Masterpiece (The Masters of The Order Book 1) (31 page)

The sudden desperation in her voice snapped him out of his emotion. “The answer.” He turned careful eyes on her. “The answer to what?"

“Whether I am who I am or just the reflection of my mother and father,” she wailed, the pressure inside boiling over.

“You’re not thinking straight. What you’re saying is wrong…”

“Is it? Why am I a painter? Why am I your lover? Is there anything about me that is my own or am I just what my father made me? Who am
I
, Nicolai?”

As the perilous question sprang from her lips, she saw the fear in him rise. She wasn’t the only one who needed that answer.

“Alright, Julianne,” he uttered with resignation.

Her heart sank. Nicolai rarely called her by her given name. He did now because he didn’t know whether she was his anymore.
Well, we'll both find out soon enough
. Stepping down, she moved to the wall and pressed her chest against it.

His hands came to her shoulders. “I love you with all that I am. If this is what you need, I will give it to you. But not like this.”

Nicolai guided her back to the platform in front of the mirror. The pain etched on his face showed that what she asked gave no pleasure. Doing this was costing him.

“I’m not your father. You are not your mother. This experience is about us,” he said, his fingers skimming over her waist to meet the tail of her braid. He began to loosen the hair. “You have such beautiful hair. It flows like silk through my fingers. I never want to see it plaited like this again.”

Draping the strands over her shoulders, he kissed her exposed back. “Kneel on the floor and place your hands on the step. Arms straight. Keep your eyes on me while I do this.”

When she knelt, the angle of her body was such that her full length was reflected. Nicolai turned away to retrieve the belt and she watched him in the mirror. His movements were smooth and unhurried as he shed his jacket and tie, laid them over the ottoman and rolled up his sleeves. When he turned back, his bearing changed. He seemed to stalk toward her and she recognized the stance of a Dom. Colder. More distant. More intimidating.

“Spread your legs,” he said sharply.

His gaze absorbed her as if she was a work of art for him to admire. Fingertips ran down the slim column of her spine as if she was an object for him to possess. The look in his eyes and the way he placed his hands affirmed his dominance. Her vulnerability to him stabbed through her, a hard, tight thrust that tightened her body.

“Beautiful. So fucking beautiful,” he whispered.

Drawing a deep breath, he circled behind her and stared, his entire concentration on her back. With a practiced flick of the wrist, he snapped the belt against the carpet near her knees, testing it.

The anticipation rose.

He raised his arm. The strap arced over his head and landed with vicious precision on her skin, the harsh crack resonating in the small room. The first strike was always the hardest, but this pain was shocking, so much more intense than what she was used to. Nicolai hit her harder than she’d ever been hit before.

She struggled to keep silent, gulping for air. The second lash ripped a guttural moan from her throat. At the third, she dropped her head between her arms onto the step to hide the unwelcomed tears.

“No, baby, head up. I want it to see it all.”

She lifted her head and looked into the mirror. Nicolai’s eyes locked on hers, but gave nothing away. He was breathtakingly beautiful, yet beneath the exquisite exterior, she recognized a man whose passions drove him to dark extremes. A man who delighted in his dominant nature, but who, until yesterday, held so much of himself back.

Nicolai wasn’t holding anything back now. Months together and this was their beginning.

How far will he take me? How far will I let him?

Nicolai raised the belt in his hand and paused, the question plain in his eyes.
Do you want me to stop or do you want me to take you where only I can?

What do I want?

She remembered the spanking. How she thought it was painful when it was actually a faint approximation of this pain. But then came the ecstasy of giving herself over to Darion. How much more invigorating would that rush be with Nicolai?

“I’m ready to go with you.”

He closed his eyes, exhaling his relief, and let everything flow free.

The belt cut into her flesh again…but this time, it felt different.

Mesmerized, she watched the graceful swing of Nicolai’s arm, rising above her and falling. Again and again. Concentration and carnal lust played on his face as her body writhed with each kiss of his whip. Her hair fell around her face. Tears streamed over her cheeks. Sweat coated her skin. And the fire of tormented passion burned in her eyes.

