Knowing she hadn’t sought the divorce was a consolation. That fact gave him hope. “And?”

“I wasn’t sure if I should use them. Then you overwhelmed me.”

“And you thought that was a good reason to end us?” God, was his voice cracking? He frowned. “I’ll never punish you for your feelings. They’re real and honest. I will, however, punish you for not talking to me. What we do in the bedroom aside, marriage is a partnership. This ‘decision’ was all you.”

Kata said nothing for a long moment. Then tears pooled in her eyes. “You’re a caveman, and you’re still not listening. You might be the perfect man for some little submissive—”

“I’m the perfect man for you. If you need to talk a scene or your feelings through, fine. Communicate with me, don’t divorce me. I love you. You have feelings for me, too. That scares you, so you lashed out at me. That’s not how this works. We’re partners, and we work things out.” He hesitated. “You’ve got more punishment coming.”

Her jaw dropped. “See, you’re deciding to punish me. That’s not a partnership.”

“This is where our Dom/sub relationship comes into play. For us to succeed, you need to communicate. Since that hasn’t sunk in yet, it’s my job to help you along.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“You using your safe word?”

“That, right there. You’re being a pushy asshole.”

He cocked a brow at her. “I guess not. Hold still.”

“But the plug . . .”

“Stays where it is.”

Slowly, Hunter twisted the toy, aligning the bulbous G-spot stimulator up with her wet pussy. When she gasped, he merely smiled while he inserted it. There, now it would be perfect. Then he flipped it on the lowest setting, while sliding his other hand between her legs, right over her clit.

“Oh dear God!” she cried out as fresh moisture gushed onto his hand. She groaned once, then again when his finger circled her needy bud. Kata ground against his hand, looking for relief. Instead, he eased back—and turned up the vibration.

Kata’s entire body jolted. As he reached her clit again, he slid his other palm over her ass, transfixed by the gorgeous rosy color from her previous spanking. Her hips gyrated wildly as she sought a relief that wasn’t coming anytime soon.

He turned up the vibration again. Kata clenched, whimpered, trembled. Her clit swelled again, hard like a stone. She was so close that he damn near held his breath with her. “It’s too much! Damn it. Please . . .”

“Please what? You want to come?”

Her body bucked again on his lap as she searched futilely for relief. It would come when he chose to grant it, and certainly not because she’d wiggled for it. In no way would he reward her behavior over the last few days.

“You know I do,” she sobbed. “Touch me. Fuck me. Make me come.”

Willing patience, he caressed her ass once more. “Are you demanding or begging, honey?”

“Begging ...” She dug her fingernails into the padded leather, still wriggling. “I promise that I won’t get on Ben’s lap again. I won’t run away from your protection. Please.”

“In the future, you’ll talk to me about how you’re feeling instead of springing nasty surprises like divorce papers on me?”

“I swear . . .”

Kata was many things: impetuous, headstrong, sharp-tongued, vulnerable, and sexy as hell. But she wasn’t a liar. Hunter smiled.

“Good girl.” He stroked his way down the dark tangles of her silky hair, then the smooth line of her spine. When he feathered a light touch across her ass again, she shivered. Then he eased out from under her and stood.

“Hunter?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he stood behind her and gingerly withdrew the toy, ignoring her protest, then set it aside. “Knees under you, ass in the air, honey.”

Panting, Kata hesitated, her aroused body struggling to process his request. But she finally complied, drawing her knees up under her and sticking the luscious globes of her rosy backside high in the air for him.

“In addition to finding all the ways I can make you come with my hands and my mouth . . .” He stepped to the edge of the table and grabbed her hips in his hands. “I’ll definitely find every way possible to make you come on my cock, over and over. Starting now.”

Chapter Fifteen

HUNTER aligned his cock with the slick heaven of her entrance and inched inside. Every blood cell in his body urged him to take her fast, hard. He held back, determined to build her climax up higher than ever. But the slow press inside the tight clasp of her swollen pussy had him gritting his teeth. Desire turned to hot lava in his veins.

God, getting inside Kata was always the most stunning experience. She gripped him like nothing he’d ever felt. He lost himself to her silken clasp, the little catches of breath. The closeness they shared. He’d fucked plenty of women but never given himself this completely to any. Now, he’d never want sex any other way.

“Hunter . . .” She moaned his name, a question, a plea.

Nothing could get to him faster than hearing her cry his name. He wanted to hear it every day for the rest of his life. Wanted to connect with her, form something so never ending that she’d never think of leaving him again.

“Yeah,” he croaked. “Kata, ah . . .” He slid back inside, all the way, and tossed his head back on a groan. “Fuck. You’re amazing.”

She sucked in a thin breath. “Ahh. I shouldn’t like the way you force all this sensation on me.”

Bullshit. “It feels good when I’m deep inside you, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” she whimpered.

Determined to keep her on edge, he withdrew almost completely, then fell into her again. It was like diving into honey, so slow and sweet, her clinging passage all around him. He thought he’d go insane.

Finally, he nudged her cervix. She clawed the padded table again and bowed her head, unconsciously submissive. The sight nearly undid him. She might not want to acknowledge her nature, but he felt it, tasted and smelled it. That very nature colored so many of her responses. She would never be truly happy with anyone who couldn’t give her the dominance she craved. And Hunter intended to make her very, very happy.

Jesus, she was wet and so close. The warning pulses of her pussy gripped him, trying to shove him over the edge. He gritted his teeth, his lungs about to burst, his skin on fire—but he managed to slow down, hold back.

