Unexpected Sting Read online

  He winced. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I changed the channel a lot. Fortunately, I didn’t pay for any of the adult channels.” She winked. “There is enough of that going on in here.”

  He sighed. “I should get off you.”

  “Probably. I think we can salvage the pie and whipped cream.”

  He rolled to his side and held her hips against his. “Do you ever not think with your stomach in the consideration?”

  “Not usually. No. It is always in there somewhere. It comes from scheduling staff. You have to account for meals, breaks, and distance to the bathroom. If human needs aren’t taken into account, you will always have a disappointing result.”

  He smiled. “You are very successful in your endeavours. You have a few businesses to my name.”

  “That is just the privately owned stuff. My corporation has quite a bit more.”

  Arthur blinked.

  “Hah! You didn’t ferret that out.” She ran her hand down his chest, to his ribs, and over his belly. Her hand gripped and patted his butt.

  He shook his head. “You are making very free with my person.”

  She sighed and put her hand on her own thigh. “Okay. I won’t touch you.”

  He snorted. “I am still inside you.”

  “That is you touching me. There is a difference.” Stinger laughed, focused, and contracted her muscles. “That is me touching you.”

  Arthur’s eyes widened. “You can do that at will?”

  “Obviously. I do a lot of dancing with pelvic movements. It develops strange muscle control.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Do it again.”

  She sighed and smiled, fluttering the muscles in a rhythm that made her laugh. He was staring, and his cock started flexing inside her.

  She opened her mouth to say something sassy, but he threaded his fingers through her hair and pressed soft kisses to her lips. He looked her in the eyes and whispered, “Dibs on the pie.”

  “Oh, no. I called it. She’s your grandma; you can get one anytime.”

  He moved inside her, undulating against her belly and inside it. She shivered.

  “Can you not talk about my grandmother while I am inside you?”

  She sighed. “She is a point of commonality. Just think of all the times that we almost met.”

  “Just think of all the times I was in your bed but didn’t know it.”

  “You would have been arrested.”

  “Good point.”

  “Now you are talking about your grandma.”

  “I am talking about a lifetime of near misses. I am happy that we finally connected.” He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, and her lips.

  “Well, we are definitely connected.” She smiled and drew her right leg up and down his hip and thigh.

  He sighed. “You are trying to exhaust me.”

  “Absolutely. Then, I can go and tidy up and reduce the chance of waking up in a puddle of semen.”

  “You make it sound so unromantic.”

  “I have heard friends complain about it for years. The wet spot is my least favourite thing about this process.”

  “What is your favourite part?”

  “This moment. The time just after when you hold me, and we cuddle. I like the cuddling, but I will deny it if you ever mention it in mixed company.”

  He smiled and wrapped her in his arms, holding her tight. “I like it, too.”

  She snorted. “But is it your favourite thing?”

  “No, I think my favourite thing is how you tense, and your eyes go black as you cum.”

  She blushed. “I can’t control the eyes.”

  “I know. It is terrifying and endearing.”

  “I didn’t know that they changed when... you know.” She mumbled.

  “It gratifies me that no one else has told you.”

  “I would have noticed the screaming.” Stinger shrugged. “I certainly would have noticed them running.”

  “I didn’t run.”

  She gave him a considering look. “No, you didn’t. You even kissed me when I looked like a character from a horror movie. You either have a strong stomach or really wanted to get laid.”

  “I wanted to help.”

  She stroked his cheek. “And you did, but I was impressed you were willing to offer assistance. I have grown up with half the guys at the party, and none of them offered to do more than watch me cut a car in quarters.”

  “You know they were watching?”

  “Sure. Ryos uses some of the money he makes and donates it to the shelter that was in danger.” She shrugged and slowly moved to ease off him. He gripped her hip.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Restroom. I am slightly sticky right now, and I want to take steps to ensure that I don’t get extremely sticky.”

  He grimaced. “I can’t argue with that.”

  She laughed, eased them apart, and then rolled. “I know.” Her negligee was clinging to her elbows, and the robe was lost in the sheets.

  She eased everything back in place before she headed to the bathroom. The slow trail moving down her inner thigh proved that she had been right to get moving. She used the toilet, cleaned up, brushed her hair, wiped her neck and breasts. She looked longingly at the soaker tub that was calling her. She was going to be a knot of aches and pains in the morning, but no regrets. From the time that the oracle spoke to her, her mind was made up. She might not be able to keep Arthur, but she could carry their baby and tie them together that way. She was fairly sure that when his family found out who her father was, who she was, they were going to flip out. The scorpion had finally caught Orion because he was having sex with the arachnid in question.

  She splashed water on her face again and patted her face dry. She sighed. The chemise was a lost cause, so she removed it and return to the bedroom naked. To her surprise, he was gone.

  Chapter Eight

  Nervous, Stinger called out, “Arthur?”

  From the lower level, she heard, “I am just answering a few urgent emails. I will be back up in a minute.”

  Stinger said, “Okay.”

