Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries Book 11) (20 page)

“Can I do whatever I want to them?” Her voice was a hushed whisper. Her eyes were staring at the scar.

Was she going to gently kiss it? Try to make it better? She was a sweet girl. “Of course.”

Mia leaned over and dragged her tongue right over the place where an insurgent had tried to slice him open. Her small little butterfly tongue that would feel so fucking good on his dick ran over him. He hissed and had to force himself to stand still. She licked him, making sure she didn’t miss a spot.

If he let her, she would end up controlling everything, and that wasn’t what either of them needed. He was sure she’d gone through a procession of men who took her crazy-hot sexuality for granted, letting her lead the way without ever giving her what she needed. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake.

He put a hand in her hair, tangling his fingers in the soft stuff and gently pulling her head back so she had to look at him. Apparently she was very enamored with his battle-scarred body and he would need to make sure she paid attention to his brain from time to time. “Do you know how much you please me?”

Her smile was brilliant. “I thought I just annoyed you.”

Oh, she annoyed him. Annoyed him. Unsettled him. Infuriated him. Made him so fucking hot he couldn’t stand another minute. “I can be annoyed and still want you. Take off the gown. I want to see you.”

He wanted her naked. He’d briefly seen her breasts, but he’d only touched her pussy and he hadn’t smacked that ass yet. It was very much time for that. She would get the full gamut of D/s tonight. Punishment and pleasure. She would have both.

She stepped back, her hands going to the straps of her gown. “I don’t have scars, but I’m also not tiny, Case. I like my body. I think I’m pretty. I like my boobs and my hips. I know they’re not the ideal beauty standard, but they’re good enough for me. I hope they’re good enough for you.”

She pushed the straps off and the gown fell to the floor revealing her perfectly formed body. He had no idea what standard of beauty she was talking about because she was fucking incredible. An hourglass figure. Curvy hips, luscious breasts with pink-tipped nipples. She was perfect.

“You are simply the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Turn around.” His voice was dark, deep.

“Yes, Sir.”

She turned, showing him her back. Blonde hair brushed halfway down her spine. It led his eyes to her waist and the curve of her hips. And her ass. So round and lush. He stepped in, unwilling to be a mere observer a second longer.

 It was time to truly take over.

He stepped around so he could see her face. “Mia, do you understand that you were under our verbal contract for the entire flight today?”

She frowned and took her time in replying. “Yes, but this seems like a trap.”

It was. “I believe we agreed that you would obey me in the field. That plane was the field. I put you in a safe place, a place I was very certain I would find you in after I’d dealt with the problem. You did not stay where I put you.”

“I couldn’t, Sir. They were going to kill the rest of the team.”

“No. They threatened to kill the rest of the team. They wouldn’t have done a damn thing until they’d figured out what happened to their man. They only had two hostages. They needed them both. There was no way they would have actually killed one of them. I was getting in position to handle the situation.”

“I didn’t know that. All I knew was they were in danger.”

“You knew what I wanted you to do.” He wasn’t letting her off so easily. “You knew what you promised me you would do. I’m not saying that you weren’t brave, princess. Not at all. There’s zero question that you’ll play the sacrificial lamb. I told you not to because I can’t properly do my job if I know you’re in danger.”

Her cheeks went pink and her eyes widened as she looked up at him. “You can’t expect me to hide when people I care about are in danger.”

“You barely know Hutch and Michael. You met Fain about ten hours ago.”

She sniffled a little, obviously emotional. “All right. You can’t expect me to hide when people you care about are in danger.”

There was the sweet girl that mixed with crazy bitch in a way guaranteed to make him insane. He couldn’t help it. He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers, the moment far more sweet than he would have expected. He’d thought when he’d gotten on the plane that he could fuck her and get her out of his system, but it turned out there was no way out of this woman’s trap. It had been custom made to catch him and keep him…maybe for life. “I respect that. You can’t know how much, but I have to get you to understand that nothing is more important than your life. Walk to the bed and place your palms flat on it. Legs spread wide.”

Her hands had found his waist, her lips turned up to tempt him. “I get spanked for being brave?”

