The Commander's Daughter Read online

  “I’m going into town and have no need of your services this afternoon,” she told him firmly.

  He snorted in response, “I think not. Go put on shoes that cover your feet and I will take you to town.”

  “There is nothing wrong with my shoes!” Melody snapped, looking down at her heeled flip-flops, enjoying the way they showed off her red-painted toenails.

  “Other men will see your feet,” he explained.

  Melody made a face. “So? I’m not married and who cares who sees my feet anyway? It doesn’t matter, I don’t need you today. I got permission from my father to go in to town alone.”

  “What?” Liam asked, clearly alarmed.

  “You heard me,” she said with no little satisfaction. “Go ask him if you don’t believe me.”

  “You will wait here while I speak to your father,” the large guard instructed as he left the entry hall in search of his commander.

  “Fat chance,” Melody muttered under her breath, leading Sassy out the door as soon as the irritating man was out of sight.

  Melody smiled as the sunshine warmed her face while she and Sassy walked toward their small town.

  * * *

  Liam found the commander and his mate in the kitchen. “Why is my mate under the impression she can go into town without escort?”

  “I told Melody she could go into town if she took Sassy. She needs to feel a small measure of freedom or I fear none of us will be pleased with the results. My daughter is building to a major rebellion if some of her constraints are not loosened somewhat,” Grayson explained.

  “If she rebels, she will know my discipline,” Liam stated matter-of-factly.

  “Don’t you dare lay a hand on my daughter for attempting some level of normalcy in this situation!” the commander’s mate yelled up at him with a finger pointed toward his face.

  “Isabella!” Grayson’s bark should have urged his little mate back to a measure of control.

  “No, Grayson, I will not let this man bully our daughter into anything before she’s ready,” the woman insisted. “Young man, you will leave my daughter alone. She is going into town with our permission and that is all that matters.”

  “If this is the measure of obedience in this home, I will have my work cut out for me training Melody to behave as a wife should,” was Liam’s only response.

  Isabella flew at Liam with murder in her eyes, only to be caught around the waist by her large mate. “My daughter is not an animal to be trained, you cretin!”

  The commander set his mate down at his side and delivered a sharp swat to her bottom before turning her toward the stairs. “Enough, Isabella. You will go to our quarters and prepare yourself for punishment.”

  “But, Grayson—”

  “Now, Isabella.” The commander’s tone brooked no argument. The little woman’s shoulders slumped as she headed up the stairs. “Isabella?”

  The small woman turned to look at her mate over her shoulder. “Yes, sir?”

  “I expect to find the paddle and large plug laid out for my use,” the commander told her, staring straight into his little mate’s eyes.

  The commander’s mate closed her eyes as a flush of embarrassment filled her cheeks. She merely nodded to her mate and resumed her walk of shame to their bedroom, obviously understanding the embarrassment of being instructed like this in front of another warrior was part of the punishment.

  Liam himself felt a tinge of discomfort to witness something so intimate between the couple who would someday be his parents by bonding. “I did not mean to cause such a harsh infraction for your mate.”

  “The discipline of my mate is done for her benefit, not yours. You, young man, would do well to remember I am your superior officer. While I understand this situation is difficult for you, do not forget again.”

  The look in his commander’s eyes assured Liam he was not above disciplinary action himself if he pushed this man too far. “Yes, sir.”

  Liam knew he would have to accept the decision of the father of his mate regarding her trip to town. He couldn’t punish her for ignoring his order to wait when she didn’t know he had a right as of yet to supersede her father’s instruction.

  While it went against everything in him to allow it, he knew she would be protected with the large canine in tow. The dog they called Sassy was probably more vigilant with keeping people at bay than even he himself would be.

  * * *

  “Grayson, no!” Izzy wailed as her husband’s hand fell again on her already well tenderized bottom. Each swat jolted the large plug in her bottom anew and increased the aching sting of her poor little hole being stretched by the intruder.

  He ignored her pleas for mercy, giving Izzy no quarter as he vigorously continued to apply his palm to her burning bottom. A fast volley of swats to her sit spot raised the level of intensity until she gave in to the pain and collapsed over her husband’s lap in tears.

  Grayson let her cry for a moment before lifting her to stand and bending her over the edge of the bed. After twenty years with Grayson, Izzy knew her punishment was far from over; she gritted her teeth when she felt him catch hold of the plug’s base.

  “You do not attack any guest in our home,” he told her sternly as he began to pull the plug out of her bottom with agonizing slowness, only to push it back in to the hilt with a hard thrust that brought Izzy up on her toes with a squeal.

  He continued to scold her about her inappropriate behavior, punctuating each of his points with a hard thrust of the plug into her sore ass. Izzy knew she was really in for it when Grayson stopped lecturing altogether and simply let the plug taking her so thoroughly express his displeasure.

  Soon the only sounds in the room were the rhythmic sounds of the lubed plug slapping in and out of her at a hard fast pace and her grunts and cries of contrition.

