A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (15 page)

The idea had her brain spinning. She had a feeling that
Conner could be very precise in his punishments, and dammit, she wanted that.
What woman wouldn’t?

"You aren't really ready for what I want to do to
you."

She turned and looked over her shoulder at him. "What
makes you say that?"

His eyes narrowed, and he smacked her ass again. The new
pain slipped through her, and she closed her eyes and shivered.

"On the bed, face up."

He was abrupt. She was thrilled. Just challenging him was
fun and apparently a turn-on for him. She did as ordered, ready for the next
bit of fun. He set the crop on the side table.

Conner walked around the bed, his erection easy for her to
see. He had no trouble with his nudity that was for sure. And with such a
specimen, she was glad for it.

“One of the things new subs have issues with is
understanding their place.”

She could tell he wasn’t happy with her by his tone.

“I thought you might be a little more open to it. Maybe
understand that my control of your body during our lovemaking was the ultimate
goal.” He shook his head as if he were disappointed. “You have another lesson
to learn.”

He sat beside her on the bed. As he skimmed his hands over
her body, she started to close her eyes.

“No. Look at me.”

She couldn’t seem to do it, to make herself look at him.

“Jillian, open your eyes right now or you will earn a
punishment you might not want to deal with.”

She willed herself to look at him.

“I keep saying this, but your pleasure is mine to give. You don’t
get to decide. In this we have to agree, or I will stop. Of course, a little
lesson right now in my power over you should do.”

She felt a lick of fear at the warning. Not that she thought
he would hurt her, but she knew he was going to start pushing her boundaries,
and Jillian wasn’t so sure she was ready.

He slipped his hand down her body and skimmed his index
finger along her slit.

“You will not come until I give you permission, do you
understand me?”

She didn’t answer right away, and he gave her clit piercing
a tug.

“Do you?”

“Y-yes.”

Lightly, he moved his fingers over her pussy. It was almost
playful, but she knew his intent. With each barely-there touch, he heightened
her need and pushed her further to the edge of her release. Her eyelids grew heavy,
but he smacked her pussy.

“No. You will continue to look at me.”

He dipped his fingers into her, and she sighed. The little
move, along with pressing a finger against her clit, had her shivering. She was
close, so close. Each time he moved his fingers, she grew damper and her inner
muscles clamped a little harder around his fingers. Each thrust pushed her, and
she felt herself tipping into her orgasm…he pulled his hand away.

“No, I didn’t give you permission.”

She pressed her thighs together, and he chuckled.

“Spread your legs. I don’t want to have to warn you of that
again.”

She did, but she took her time. He looked back up at her,
and when he noticed she continued to look at him, he smiled. “What a good
girl.”

He gave her pussy another little pat. The small movement had
another heat rolling through her body.

“You don’t want to experience what I would do to you if you
don’t learn this lesson.”

She didn’t say anything as he pinched her nipples.

“You have the perfect breasts.” He bent down and took one
into his mouth, grazing his teeth over the tip of it. Every time he did that,
she felt it all the way to her cunt. He sat back up.

“See, if you can’t learn this lesson, I will tie you to the
bed and leave you like this for a while. Can you imagine lying here, aroused,
that pussy so wet, ready to be fucked, but gaining no relief? I would do it.”

There was no doubt in her mind that he would. She must have
lost her mind because she found it somehow arousing.

“But, if you learn your lesson, we won’t have to do that. I
can imagine it, though. I would have your legs tied apart, that pussy in view
for me while you laid here wanting to come so badly it hurt.” He hummed, and
she swore she felt the vibrations filter over her skin. “That might not be a
bad thing.”

He slipped his hand between her legs again, and she felt
herself moving to her orgasm. In and out he moved his finger, adding another
one as he tugged and pressed against her clit ring. He held her gaze, daring
her to look away, but she didn’t. Her breathing increased, and she was very
aware of her breasts, of how hard her nipples were.

Soon, when she was very close to coming, he pulled his hand
away and picked up the condom. He put it on then covered her body with his. He
leaned up on his elbows and looked down at her. Some kind of emotion came and
went in his gaze before she could figure out what it was. Then, slowly, he
leaned down and gave her a kiss. The sweetness had her heart turning over. It
was a moment that came and went so fast she wasn’t sure it happened, but in the
next instant, he rose to his knees, lifted her hips off the bed and entered her
in one hard thrust.

She was so aroused she almost came then. He must have felt
it because he moved at a leisurely pace, not allowing her the release she needed.

Soon though, he was caught up in it and he said, “Come,
Jillian, now.”

For a moment, she couldn’t. She had wanted it so fucking bad
a minute ago. Now, she couldn’t. He pressed against her clit and said, “Do it
now.”

She did in the next second. The orgasm hit her hard, causing
her to bow off the bed and shake with the force of it. All the tension he had
built up came surging forward in an explosion. As she started to come down from
it, Conner sped up his thrusts so hard, the headboard was smacking against the
wall. He pressed hard against her clit again and she came a second time before
she had recovered from her first orgasm. This time he followed her, thrusting
into her one last time and moaning her name.

Moments later, he collapsed, and she immediately slipped her
arms around him. He kissed her cheek and rose up to look at her.

“Don’t cry, Jillian.”

She hadn’t realized she was. “I…” She lifted her hand to
brush away the wetness. “I didn’t realize I was.”

He kissed her, and she could tell he was satisfied. He
nuzzled her neck again, and she felt a huff of breath as he apparently settled
in for a while.

“Don’t you have somewhere to go?”

He nodded and nipped at her jaw. She could tell the action
was more one of comfort than sexual. She would have never guessed Conner was a
snuggler.

