Taken (Sinful Series - book 1)
Chapter 9 - Acceptance

Karim

Violet was something special, made right just for him. She said what she thought, and did what she spoke. There were no convoluted messages needing decoding. It was refreshing to meet someone so alike him, and Karim admitted he was intrigued. Even her heated glances towards Devon’s bare chest did not need translating. She was appreciating another in front of him, provoking this unfamiliar raging jealousy within Karim. It helped knowing the Alpha was set on finding his own mate to take a deeper interest in what Violet was hinting, otherwise Karim did not know what he would do.

“Bet ya’ something stupid,” his mutt was ready to roll over and to lick the ground Violet walked on, if only she would accept his apology on Karim’s behalf.

Karim sighed. He was in the dog house.

Pun intended.

“Serves you right for calling me mutt, Skin.”

Skin was a derogatory term for his human side, showing Karim just how mad his beastly side was.

“Better,” his wolf acknowledged the new name he was addressed by.

Living with an animal spirit inside you complicated things. On the upside, it meant you were never truly alone, always having someone in your corner… well, most of the times anyways. It was especially hard when the two halves disagreed on a matter. Right now, Karim’s wolf wanted nothing but to appease Violet, and to erase the past with his love. Karim knew things were going to be more complicated than just getting naked with her. He wouldn’t mind, mind you, but he knew better than to offer it to the strong headed she-wolf beside him.

Devon had hammered his law down. Alphas did not meddle in mating choices, but they sure made their opinions heard. His Alpha Command was preventing Alyssa from contacting both Karim and Violet for the next week. It gave Karim the chance to swallow his pain, and to decide if he wanted to mark Violet. Moreover, Xander’s mark needed the next seven days to completely disintegrate. Everything had to be resolved one way or another by the next new moon. Seven days were nothing compared to the years they would have. It was both exciting and frightening to know your fate would be determined in such a short amount of time.

Karim looked forward to spending time with Violet. She was a mysterious puzzle, he could not quite solve. Despite the hurt between the two of them, Karim felt connected to Violet in a way no one else was. He had initially dismissed it as mating pull, but now it was apparent. The Fates were tugging at their life treads together, intertwining them, and assuring the pair would survive any hardship. Karim was just not sure if it was worth all the work.

In the end of the day, Violet and Karim were just different. Yeah, that was it. Their backgrounds and the painful history made it even harder for them to forget themselves in the moment of their closeness. He couldn’t help but pick on the little differences between her and Alyssa. Although it looked like Violet was enjoying their walk, she never tried to hold hands with him, or do any of the girl-ie things Alyssa loved. In his mind, the date had gone without a hitch. Yet, it hadn’t felt like one. Sure, there was tension, but it wasn’t from anticipation of what would happen next, but a result of all the painful memories that led them to this moment. Besides her mark on Xander was always going to be a ghost standing between them. So was his time with Alyssa.

In a way, Violet was right. His place should have been by her side, not consoling another female. Old habits, Karim concluded.

“Weakling,” his wolf argued.

If anything this date proved one thing, they could be friends if not the passionate mates Devon wished them to be. Karim felt optimistic about maybe even working on solving their past. Neither of them were innocents, and it took courage to let go of the pettiness. Karim was pretty brave, and Violet had the guts to escape from a hellhole. They would be fine, Karim reasoned.

Violet was doing remarkably well ignoring the prying eyes sent in their direction. Karim – not so much. He had already snapped at half a dozen pack members, and dodged questions about their pending mating. Violet was bubbly, proving to be better conservationist than him.

Damn, she was better than him in so many things.

“It’s not a competition. You should be proud of her.”

Karim was. Not that he would admit it out loud.

“Karim?” Her melodic voice brought him back from his thoughts.

“Hm.”

“A penny for your thoughts,” she offered.

Karim shrugged. They had to start somewhere.

“It’s easy just sitting here with you, pretending we don’t have baggage.”

“Then don’t. The way I see it we have a spark between us, it’s up to us to figure out what we want to do with it. You’re right. Just sitting across from you is so natural that it makes me wonder why we are even hurting each other.”

“How about we stop?” Karim asked.

