Reaction Time (7 page)

“This is the mystical, magical part you need to understand. It takes a lot of courage to be a sub, more than it takes to be a Dom. And the great paradox is
you
have all the control.”

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. What a bunch of horseshit. She was going to kill him. He was a walking dead man. He was just too stupid to realize it.

As she jerked on the bindings again, feeling a slight tinge of panic, he made a slow, calming caress across her stomach, and said, “Look at me.”

It was more of a glare than a look, but once she made eye contact he continued, “A sub
always
has the ultimate control. You can call game over at any time.” He stroked his fingers back inside at a pace that was slow and torturous while his thumb circled her clit.

“Either call me Sir or use your safeword and we end everything. The choice is all yours.”

Either way she lost. Be a wimp and safeword out of it, or submit. He was still kneeling between her legs, gaze locked on her face, wearing the tender and affectionate expression he’d worn earlier.

Something deep within snapped. In that instant, it didn’t seem quite as important to win this game. She sensed how much he wanted this and for some inexplicable reason she wanted to make him happy.

She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, “Please let me come…” She swallowed hard and forced herself to say what he wanted to hear. “Sir.”

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He froze, apparently stunned by her acquiescence, but soon recovered. He thrust his fingers into her while massaging her clit. His breathing was harsh and ragged. “Come for me, sweetheart,” he rasped.

At his command, she lost all control over her body. Screaming and bucking, she feared she might shatter into a thousand pieces. He replaced his fingers with his tongue and drew her orgasm out for what seemed an eternity. She had never experienced anything as intense or quite so satisfying.

As she floated back to clear consciousness, he untied her from the headboard and wrapped her into the protective cocoon of his arms. Brushing the hair away from her face he whispered, “I’ve worked with a lot of subs, Nikki, but never in my life has that word sounded so sweet. Thank you for giving me that gift.”

Ridiculously happy she’d been able to please him, warm fuzzies filled her entire being. She didn’t want to contemplate how she felt because if she did, she’d have to take into account everything that had happened. And she wasn’t ready to go there. Instead, she tucked her head further into the crook of his shoulder, inhaled his masculine scent and let sleep carry her away.

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Alannah Lynne

Nikki cracked one eye open and peeked at the other side of the bed, confirming she was as alone as she felt. At some point during the night Adam had untied her wrists and early this morning he’d slipped out of bed. Since he seemed to know everything else, he must have known she needed time and space to come to grips with all that had transpired last night.

And in this case he’d be right.

Physically, she’d never been more satisfied. Emotionally, she was a wreck. In the stark reality of daylight her begging and calling him Sir seemed incomprehensible.

However, under the cover of darkness, the stroke of his touch, the lure of his words and the affection shining in his eyes, it all changed. The boundaries between submission and control—and why those boundaries even mattered—had been much less defined.

She’d always been attracted to Adam but had tried to ignore the attraction and keep her distance, telling herself he was too uptight and too much of a rule follower.
He wasn’t
a rule follower
, she thought, as hysterical laughter bubbled inside.
He makes the damn
rules. And expects them to be followed.

A
Dom
. A real honest to God, you-will-do-as-I-say freakin’
Dom
!

But in fairness, after last night, she had to re-evaluate what that meant. He’d been honest about what he wanted and expected from her. He’d been firm and unyielding, but he’d countered it with compassion and tenderness. And she’d never seen anyone as affected as he seemed to be when she’d caved in and called him Sir. And fear hadn’t been an issue. Truth be known, her biggest fear had been he’d leave her, more aroused than she’d ever been in her life, and make her take care of the grand finale on her own.

Oh, God! Had she actually begged?

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She threw a pillow over her head and pulled it tight. Maybe she’d save whoever was threatening her the effort and do herself in. The worst part was, she had no doubt she’d beg him again for another one of those mind-blowing orgasms, especially knowing she had a safe—

She bolted straight up in bed.