Panting breaths became explosive gasps as Nicolai painted red stripes across her back. Pain pulsed along each one and sent echoes of arousal spiraling through her.

“Let go, baby. Scream for me.” His voice was low, rough around the edges. He was pushing her now, daring her.

Nicolai’s whole body flowed into the next strike, forcing her to give what she held back with brutal force. The potency of the lash pulled something latent from her depths. A voracious, savage sound that shook her whole body rose up. For the first time in her life, she opened her mouth and screamed.

Freedom
.

Her body strained in agony, even as she arched her back, waiting, wanting another bite of the belt. Wanting another taste of Nicolai’s freedom.

Part of her was shocked that she could respond this way, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She couldn’t stop her screams. And she could never deny what she felt. She reached for the pain, reveled in its dark pleasure. Each touch of leather to her skin heightened the blooming arousal and left her greedy, hungry for more. Each loud, tortured cry released another bind on the woman locked inside of her. The woman only Nicolai could set free.

They were beautiful together. Two people lost to the intoxicating rhythm of this erotic dance, moving in perfect synchronicity. One unable to dance without the other.

She threw her head back as her screams became moans, the proud moans of a woman who enjoyed this dark submission. As the next lash fell, she let the pain and pleasure combine to drag a sound of pure, unabashed ecstasy from her lips. She looked into Nicolai’s eyes as her entire body flowed through the next wave of their dance.

When the belt landed again, there was no pain.

Nicolai dropped to his knees. Something inside seemed to rip apart at the seams to reveal the primal animal beneath the supremely civilized facade. He strained for breath, his broad chest rising and falling, as he surrendered to his own dark need.

My wolf.

He wrapped the strap around her neck, tugging her onto hands and knees, and reached between her legs. A ravenous growl rumbled through him when he felt the thick cream coating her folds. She spread her legs wider and rubbed against his hand, inviting him to take her completely. He pumped his fingers deep into her and she released another wild scream for him.

A hand pressed her head to the floor, leaving her backside high in the air, and the strap uncoiled from around her neck. The whip began to dance again, moving up and down, marking the back of her thighs. The blows were slower, more sensual, building a steady heat in her skin.

She moaned into the carpet.
It isn’t enough. I need more
.
So much more.

“Please, Nicolai. Take me there. Set me free.” Her voice was hoarse and desperate as she teetered on the edge of agonized excitement.

He reached over her bottom and spread the soaking lips of her sex. The leather tapped her clit in quick, steady snaps. Sharp darts of ecstasy shot into her, feeding her passion until he worked her into a heated frenzy. An enormous orgasm filled her, every cell yearning for release, but she held back, waiting, refusing to fly apart without his command.

The torment was exquisite.

“
S'il vous plait, Maître
.” The words slipped through her lips before she could stop them and panic replaced ecstasy.

Nicolai paused, then answered with words that reached right into her soul, “Your Master will always take care of you. Always give what you need. I love you, Beauty mine. Come for me.”

One final, biting kiss of the belt was all it took and she came.

Nicolai moved behind her on his knees and hauled her tortured back against his chest. Rough fingers curled into her hair and urged her head back. He leaned over, his heavy breath heating the slick skin of her shoulder, and met her eyes in the mirror.

“Mine,” he hissed in her ear. His tongue swept, hot and wet, across her racing pulse as rapacious hands seized her body, clawing at her, claiming her.

She marveled at her reflection. A wild creature trapped in her lover’s embrace. Mussed hair. Flushed skin. Sated eyes. Parted lips. It was the reflection of the woman she had become.

The woman I was born to be.

“Master, lover, submissive, muse,” she muttered as every truth came into crisp focus.

She was Nicolai’s Beauty. He was her lover. Her creator. Her Master. Her body and soul fused through his arduous passion. Her spirit made indomitable through his love. Locked in his arms, she was finally free.

“
Vous me faites si belle. Je t'aime, Maître
.”

“I love you too,” he whispered against her nape. Then his lips curved into a wry smile. “But you just might be the end of me, Beauty mine.”