  A bit of housekeeping magic, and the bed looked less of a disaster zone. She gathered her toys and dumped them into her duffle in the closet. Her robe and chemise were refreshed and hung up, and she crawled into bed and turned on the television, turning her back to the screen while she curled into a small ball.

  She woke up when she heard rustling, and then, long arms wrapped around her, pulling her against cool skin. “Stinger?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why are you all wadded up?”

  “Oh, I was alone. That’s how I sleep if I fall asleep alone.” She muttered it and stayed in her comfy position.

  “How is that comfortable?”

  She chuckled. “Practice. If it really bothers you...” She stretched and stuck her limbs out.

  He wrapped both his arms around her ribs and hips and pulled her against him. He chuckled. “That’s better.”

  “All good with work?”

  “Yeah, I have a virtual call scheduled tomorrow, but that is it.” He rubbed his chin against her head. “How about you?”

  “I set all local stuff in motion when I was waiting for you. It’s all good.”

  “I have never been so eager to get to bed at eight in all my life.” He leaned over and licked the edge of her ear.

  She turned her head, and their kiss was sweet. Stinger felt her heart melt at the sweet care in the kiss. She shifted her shoulders toward him and ended up with her hands against his chest, and she worked her arms around him until they were just hugging with a slow, soft kiss.

  She sighed softly when they pressed their foreheads together. “I wonder when the magic compulsion will kick in.”

  “Probably if the spell thinks we have gone too far between coupling.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “Perhaps not at all if there is a positive result.”

  “It isn’t instant, even if the timing was right.”
She bit her lip.

  “Nervous about it?”

  “Damn straight. There can be complications, illnesses, my mom was a wreck for the first four months.”

  He paused. “According to who?”

  “Nana Baker. She said my mom was green and useless until I started to make myself known, and then, my mom rallied. So, where were your parents and you during that time?”

  “Travelling. We got away from the insanity that my grandfather peddled about seeking out the scorpion and destroying it.” He stroked her back. “When I was born, my dad swore to correct the behaviours of our ancestor, and he became a naturalist when I was six, and we travelled the world, learning how the world interacted with the humans and other species in it.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “He is the one called when nature and the magical world collide.”

  “Oh. Well, that is fun as long as your mother likes travelling.”

  “When he goes somewhere she has no interest in, she goes to visit family.”

  “Are you close with her family?”

  “Well, there are issues that arise. The fact that I almost exclusively take after my dad’s features with an ogre body type is a little annoying to them.”

  “This is an ogre body?”

  He snorted. “This is my body. My ogre form doesn’t come out to play much. It tends to send villagers running for priests. I don’t have a fast change either, so you can’t just see it and dismiss it if you don’t like it.”

  “How much time in between shifts?”

  “It depends how much the ogre likes where he is. If that is the case, he will stay until he falls asleep.”

  She cocked her head. “How sleepy are you feeling?”

  He pressed against her, and she felt him against her belly. “Not very. He is going to have to wait until later. It’s my turn now.”

  He moved down her body, kissing, licking, and stroking her as he edged downward. When he reached her navel, he asked, “How sleepy are you feeling?” He chuckled against her skin and nipped her gently.

  She exhaled sharply. “Not very. Wide awake.”

  He slid two fingers into her and nipped her belly again. “So I can feel.”

  He eased her to her stomach and parted her legs; he grabbed for a pillow and slid it under her hips. The first thrust against her made him grunt, the second made her his, and then, he eased into her, sliding to the hilt in a shocking motion that stole her breath.

  He lay over her and started to move. The friction on the forward wall of her sex was rubbing over a sensitive bit, and her mind tried to figure out if the sensation was pleasure or irritation. Her mind decided pleasure, and she crushed the bedding in her fists as he pushed deeper. He shifted, and she felt his fingers on her clit. After a minute of slippery circling and she had had it. Stinger grabbed a pillow and screamed into it while her hips bucked up toward him and her nerves blazed with delightful fire.

  She felt him slam into her, but her body was filled with a puffy golden cloud, so she didn’t really care what was going on with him. She was slowly coming down from the wave of pleasure when he eased onto her and wrapped an arm around her belly, keeping her against him. He crushed her against the bedding and nibbled at her shoulder.

  She was dazed. “That was... different.”

  She glanced at his arm and chuckled. “He got out anyway.”

  “He offered us a mate and was keeping her to himself.” His voice was growling, and his pronunciation was thick.

  She tried to ease away, but her movements didn’t even shift his weight.

  “Where are you going, little snack?” His tongue licked her in a broad sweep across her shoulders.

  “Just trying to get a feel for you. I can’t see you, so I have to guess what you look like.”

  He chuckled. “Arthur is telling me not to let you turn over because he doesn’t want you frightened. It is a good thing that I don’t care. If you are with us, you need to accept both of us.”

  She blinked. “So, there is a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on, only a bit more Hyde and Hyder.”

  He chuckled and licked at her shoulders again. The scrape of his tongue reminded her of a big cat. A really big cat.

  “So, is Arthur watching patiently behind your eyes?”