“Sure,” Violet replied, gifting him a smile that quite did not reach her eyes. Karim found himself wondering what to do to receive a genuine one.

“Dessert?” Karim offered her a menu, hiding his discomfort at where his thoughts led him.

Her eyes shone with amusement. Whether it was the bond or the mischief on her face, he was almost certain she’d say something sassy with the way her lips tugged.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

What better way to bond with her than to borrow one of her phrases?

Violet gulped, biting her lip, and taking forever to answer. His unconscious or was it his wolf took the gesture out of context and supplied him with images of lips around a certain part of his body.

“My wolf,” Violet laughed, rolling her eyes, and trying to hide a slight embarrassment at what she was going to say. Whether it was the bond or his own intuition, Karim immediately concluded it was something of intimate nature, and gave her his undivided attention. Violet looked around, then scooted closer to Karim. Her scent engulfed him with its warmth as she just about pressed her body against his. “You gotta come closer, because I am not dying out of public mortification, if someone overhears me.”

This had to be good. Karim leaned in as instructed. Violet’s palm pressed against his forearm, as she whispered in his ear.

“Are you on the menu?”

Karim was so transfixed by her breath against his skin that he almost missed her question. While Karim was focused on the way she made him feel invincible and vulnerable at the same time, his wolf took the opening and surged to the front, shifting his nails into claws before Karim could restrain him. Violet did not flinch. In fact, her hand not only did it not fearfully retract, but on the contrarity, she gently caressed it, enjoying the unmistakable tingles.

She had just done it to tease him? It both infuriated him and also made him appreciate her creativeness. She was playing a game older than life itself. A game in which the victor conquered the heart and the mind.

“He’s on my side, isn’t he?” Violet asked running a finger over his claws until they transformed back to his hand. Only then did she retract her hand. Or at least she tried to. Karim was quicker, holding her hand, intertwining their fingers. He was not ready to loose the connection. Violet smiled and squeezed his hand in hers.

Karim somehow managed to win the battle of control with his beast, but he could not tame the blood flushing to his groin. Violet caught onto his discomfort and quickly eyed his lap, making it even harder for him not to wince against the constriction of his pants.

“You did that on purpose,” Karim accused her as she offered no help.

“I could offer a hand…” Violet started.

“But you won’t,” Karim finished for her.

She leaned in against his side finishing her thought, “Doesn’t it suck being in the dog house?”

Despite his situation, Karim laughed.

Goddess, this woman.

She was made right for him.

“I deserved that,” Karim agreed. “How long is my sentence?”

“Honestly, it depends if you’d let me bend you over my knee to smack some sense into you,” Violet told him.

The ideas she had! Karim had never laughed so much that tears ran down his cheeks. The things her mind concocted.

“So that’s a no then?”

“Wait…. You’re serious,” Karim inquired cutting his laughter short.

Violet was patiently waiting, hand in his, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him.

“Do you see a better solution to put all this behind us? We can go on and on about teasing and provoking jealousy. But ultimately we’d either end up together, laughing at how stupid we acted, or apart, not really wanting to think over this time. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to waste time in petty games. I am sick of waiting on the side lines. I want to live without regrets, to be in the moment. So I am ready to put it completely behind us.”

Karim felt his beast drool at his fierce mate. Her solution while unorthodox could prove quite effective.

“How do I end up the only one being spanked?” Karim inquired.

“Ask your wolf,” Violet naughtily said. “It’s three against you, am I right?”

“Only if I have my turn,” Karim pressed.

“Sure, in couple of years,” Violet negotiated.

“Why?”

“Well, I might have marked Xander before I met you, but you offended me by prioritizing another female over me. That’s a worse in my book. Not to mention the small transgretions such as not feeding me, not spending time with me, and leaving me alone in a pack that is not all warm and cozy. So there you have it. I need assurances your pride won’t come between us ever again. So you have a decision to make – what’s more important – keeping your Ego or your mate? It is up to you.”

Karim looked at her serene face. Who would have thought of such unusual punishment? It sure sounded appealing in a disturbing sort of way.

“Are you afraid of releasing all control to me?” Violet asked him.

“So you are into that shit?” Karim asked her.

“I could be…. with you.” Violet shrugged.

