Master Me (8 page)

“You mean your parents are into it?”

“Into it?” he mused. “It’s more than that. For all of us. I mean, my brothers and sister and I didn’t witness how the politics of it worked in the bedroom for our parents—that’s just sick—but they were very open. Our sex education was different from that of our peers. That’s for sure.”

And he was well educated in it. Ana took shallow breaths as she tried to counteract the knotting need twisting in her belly. She wasn’t sure how long she’d win.

“When most kids were watching the films about how boys and girls are different, I was already learning how to implement the D/s lifestyle into my life. And when kids in high school were starting to experiment in the back of cars, I was learning at the hands of a trainer chosen by my family.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. Experimenting in the back of his car sounded like a great idea. Would he punish her if she came? Oh. Wrong thought.
Stop
.
Stop
.
Stop
. She begged her body. Her breathing was harsh in the quiet vehicle.

“It’s strange,” she panted, trying desperately to focus on his words. She couldn’t stop the tidal wave surging toward her. Any second it would slam over them both.

He shrugged and added another finger into her pussy. “It’s been like this for my family for over a century. Kind of a tradition.”

His thumb scraped across her clit, pushing, drawing a reaction that pulled at her scarcely held control. “Come, Ana. Come now,” he ordered. “Scream for me, angel. Fill my fingers with it. Now, Ana.”

57

Brynn Paulin

Suddenly, her body arched off the seat, her head pressing backward as a blinding orgasm shredded through her. Mindlessly, she worked on his fingers, the waves cascading over her, her hands splayed on the soft leather seat.

“Yes, like that,” he groaned, encouraging her. She whimpered as he pulled his fingers from her. He brought them to his lips. “I’ve wanted to taste you since last night but earlier I was too interested in fucking you.”

She collapsed against the seat, realizing for the first time that they were driving neck and neck with a Greyhound bus. Embarrassment flooded her. He’d brought her off in front of a busload of strangers. She turned to stare at him, aghast.

He smiled, finishing his feast. “They’re from out of town.”

She shook her head. “You must have thought it was hysterical when I started waxing on about thinking I was into bondage.”

“No, I just desperately wanted to be the one to train you.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“For the same reason you hesitated to take my offer. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. But here we are.” He stroked his finger over her clit, gathering more cream and sending a chain reaction of shudders through her. It wouldn’t take much for her to explode again.

She breathed a sigh of relief as he signaled and pulled onto the off-ramp. A few minutes later, he pulled into his garage. The automatic door slid closed behind them, leaving them alone in the dim enclosure.

Max watched the shadows play over Ana’s face, reminded of the last time they’d gone camping together. The wind blowing the tree outside the garage window made the sunlight flicker on her face much like the campfire had that night. When she’d finally snuggled into him, too cold not to, he’d been hard-pressed not to show her a new use for their tent tie-downs.

58

Master Me

His cock throbbed. There was a tie down in her near future.

“Let’s get inside,” he said, opening the door and going around to open hers. She looked surprised. Max grinned. She might as well get used to being treasured. A true master cherished his slave.

Taking her hand, he led her inside, telling her that they’d get her bags later. “Do I get to see the dungeon now?” she asked. Trepidation trembled in her words. She wasn’t ready for the dungeon yet.

Unbuttoning his shirt with his free hand, he guided her down the hall to his bedroom. “No, not yet.”

She looked around his room as they entered. It was clean and he’d actually pulled the blanket back over the bed this morning, still there was nothing to see here. Almost all his toys were locked up in the dungeon so that they didn’t shock the maid who came in three times a week.

“Kneel,” he said as he headed for his dresser. He didn’t look to see if she complied.

He knew she had. And he couldn’t look at her. He was about to do perhaps the most devious and foolhardy thing he’d even done—even more so than showing his true nature and spanking her yesterday.

Pushing aside a pile of underwear, he lifted out a velvet-covered box and set it on the top of the dresser. His stomach tumbling with misgivings he opened the lid.

Carefully, he lifted out the heavy gold chain inside. This was the collar used by his family to signify a Cress sub. A permanent sub. Though the collar, comprised of thick links, appeared decorative, it had several hidden loops handy for bondage.