She couldn’t contain her laughter. “That’s the plan.”

He flipped her onto her back and pounced. Those smiling lips took hers.

There was nothing more to be said.

*****

Darion hung up the phone.

A heavy weight pressed on his conscience. He hated keeping secrets from Nicolai and Julianne deserved to know the truth. For a moment, he was tempted to dial Nicolai back and tell him everything, but he didn’t. Their ignorance left his options open if all did not go well at the Grand Ball. As much as he hoped he wouldn’t need those options, he feared that he would.

The last secret had to stay buried for now.

21

Indomitable

“Girl, you look hotter than blue blazes.”

Hannah touched Julianne’s shoulder, then yanked her fingers away as if she’d been burned.

Julianne wasn’t the best with American slang, but, hey y’all. She did look hot. Sheer ivory gossamer flowed over every inch of her body, yet left nothing to the imagination. A beaded rope twisted around her ribs beneath her breasts, crisscrossed over her torso and hung down over her front. It was the only part of the dress that wasn’t see-through and the tiny beaded thong underneath revealed more than it hid.

She liked sexy clothes, but a completely transparent gown was a stretch. Then again, she’d come a long way from the girl she’d been and this dress seemed to express that, maybe even shout it. She pictured herself modeling it for Nicolai and a knowing grin slipped across her face.

My shibari artist will love it.

“I’ll take it,” she said to the saleswoman helping them.

“A bargain at 5,000€,” Hannah declared, laughing.

The giggling friends left the boutique, carrying bags stuffed full of decadence, and headed for a salon where every inch would be polished and plucked. Julianne never bonded with a girlfriend as she had with Hannah. They were the same. Time with her was easy and unburdened. If Hannah wasn’t in love with George, she would introduce her to Jerard.

Maybe that would get Nicolai to lighten up about my best friend.

As they walked along the sidewalk, Hannah chimed in her Southern drawl, “You know, girlfriend, you owe me deets for helping you put together that sinful wardrobe.”

“Deets?”

“Details, silly. I want to know every detail about Nicolai’s reaction.” Hannah smiled with evil glee, the look a stark contrast to her childlike face. “Even better, you could video it for me.”

“Don’t you mean Nicolai
and
Jacques?” Julianne added coyly.

“No way. You’re going to the Bacchanal with both of them? How’d ya ever swing that?”

“It was simple. I told Nicolai what I wanted and he offered it to me.”

Well, it wasn’t actually that simple, but she didn’t have to tell Hannah that.

“Y’all are so selfish,” Hannah teased. “And soooo lucky. I want to hear everything and don’t even think about not telling me. Nicolai and Jacques. Good gracious. I hope you’re ready for that.” She clapped her hands and jumped up and down like a little girl.

“Oh, I’m ready, Hannah, more than ready. This weekend can’t get here fast enough.”

She must have blushed because Hannah added, “But seriously, Julianne, we could go back and buy the pink dress if you would be more comfortable in it. It was still pretty sexy.”

It was boring and she rejected it before she even put it on.

“Do you honestly think that after what I’ve been doing with Nicolai, I’m going to be embarrassed?” she asked, embarrassed that Hannah thought she would be.

Hannah turned to look at her. “And exactly what have you been doing with Nicolai, you naughty girl?” she cooed. “Has our sexy artist finally stopped babying you?”

Part of Julianne wanted to be angry, but Hannah didn’t mean offense. She was direct. Julianne could use a bit of that herself and her recent odyssey with Nicolai had certainly shown that he’d indeed been babying her.

When Nicolai said he was a dangerous man, in ways she didn’t understand, he wasn’t kidding. All of her fantasizing didn’t begin to match his decadence. She ached in all the right places and this was the first time in days that she wore clothes. Just thinking about the dirty things he did with her sent a shiver racing through her body.

“Oh. My. God. He has stopped babying you. Is it awesome? Is it fun? Do you love it?”

“It’s beyond words, Hannah. Nicolai is beyond words.” Julianne could hear the heat in her own voice.

