His Naughty Little Mate (8 page)

“Look at me, Carmen.”

After a deep breath, she forced herself to meet his gaze. Maintaining eye contact with him only served to increase the flutters in her stomach. She fidgeted in place and tried to think of something to say, but she was still angry that he wouldn’t try to attempt an escape and she didn’t trust herself to speak. Hurtful words rested on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them down, not wanting to unleash them on Erik unfairly.

“I will speak to Nuemis about letting us out of this building. He trusts me and I think he’ll listen and probably understand that we both feel cooped up in here. But you need to keep your temper in check, little girl, or the Blumerans might start keeping a closer eye on us. I understand that you’re frustrated, but we have more freedom now than we did when we first arrived here. They allow us to share a room now and visit the porch when we wish, and Blue and Spike aren’t following us around like they used to.”

She nodded, her teeth still digging into her lip. “I miss home,” she suddenly said, surprising herself with the admission. But it was true. She missed Earth more than she cared to admit, especially considering she’d be in route to Mars right now if it hadn’t been for the accident on the asteroid. Being kept inside this building, day after day, left her restless and longing for some sense of normalcy. If she could walk along the shore, she could close her eyes and pretend she was at the beach house her grandfather had rented each summer in South Carolina.

“I miss Earth too, but unless it appears the Blumerans are going to harm us, which I doubt they will, I think it is best that we continue to cooperate. The more they trust us, the better chance we have of leaving here one day.” He paused and straightened on the chair, his gaze sharpening with disapproval. “Throwing a hissy fit, trying to damage their property, and attempting escape is naughty, Carmen. We’ve talked about your temper before and you promised to behave. You’ve been doing better lately, but I think you’d benefit from a session across my knee, little girl, to remind you to keep your cool and to help you calm down.”

Eyes wide, she continued to stare down at him. “Erik… I mean daddy, I am sorry for my, er, outburst. It won’t happen again.” Nerves tightened in her tummy, and warmth pulsed between her legs, causing her to fidget even more. “You don’t have to spank me.”

He tugged at her arm and brought her down across his lap, immediately draping a leg across hers. He pressed one hand to her lower back, holding her in place as he lifted up her dress to expose her bottom. The cool breeze caressed her bare flesh.

“No panties today, Carmen?” he asked, amusement touching his voice.

She huffed. “Those things they gave me can’t even be considered panties. Even though they’re more like shorts, they ride up my crotch and drive me crazy. You’d think an advanced alien race would have developed more comfortable undergarments.”

He cupped her bottom, the warmth of his hand scorching her yet somehow prompting a shiver to skitter down her back. “Spread your thighs a bit,” he said, lifting up on his leg for a moment to allow her the movement. “Good girl. Now, daddy is going to redden your bottom, little Carmen.”

Her breath caught, and she worried what might happen if one of the Blumerans walked onto the porch and witnessed her punishment. Of course, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen her getting spanked before. Blue hadn’t hesitated to spank her when she threw a fit—or her dinner—no matter who was around. With her luck, they’d probably break their silence to cheer Erik on. Bristling, she berated herself for her short temper.

“I want you to ask for your spanking.”

She peered over her shoulder at him. “Wh-what?”

“I want to hear you say, ‘I was a naughty little girl, daddy, and I deserve a spanking on my bare bottom. Please, daddy, will you spank me?’”

Turning around, she wiggled around on his lap, trying to escape. “I will
not
say that! You can bite me!”

A heated sting erupted across her bottom cheeks as the first spanks landed on her ass, fast and hard. Several slaps fell on her upper thighs, the pain taking her breath away. He meant business, and she felt her anger begin to melt away as the blaze he ignited over her flesh became too much to bear. Still, she held on for as long as she could, remaining silent with pride as her only companion.

Finally, he paused to rub her bottom. “This doesn’t count as part of your punishment, Carmen. Your spanking will begin once you are a good little girl and ask for it.”

