Surreal (Divine Trilogy #3) (11 page)

“Jeez, woman, all right.” Jayden laughed at her feistiness. “Landon picked up on my issues at our first study session. We’d agreed to meet twice a week until we’d finished the book, to discuss our thoughts and findings, and from there we would determine what was needed to do our presentation. He had a small loft apartment just outside of the campus and had invited me there so we could ‘talk freely,’ as he put it. Long story short, it turned out that Landon was a Dominant in training.”

Erin’s face startled at the revelation.

“What can I say? It was the start of a beautiful friendship.” The right side of his mouth quirked up in a half smile. “With his help, I finished the book, we got the project out of the way, and then we delved into the true nature of my reaction to
Sodom
. Landon and his mentor—Tommy Sharpe, Sir Tom—helped me understand what made me tick. But the most important thing I walked away with after my time with them was that it was okay, and I wasn’t a freak.”

“So when you’ve mentioned in the past that you’ve subbed for Sir Landon . . .” Erin put the question out there unfinished.

“I meant it. I’ve also submitted beside him, but only to Sir Tom, and there was no penetration. It was mental training more than anything.” There was no point in holding any of the details back from her.

“I thought Paige told me he used to work on a ranch, though.”

“He did, the Flying M.” Jayden burst out laughing when her mouth fell open again.

“Are you sure you two aren’t brothers? I mean, how many areas of your past overlap, for crying out loud?” Erin queried with a shake of her head.

“After that class, and with our newfound friendship, Landon and I ended up rooming together the rest of his time at Rice. During the summer months, he’d come home with me and earn some extra pocket change working for my dad. Once he graduated, he headed up here to Dallas, and it seemed natural to follow him when my time came. While Landon used the summers as downtime to educate his soul and body with ‘Good hard labor and pore-cleansing hot sun,’ I was using my time outlining my business portfolio and working on contacts, all of it in preparation for launching Masterson Metalworks.”

“It really is a small world, isn't it?" Erin said with a sigh before rolling off his lap. She flopped onto her back, her arms opened wide, and Jayden couldn't help noticing how her tits jiggled.

“Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it? It's been second nature, having him around all the time, so I never thought about it before.” On impulse, he reached over to draw his fingertips over her soft belly.

“You’re right. It’s a cool story, but it does seem a bit anticlimactic,” she teased. “Though it is proof that we can’t help who we are—even before we know what it is we need. We both got lucky that we stumbled across someone able to shed some light on our dark cravings for us.”

“And I was the luckiest of all, when I happened upon you in that line all those months ago, sweet girl.”

While Erin was busy with work, helping Paige and Landon with their final preparations, and ensuring Natalie was taking care of herself and keeping her appointments with Holly, January turned into February in the blink of an eye. Before she knew it, the time for their friends’ Valentine’s Day wedding down in Harlingen had arrived.

Using the Masterson Metalworks private jet, they were going to fly down with Natalie, Paige, and Landon in tow. After the ceremony, the newlyweds would travel on to the Caribbean for their honeymoon using the jet. Erin and Jayden would fly out of Valley International on a commercial line to get them overseas. However, while Erin knew Jayden had made plans to continue on after the weekend for an extended ‘birthday vacation,’ she still had no idea of their final destination. He’d been sure to keep that information under tight wraps.

The ceremony was being kept comfortable and small. Jayden’s parents would be in South Padre for the wedding since they considered Landon a son, but they wouldn’t be able to stay the whole weekend. They’d be there Friday for the event itself, and then Natalie would return to the Flying M with them so she wasn’t on her own at the Villa while Jayden and Erin were gone.

Paige was originally from the Harlingen area, so the Halston clan would be there in force, making up the majority of the guest list. Other than that, Landon’s brother Liam had said he wouldn’t miss the wedding for the world. With the exception of the Mastersons, Liam was the only family Landon had. The Michaels brothers had lost their mother a few years earlier to ovarian cancer, and their dad was in a special facility that catered to Alzheimer’s patients. Mr. Michaels no longer knew who his boys were, but they seemed to have made peace with that.

