Page 65 of Plug and Tame

The feeling of the mattress depressing as she crawled closer caused joy and longing to radiate through him.

Without uttering a word, Nathaniel wrapped his arms around her soft, warm body and pulled her against his chest, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her scent. She felt like home.

Everything he never knew he’d wanted was right here, and yet he was powerless to keep her. Sooner or later, she would slip out of his grasp again.

Kira seemed preoccupied.

“What is it?” he murmured.

“I’m thinking of your father.”

His chest tightened. “What about him?”

Her voice was uncharacteristically timid. “What happens if I can’t kill him? What if he kills me first?”

Nathaniel tensed. “I won’t let that happen.”

“You can’t guarantee my safety.”

“Yes, I can,” he insisted, even though they both knew it wasn’t that simple.

Kira wasn’t fooled. She touched his face. “If I die…”

Seizing her wrist, his every word dripped with fierce protectiveness. “I won’t let that happen.”

“But…if I die…”

“Then I will destroy him.”

“But if you kill him…you’ll be cursed.”

Nathaniel nodded.

It would be a terrible price to pay, to become an empty vessel with no thoughts or feelings. But he wouldn’t hesitate to intervene to protect Kira from his father.

Or in the event of the unthinkable, to avenge her death.

The looming threat of the curse would be of little consequence then; a life without Kira would be full of darkness. Without her, he would be lost, regardless of whether he was cursed or not.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he vowed, cradling her in his arms. The weight of that promise pressed down on him as they clung to each other.

Chapter 22

Best Laid Plans

Nathaniel

Kira’s training continued over the following week. Nathaniel had her drink his blood every night, but to both of their disappointment, there were no signs of her magical powers.

By Friday, they were forced to return to their original plan: Kira would have to rise to alpha status the traditional way—by ascending the ranks of a pack.

Reluctantly, Nathaniel promised to speak to the Poplarins to negotiate her membership.

Meanwhile, his training methods intensified. Every day, Kira went to school wearing a plug, and in the evenings, he would have her perform increasingly degrading acts in increasingly revealing outfits—like licking his shoes clean whilst he sat in front of the dorm fireplace with his friends.

Kira was so docile, at least to outward appearances, that he was having to find more and more creative ways to challenge her. She didn’t even baulk when he instructed her to lick Victoria’s heels clean.

Victoria had protested at first, but he’d insisted, and the vampiress knew better than to disobey a direct order from the Prince.