Such a brat. He kissed her again, briefly, before moving up and kissing her nose and that place between her brows and her forehead. “Yes. You get spanked by your Dom for putting something very precious to him in danger. You’ll always get spanked for it. Every single time. Go and do what I asked. And Mia, pick a safe word.”

A shiver went through her body, but he rather thought that was all about arousal and not fear. Her pupils had gone big, her shoulders relaxing. Not the signs of a woman who was afraid.

She wanted it, wanted the discipline, the stimulation.

His dominance.

“Pick a safe word. Now.”

“Coffee. Because I need some.” She turned on her heels with the sexiest smirk on her face and walked to the bed that would likely mangle his spine and that he was sure his feet would hang off of.

“You don’t need any caffeine,” he promised. “I’ll wake you up properly and then we’ll both get some sleep.”

She did as he’d asked and placed her palms on the bed, leaning over and putting that stunning backside of hers on display. It would be so easy to shove his jeans down and fuck his way deep inside her, but that would have to wait.

“Your training Dom spanked you?” Though he didn’t like to think about another man putting his hands on her, he had to ask. He needed to know what her boundaries were. Had they been back in Dallas, he would have sat down with her and gone over hard and soft limits. Here, they would have to wing it. He put a palm on her ass cheek, feeling the silky skin there.

A tremor went up her spine. “Yes, he did. We had a session on spanking and then several follow-ups. And I also was late once and mouthed off twice. Good times.”

He could only imagine what an unholy brat she’d been. His cock was pressed against the fly of his jeans, but he was going to ignore the hungry fucker for now. He rubbed a hand up and over her curves, familiarizing himself with her. “And how did you like it?”

“It wasn’t a big deal, Case. I can handle a simple spanking.”

But this wouldn’t be simple and apparently Javier had gone easy on her. He could understand that. She hadn’t been Javi’s so he would do nothing but warm her up, play with her a little. He would leave the real discipline to her eventual man unless she was a pain junkie who needed it. Case didn’t think Mia was a pain slut, but she did need something from him.

He brought his hand back and let it crack against her pretty ass.

A loud gasp filled the air, but Mia managed to stay still.

“There’s a difference between a training warmup and a disciplinary spanking. This is what happens when you disobey me in the field and nearly get yourself murdered.” He slapped her ass again, careful where he placed the smack. He was rough. Despite his earlier words, he still intended to find out if she got hot, too.

He gave her five sharp slaps, moving his hand over and around, peppering her flesh but not paying too much attention to one spot. Her cheeks immediately flushed to a nice pink.

“I don’t think I like the disciplinary part so much, Case,” she admitted.

“I didn’t like standing outside the cabin while that asshole held a gun on you.” Two more. “I didn’t like the fact that I nearly panicked when I should have been cool and precise.”

“I’m sorry.” The words were said on a little sob.

Now they were getting somewhere. She’d been so collected since that moment when the plane had tossed them to the floor. She’d been a damn near perfect partner, with the singular exception of placing herself in the line of fire. He’d been so very certain she would lose it on him after he’d been forced to murder the man who’d come after her, but she’d merely yelled at him for getting blood on the carpet. She’d been patient when he’d locked her in that tiny safe box, and as far he could tell she’d calmly walked into the killing zone and tried to negotiate for Michael and Hutch’s lives. To top it all off, she’d taken over flying the plane and gotten them where they needed to go.

But there was a soft place inside that competent woman. She was trying to hide it, trying to not show him how much the day had worn her down. He needed to blast past her bravado and give her a place to let it all loose.

“I’m sorry.” Her hands clutched at the bedspread, nails trying to find purchase. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things hard for you.”

He found a rhythm that still managed to keep her off balance. “Is that all you’re sorry for?”

Over and over he spanked her, heating her skin to a hot shade of pink.

“I’m sorry I kicked you in the balls.”

He’d almost forgotten about that in the horror of the day. It didn’t say much for his freaking life that getting his balls shoved into his body by his sub’s knee was the second worst thing to happen to him in a twenty-four-hour period. That deserved a nice smack and he laid it right between her cheeks.

Mia yelped and then a whimper came out of her mouth. “I’m really sorry, Case.”