While the ceremony was set for Friday at sunset, they were flying down Wednesday night. Thursday would be spent on the rehearsal and handling any last minute tasks, then Friday morning the wedding party would meet at the spa owned by Paige’s aunt to get made up for that evening. Erin had assumed they were going down the night before so that they could hit the ground running on Thursday, and so she was surprised when they arrived and Jayden directed
Catherine
to freshen up and get ready for dinner.

“No disrespect, Sir, but should we do this with Natalie present?”

“She won’t be. I invited her to take advantage of room service and Pay-Per-View. She knows we will be out and is content to hang out upstairs for the evening. Now, don’t dally, my jewel. Landon and Paige are expecting us for a special evening.”

Oh
. “Aye, Master.” With no further hesitation, Erin went to the bedroom and got ready.

Catherine emerged ten minutes later dressed in a simple but striking black and white sundress that showed off the inky pearls around her neck. Her Master waited by the open patio door, which opened onto the beach. When he turned to greet her, she eyed him hungrily, feeling her body begin to heat.

He still wore the loose fitting jeans he’d traveled in, but he had changed into a clean shirt. It was unbuttoned all the way down, and his bronze abdomen looked amazing framed by the moss green linen. Without a word, he crossed the room to take her chin in his large hand. Tilting it up, he leaned down and drove his tongue into her mouth, staking his claim.

“You are beguiling as ever, Catherine. Come, we’re going to be late.” Master turned on his heel and passed through the patio doors out onto the sand.

She paused at the door to slip off her heels and carry them—there was no way she’d be able to maneuver the beach terrain in them—then fell into step, behind him and to the left. A few minutes later, they arrived at a condo down the beach. Sir Landon appeared at the door and invited them in.

Straight away, she recognized the scent of burning candles and noticed Paige standing in a corner. Her friend wore a simple white shift, through which her dark nipples were visible. In her hands she held a white rosebud that had just begun to unfurl. While uncertain what was happening, Catherine could feel the importance of the moment hanging heavy in the room.

Master reached for her hand and escorted her to a nearby chair. “Please kneel, jewel.” He perched on the edge of the chair then directed his attention to Sir Landon.

What she witnessed in the next twenty minutes had her weeping quiet tears. They slipped down her cheeks at the beauty unfolding in front of her. It was a part of the Lifestyle she’d never known existed. Catherine witnessed her first Ceremony of the Roses, and her respect for their way of life deepened.

With thorns, flames, a little blood, and a chain, Sir Landon and Paige exchanged private vows, committing to their Lifestyle roles for eternity. Master assisted with parts of the ceremony, acting as an extra pair of hands when needed. The symbolism and raw emotion of the deed rocked Catherine down to her core, and she hoped one day Master would invite her to partake in the Ceremony with Him.

Paige changed into a public-appropriate outfit afterward, and the foursome made their way down the beach to Blackbeard’s Restaurant. Getting a table out on the sand, they enjoyed a relaxing night. The men reminisced about their Rice days, while the ladies laughed at the stories and even managed to share some of their own. Once everyone’s bellies were filled with fresh seafood and virgin daiquiris, the tab was settled, and the group strolled back to the Bahia Mar. Saying goodnight, Master got her back to their rental in record time. The way he ravaged her, she had to assume the night had been special for him, too. The magnitude of the occasion must have made him as desperate to connect with her as she had been to connect with him.

Catherine slept better that night than she had in weeks. With the sound of the waves, her lover’s hand laid possessively around her waist, and her freshly-spanked bottom nestled against his spent cock, it was a given.

~*~

Erin fought hard not to cry at the beauty of the wedding ceremony Paige had orchestrated. In the end, a few tears had escaped anyway. The weather was balmy and mild, with the gentlest of salt-tinged breezes shifting the air around the small assembly. Flowers, décor, and wardrobe all blended without effort into the setting sun in the background. It could’ve been a Norman Rockwell painting in the perfect way everything came together.