Each of his brothers had identical bands for their subs. If any one of his relatives saw this on Ana, they’d know he’d permanently claimed her. He might have a whole lot of explaining to do to them and Ana. Hopefully by then she’d know how he felt and be ready to stay with him.

Dangerous thoughts
,
Max
. Ana had always been the love ‘em and leave ‘em sort. Due to her father’s job, she and her family had moved continually while she’d been growing 59

Brynn Paulin

up. By the time she’d met Max she’d said goodbye to so many friends, she’d stopped investing herself to any sort of relationships. She hadn’t had much of a choice with him though. After they’d been thrown together by school officials, he’d crept under her skin.

Eventually, she’d opened up to him. However, it had taken months of ignoring her rebuffs.

Refusing to commit was still such a habit for her. He wasn’t sure she’d allow him to take their relationship to the next level. He was fairly sure the only reason she was kneeling on the floor behind him was because she knew this was temporary.

Turning, he caught his breath, the sight of her punching him in the gut. Her hair fell in wild ebony waves around her slim shoulders and down to her waist. The top three buttons of her white blouse were open, exposing the upper swells of her breasts while the tails of the shirt hung between her spread thighs. With her arms pulled behind her, the tails hiked up, revealing several tantalizing inches of silky black curls and pink aroused folds.

The blood feeding his thought centers deserted him, rushing for his cock. Ana was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Hell, she looked like sex waiting to happen. She
was
sex waiting to happen, who was he kidding?

“While you are with me,” he said around the rock in his throat, “you will wear this.”

Her brow furrowed.

“It’s not a necklace, not really,” he continued. Holding the links in one hand, he showed her the hidden loops. “It’s a collar. This will signify that you are under my protection.”

Her tongue darted out to dampen her lips and she nodded. Raising her arms, she lifted her heavy hair and straightened her neck. He held the necklace so she could see the ends and its strange fasteners. After his brother Theo’s sub, Keera, had blithely removed her collar and taken off, all four brothers had had the collars altered. “Once 60

Master Me

this is on you, you won’t be able to remove it,” he told her. “The fasteners must be in a particular position to open. Like a combination lock.”

Her position didn’t falter. The threat of permanence didn’t seem to affect her. That was promising. The boulders knocking around in his middle settled slightly. A moment later, the collar was locked in place and Ana lowered her hair.

He ran a finger over the gold. “Beautiful.”

“It’s like Keera’s and Jessica’s,” Ana ventured with more calm than he’d have expected. She eyed him curiously.

So she knew his sister-in-laws had similar collars. “I don’t just want to train you,”

he admitted. Shit. Where had that come from? “I’m afraid you’ll never be properly trained and in all good conscience I need to take you on permanently. I can’t set you loose on the world like this.”

She lowered her head, staring at his toes. “You’ll have to. Eventually. This morning I accepted an offer to be a project manager for Sissek Construction. I’ll be in their Chicago office. I have to report in four weeks.”

“What?” he exclaimed, the bottom ripped from his world. Of all the scenarios he’d thought of, he hadn’t envisioned this. Rebellion and argument. Yes. Total desertion…

He’d always been such a strong Dom with no problem getting his sub to bend to his will with a few words or the occasional punishment. Ana made him feel like a total wuss. It was unacceptable that she made him feel so weak. Damn it. He loved her. She couldn’t just take off to Chicago.

“You’re not going.”

“I am, Max. This is about my life, not sex. Last night when I didn’t know about how to handle you and Tyler was threatening me… I had this offer on the table. I called Sissek this morning and took it.”

“You’re right. This isn’t just about sex. This is our lives, Ana. This is about the two of us being opposite sides of a whole. And not just the D/s relationship even though that’s part of it. You might find another Dom in Chicago.” His whole being protested 61

Brynn Paulin

that thought. “But you will never find what is between us, what has
always
been between us.”

She didn’t reply and she didn’t meet his eyes. Slowly she shook her head, denying him and shaking away some of his hope. They weren’t leaving it at this.