The way she spoke had all blood pooling in his groins.

Goddess, how he wanted her.

Right there and then.

“Shifter sex?” He inquired.

Sex in wolf forms was reserved for mated pairs. Their beasts only ‘performed’ with a mate. Even then most couples seldom experimented in such frames, as generally shifter sex was considered dirty and often taboo in some pack’s cultures.

“Sure, I’ll punch your V-card,” Violet laughed, blushing. Then quickly explained, probably realizing just how it did sound, “Get it? V as in Violet. As well as the traditional V-card.”

“You’re having too much fun with this,” Karim shook his head.

“Your face lit up like a Christmas tree, so don’t be a prune with me. You want to try things, I want to try things. As long as we agree to let loose together, I don’t see why we wouldn’t… experiment until we figure out what we like,” Violet shrugged.

“How do I know your ‘let’s explore our sexuality’ won’t change after we mate?” Karim asked.

When things sounded too good to be true, they usually weren’t.

“Have you met me? I breathe for my mate. That’s you, Silly. Besides, if the Goddess had chosen us for each other, I have to trust the Fates to have accounted and accommodated my curiosity while they paired us. You just proved that,” Violet explained.

“How would that even work?”

“The sex?”

“Smacking some sense into me,” Karim said air-quoting her phrase.

“The old fashioned way: a hand and a tush…”

“I mean the positioning…” Karim pointed her in the right direction.

“I’ll be sitting down and you’ll be across my lap,” Violet explained.

“You thought of everything,” Karim sighed, accepting her idea of setting the score one and for all.

“I had a lot of free time lately,” Violet quickly replied then cringed at what she said. Karim immediately knew she hadn’t meant it as an insult, just her straightforwardness was coming through. That convinced him.

“When?”

“When what?”

“…will you spank me?” Karim asked, slightly embarrassed, muffling ‘spank’ as best he could.

“I will have to check my calendar,” Violet adorably backtracked.

It had been quite some time since he had laughed so much his eyes watered. As she calmed down enough to get a word out without giggling, she inquired, “Is your room sound proofed?”

Karim smiled. She truly was his match.

Violet

Violet swore. One whiff of her mate, and both woman and she-wolf merged into a hussy. Violet still couldn’t believe how braze she had been with Karim. She was supposed to be mad at him, not promise or discuss sex. Violet still had no idea where did the sudden spike of confidence come from, but she stood by her decision. Karim’s Ego needed to be taken down a notch or two for his own good if they were ever meant to be. What better timing than the start of their relationship?

Physical pain had seemed an appropriate retribution for his infidelity. Violet didn’t care if he had actually slept with Alyssa or not. Consoling another female, when Violet needed him, was an inexcusable offense needing the most severe punishment. It had to be resolved before the mating pull got any stronger. There was no way he would look at another she-wolf if he was completely into Violet. It all started with equal parts of mutual respect and lust. Catching more bees with honey.

Violet needed to entice his human side to be forever taken with her, before the bond sealed their fate forever.

“So how do we do it?” Karim took off his jacket looking at her for guidance. He had indeed left his sense of entitlement outside their bedroom as he had promised, proving he could change. He showed his upmost trust by surrendering his body in her care to do as she pleased, and willingly putting himself in such a vulnerable position.

“Let’s see,” Violet smiled at him looking him over. He was bulky enough not to fit over her lap without additional support. She needed her hands free, which only left one possible location. His bed. Not her first choice, as this was a punishment after all, but it would have to do. His surprise at her making herself comfortable in the center of the bed was noticeable. She felt the need to explain. “I don’t want you falling off my lap.”

“Before we start,” Karim said and before Violet knew, he crushed his lips to hers with just the right pressure to leave her breathless and dazzled. He caressed her rosy cheeks with his cold fingers, explaining, “Just something to help me through my punishment. Now you’re in charge.”

Violet bit her lip, hesitating if she could really pull it off as a planned mixture of punishment and sensual experience.

Fake it ’till you make it, Violet told herself as she was trying to improvise on the fly.

Violet patted her lap, stretching her legs forward. Karim was eyeing her as if he was seeing her for the very first time, “Let’s make those perky ass cheeks blush,” Violet gringed. If there was an awkward line to be said, she was bound to find it.