Standing to the side, she couldn’t get the images from the rose ceremony out of her head. Now they flashed faster and in sharper focus, overlapping Paige and Landon’s exchange of vanilla vows and driving home the commitment her friends were making to each other. It was the same pact she couldn’t wait to seal with Jayden in a few short months.

Following a good, old-fashioned crab boil reception on the beach, Jayden and Erin made the rounds, saying goodnight and goodbye. They were on the first flight out at dawn.

Half-asleep and near comatose, Erin let Jayden guide her through Valley International Airport. She dozed her way through check-in and security, leaning against him in a sleepy daze whenever they came to a standstill. Just because they’d left the reception the night before at a reasonable hour didn’t mean they’d gone to sleep at early.

Without toys or bindings of any sort, the lovers had embraced the raw emotions of the evening and used nothing but their bodies to express the depths of their passion to one another. Last night might have been measured and sensual, but it had also been every bit as intense as their evening of kinky abandon the first evening they’d arrived—and she was worn out.

It wasn’t until they were standing in line for coffee that her head caught up to what her ears had been hearing over the airport PA system. They were taking an international flight.

“Jayden?”

“Yes, sweet girl?” His eyes were fixed on the menu ahead of them, scanning the selections.

“Where are you taking me?” On her right, a gate showed a flight to Tokyo, while the gate next to it was for London. To her left, there were gates for assorted destinations in Germany and Mexico. Most of them were American Airlines gates, so that didn’t help her make any deductions.

He looked down at her with a grin then answered in cryptic fashion. “I have an old friend I want you to meet. What do you want to drink?”

“Quad venti white mocha with soy, no whip. Where are we going?”

“I think you’re frequenting this chain too often if you can spout off that tongue twister, when you can’t even keep your eyes open.”

“Jayden.”

“That’s my name, Erin.”

He was being a stubborn ass, and she loved it. Her pulse picked up with their banter. “Arg–” His mouth crashed into hers, catching her offguard and melting her so that she whimpered under the onslaught while getting lost in his taste.

The barista cleared his throat. They were up next.

With a snicker, Jayden pulled away, leaving her mouth moving against empty air. He placed the order for their drinks and two muffins, then took her to the corner, where they nestled down in one of the community couches.

“So . . .” Erin let the word dangle, not ready to release the proverbial bone.

Jayden took the lid off his coffee and blew on it, the fragrant steam curling and vanishing as it wafted away. Her eyes followed his fingers to the pastry, where he pinched off a small portion with a berry in it and brought it to her lips. “Open for me, sweet girl,” he murmured low.

So innocent.

Said with such simplicity.

Yet the request sent a lightning strike through her core, zinging to the tips of her toes and fingers and forcing her nipples to draw tight around their embedded metal.

“Anytime.” Erin let the encroaching lust reflect in her eyes and wrapped her lips around the morsel, along with the tips of his fingers. After taking her sweet time accepting the treat, she daintily wiped at the corners of her mouth then sat back, sipping her own coffee.

He shook his head at her antics and smiled. “Think you’re cute, do you?”

“I know I am.” She flashed him a tooth-filled grin.

Jayden laughed. “Good.”

“All joking aside, though, can’t you tell me where we’re going now? The cat’s gonna be out of the bag once we board anyway.” She batted her eyelashes for good measure.

“This is true, but I think I’ll make you wait a little while longer. Just because I can. Now, be a good girl and finish your muffin.” He took another sip of coffee to hide his smirk when she grunted in frustration.

“Fine, will you tell me about your friend, at least?” Erin was excited about the trip. Other than going to Ireland for her grandmother’s funeral when she was younger, she’d never traveled outside the US. “Is he kinky, like us?” she added with a teasing snicker.

“Patience, my jewel.”

Yeah, right. Patience.

*~*~*

Jayden was having more fun with this than he could’ve imagined; Erin made it so easy to tease. Though he knew he
shouldn’t
be encouraging her pouting, the morning was relaxed, and it felt comfortable being with her like this. He chuckled to himself. If she only knew just how kinky Haro Okamoto was, she might not have posed the question with such nonchalance.
Oh, yes.
Okamoto was a man who could open her eyes to things that Jayden only dreamed of dabbling with at the edgiest of times.

