her ass, to pet her, stroke her, get her ready. My eyes shifted from her perfect ass to her face. “Do you need to be fucked, Tiffani?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“Are you mine, Tiffani, my mate?”
“Yes.”
“Really? Are you certain?”
She frowned. “Yes, I’m yours and you’re mine.”
I reached behind her and lifted her cuffs from the bedding, dangled them in front of her face. I knew my eyes darkened, for the beast did not like her bare wrists.
“Then why did you take these off?”
Chapter Sixteen
Deek
She swallowed. “I had to.”
“You gave me to Seranda.”
Shaking her head, she came up onto her knees so we were almost eye level. “No, of course not. Did you think I wanted you to fuck her?” Tears filled her eyes, but didn’t fall. “Did you?”
“That’s three, Tiffani.”
“Three?”
“I’m counting the reasons why your ass should be spanked.”
“Did you fuck her?” she asked again, her voice so unsure, so unlike the fearless woman I had grown to love.
Holding up my wrists, I let her see that my cuffs were still on. “I belong to you and no one else. But you? You say you’re mine, but aren’t wearing my cuffs.”
They weren’t required by Atlan law for us to remain mated, but I wanted the sign, the outward proof that Tiffani belonged to me. Not all Atlans needed that level of connection, but Dax and Sarah remained cuffed and inseparable. Apparently, I wasn’t as independent as I’d once believed. I wanted her with me, beside me, always. I never thought I’d be the Atlan who needed his mate to wear the damn things, to tether me to her side like I was her pet, but apparently, I did. I needed that gold around her wrist not just to show the world that she was mine, but to assure the beast within that we belonged to her as well.