  He chuckled, and she felt at least four canines scraping her back. He withdrew from her as he carefully gnawed his way down her spine. She shivered and blinked in surprise when he scraped his tongue across her lower back.

  “He did choose well. Your figure is exceptionally pleasing.” He stroked a hand that now sported claws over her butt.

  She looked at the hand in front of her, and she blinked. Long black nails, dark blood red skin, and light tracings of designs moved up his arm. He licked at her backside with long strokes of a pointed tongue. She twisted around and looked at him. His eyes were yellow and black, horns white and gleaming. The black tattoo across the huge chest was new.

  “Are you sure that a new guy didn’t just slide into me? You don’t bear much resemblance aside from the distinctive shoulders.”

  He laughed and licked her from knee to hip.

  “So, are you just tasting me to see where to start, or...”

  He looked at her and smiled. It was not a comfortable smile. “Eating you is an option.”

  “It really isn’t.”

  He eased one leg up and turned her so that she was on her back. “Oh, it definitely is.”

  He leaned in, and his face was near hers. She cupped his jaw and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “You had better let Arthur out after this.”

  “He will reappear when I sleep. I believe you are now responsible for exhausting me. Good luck. I feed from him when he joins with you.”

  She kissed him and carefully moved past the fangs. “So, now, I just have to tire you out. How hard can that be?”

  He pressed his cock against her, and she deliberately did not look down. She knew that it fit; she just didn’t want to look quite yet. The giant crimson head was enough for her to deal with. She laughed. “You are still blonde.”

  He grimaced. “Yes, it perturbs our mother.”

  “Do you have a separate name?”

  “No, we are Arthur Orion.” He kissed her. “You are our mate.”

  “Breeder. Not mate. There’s a difference.”

  He frowned. “No. There isn’t.”

  “Yes. As a breeder, your duty is to our offspring; as a mate, your duty would be to me.” She tapped his cheek. “Your duty is not to me.”

  He looked at her and frowned. “Arthur’s thoughts disagree.”

  “Yes, but that is not the contract that we signed. We signed a contract to screw as often as necessary until we had a child.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “He is not happy about it, but yes, that was the agreement.”

  His expression changed to something sinister and sensual. “In that case, it behooves me to deliver on his contract.”

  He tumbled to his back with her in his arms. “Well, since you are familiar with his body, you had better familiarize yourself with mine.”

  She blinked and settled over him. She braced her hands on his belly and looked up. When she met his gaze, he beckoned to her with the dark nails, and she leaned forward. He gripped her hips, and she felt a searching contact working against her. “Is it seriously moving its—ohmygod it’s in.”

  He chuckled at what must have been her appalled expression. “There needs to be a way to please ogre women. You have to hold them down so they don’t bite limbs or anything else, so the cock must move on its own to find the sheath.”

  She squirmed against him, but he kept moving without moving. His watching her was what was causing her consternation. The more she wiggled, the closer she got until, “Ohhhh.”

  He chuckled and released one of her hips to stroke her cheek as she panted while he continued to forge into her.

  The spasms that had struck her continued as he moved inside her; she arched her back and sat straight on him while
he continued to writhe inside her. “What should I be doing?”

  “Whatever you like.”

  She went up on her knees, gathered her hair up, and slowly rose and fell on him while her breasts were out, her belly was in, and when she met his fiery gaze, she let the hair cascade around her. He sat up with a jolt, raised his knees, and bent her back, wrapping her hair in his fingers and arching her neck back, exposing it for his jaws. He groaned, and she felt the bucking inside her. Good to know. He was susceptible to visuals.

  She chuckled and felt his teeth pierce her skin. His tongue sought out the blood, and inside her, he jerked again.

  “Arthur, let go.”

  He growled, and she used her final option. She brought her armour out, and it pushed his teeth out of her skin. She threaded her fingers through his hair, and she wrenched his head back. “When I say let go, you let go, ogre.”

  His eyes were wide as he stared at her. “You are beautiful.”

  “In certain eyes, yes, but I am not certain what your other half would think.” Glossy black segments of her natural armour covered all of her but her face, which was framed in thick jewel-like scales.

  “He is startled but as enthralled as I am. Can you feel like this?”

  “No. That is the idea. I have no feeling on my armour whatsoever. You can beat at it, claw at it, bite it, nothing is getting through.” She eased off him. “And if I do that, you aren’t getting in, either.”

  His eyes went wide, and he reached between her thighs where the armour had smoothed over. His nails clawed at her with the sound of metal on glass, but she remained where she was.

  He pulled at her, clawed at her, and she waited until his frustration had burned itself out. She got off him and left the bed.

  “Wait. Where are you going?”

  “Downstairs to get my computer to do some work. You drew blood without asking permission. That is the biggest turnoff I have experienced yet.” She went down to the main floor, and when she returned to the bedroom, he was bowing with his head pressed to the mattress. The two aspects of him must have had a chat.

  “What I did was rude and unacceptable. You are within your rights to deny me your touch and your body.”