Hannah smiled knowingly. “Ooohhh, you lucky girl. Still, it’s one thing to be all va-va-va-voom in private,” she said, wiggling her hips. “It’s quite another to do it in a room full of Doms.”

Hannah stopped abruptly as if she’d walked into an invisible pole. Then turned without a word and started running in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?” Julianne called, chasing after her.

“Back to the boutique. I need a sexier dress. Like yours. Good Lord, what was I thinking? A room full of Doms!”

“Va-va-va-voom.” Julianne laughed out loud as she ran.

*****

Warm skin. Salt air. Coconut oil. Rustling palms.

Every sensation translated into the vibrant colors of summer. Bright blues. Orange reds. Sunny yellows. Even with closed eyes, the color exploded around her. It was so inspiring, Julianne almost couldn’t relax.

Almost
.

She settled against the soft cushion on her chaise with a contented purr. She would paint those colors when she got home. For now, there were more urgent things to do.

Like sunbathing.

Le Belle Fleur
was a paradise. A virtual palace of white marble set atop a picturesque hillside overlooking the Mediterranean. The villa was spectacular by itself, but its true beauty came from the tiers of layered gardens and terraces that surrounded it. Every vantage point offered a perfect vista for worshipping the sea. She knew Darion had impeccable taste, but the magical world he created here was beyond imagination. The fortune he obviously poured into his Monaco residence didn’t hurt either.

A man’s voice, as smooth and seductive as the ocean breeze, drifted into her ears. “And what do we have here?”

She rose up, lifting a hand block the glare, but the light blinded her to the speaker’s face. What she could see was a wild mane of glittering waves that floated on the air and fell over broad shoulders silhouetted by sunshine. She hadn’t expected company and couldn’t roll over without giving the blond stranger a nice peek at her bare breasts.

The man shifted his body out of the direct sun and…

Wow.
Just wow.

A single look told her that he was part of the Order. Somewhere in their rulebook they must have required every male member to be museum-quality gorgeous. They were all gorgeous, but this golden Adonis topped the list.

Tall, tan and pure male, those shimmering waves did nothing to detract from his potent masculinity. He had a high forehead, a square jaw and a wide mouth that curved up with a devilish grin to flash perfect white teeth. An effortless linen shirt hung open over the hard lines of his long torso. The chunky turquoise cross dangling around his neck looked out of place between those sinfully chiseled pecs. Faded jeans hugged him in all the right places and tapered down over well-worn cowboy boots.

She generally didn’t go for the cowboy type, but despite the long hair and casual clothes, this man bristled with intelligence and power and she definitely went for that.

“
Je m’appelle
Julianne.
Mademoiselle
Julianne Giroux,” she said as she checked him out.

“My, oh my. Nicolai’s Beauty. Come here, darlin’, and give us a kiss hello.”

A Southern accent similar to Hannah’s told her that this new friend was an American.

He peered at her through pale blue lenses that shielded his eyes, but did nothing to hide the playful sex in his gaze.

“Um, I’m not sure that I...” she waffled, not knowing how to respond to his obvious invitation.

They were alone at the far end of a lower terrace next to the horizon pool. Nicolai went for a ride on his motorcycle and left her with Darion who was working above them in his study. Jacques had yet to make an appearance.

“Don’t be shy, darlin’. I want to see all of you. She’s as pretty as they said. Isn’t she, boys?”

Only then did she notice the two gargantuans flanking the man speaking to her. One was fair, like the speaker, the other dark, but they were definitely not boys. They were a perfect contrasting pair of tattoos and muscle.

Darion’s voice echoing from the upper terrace rescued her. “For God’s sake, Sabin, you impolite philistine. Get up here and allow the girl some modesty.”

That deep, demanding voice made her jump, but seemed to have no effect on Sabin. He chuckled coolly without taking his eyes off her and called up, “Good to see you too, Darion, ya big joy kill.”

Everyone spoke to Darion with deference, but not Sabin. He seemed to delight in his irreverence, poking fun without a trace of intimidation. That cockiness was very sexy, but not at all surprising given who he was.