Did he say—?

She sucked in an angry breath. He did say that.

She flung the pillow aside and tossed the covers off as she shot out of bed. “I don’t like yellow, don’t wear that color, my ass,” she grumbled. She rifled through the dresser drawers, pulled out a bright yellow T-shirt and snapped it once, sending the wrinkles to Neverland. She always tried to wear black and white shirts with her sponsors’ logos, but today she’d make an exception.

Because he was good with his mouth and hands, and the whole situation had been the most erotic experience of her life, it didn’t make him the master of her universe.

Yeah, his words alone caused her nipples to tighten and everything feminine to ache. His touch was like velvet on exposed nerve endings, soothing yet arousing at the same time.

But dammit, no one told her what to do and what not to do and she’d make sure that message was screamed—figuratively—loud and clear.

After a quick shower she put on her pushup bra—never hurt to accentuate the positives—donned the yellow T-shirt and jeans—tight, of course—and pulled on her boots. After scarfing down a granola bar and chugging a glass of orange juice, she brushed her teeth, put her hair up into a ponytail, pulled on a ball cap featuring her main sponsor’s logo and headed to the garage.

As she approached the garage, she took in the scene. Nate and the crew were hard at work on the car while Adam stood off to the side, eyes sharp and focused. The content of the threatening letters didn’t seem like someone truly wanted to harm her. It sounded more like they just wanted to scare her into not racing. Because of that, Nate and Adam had reluctantly agreed she was safe when the garage area was open only to drivers and crews. But later today sponsors and the press would be milling about, and one of the www.samhainpublishing.com 51

Alannah Lynne

things Adam and Nate discussed last night was how to maintain a sense of normalcy yet keep her protected in crowds. Adam planned to stand off to the side, out of the way, and be the hawk watching everyone.

She tried to act nonchalant as she approached the garage, but her self-assured strut hit a speed bump the second Adam’s gaze landed on her. She actually felt the heat of his stare boring into her and a flush crept up her neck while her stomach knotted into a ball.

Determined to give the impression he had no effect on her whatsoever, she shifted her focus to the car and crew and beelined for Nate.

After a short while of being in her normal surroundings and discussing familiar things like torque, calibration and gear ratio, she felt more in control and up to the challenge of facing Adam.

He was leaning against one of the workbenches, legs crossed at the ankles, arms crossed over his impressive chest. He had the appearance of a man who didn’t have a care in the world but appearances were deceiving, because she was sure he actually had two.

First, he was taking the threat against her seriously and had sworn to keep her safe.

But she wondered who would protect her from him. Because concern number two was the fact that she’d blatantly ignored his sensitivity to yellow and had dressed like Little Miss Sunshine.

Funny thing was she didn’t particularly care for yellow either, but being told not to wear it had made it infinitely more appealing.

As she stopped in front of him—a little more than an arm’s length away—his heated gaze took a leisurely stroll over her body. He obviously appreciated the package, if not the wrapping, and as he finished his visual perusal he erased all expression from his face and said, “You had to try it, didn’t ya, sweetheart?”

She batted her eyelashes and looked as innocent as she was capable. It wouldn’t have worked with Nate, and she knew it wouldn’t work with him either, but she gave it a go.

“What do you mean?”

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A big-bad-wolf smile spread across his face. “Step a little closer and we’ll discuss it.”

The sounds of wrenches and air guns reverberated off the walls of the garage but she was sure he heard her heart pounding, even over all the mechanical noises. “Umm…no thanks. I’m fine right where I am.”

“Bwack, bwack, bwack.”

Bastard
. She narrowed her eyes and glared. He knew she’d never back down from such a direct challenge so she took a small step closer. “Happy now?”