“But I have some time, and I would rather get some rest. You
wear an old man out.”

She chuckled and kissed his forehead. “I guess I can live
with that.”

Jillian knew she was sunk right then and there. The man was
a hard-ass Dom, definitely Alpha, but he would rather spend his morning
snuggling with her. When he left it was going to hurt, more than she could
probably imagine.

But, she couldn’t stop herself now. She knew from her experience
with her parents that she couldn’t live life by waiting. You had to grab hold
of happiness no matter how long it could last. As she drifted off to sleep, she
realized that was exactly what she would do with Conner…and to hell with the
consequences.

Conner stepped into the Wailana Coffee House and was
immediately hit with the smells he associated with a good diner, although there
was a hint of Asian flavor to it. He noticed a mixture of people, some
definitely locals and some tourists, as he looked around for Maria Callahan. He
found her sitting in the back corner booth by herself. He hadn’t been too sure
that the steely-eyed fiancé would let her meet with him alone. She had her
laptop open, and she was tapping away on the keys. He watched her for a moment,
trying to mesh the woman she was when he trained her and the woman she was now.
She looked...better, even happy. In all the years he had known her, he couldn’t
remember her ever looking that way. Satisfied? Yeah, he had seen that, but
there was a softness about her that told him she was finally, truly content.

He had known from the start that she wasn’t going to fit in
with the bureau. Or he should say, she wouldn’t have been happy there for long.
She would succeed; her father had never given her that choice. Big John
wouldn’t have allowed for anything else. Conner might have made some choices
based on what was right for him and Maura, but she still had choices. He knew
that John had never given Maria those.

She sat back and looked around. He knew the moment she saw
him because she smiled, then waved. He walked down the aisle as she rose out of
the booth and easily gave him a kiss on his cheek.

“You look good,” he said, and he meant it.

He waited for her to sit, and he sat opposite of her. She
smiled at him, and he couldn’t help returning it. There was something so joyful
about her that seemed to spill over to everyone in her vicinity.

"Thank you. My new career agrees with me." She
patted the laptop next to her on the table.

He shook his head. "I would have never thought you
would walk away from the FBI. In fact, I thought you were still there."

She cocked her head to the side and frowned at him. "I
thought you would have known about it before now."

He nodded. "I've been working too many hours lately to
keep up with friends."

She opened her mouth to say something, but the waiter
interrupted her response. Still, he knew better than to think that he was off
the hook. They both ordered, and she surprised him by ordering a side of spam
with her eggs for lunch.

“Eating like a local?” he asked when the waiter left them
alone.

She laughed. “I
am
a local. We decided to stay here since we both love it, and Rome has a good
job.”

“He works with Honolulu PD?”

She nodded and smiled. "I talked to your sister. She
said you were supposed to be here relaxing. I hope you are doing that."

"You called my sister? You know my sister?" he
asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Remember that weekend she came to
see you? We've kept in touch on and off."

He frowned. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know, maybe because she needed a woman near
her age to talk to?" Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

"She could talk to me," he grumbled.

"Oh, that would have gone over well.” She chuckled. “I
understand you met one of her dates at the door wearing your shoulder
holster."

He could feel heat creeping into his cheeks. "I’d just
gotten home from work. And don’t tell me if you have daughters, that cop of
yours won’t do the same thing."

She rolled her eyes. "He probably will, but I have a
few years to worry about that.” She shrugged. “Anyway, she just needed a
sounding board, and I was happy to be it every now and then. It was better than
dealing with, well, you know.”

Her life. From an early age she had accompanied her father
on the job. Conner was sure that she didn’t have many dates in high school, and
not because her father didn’t allow it. John had been a shit father, that was
for sure. No, it was because she was so focused on learning everything she
could from him.

“Also, I’ve been chatting with her online for research. I’m
writing a romantic suspense.”

“You need my sister for that? You’re ex-FBI.”

“I needed to get an answer about some procedures in Florida
law that you have to deal with. Plus, I needed to know what it was like on the
Miami scene. My book takes place there.”

“You could have asked me,” he said as the waiter showed up
with their drinks.
 

“You don’t answer your emails.”

He made a face, but he couldn’t argue with her on that. He
had been bad about answering emails and keeping up with friends all around.
Unless it had to do with the job for the last year, he hadn’t made much time
for anything else.

She sipped her coffee then looked at him over the rim of the
cup with an expression that reminded Conner of her father. Maria might not be
made for the FBI, but she wasn’t a shrinking daisy.

“And don't think you got me off track. She said you had
chest pains. Please take that seriously."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

She shook her head. "Somewhat, but not really. The only
reason you don't have updates from the office is because your sister won't let
you have them.”

“She called me this morning about work, so maybe you should
be talking to her about not stressing me out.”

“If she did, there is a good chance she had no other choice.
She controls Zeke better than she does you."

"I don't know why he does that. Boy should know better
than to let a woman boss him around.

"I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that
he's in love with her."

That gave him pause. "What makes you say that?"

"He's a big tough man, and he's doing what she wants.
He's your friend, but he does what she wants.” She shrugged. “He's in
love."

He pushed that aside. It was bad enough he knew they had
some kind of sexual thing going. Conner really wasn’t sure what it was, but he
knew that their trip to Hawaii the year before had been the precipice for it.
It had only gotten worse since they’d returned. Love was another matter, one
that he didn’t even want to contemplate himself, let alone his best friend and
only sibling.

"So, you're getting married?” he asked.

Her smile widened, and she looked so young. He knew she was
about the same age as Jillian, but he had always thought of Maria as older.
Now, though, she looked younger than his sister. In all the time he’d known
her, he had never seen her smile like that, and it did his heart good to see
it.