She would learn, though. His old friend and Shibari mentor had agreed to some private demonstrations and lessons with the couple. Jayden couldn’t wait to see what Catherine thought of his surprise. He was pretty certain she was going to love it. He hoped.

Sparing no expense in the name of comfort, Jayden had booked first class tickets for the fourteen-hour flight to Tokyo. Once she knew
where
he was taking her, his jewel deserved the
why
of it—beside the obvious reason of her birthday—and he planned to enlighten her once they were seated. He could’ve taken Erin anywhere in the world for her birthday, but this trip had been planned with an ulterior motive, and as such, they had some things to discuss.

The Michaels’ rose ceremony had confirmed for Jayden that he’d overlooked Erin’s lack of knowledge in their chosen way of life. She had the gist of their Lifestyle down, that was true, and without question she was a natural submissive. Yet, for all practical purposes, the love of his life was still a newbie. In his opinion, he couldn’t have arranged this experience for her at a better moment. The timing was fortuitous.

Andrew Brenner had opened the door for her, awakening Catherine’s tendencies and teaching her the basics. Spencer Talbert had nearly destroyed her. Neither man had endeavored to share the traditions and history in which the lifestyle was steeped, however. Jayden had about two decades of this life under his belt to her handful of years. His ‘upbringing’ had also been more ceremonial, thanks to the opportunities that had been presented to him.

Like a summer in Tokyo with Landon. It had been a present from his parents, following his
magna cum laude
graduation from Rice. Sir Tom happened to be free and had joined them, introducing the pair to
Kinbakushi
Okamoto soon after their arrival. Though they’d landed in Japan with an itinerary of everything they wanted to do and see, after three days with the rope master, all those plans were forgotten in favor of a new one. It became a summer of erotic training, with a heavy focus on finding the mental center before the physical pleasure could be appreciated.

Just thinking about that long ago time made his skin tingle with the memories of the
asanawa
biting hard into his skin, ensuring that when the natural fiber rope was removed, the marks would remain for hours. A low moan escaped him, and Erin’s hand found his. He looked over to find confusion in her eyes. “Once we get in the air, I’ll explain everything.”

Forty-five minutes later they were settled in their plush seats. Erin was now wide-awake and looking at everything. Oh, and touching all the knobs and levers, as well.

“One would assume you’d never been on a plane before by the way you’re acting.”

“I haven’t. Well, not first class.” She grinned and bounced in her seat.

Did she have to be so adorable and irresistible?

“Welcome aboard, Mr. Masterson. Can I get you a beverage before take-off, sir?”

Despite the flight attendant’s offer, Jayden’s attention stayed on Erin. “Water, my jewel?” He’d added the pet name in warning. He was asking for appearances but didn’t approve of anything else right then. She had caffeine and sugar in her system already, and with the upcoming altitude changes, he wanted her hydrated, not drunk.

“Aye, thank you.”

When her eyes dropped in silent acknowledgement of his request, he warmed inside. Pushing her chin up with his finger, he pressed his lips to her warm ones. Upon directing his attention to the flight attendant, Jayden pulled back, seeing her eyes shoot daggers toward Erin.

Somebody needs a good fuck
, he thought with amusement, then turned on the charm. He’d kill her with kindness, and if she did anything to demean his sweet girl, then he’d make sure the woman was relocated to a position with less customer interaction. She managed to get the hint, however. Their waters were served with a subdued smile, and then she moved on to the next passenger, leaving them to talk.

Jayden opened the topic for discussion before taking a drink. “His name is Haro Okamoto.”

“Who?”

“My . . . friend, who will be hosting us while we are in Japan.” Okamoto was much more than a simple friend, but that identifier would work for now.

“I’m still in shock that we’re going to Tokyo. This is so cool.” Her cheeks looked fit to burst, stretched as they were to contain her smile.

“Glad you think so, sweet girl. Landon and I had the honor of spending a summer under Okamoto’s tutelage. It was . . .” he trailed off, trying to find the words he needed, “Intense.”