“Not exactly.” His gaze roamed freely over her body, as if he owned her and had the right. “You know, I threw the part about not liking yellow in to make sure you were paying attention. We weren’t doing anything heavy enough last night that you would have needed them, but it’s important you know your safewords. I needed to be sure you understood what I was saying. I knew if you were, you’d do exactly this.” His eyes darkened and his smile turned ominous. “You know there’s going to be hell to pay for wearing that shirt and those jeans and being a cocktease.”

Nikki chewed the inside of her cheek and processed Adam’s words. A silly, girly warmth rushed through her, knowing he cared and was concerned for her safety. She was slightly concerned about the future possibility of needing to know her safewords. And it would be foolish to say she wasn’t being a tease. The shirt and jeans were tight, showcased her curves well and she knew how men reacted when she wore them.

But she was only interested in teasing one cock. And based on the tight fit of Adam’s khakis, she was doing a damn fine job. She switched to chewing on her bottom lip and frowned. Why didn’t she get any of that last night?

His soft chuckle startled and shocked her into realizing her gaze was locked onto the fly of his pants. “Problem?” Leaning in close he added, “And remember, you tell me nothing but the truth. The whole truth.”

Shit
. She was so not going to tell him the truth. She would never admit to feeling cheated by not getting that bulge last night. But she was addled and couldn’t come up with a believable response quick enough.

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Alannah Lynne

A smug smile dripped from his mouth as he uncrossed his arms and legs, slid his fingers into the side belt loops of her jeans and pulled her to him. “You’re taking way too long to answer, which means you’re planning on lying.” His voice was low and menacing. His dark chocolate gaze bore into hers. “Do you know what happens when you lie to me?”

She cursed the tremble starting in her extremities and puddling in her core. She shouldn’t be reacting to his words or his dark expression, but damned if the threatening look and dangerous eyes didn’t make her hot as hell. What deliciously torturous things did he do to those who lied?

How could just thinking about it get her excited?

She couldn’t respond. All she could do was look at him and think about how badly he messed with her head. She didn’t want to call him Sir and give him total control of her body. But a fundamental part of her responded to his words and touch and looking at him now, like last night, something within her shifted and all she wanted was to make him happy.

Suddenly, she was very sorry she’d worn the yellow T-shirt.

She shifted her gaze away from his and stared at the concrete floor. Jesus, she was as certifiably loony as her mother. Her mother’s obsessive-compulsive behavior was getting worse and worse. And staring at this man in front of her, who made her think and feel one thing one minute, and then another thing the next minute, Nikki understood how that could happen. The smart ass in her wanted to laugh at the thought. The daughter in her wanted to cry. And as expected, thoughts of her mother quickly darkened her mood.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

She turned her attention back to Adam, who had his head cocked to the side studying her, his expression as gentle as his tone. Before she lost her nerve, she leaned into him, pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and quietly said, “I’m sorry for wearing the yellow T-shirt.” Thankfully, when she took a step back he let her go without any resistance.

Unable to deal with the emotional chaos, she kept herself distracted by throwing all of her energy into the day’s events. They were nearing the end of the racing season, the 54

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points race for the championship was close and, since Nikki was one of the championship contenders, tension was running high.

Adam was never more than a few feet away. Nikki knew his presence allowed Nate to relax about her safety and concentrate on his job of making sure her car was perfect.

She did the usual rounds of media interviews, met with sponsors and their guests and signed the occasional autograph. By six o’clock everything was set for the next day’s qualifying races, the rest of the crew had taken off and Nate was headed toward his coach and a waiting Amber.

Nikki kicked at the garage’s concrete floor with the toe of her boot and shoved her hands into her back pockets. The silence in the garage was overwhelming and unfamiliar and she kept thinking,
what now?
She didn’t want to go back to the motor home where she’d be alone with Adam. Being alone with him was becoming increasingly dangerous to her emotional well-being. It was too early to eat dinner. If she ate now she’d be starving again before bed. Most of the other competitors were hanging out in their motor homes. Maybe she and Adam could walk around and visit with the other drivers and their wives.