Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,82

he sucked on his bottom lip.

His blue eyes held desperation as they turned to me. I don’t want to hurt her, he told me, even while his hands tracked gently across her body. I’ve never… He trailed off, his fingers teasing the dimples at the small of her back. I’ve never let myself play this way, he finally admitted. I never wanted to accidentally hurt someone.

Surprise flickered through me. It had been clear from the beginning that Joshua was dominant, maybe as dominant as I was. Yet he’d never explored BDSM? I was grateful for the mental link at the moment that allowed us to tease Nix without worrying her. She’d want to comfort Joshua, to tell him that it was fine and he didn’t need to do this. But I could read his expression. He needed this as badly as she did. If he was dominant and had been denying that side of himself for years, it had to be eating at him. Considering his confession, I laid two solid swats on Nix’s ass, making her squirm before I soothed the sting.

“What’s your safe word, Nix?” I questioned her, keeping my eyes on Joshua and the way his gaze devoured our mate, and how his breath hitched as he watched her ass turn pink under the small swats I gave her.

“Cake.”

I swatted her ass again. “What was that, Nix?”

“Cake, sir,” she gasped out, and Joshua groaned, his hands squeezing tightly into fists as he fought for control, and I smirked.

Joshua, would I ever let you hurt her? I inquired, keeping my mental tone hard. Would I ever let you touch her if I thought you’d lose control?

His eyes were shadowed as they met mine. You know I have.

I grimaced. So that was what this was about. Your alter lost control, not you. That was a completely different situation and has no bearing on this.

When he averted his gaze, I leaned down and drew her nipple into my mouth, sucking hard to make her arch into me. Look at your mate, Joshua. She’s trusting us—trusting you—to take care of her. Are you going to break that trust? Would you ever harm her?

When instant shock and anger flared through him, he sighed. Dirty trick.

I chuckled, the vibrations making Nix thrash beneath me. Oh, we’ll have plenty more tricks to come. Trust yourself. Trust me. Trust her. It’s the only way this is going to work.

He murmured his agreement before his fingers knotted in her hair and tugged her head back so he could trace a finger down her throat. Joshua clasped her other breast, tracing circles around her nipple as she panted.

I pulled back, enjoying the way she squirmed. “We’re going to take it easy this first time, Nix,” I told her, steel in my voice as I stroked my hand softly across her ass. “You’ve still been speaking badly about yourself, even though I thought you learned that lesson. Twenty this time.” She made a noise of agreement as I slid a hand over her. “I won’t have you count, not with it being your first. Next time, though, you will.”

I shifted her, angling her body into Joshua’s so her ass was toward me. “Use your safe word if you need it,” I reminded her. I didn’t spank her hard, though I knew the swats stung when she whimpered and instinctively flinched away from the blows as they landed. There would be time in the future to see if she liked it harder. If she liked the way it would burn and ache. But for now, we were finding a balance.

“Don’t let her come,” I instructed Joshua, as I landed another smack, loving the rosy heat that flushed her skin. Joshua’s fingers were exploring her soft skin, tracing and teasing, but never connecting where she needed them.

“Please,” Nix begged, as I spanked her harder, landing three blows and making her whimper. I slid a finger between her thighs, groaning when I found her wet.

“Five more, Nix,” I warned her. “I told you before. You won’t talk badly about yourself. Ever. If you do, I will spank you.” Two more rained down, the color in her cheeks deepening. “You are ours.”

“Hiro’s nicer than I am,” Joshua remarked, his timbre deep and rough as he flicked his finger across her clit, making her groan and thrust her hips. “I didn’t know you had such a self-deprecating streak. There are other kinds of punishments besides spankings, did you know that?” He caressed across