Diablo Blanco Club: Unfair Advantage (26 page)

“I can see that, Lys. I really can. It kills me to think of walking away, but I could do it.” Setting the dishes in the sink, she added, “What are you going to do if I win? If I can get Bryce to give me his collar, without asking, what forfeit are you willing to give?”

“I’ll make all your babies’ clothes?” She grinned.

Mattie laughed. “You would do that anyway. No”—she grinned and nodded—“I know. If I win, you have to pose nude for Mike.”

“No.” The amusement drained from Lyssa’s face. “Nuh-uh. I’m not posing in any way, shape, or form for that man.”

“I think you doth protest too much,” Mattie teased.

“I do not!” Lyssa’s face grew red, and she kept her attention on thoroughly cleaning and rinsing the dishes before putting them in the drain rack.

“Listen, Lys, if I’m willing to pack up and leave a man I’ve been in love with for eight years, the least you can give up is your clothes and body to art.”

“That kid is not an artist. He’s a photojournalist.”

“According to the awards he’s won and the magazines begging him for his photos and articles, he’s an artist.” Taking hold of Lyssa’s arm, she made her turn around. “I mean it, Lys. If you’re expecting me to walk away from my marriage as my forfeit, you better be ready to pony up something important too.”

“Okay.” Lyssa nodded. “I’ll do it.”

* * *

Despite the reasoning Lyssa had given, the teasing, and their bet, as Mattie pulled into the detached garage at the Folly an hour later, her mind hadn’t changed about the reason Bryce hadn’t offered her his collar. Clearly, there was something Bryce could sense about her that made him reluctant to accept her completely.

Settling the strap of her tote bag over her shoulder, she exited her SUV and headed for the side door. On the path to the house, she spotted Bryce in the corral working with Jezebel, the long, yellow lead connecting horse and trainer. In much the same way as he trained his horses, Mattie knew he used just as gentle, but firm, a hand in leading her through the various steps of her own submission. Leaving him would be difficult, but if the results from the package in her bag turned out to be positive, it would have to be a choice she’d need to face.

Just inside the door, her cell phone rang, the distinctive ringtone associated with Bryce’s cell making her grin. He’d obviously seen her return. “Hello?”

“Have a good time?”

The sound of metal on metal and the snort of a horse assured Mattie Bryce was finishing his workout. “Yes. Are you finished with Jez?”

“Yes. Did Lyssa have any plans with you for tonight?”

“No. She has a design she needs to finish, so we’re going to see about getting together later next week.”

“That’s good to hear, because I have a little something special in mind for tonight.” The sexy chuckle had Mattie squirming.

The last surprise he’d given her had left her barely able to move after her fifth orgasm. Not that she was complaining. “Hmmm, that sounds…interesting.”

“Give me a few minutes to get Jez bedded down; then I’ll be inside to tell you more.”

“Will I have time for a bath?” Imagining a warm bath waiting for her had helped soothe her frayed nerves after she left Lyssa’s. Mattie still longed to immerse herself in the Jacuzzi tub upstairs, despite the arousal his teasing was stirring.

“Not too long, babe,” Bryce warned before disconnecting.

That could mean any number of things, Mattie mused as she hurried up the stairs. In the bathroom, she began filling the deep, round tub. As she settled on the raised platform surrounding the minipool, the bottle of Bryce’s cologne caught her eye. Though he only wore it at work and on formal occasions, Mattie loved the distinctive scent. Before she could rethink the impulse, she crossed to the vanity, collected the jar, and drizzled some into the bathwater. Turning on the jets, she returned the bottle to the counter as the scent-filled steam rose from the tub.

Thinking of Bryce’s reason for her last surprise, Mattie shed her clothes, working hard to avoid caressing her body. Pleasure from punishment was becoming hard to control, she admitted as she conjured the memories of a special luncheon at La Paloma. The elegant Italian restaurant was one of her favorites, which was the primary reason Bryce had selected it for her introduction to risk-taking public displays.

Having had an audience when Bryce had received and given oral pleasure at the Club, Mattie had believed that the sensation of risking getting caught in public doing the same wasn’t much different. She was wrong.

Stripped of her clothes, Mattie settled into the swirling water, her hair held on top of her head with two lacquered hair sticks, and recalled every detail of that day just a week earlier.