  At the rate this was going, her poor bottom would be sore inside and out for a week. Izzy hated how guilty she felt when she pushed her mate to such a serious punishment. It hurt to know he was displeased with her to such an extent.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when all movement stopped and Grayson leaned down to speak directly into her ear, “Do you think you can remember to be polite to guests in our home, young lady?”

  “Yes, sir,” she whimpered softly.

  “Now we will deal with the danger you placed yourself in by attacking a male, especially a warrior.” Grayson informed her.

  Izzy winced when she looked over her shoulder and saw the small paddle in his hand.

  “You will receive twenty swats, Isabella,” he told her as he raised the paddle high.

  There was a soft whistling sound as the paddle caught the air on its way down and then the loud crack of it hitting its target, then she stiffened as the bright bloom of pain filled her right sit spot.

  Izzy barely had time to register the stinging heat of the first swat before the paddle landed again and again as Grayson delivered ten swats to the exact same spot hard and fast.

  She was sobbing loudly before he was even halfway through the first set, then he moved and gave the left side of her bottom the exact same treatment.

  Usually at this point, Grayson would pull her in close and comfort her, but instead he guided Izzy, still sobbing, to the corner. “You will stand here and think about your behavior and why nothing like this will ever happen again, young lady. Am I understood?”

  “Yes, Grayson,” Izzy said miserably. She was sure her poor abused bottom would never be the same again. For the first time in years, the punishment had been so thorough, she wasn’t even tempted to rub.

  She whimpered as she shifted from one foot to another, each movement pulling the skin of her backside taut and shifting the plug to remind Izzy of her mate’s displeasure.

  “Come here.” The firm tone of her mate’s voice warned Izzy that her ordeal was not quite over. She knew exactly what to expect as she walked to Grayson’s side.

  This was the worst part as far as Izzy was concerned; the sor
e bottom she could deal with, but she hated the aching emptiness she was left with when he brought her to the brink again and again but didn’t allow her to come.

  Thankfully, Grayson didn’t punish her this way often, but she knew this would be one of those times from the look on his face. Fresh tears began to fill her eyes as she took her place with her mate at the foot of the bed.

  “Please, Grayson, I’m sorry…” she tried to reason with him.

  “I hope this will be the last time I have to teach this lesson,” was his only reply as he bent her back over the end of the bed.

  She hissed when he pulled the plug from her bottom, then groaned when his tongue took its place, laving the abused area and sending sparks of intense pleasure to race with the pain. When his tongue swept across her throbbing clit, she yelled and ground back against his face in helpless demand.

  His tongue continued to whip across her labia and clit until she felt her whole body shake as she prepared to hurl across the summit. Then he was gone, leaving her empty sheath grasping for something, anything to push her over the edge.

  Izzy sobbed in frustration.

  “Do bad girls get to come, Isabella?”

  “Nooo!” she wailed, crying softly into the comforter as she felt the large head of his shaft pushing into her bottom and stretching it anew. It had been a while since Grayson took her this way, so his plundering of her tender hole hurt more than usual. But it hurt so good.

  He thrust in to the hilt immediately, not giving her body time to adjust as he took up a pounding rhythm. Two fingers thrust boldly into her pulsing sheath, rubbing against the thin membrane separating her two channels as his thumb strummed across her clit.

  It took only a few thrusts before Izzy was once again on the precipice and everything stopped, only to start the process all over again as soon as her body calmed. She lost count of how many times he brought her to the brink before he moved her legs farther apart and moved his hand to prevent further clitoral stimulation.

  Finally, he took up a hard and fast rhythm designed to bring his own release. With a final slamming thrust, he roared against the back of her neck as he filled her bottom with his seed.

  Izzy held still as he pulled from her. Her need to come along with the tenderness of her bottom as he pulled free from her grasping channel were too much, and her eyes flooded with tears.

  She stayed in place, weeping softly as Grayson cleaned her tenderly before picking her up and cuddling her close to his chest as he sat down in the chair.

  “Please don’t make me punish you like this again, Isabella. I would much rather give you only pleasure,” Grayson said softly into her hair.

  Izzy cried softly against her mate’s neck as he rubbed her sore bottom.

  “I’m sorry, Grayson. I know I behaved badly and without respect,” she said quietly.

  “It is more than disrespect, little fire; you physically challenged a warrior. This I cannot allow; though I don’t believe you have anything to fear from Liam, a warrior could snap you in half very easily. What is one of your most important rules, Isabella?” Grayson asked sternly.

  “Never to place myself in harm’s way,” Izzy whispered with a shuddering sigh.

  “Exactly, this is why your punishment was so harsh, though the lack of respect still would have earned you a trip across my knee.”

  Izzy wrapped her arms tightly around him and pressed herself as close to him as she could. “I fear for our baby in that man’s hands, Grayson. He’s so cold and unyielding.”

  She felt Grayson smile against her neck as he held her more tightly. “I was no different, little fire. It takes a mate to warm a warrior’s cold heart and teach him to yield as she softens his rough edges. He will learn not to take everything so seriously, he will learn to laugh and when to bend. Liam will not be able to do anything else because he will love our daughter with his whole heart once he’s claimed her.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked worriedly.

  “He has no choice. It is how we are made.”