“I shouldn’t give in to you the way I do,” she gasped.

More bullshit. “I love to please you, honey.”

He punctuated the statement by leaning over the damp flesh of her back, settling his palm over her clit, then grinding into her.

Kata tossed back her head and cried out. “Hunter!”

“You want to come now?”

“Yes. Yes!”

“You’ll talk to me before making any decisions about us?”

“I will,” she sobbed. “Please . . .”

Satisfaction burned through him like an inferno at her words. All the leashed power he’d been holding back, Hunter let loose. He surged into her, throwing his body into each thrust. Kata mewled, gripped the edge of the ottoman with her nails. Her pussy clenched tight on him.

She wailed with pleasure, the skeins of her dark hair covering her shoulders in a silky brush of sable. God, everything about her was sexy. He thrust again, giving her even more, settling into a rhythm that was both blistering and merciless. Around him, she tensed, drawing in one shuddering breath after another, exhaling with a cry.

Sweat spread across his back, over his scalp, rolled down his temples. And still he kept at her, determined to give her both total devotion and absolute pleasure. He wanted this night to be like nothing she’d ever experienced—or would ever forget. Because in another three days, he’d be shipping out. He had to be certain she had no interest pursuing that divorce in his absence. Losing her would kill him.

He molded his body more tightly to hers, luxuriating in the feel of her under his hands as he thrust deep, hard, fast. He spread kisses along her shoulder, shoving her hair out of the way so he could slide his lips up her neck, breathe in her skin. Musky, tinged with female perspiration and arousal, and ripe with something that would forever remind him of Kata. The smell and feel of her drove him toward the edge.

“Hunter!” She clamped down on his cock now, dangerously close. In response, pleasure rolled down his spine, flash-heated his blood. His balls drew up tight. Damn it, he was going to be a heartbeat behind her.

He pressed his palm into her clit again. “Now! Come, honey.”

She did, screaming out her release. She squeezed him so tightly, he couldn’t move for a long moment. Damn! Her walls closed in on him, pressing, stroking. Had he ever felt anything more mind-blowing? Pleasure was like a fresh razor blade up his spine—sharp and cutting through him with so little effort. He bit gently into her shoulder and let loose, spilling all he had—seed, need, and soul—inside her.

Kata was everything to him. The submissive he’d always sought, the gutsy, smart wife who’d always challenge him. Somehow, with the few days they had left, he had to stop her would-be killer, ensure Ben stayed away, and convince Kata that she felt the same way for him.

KATA struggled to find her breath. Hunter’s legs were tangled in hers, his arms banded around her middle. His mouth hovered over her neck as he breathed heavily against her skin. God, he was everywhere, made her feel everything.

She trembled. The floodgates of her fear and exhaustion poured over the reality of her submission, threatening to drown her. She bucked under Hunter, doing her best to dislodge him. But strapped to his table and held captive by his heavily muscled body, Kata couldn’t move.

The rising tide rolled up and over her head. She swallowed hard, trying to force the feeling down, but the giant sob tore at her chest, even bigger than the release following her spanking. She choked as it came up. Tears burst out, and her arms and legs gave way.

In the back of her head, she knew that he wanted her to feel free to show him all her emotions. He’d shown her his. She’d never forget the haunted, angry look on his face when he talked about his mother, about the fact that his father had simply let the divorce happen. Their split was a scar on his heart, festering.

The way he’d commanded her entire body just now proved that he didn’t intend to allow his own wife to leave. His ruthless domination of her body was his way of fighting back. He’d do anything necessary to make her stay. He’d consume her in the process. And she feared that she’d eventually just let him.

A shudder rolled over Kata. Damn it, she’d already given him far more than she’d ever given any man, more than she’d ever thought she had to give. But he would never rest until he owned her through and through, all the way down to her soul.

She must put some distance between them. Every time Hunter touched her, he stripped her a bit more. After every encounter, she didn’t think he could leave her any more exposed or feeling any more raw. And she was always wrong.

What would another three days with Hunter do to her psyche? Or a lifetime with him? How long before she became his doormat? He pushed, and shoved, and demanded. Then, when she was defenseless, he brought in the steely tenderness, digging his way into her soul. Where Hunter was concerned, she was so weak, some part of her ridiculously eager to submit. Already he was so firmly entrenched, it scared her to death. Kata feared that she’d never be able to get him out of her heart.

She tried to crawl into a ball—but couldn’t while strapped to the table. More sobs wracked her chest, overpowering, unstoppable, painful. Hunter watched her with all-seeing eyes, petting her with a soothing touch. She couldn’t give all of herself like this to him day after day, year after year, for a lifetime. He didn’t understand what it meant to feel as if he’d been broken down again and again. He’d never know how this submission made her question her sense of self... and whether she’d have anything left if she kept giving to him like this.

But after giving her the most stunning sex of her life, she had no way to hide.

“Kata, honey,” he whispered in her ear.

She curled up tighter and shook her head.

“Was it too powerful?”

For her, yes. Always.

“Don’t,” she managed to gasp out through another sob. “Just stop.”

“Shh.” He trailed a soothing hand down her back, then back up, up, until he reached the cuff at the corner of the padded table. With a quick click, one unfastened. He repeated the same movement with the other. Then her wrists were free. With Hunter still buried deep inside her, he drew her back onto his lap, rubbing her forearms and wrists, caring for her gently. Kata refused to look over her shoulder at him, but she could feel his gaze delving past the curtain of her hair. No escaping the feel of his cock stiffening inside her so-sensitive pussy once more.