She’d been nervous, seated between Bryce and Richard in the restaurant, diners at the various tables around and in front of them. After they’d given their orders to the waiter, Bryce had settled his clasped hands on the table and spoken, his voice firm but never reaching beyond the island of their booth. “When in my presence, if I give permission for another to touch you, you need to accept it.”

Knowing it was the master speaking, Mattie nodded. “I understand.”

“Did you leave your panties off before we drove to work as I instructed?”

Again, she nodded. “Yes.”

“Very good.” Bryce’s gaze had shifted from her face to his friend. He nodded and then returned his eyes to hers as Richard shifted closer on the curved bench seat of the booth. “Richard is going to adjust your skirt to better accommodate your instruction. Lift up, so he can settle it around your waist.”

The slide of Richard’s hand along her thigh had been a warm and somewhat alien feeling. The calluses were not as pronounced as those on Bryce’s palms and fingers. His touch was tentative, not as firm as Bryce’s, and didn’t heat her core the way her husband’s did. Still, she did as she was told, lifting her bottom to allow the silk skirt to be pulled up. The chill of the leather seat had her stifling a gasp.

Bathed in the warm water, the scent of Bryce filling her nostrils with every wisp of steam floating from the surface of the bubbling pool, Mattie ached to touch herself as Bryce and Richard had during that long, sensual lunch. The memory of the stroke of their fingers up her thighs to the bare mound of her sex had her panting. Remembering how each man took his turn exploring the swollen lips, the wet passage within, and the throbbing protrusion of her clit, had Mattie squeezing her thighs together and arching upward in the rolling water.

Only the knowledge that breaking the rule about self-stimulation could result in even more denied pleasure kept her from attempting to find relief from her growing need. Unbidden, the plea for permission to come whispered from her lips into the empty bathroom even as it had in the restaurant when Bryce had coaxed her to the edge and then slid his hand aside to allow Richard access to her tender flesh.

Though she hadn’t expected Bryce to allow her to climax then, she’d been surprised when he’d taken her clenched fist from the seat between them and tugged her from the booth. Sobbing at the delay, she’d barely been aware of him making sure her skirt had fallen back into place, covering her bare skin, before he led her toward the restrooms. Ignoring any chance that the room might already be occupied, Bryce had followed her into the ladies’ room, snapped the lock closed on the door, and lifted her onto the counter in one smooth movement. The rasp of his zipper was barely audible over her sobs as he spread her thighs and ordered, “Wait.”

Her fingers had clawed at his suit coat, head thrown back as she swallowed her cries with the firm thrust of his cock inside her. The tight clutch of her body had him cursing as he forced every inch of his length home. “Goddamn it, baby, take it. Fucking take it all,” he growled, his hand rising to force her head down to watch their bodies connect. Her flesh swallowed his as the last bit sank in, and the fingers of his free hand spread her labia, exposing her clit to the scratch of his pubic curls and the pressure of his pelvis.

Then as now, she hovered, desperate for climax, knowing he could deny her permission. Deny her release as a means of showing her the strength she had in controlling her body’s needs. And then, just as now, she both reveled in and despaired over the power he held over her, that she gave to him. Willingly.

Mattie moaned as the heat stimulated her flesh and another drift of steam increased the scent of her husband around her. Her hands continued to clutch at the sides of the tub, desperate to caress her breasts and belly before they slipped between her thighs to test the moist folds hidden there.

From the doorway, Bryce was reluctant to remain silent. Knowing how she loved to take her time in the bath, he’d come inside hoping to hurry her, but now he was hard-pressed not to join her. With her eyes squeezed shut and her body quivering with arousal, he wondered what thoughts could possibly be running through her mind. A wry grin lifted his lips as he gave in to temptation and crossed the cool tile floor on bare feet.

Standing over the tub, he watched her fingers clutching the rim of porcelain, the flex of her thighs as she held them tightly shut, and listened to the tiny, breathless moans issuing from her lips. Each sent a shaft of heat arrowing directly to his groin. Fully dressed, he eased into the tub and whispered, “Lean forward.”

Mattie’s eyes flew open, mortification mixed with relief in her gaze as Bryce stood over her. She shot upright in the water and tried to scramble out, but his firm grip drew her back. Sliding down behind her, Bryce cradled her against his body as he braced his feet against the textured bottom and slid his right hand over hers, guiding it between her thighs.

