Wanting It All (The Passion Series Book 1) (23 page)

“Damn you, Lukus.  You did that on purpose.”

The unexpected cane strike takes her breath away.  “Oweeee!  I thought I was done!”

Lukus leans close and grabs her chin to turn her wet face towards him.  She has no choice but to look him in the eye.  “Next lesson, sweetheart.  At least when you’re being punished, I’m not Lukus.  I am Sir or Master.  And when your Master spends his valuable time correcting your misbehavior, you will thank him.  Is that clear?”

Brianna is shocked at how easily her words tumble from her mouth.  It’s as if she’d been waiting for his direction.  “I’m so sorry, Sir.  Thank you for punishing me, Sir.”

Brianna is rewarded with a signature Lukus smile that lights up his green eyes.  In spite of his earlier rant about Dom’s rubbing their sub’s pain away, Bri
welcomes his tender touch lightly massaging her ass and thighs.  She can tell he’s inspecting his handy work to make sure he didn’t do any lasting damage.  A warm rush flows through her at the mere possibility her husband might one day punish her like this.  In spite of the lingering pain, she feels a fulfillment she’s been searching for washing over her.  This dangerous intimacy - the connection she feels to Lukus right now - is what she’s been dreaming of.  It’s a level of intimacy she longs to experience with Markus.

Poor Rachel’s punishment is continuing.  Only now does Bri sneak another peek at Derek and she’s surprised at the pain she still sees on his face.  She’s always assumed that Doms like Lukus and Derek were sadists, men who got their kicks by actually hurting their subs.  She knows she got that idea because that’s exactly what drove Jake.  

These men are so different, and she can’t help but wonder what kind of Dom Markus was.  Surely he has to be more like Lukus and Derek.  If he was a true sadist, she doubts he could’ve turned his back on the lifestyle. 

Derek finally reaches the end and calls out a loud “thirty-six,” suddenly dropping the leather strap as if it’s burning him.  He immediately rushes to his wife’s side and starts stroking her back lightly to comfort her, leaning in to place gentle kisses on the back of her head.  It takes her several minutes to calm down enough to speak and Bri is not surprised her first words are an apology.  “I’m so sorry for disobeying you, Daddy.  I promise I’ll do better next time.  Thank you for punishing me, Master.”

Bri doesn’t miss the slight catch in Derek’s voice as he answers.  “I know, little one.  Daddy still loves his little girl very much.  You took your punishment like a very good submissive.”

Lukus’ continued light caresses to Brianna’s lower back have helped her calm down.  “Very good.  You girls need to stay here and spend the next ten minutes quietly thinking about why you were punished.  Derek is going to keep an eye on you and will release you when your reflection time is up.  I’m going to go upstairs and find some food for all of us since I’m guessing everyone is as hungry as I am.  We need to eat before it’s time to get ready for tonight’s show.”

Lukus strides out before Brianna can question him.  Her heart is racing, remembering this punishment had nothing to do with Markus.  Only now does Bri remember Lukus’ earlier comments about continuing on with her planned punishment regime tonight.  She feels a mixture of excitement and dread of what will happen to her on stage tonight at the hands of her husband’s best friend.  The mere thought of any additional punishment to her burning ass is frightening. 

‘Surely, Lukus won’t layer more pain on my ass considering how severely punished it already is.’
 

In her quiet reflection time, a welcome calm comes over Bri when she realizes she doesn’t need to worry about it.  Lukus will do what he wants to do to her body, and she will submit.  She ponders the differences between Jake and Lukus.  There are many, but there’s one key difference that is more important than all of the other differences combined.  It’s
trust
.  Bri
trusts
Lukus to know what she needs.  She
trusts
him to understand her limits,
trusts
him to never truly hurt her.   Yes, trust is what makes all the difference in the world.

‘Please, God.  Please give me a chance to see if I can trust Markus as a Dom the same way I trust his best friend.’

e

Lukus is quite pleased with himself as he heads up to his loft.  He’s amazed with the speed at which Brianna is learning to bend to the rules of the D/s lifestyle.  She’s so different from so many of the subs that pass through The Punishment Pit each night.  She’s doing a fine job of walking the tightrope of staying true to her core self while exploring her natural submissive side.  Markus is one lucky bastard.  He’s going to have so much fun training her properly.  

‘That sassy little mouth of hers is going to get her into some interesting punishments to be sure.’