Karim didn’t seem to mind it, “That’s what we’re doing.”

Violet pointedly looked at his pants.

“Oh,” Karim said as he caught her eyes, then shrugged and pulled his shirt off, teasing her with his sculptured torso and smirking in a challenge, “Distracted?”

He was trying to pull a fast one. Violet should have been offended by his attempt to regain control of the situation, but she was far too busy appreciating his naked frame to care much about something so insignificant.

“No time like the present, Karim. Now, strip,” Violet commanded him.

“Sassy, I like it,” Karim replied, unbuckling his belt, holding her eyes. “It’s cold out here…”

“We’ll get your warmed up in a second,” Violet promised him.

“We are really doing this,” Karim mumbled under his breath, undoing his jeans, letting them fall down his legs. Then he kept his eyes on her, as he eased off his boxers, proudly displaying his body. He raised his eyebrows at her in anticipation of a comment. Violet was not there to stroke his Ego. On the contrary.

“Turn around,” Violet commanded, trying not to blush like the inexperienced school girl that she was.

Karim chuckled at her reaction, turned around as instructed, and jostled his butt cheeks in front of her eyes, calmly concluding, “You are an ass person.”

Violet realized, he was being a clown in an attempt to hide how nervous he was. Getting to know this Karim was a pleasure, but before she could get side tracked, they needed to put his Ego behind them.

“That’s what I am trying to decide,” Violet said in the most studious tone she could muster, to which Karim responded with laughter.

“The verdict?”

“The verdict was issued already. Spanking,” Violet reminded them both. It was so easily to get distracted by his sculptured torso. Maybe asking him to take his clothes off was her undoing. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say my fierce Beta is trying to procrastinate.”

“I wouldn’t dare, my Queen,” he announced and climbed onto the bed with her. Violet rolled her eyes at his theatrics. “How do you want me?”

“Face down, butt across my lap,” Violet told him.

Karim took a minute to settle, squirming to find a comfortable spot for his erection that poked at her thighs.

“We are really going to do this,” Karim mumbled as encouragement to himself.

“You’re really enjoying this too much.”

“You’ve noticed?” Karim looked over his shoulder at her, rolling his hips against her. Violet immediately squeezed the back of his neck with her hand, massaging the skin a bit too roughly, making him still. At his surrender, Violet ran her cold finger over his spine to his lower back, giving him goose bumps. “I’m glad we’re doing this, putting everything behind us…”

Unlike him, Violet did not waste any time. She needed to set the tone right - this was first and foremost his punishment, and while she was surely going to make sure he enjoyed certain aspects of it, it was a punishment nevertheless, and as such she delivered a set of firm spanks, leaving her palm stinging.

Things went all shades of pink thereafter.

A series of increasingly stronger spanks, aimed all across his rounded behind set the record straight. She promised him punishment, and delivered it swiftly. His scarlet bottom, and the tingling in her own hand told her that much. He had not uttered a word to stop her, and she was proud.

He had not wussed out.

Spanking was not only about dominating, taking control over someone. It was also the trust one put in your hands, assuming such a vulnerable pose in front of you, and relinquishing all control of their body. Sure, the physical discipline aspect of it served its purpose where his behavior was concerned. But it also showed how unique his relationship was with Violet, installing a new mindset where there was no space for titles and egos.

Her cold palm cupped his warmed up bottom with feather light fingertips calming down the skin, massaging the warmth into it. It was more sensual than the punishment he expected. Just as he relaxed, Violet cupped her right hand, and slapped into an upward motion, turning his butt cheeks rosy again. Karim suppressed a groan, which judging by the rod pressed against her lap was a suppressed moan.

Goddess, was he packing steel or what?

The next set of spanks was lighter making him squirm under her touch, causing his tangible arousal to rock against her. With each loud smack, he rolled his hips into her, while the air was heavily saturated with his arousal. The unmistakable woody scent sealed the second agenda for tonight, making her smile. Violet knew he was surprised at her firm hand, but now knew she was also forgiving, gentle between the sets, basking his tush with attention none other had paid.

Needless to say, his bottom blossomed under her attentive care.