  * * *

  Melody walked through town talking to everyone and smiling, but from a bit of a distance as Sassy kept her hackles up. She’d been on high alert since the moment they’d gotten to town and while the people familiar with her and Melody’s family found her vigilance amusing, no one was stupid enough to approach them.

  She sighed and fussed at Sassy to stop scaring everyone, not that it would do any good. Sassy felt she was doing her duty by watching over her family. Nothing could convince Sassy that anyone not born into their family was safe to be within ten feet of a family member.

  Melody walked along the sidewalk, trying to ignore the way everyone crossed the street to get away from them. This was no fun at all; at least with Liam she would have been able to carry on a conversation of sorts, though people tended to give him a wide berth as well.

  “What’s the matter, pretty girl? No one brave enough to get close to your dog?” She looked up to see Jackson Marks on his motorcycle across the street. Jackson was an example of what the clean air and improved nutrients could do for an earthling. He stood just a head shorter than her brothers, which was very tall for a human, and had the same breadth of chest and shoulders.

  She smiled; he was a good friend of Griff’s and Braeden’s, so she’d known him since childhood. “Apparently not. I was looking for some adventure now that Griff and Braeden have headed off to Ramel.”

  “Wanna go for a ride on my bike?” he asked. He was one of the few who could walk up to one of the commander’s children and pet Sassy, largely because she considered him one of her charges as well. Melody loved him like another brother and knew he felt the same about her.

  Melody’s eyes grew excited at the prospect of riding the large motorcycle. She imagined the wind in her hair as they rode fast through the countryside. Jackson would keep her safe; he knew what would happen when her brothers got home if he didn’t. Surely her parents wouldn’t object to a ride with Jackson. He’d practically lived with them as they grew up. “Okay, meet me at the gate to the house. I have to put Sassy up.”

  * * *

  Liam watched with disbelief as his mate climbed onto a motorcycle with an unknown male. He was beyond furious she would do such a thing; using the transfer mechanism attached to his belt, in seconds he shimmered into the road ahead of the speeding motorcycle.

  The human male driving saw Liam in the road and had to skid sideways to avoid him, barely keeping his bike and Melody upright.

  He watched as Melody screamed and wrapped her arms tighter around the human to keep from smashing into the road.

  “What the hell, man?” the human cried as he straightened the bike and helped Melody to her feet at his side.

  “You will remove your hands from my mate immediately,” Liam instructed as he walked toward them.

  “Your what?” Melody and the human exclaimed almost in unison.

  The man backed away from Melody warily. “Mel, you should have told me. I would never have taken you on the bike if I’d known.”

  His mate seemed to shrink from the censure in the human’s voice. “I don’t know what he’s talking about, Jackson.”

  “Melody was not aware of our mating. She was, however, aware she did not have permission to ride your motorbike,” Liam said firmly, staring into Melody’s eyes with dark promise.

  “Stop!” Liam’s mate held her hand up as if to ward off his rapidly approaching form, backing away from him as he moved closer.

  When he just kept coming, she turned to run, but quickly found herself caught and tossed over a broad shoulder.

  The human male eyed the scene with obvious concern. “Mel, will you be okay? Should I get your dad?”

  “Concern yourself not with my mate, earth man. I will see to all her needs, including necessary discipline,” Liam assured him.

  The earth man blinked, but seemed to understand this was not a situation in which he could interfere.

  * * *

  “Put me d
own this instant, Liam!” Melody cried and beat on the hard back beneath her with balled-up fists.

  “It would behoove you to stop this foolishness as it will only add to your punishment,” Liam explained calmly as he strode up the street as if walking with a yelling woman across his shoulder was an everyday occurrence.

  By the time he carried her back inside the house, Melody was almost hyperventilating with fury. It didn’t help to see Sassy, the generally protective dog, dancing around at Liam’s feet like he was part of their family.

  “Bite him, Sassy!” she commanded.

  Liam swatted her upturned bottom sharply for the order before setting Melody on her feet beside him in the foyer, “The dog recognizes from my scent that I am your mate so she will not attack me.”

  “Stop saying that!” Melody screamed up at him.

  Liam sighed and went down on one knee, tugging the still struggling girl over the other one. “You will not leave this house without an escort again. You will wear shoes that cover your feet outside this home and you will under no circumstances ever touch another male you are not related to.”

  His hand began to bounce off her jean-clad bottom with loud clapping smacks. Liam ignored the way she tried to wriggle away from his punishing palm as he built a fire in her backside he knew would not be quickly extinguished. He enjoyed watching her wriggling backside move as he delivered her spanking. Her curves bounced delightfully beneath his hand.

  “Owww… ohhh… please stop!” Melody wailed as Liam continued to build the heat in her bottom.

  Liam continued the same relentless rhythm, covering every inch of her bottom and moving down the top of her thighs. He paid special attention to the sit spot in the tender crease of her bottom, ensuring she would remember this discussion when she sat for the rest of the day.

  Melody was sobbing softly when he stood her back on her feet in front of him. “You will now go to your quarters and stay there for the remainder of the day.”