“When are you going?”

“Three weeks,” she replied.

“Then you’re mine for the next three weeks, complying with what I demand. I want you in my bed every night.”

When it came time for her to leave, he wanted it to be damned hard. She lifted her head and he saw the tears pooling on her lids and making her blue eyes glassy. It was already difficult for her. In three weeks he’d make it impossible or kill himself trying.

He didn’t let her tears weaken his resolve. In fact, they strengthened him.

He tossed his shirt on the bed. He toed off his black dress shoes and pulled off his socks, leaving himself clad only in his black dress pants and leather belt. “Come with me.”

Again he didn’t look to see if she complied. He led her to the end of the hallway to the stairs leading to the lower level. At the bottom of the steps they entered the family room. His house was built into the side of a hill so that the front of this level was underground but on this side large glass windows and doors overlooked an overgrown valley, thick with trees. A large deck jutted out from the doors leading from the room.

He ignored the view and walked to the other side of the room and into another short hallway. At the end, he withdrew a key from his pocket and opened the door.

Standing to one side, he motioned for Ana to enter. He locked the door behind them and pocketed the key.

62

Master Me

Eyes wide, Ana walked to the center of the bright room. It had the same sort of floor-to-ceiling windows as the rest of the house with cupboards lining much of the other walls. “This isn’t exactly what I thought of when you said dungeon.”

It looked too cheerful and downright…
pleasant
.

“Were you thinking a dank, dark, bricked room with chains hanging from the walls?”

“Well…yeah,” she admitted reluctantly, pricked by a bit of disappointment. As a girl she’d always wanted to be captured by pirates. Even now, the thought of being tied up excited her more than Christmas. And no one would do it.

With an evil grin, Max flipped open a few cabinet doors, revealing implements that sent goose bumps and excitement flying down her limbs. “I think you’ll find this dungeon well-stocked. And since you’re determined not to be here long, you’ll want to explore everything quickly, won’t you?”

Oh God
,
yes
. She wanted to try it all.

Her breath caught at the sight of the two pairs of cuffs he plucked from a hook and her heart took off. Did this mean he actually meant to restrain her? Her fingers flexed as a trickle of fear inched down her spine. How well would she endure it, now that her fantasy appeared to be turning into reality?

Coming back to her, he placed one set of bindings at her feet then fastened a cuff around each of her wrists. Quickly, he unbuttoned her shirt and let it drop to her feet.

She shivered at the sensation of the silk sliding down her body, her breasts already bare since he’d forbidden her to put her bra back after they’d fucked in his office. Her nipples pebbled as the arousal that had briefly leveled out after her orgasm revved up ten notches. Her body vibrated with need. Max laved his tongue over each tight peak and gave the second a quick bite, drawing a small cry.

“Chilly?” he asked, kneeling before her and sliding her thigh-highs down her legs.

“No.” Well, except for the cool air wafting over her damp nipples.

63

Brynn Paulin

“In a few minutes, you’ll notice it’s a few degrees cooler in here than the rest of the house.” He fastened restraints around either ankle while he talked. She wasn’t getting cooler, she was heating up. She wanted him to lean forward and lick her pussy the same way as he had her nipples, maybe even bite her clit. A rush of cream filled her tingling folds.

He lifted her into his arms and carried her to a rectangular, planked table much like she would expect to see in a dungeon or at very least a castle. The grooves where the wood pieces met dug into her ass, although he gave her little time to register it as he laid her along the length.

There was no give in the wood, if Max pounded into her on it, she’d feel every surge through all her limbs. Nothing would cushion her as he drove deep to her womb.

She wanted it now. As he pulled her arms over her head, she spread her thighs for him to show him she was ready for his possession.

“Now, did I mention to you earlier that I’m in dire need of a reading?”

“No.” He wanted a naked card reading? He didn’t need to bring her to his dungeon for that. And he didn’t need to tie her up. Not that she was protesting. He captured one of her legs and bent it then fastened her ankle to the corner of the table so her foot was actually suspended over the edge. She knew immediately the position would rob her of any leverage.