What? All that pain, and it didn’t even count?
Tears burned in her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to hold them in, thankful that he couldn’t see her face at least. His hand left her bottom, signaling that he was about to start spanking her again, spanks that didn’t even count. She released a muffled sob. “Okay, okay! I’ll say it.” She breathed in and out slowly, concentrating on keeping her emotions under control. Her face flamed as she recalled the words he’d instructed her to say, and she inhaled deeply as she prepared to recite them. “I-I was a naughty little girl, daddy, and I-I deserve a spanking on my ba-bare bottom. Please, daddy, will you spank me?”

The tears finally fell as he held her over his lap, still stroking her sore backside. Calling him daddy felt natural, so natural that it made her want to cry. What if the aliens split them up into separate rooms again, not allowing them to see one another often? What if only one of them was allowed to return to Earth? Her mind screamed for her to hold Erik at a distance, because whatever happiness they found together on Vella might only be temporary. And even if they did make it back to Earth, would Erik still want to be with her? All her questions and doubts whirled through her mind, filling her with a sense of dread.

“Time for your spanking, little girl.” Erik’s stern voice brought her back to the present. She was about to be punished like a naughty little girl over her daddy’s knee, and pulses of warmth stirred in her center at the thought. Though she was about to be spanked and it would hurt, she’d never felt so safe and cared for as when she was over Erik’s lap awaiting her punishment. The realization sent the tears gathering in her eyes rolling down her cheeks.

He landed the first slap on her bottom, then the second and the third. The sting built up as he spanked, working his way all over her backside, alternating spanking from left to right cheek, and even striking her upper thighs and sit spot. The blows weren’t as fast as those he’d rained down upon her ass when he’d been trying to get her to ask for her spanking, but the pain soon surpassed that of the first spanking.

Blood rushed to her head when he shifted her forward slightly, and heat scorched her face as he parted her thighs. The new position left her entirely exposed to his gaze, and though she tried to clamp her thighs together, his heavy leg atop hers prevented her from moving. Hard swats peppered her bottom, and she cried out and tried to flail herself off his lap when he struck her inner thighs.

Her relief was short lived when he paused spanking only to reach between her thighs and stroke his fingers through the moisture seeping out from her center.

“What’s all this, Carmen?”

* * *

Erik stroked the wetness along her folds, but purposely avoided her clit. She whimpered but didn’t speak, and she shuddered with a sob each time he came close to grazing her swollen nub only to pass it by and continue spreading her moisture elsewhere. Dark desire flared within him as he gazed down at the tiny figure draped over his lap, her punished bottom bright red and her slick pussy lips on display.

“This is very naughty, Carmen,” he said, though he was very pleased by her reaction to his discipline. Of course his scolding only caused her to whimper again as her plump folds glistened with a new surge of wetness.

“I’m sorry, daddy,” she said, barely a whisper.

Though he wished to keep teasing her, the need to comfort her was even stronger. Releasing her wrists, he turned her over on his lap and cradled her against his chest. She latched onto him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she buried her head against him. She sniffled, crying softly as he stroked her hair.

“Shh, sweet Carmen. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“What if we never get off this God-forsaken planet? What if we die here?” Her sobs deepened, her whole body shaking with emotion.

He hugged her tighter and kissed her forehead. “We will get off this planet. I promise you, Carmen.” His tone was infused with a confidence he didn’t feel, and his gut felt heavy with worry over their future. He hoped he wasn’t lying to her right now. He hoped there really was a way off Vella, but he wasn’t about to voice his concerns to her.

Gradually, she stopped shaking and her gasping breaths slowed to normal. She peered up at him with a look so trusting his heart ached and the urge to protect her pulsed through him. She belonged to him now, even though he hadn’t actually claimed her.

“You’re mine, Carmen,” he said. “Whether we’re on Vella, or Earth, or Mars, you belong to me, little one. Always. I will take care of you and protect you, and I… I will love you.” His throat burned, and he swallowed hard as he held her gaze.
You can do better than that, Erik
. He cupped her face in his hands, brushing away the last of her tears with his thumbs. “What I mean, Carmen, is that I love you.”