He paused for a moment to let his hand slide down, brushing between her legs. There it was. He breathed a sigh of relief because her pussy was nice and wet, her labia puffy with arousal.

They would get where he needed them to go.

“I’ll take my punishment.” He let his hand play around her pussy, delving lightly and skimming the surface. “I was an ass and I would tell any female I know to do the same thing to a man who treated her that way. My fault, princess. You walked back in and I suddenly lost the ability to think with my brain. So I’m not going to demand anything for that. This is all about what happened when you walked into that cabin. You got Michael shot.”

“I didn’t.”

He hated pointing this out to her, but she needed to truly understand what had happened. He gave her another five. By his count she was almost at thirty. Such a stubborn girl, but he could be patient. “You did. Before you walked in, the mere threat was enough. Once they had you, they didn’t need Michael or Hutch. They would have taken them out very quickly. There were only two of them and three of you, two of whom are battle trained. Why keep them around when they could control me through you?”

There was the first sob. “I didn’t think about it. I just did it.”

“You followed your instincts.” He got it, but he had to make her understand that his training trumped her instinct. “They were wrong. I will follow you when it comes to solving a puzzle, but you will follow me when things get dangerous. That’s the only way this works.”

Her knees wobbled and then she started to crumble.

He caught her before she hit the floor. Case hauled her up as she began to sob, shifting her easily so he could cradle her.

“I’m sorry.” Her arms went around his neck as she finally broke.

“I am, too,” he whispered, hugging her tight. He sat down on the bed, cuddling her close. This was what he’d wanted, what he’d worked toward. She needed to let it out or she would be restless, unable to sleep. She needed to let out all the horrors of the day. “I’m so fucking sorry about what happened today.”

She wrapped herself around him. There was not an ounce of self-consciousness he could find in the way she clung to him. Despite the ass he’d been before, she seemed to offer up all her warmth and trust in him now. She sobbed into his shoulder, her body shaking as she let it all out.

He held her close, comforting her in a way he’d never comforted a woman before. Only Mia. There was something deeply intimate about holding her that calmed him even as she wound down. He reveled in the way she curled on his lap, her whole body exposed. Her soul exposed.

He ran his hands over her, connecting them. “I’m sorry I wasted all that time.”

She looked up at him, her face blotchy and still so damn beautiful to him. “I’m sorry about that, too. You’re a very stubborn man.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “Do you feel better?”

“And a manipulative Dom.” She cuddled back down. “Yes. I do feel better. Today kind of sucked, Case. It sucked and it was also pretty awesome. I’m sorry about Michael. I’ll apologize to him tonight.”

“He knows.” Michael wouldn’t accept an apology from her. In his mind, he wouldn’t see that she had a thing to feel sorry about, but Case knew the difference. If Michael had died, Mia would have to live with it forever. He didn’t want that light dimmed. “But if you do it again, we’re going to have a real problem.”

She brought her hands up to cup his face. “I can handle the spanking. Hell, I needed that. I…struggle sometimes to let go and cry the way I need to. I feel better, lighter than I did before. So you feel free to spank me when I need it or when you need it, but you can’t walk away from me again. I can’t handle that. I need to know you’ll work it out with me if you get mad.”

He couldn’t imagine that she could do anything to make him walk away. Now that he looked at it, he’d been afraid of her, afraid she couldn’t handle what he needed, afraid she would reject him, and he hadn’t been able to handle the thought at the time. He’d been overwhelmed with losing Theo. Their timing had been shitty. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. “I promise. Are we going to do this? I want you, Mia. Not just for a night. Not just for the op. I want you to try with me. I want you to come back to Dallas with me and we’ll get a contract in place and we’ll work everything out. If you don’t want that, then we need to stop here and now. I don’t want a taste of you. I want a full meal and I’ll want it all the time. I won’t be that sad-sack boy toy who follows you around. I’ll be demanding and I’ll need you more than you can know. I’m willing to give it some time, but eventually I’ll want you to move to Dallas and be with me. I’ll want you to sleep with me. You’ll go to sleep after I’ve fucked you senseless and you’ll wake to my cock in your pussy. That’s what it’s going to mean to be my woman. So you think about it because once we start this, I won’t hold back again.”