His husky whisper drifted through the dimly lit room. “You have my permission to touch yourself.” He could feel her heart fluttering furiously and her body tense in his arms. “Relax, darlin’,” he crooned, smoothing his left hand down her left shoulder to the fingers tightly clenched against the rim of the tub, he gentled her slowly, back to the aroused state she’d been in before he’d made his presence known.

“Open up a little more,” he whispered, lifting his right leg against hers until her foot rested on the rim of the bath. “Good, good. Now.” He eased their fingers between the moist petals. When she tried to pull away, he stopped her. “No, let me show you,” he urged. Parting the delicate flesh, he kept his hand cupped over hers as he guided a finger from each of their hands into the tight channel within.

“Feel how wet you are?” His hoarse voice whispered over her ear. “How tight?” She protested softly when he slipped his touch from her, but it was quickly stifled as he nudged a second of her fingers into her sheath. “Your hands are so much smaller than mine, darlin’.”

With his right hand guiding hers, he taught her the slow, sensual rhythm that would bring her to climax. When her head fell back, cradled between his neck and shoulder, and the fingers of her left hand twined with his, Bryce grinned with satisfaction. He watched as her breasts swelled, her nipples drew to stiff little points, rising above the water like tiny islands. Against his growing arousal, Mattie’s hips pulsed in time to the stroking of her fingers.

Hoarse little cries came on gasps of air as Mattie climbed higher and higher. His hand cupped over hers, Bryce drew their tangled fingers to rest on her right breast; he led her fingertips around the taut, berry-sized bead. “You have very sensitive breasts, Lawrence,” he told her as he smoothed her hand around first one breast, then the other, squeezing the full globes with his hand over hers before sliding his touch away when she began caressing herself without his guidance.

Slowly, Bryce withdrew his touch until he was once again just an observer, watching over his wife’s shoulder as she lay against him in the bubbling water. He watched, his body taut with desire, as her body grew flushed, her lips parted, her thighs quivered, and she whispered a soft plea.

“Please.”

“Please what, baby?” He knew what she wanted, needed, but waited for her to ask.

“May I come? Please, Bryce.”

He only hesitated a moment. “Yes, baby, you may.”

Arching against him, she cried out as her orgasm swept over her. It took everything he had to keep his hands still on the rim of the tub as Mattie’s bottom rocked over the swollen length of his arousal, locked within his sodden jeans. Silent, he waited and watched as she gradually returned to Earth, her hands gently stroking her damp flesh beneath its clear liquid cover.

“Better?” His voice was rough in the dimly lit room.

Refusing to feel embarrassed, Mattie nodded. “Mmmm, much.” Letting impulse guide her, she braced her hands on the sides of the tub and lifted away from her husband. Turning to face him, she grinned in amusement at the picture he made, arms draped casually on the porcelain rim, wet chambray plastered to his muscular chest, and soaked denim outlining his straining arousal beneath the waves.

When his shoulders tensed, preparing to raise himself from the bath, Mattie leaned forward. “Wait,” she whispered, her fingers sliding easily over his buttons, releasing them one by one until the shirt parted, revealing his darkly tanned chest, sparsely covered with pale blond curls, and lean muscles. Meeting his fiery green gaze, she simply said, “May I?”

Bryce didn’t have to ask what she meant. She was sure he could read it in her dark chocolate eyes, and the heat in his gaze assured her his arousal had kicked up another notch. Rising, he rested his flanks on his heels, knees spread for balance, facing her. Her hands cupped his, following as he eased open the five buttons holding his jeans closed, then shifted aside the silk covering his swollen manhood. The dual sensations of rolling water and moist, warm air against his penis, along with the feel of her soft hands over his, brought a groan slipping past his lips. Mattie’s gentle smile drew a self-deprecating laugh from his chest. “Think it’s funny, my little witch?”

“Oh yes.” She smiled, her eyes leaving his to watch as his hands caressed the length of his stalk from base to tip, modeling for her what brought him the most pleasure. Beneath her fingers, she could feel just how firmly he gripped and how fast or slow his strokes were. Much as he’d guided her in learning how to bring herself to satisfaction, Bryce showed her again just what was necessary to bring about his climax.