Her lips parted and she stared at him with wide eyes, speechless as the seconds dragged on like hours. A little gasp escaped her, and still she kept looking at him as if he’d just told her he was an alien. “Erik, I-I…” She stuttered and paused, a flush spreading up her neck to flare in her cheeks. He thought her blushes were adorable, but he needed her to say something, even if she rejected him. She opened her mouth to speak again, but the whooshing of the door opening drew both of their gazes to an approaching figure.

Erik cursed inwardly and helped Carmen straighten her skirts as Nuemis entered the porch, a grim look on his slim, humanlike face. A knot tightened in Erik’s stomach, and when Carmen made to rise from his lap, he held onto her arms firmly, not allowing her to escape his embrace.

“Erik. Carmen.” Nuemis nodded and pulled a chair across from them, his wild hair blocking out the suns.

“Have you had any luck negotiating with the council on our behalf?” Erik rubbed a hand up and down Carmen’s back while keeping one arm wrapped around her. The alien had obviously come to deliver some bad news, and he braced himself to be strong for her sake.

“The council has issued an ultimatum to you and Carmen.” Regret flickered in Nuemis’s eyes.

Carmen stiffened. “What kind of an ultimatum?”

The alien took a deep breath. “Our biology is so similar, many of our scientists think we share an ancestor. They are intrigued by the fact that humans mate in the old way as we once did, by natural procreation. It’s been tens of thousands of years since Blumerans have mated in the old way and birthed a live baby.”

“Oh my God,” Carmen said, covering her mouth. “You can’t possibly expect us to…”

“I’m sorry,” Nuemis said. “But it’s the only way you’ll ever see Earth again. The council wants to observe you mating until a pregnancy and live birth results. If you cooperate, in a few years after they’ve observed the child growing long enough to satiate their curiosity, you will all three be taken back to Earth. If you agree to these terms, after you conceive a child you will be moved out of this facility and into more comfortable and private accommodations. They are currently preparing a large, beachfront house for you, and you will live in luxury until the time comes for you to all return to Earth.”

“This is crazy!” Carmen tried once again to stand up, but Erik kept a firm hold on her. He suspected she would have put up a bigger fight and started hurling curses at Nuemis if not for her sore bottom reining her in from a full-blown outburst.

“You know the members of the council, Nuemis, while I have never met them. What is your opinion? Do you think there is any other way for us to leave Vella?”

Nuemis sighed, his frown deepening. “It is my opinion that this is the only way you will be permitted to leave Vella. If you refuse, you will probably be kept in this facility for the rest of your lives. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more, but it’s the best I can do.”

Carmen started to argue again, but Erik cut her off as he stood up with her still in his arms.

“Tell the council we will think about it.” He nodded a good-bye to Nuemis and turned, carrying a protesting Carmen down the long, white hallway that led to her room. Their room. He hadn’t spent a night in his room in over two weeks. He had to get her alone and then he could talk some sense into her, make her see reason.

The ultimatum issued by the council shouldn’t have surprised him. He should have seen it coming. The aliens had poked, prodded, and tested them enough to realize humans were so similar to Blumerans that they must share a common ancestor, but there were two major differences between their races. Their method of communication, verbal versus telepathic, and their method of procreation, natural versus… not so natural. It was still difficult for Erik to wrap his mind around the whole growing bodies and transferring a person’s consciousness thing, as well as the fact that the Blumerans viewed sex as archaic. At what point had they stopped doing it for fun? Or had they never had sex for fun? He suspected that information had been lost in the tens of thousands of years since the last Blumeran couple procreated naturally.

Erik encountered no one in the hallway, and he soon entered their room with Carmen still in his arms. She glared at him with blazing eyes, her jaw tight and her hair spilling around her shoulders in disarray.

Once the door closed behind them, he stood her on her feet and braced himself for the storm. She was pissed, and she had every right to be. Hell, he was furious himself, but he was also a rational man. If this was their only option, then maybe they should seriously consider it. He wanted to keep her safe and happy, but that wasn’t possible if they were kept in this building for the rest of their lives, still under the aliens’ control and at their mercy.