Violet taught him both lessons with equal passion.

Karim

Before meeting Violet, he had never thought of spanking other than a form of discipline for young pups. Then again his life prior to Violet had been the definition of vanilla – plain, boring, simple. Violet though, Karim smiled at her name, Violet had effortlessly opened Pandora’s box. It was a box he would never be able to put back on the shelf without regret.

The possibilities of what he wished to explore were endless.

Only with her, and her alone.

She got him in more than one sense.

Violet was like no other. She was a contradiction of opposites, which he found so enchanting. She was vulnerable, yet strong; shy and dominant all bundled up perfectly together. He wanted to please her, to allow her to take full control over him, and to let her show him where all this could take them. It was obvious she had never done this before, making it all that special. They were both nervous, anxious and curious all at the same time.

He still couldn’t believe, he stripped in front of her, much less ended up sprayed over her lap with ass up in the air, waiting to be spanked. Part of him wanted to rebel against the vulnerability of the position – he was the Beta after all. It wasn’t in his Were-nature to allow a she-wolf in charge of his body. But the other part that actually won, told him it was for his own good. She needed this. They needed this cleansing moment, if they were going to move on from the hurt they caused each other. She was right – he had to stop hiding behind his title, and just be himself around her. Of course, Violet had phrased it in a much more elegant way.

The first set of spanks came without a warning. Her hand came down hard, firm, setting a varying pace and intensity of the spanks. A dozen times. Yes, Karim count each one. She wasn’t kidding about this being his punishment. Karim suppressed a groan, clenching his teeth. He was a grown wolf, yet her small hand felt worse than any fight he had been through.

‘Skin offended our mate,’ his wolf had always something to say about his Violet, ‘Skin must pay.’

Karim rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t argue with him. He had offended her, and this was a suitable punishment, so he welcomed it. He only hoped he would be able to sit down afterwards.

Spank, spank, spank.

’Hot damn, not gonna be able to sit down in the near future then,’ Karim gulped, trying not to flinch away from her hand, or jump right off her lap. No. He was not going to wuss out of his word.

Spank. Spank. Spank.

This was the real deal. The stingiest punishment he agreed to accept.

Spank. Spank. Spank.

Sweet Jesus! His ass was on fire, yet her hand kept on descending and swatting at his cheeks without mercy. She surely unleashed her anger against his flesh.

Spank, spank, spank.

The good smacking sounds filled the room, high-jacking his blood deprived brain to memories of being balls deep into a partner.

And just then, something else happened. Her featherlike fingers caressed his abused flesh, and Karim sighed in delight, almost emptying himself on her lap.

That’s when he knew it. It wasn’t about the physical pain she inflicted. No, she was an enchantress who wooed him in a way only she could. He was addicted to the spark in her, to her essence, and the ways her brain worked. She knew just want they needed, and was ballsy enough to pursue it. True, his ass took a beating, but it was nothing compared to what he had done to Xander, nor the hurt he had caused her. Yet this beautiful creature had found it in herself to reeducate him about all the pleasures only she could bring in his life.

When they said mates completed each other, they had it so right. He needed a wakeup call, and she knew the best way to deliver it. She effortlessly managed to erase old habits, and to install new ones. This was something Karim would not mind repeating.

Minus the really stingy ones, of course.

The sweet, torturous moment ended way too soon, replaced by another set of swats. Not knowing when the next set would continue was arousing beyond belief, but Karim found himself eager and more than ready to move on to the kiss and make it better part of his punishment.

She was showing him just how good or bad she could be, and Karim knew he was hooked.

Violet had other plans. After the brief pause long enough for Karim to take a breath, she delivered another perfectly executed set. This time though, her hand was lighter at times, very playfully massaging in the warmth into his ass cheeks. All the blood in his body now resided in his mid section, resulting in skin highly sensitive to her touch, making him squirm in waves of pain and delight. Those were the most painful moments, when Karim had to hold still as not to reach an embarrassing finish.

F*cking incredible. That was what she was.

And she was his for the mating.

She was the only one who could unleash spanking, and make him throb with delight at all thirty-six of them. Yes, he counted, loving every smack on his flesh.

He felt alive like never before.

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