Can’t be a leader of the Order without a huge ego. And apparently not one, but two, bodyguards. Although, the third Lord of the Order looks lethal enough all by his lonesome.

As Sabin turned, he whispered in a silken drawl, “We’ll see ya inside, Ms. Julianne Giroux, but I still expect a proper kiss hello.”

She enjoyed the view of his tight ass in those jeans as he sauntered up the pathway. She quickly got up and retied the strings to her bikini top. The tiny swath of blazing red fabric barely covered her body, but it did hide the essentials. She slipped into her gold Jimmy Choos, fluffed her loose hair with her fingers and headed for the stairs. This was going to be fun. She knew she looked good and really wasn’t all that modest.

At the top, she found a very grim looking group. The four men were huddled together under the portico talking in hushed voices. They didn’t hear her approach. Months spent in bare feet assured that her heels would never clack again, even on marble stairs. Nicolai’s punishment had been a particularly effective torture for the shoe maniac she was.
But he’s more than made up for it
, she thought glancing down at his latest gift on her feet.

She stepped onto the veranda and listened. Darion was speaking to Sabin and his hulking companions in a serious voice and she only caught the end of his sentence.

“...concerned for her safety. He will expect Nicolai’s vigilance, but not yours. I appreciate your help keeping an eye on her while I focus on Xavier.”

Sabin’s posture was more serious than Darion’s voice. “Of course, Darion. My boys were trained by Uncle Sam’s finest. Nothing will slip past them. Not even that shifty bastard.”

Are they talking about me and Xavier?
She knew Nicolai was anxious about her first meeting with him. Whenever she asked about the man, all Nicolai would say was, “Xavier is very powerful and that makes him very dangerous.” As if that explained anything.

When she suggested that Lianne’s Xavier seemed loving and protective, Nicolai snapped, “You understand nothing about men like Xavier Talbot. When you meet him, you are not to speak to him unless I explicitly allow it and only in my presence. Do you understand?”

Not really, but she understood Nicolai. He wasn’t planning to allow it. What he didn’t understand was that she would speak to Xavier. With or without his consent. She wasn’t a little girl anymore and he couldn’t treat her like one.

Xavier Talbot could do the one thing no one else could. He could introduce her to the real Lianne, the mother she longed to understand, even more since reading her journal. These men would side with Nicolai if she asked them about Xavier, so she wouldn’t bother. She would wait for her opportunity and talk to Xavier directly.

She didn’t think she’d made a sound, but Sabin pivoted on his boots and strolled toward her with a deceptively easy smile. He ate up the distance between them with a few long strides and towered over her, even in the stilettos.

She instinctively backed up and almost toppled down the steps. Fingers, long enough to encircle her entire waist, tugged her against his hard body before she fell.

“Sweet Jesus, you are just gorgeous, little lady.”

She looked to Darion.

So did Sabin.

The two mammoths watched with blank expressions.

When Darion nodded, Sabin grinned, all grace and lazy Southern charm, “Green light,” and laid his lips over her mouth.

The man was rugged and strong, but still seductively smooth. Soft hair tickled her upturned face, the warm metal of his belt buckle pressed against her belly and a velvet tongue slipped into her mouth. If sunshine had a taste, this was it. Her body instantly responded to the refined wildness in him and melted with the heat of his kiss.

“Now that’s more like it,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers and flashing a megawatt smile.

When a man like Sabin smiles at you, you smile back. Even if you’re in the arms of a stranger, while three other men watch you, in a barely-there bikini, high above the Mediterranean Sea and your boyfriend is nowhere to be seen. She forgot all about the foreboding conversation and kissed him again.

“I leave her alone for one hour and look what happens,” Nicolai said as he strolled onto the terrace and set his helmet on a table.

“Your loss,” Sabin mumbled without breaking contact with her lips.

Darion laughed, “Don’t even suggest that seeing her like that doesn’t flip your switch.”

“You know it does.” Nicolai moved in to peck her cheek. “Having fun, I see,” he whispered.

Her cheeks burned.