She isn’t the only one with a sassy mouth.  It’s not lost on Lukus that for about the last half of Brianna’s punishment, it had actually been her best friend’s curvy body he’d been imagining strapped down to the spanking bench.  A wave of desire to see Tiffany spread wide for him - vulnerable, submissive and whimpering just like Brianna - washes over him.  His cock is already as hard as steel and the memory of Tiffany’s earlier untrained submission has his next planned stop - his master bathroom to jack off.

‘
There’s no way I’m going to make it through tonight’s festivities without embarrassing myself if I don’t give myself some relief.  How pathetic that I need to masturbate twice in one day?  It’s gotta be a new fucking record for me.’

He knows he needs to push all thoughts of Tiffany down for now.  He’ll have to wait to think about her tomorrow, or next week.  Maybe later he can explore whether Tiffany might hold the key to what’s been eluding him.  But not tonight.  Until this Markus crap is wrapped up, he can’t lose focus.  He doesn’t have the luxury of the time it will take to properly contemplate the possibilities she might bring to his life right now.

He hasn’t even finished his thought when he rounds the corner of his great room to look up and find Tiffany standing at the stove in his gourmet kitchen, looking
exactly
like she belongs there.  The unexpected scene nearly knocks him on his ass.  She’s gathered her long, gently curly blonde hair into a messy, and very sexy, up-do with wisps of tendrils spilling down to frame her face.  Her close fitting wrap-around dress is showcasing her curvy body, making him want to bend her over the kitchen counter and slam his cock into her again and again until they’re both spent.

‘Probably not the best way to get on her good side, sport, considering you’ve known her for only a few hours.’

Tiffany looks up as he approaches.  A tentative smile lights up her face. He’s not exactly sure how he feels that all traces of her earlier flustered embarrassment appears to have evaporated.  The person standing in front of him is no giddy teenager that just got caught in her undies.  No.  She’s all woman.  He hates that he doesn’t know her well enough to detect if she’s intentionally flaunting her newfound confidence as a challenge, or if he’s just witnessing her natural demeanor.  Either way, it’s sexy as hell and has the unwanted effect of making
him
feel like a giddy teenager.

‘Get a grip, Mitchell. Doms don’t normally get knocked on their ass by fully clothed sub wanna-be’s simply making them dinner.  But God damn, I want this woman.  Markus… focus on Markus.’

“Oh good, you’re back.  I hope you don’t mind, but I was starving and Brianna told me before she left with you that she was hungry too.  I was bored while you were gone and decided to get up and forage for something.  I found some hamburger in the freezer and the fixings to make spaghetti and a salad.  I figured everyone would want to eat something soon.  Hope you like pasta.”

Her assertive confidence is foreign to Lukus and while his first instinct is to lash out for daring to make herself at home in his kitchen without prior permission or orders from him, he quickly pushes the urge down.  He recognizes a foreign feeling of surprised contentment as he watches her maneuvering around his loft as if she’s lived here for years.  He doesn’t even have time to comment before she continues on.

“I have to tell you.  You have a dream kitchen, Lukus.  I’ve always loved to cook, but recently fell into a rut where it just wasn’t as much fun, especially just cooking for myself.  I walked into this space and it just screamed to me to cook something.  Do you like to cook too?”

Such a simple question, but Lukus’ finds himself too tongue-tied to answer. When he stands there silently watching her as he tries to make sense of the rush of emotions he feels just having her there.

Tiffany chuckles.  “I didn’t think it was that hard of a question.  Want me to make it multiple choice for you?”  She delivers the taunt with just the right amount of charm and sass to pull it off. 

Finally finding his voice, he answers.  “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Miss Smarty-Pants.  I actually do like to cook.  Can’t say I’m exactly professional chef material, but I think I can hold my own.”

“I thought so.  You have a pretty nicely stocked pantry.  I checked a few expiration dates and everything looks fresh, so I assumed you must do some amount of cooking at home.  I know women who’d kill for this kitchen.”

Lukus decides to dish it back. “Hopefully you aren’t one of them.  I’m not armed at the moment.”

“Cute.”  And then, before his very eyes, he sees Tiff’s entire demeanor change over to fear.  “Wait. Where is Brianna?  Is she okay?”

Lukus is used to seeing fear in a submissive’s eyes.  It’s a key ingredient of the attraction to the D/s lifestyle for him - that feeling of power he commands when he walks into a room.  He’s worked hard to learn how to push subs just over the line into the fear zone that gets their hearts racing while stopping short of actually overwhelming them with a level of fear where it’s no longer fun.  He’s very good at what he does.  So why does the fear in this woman’s eyes make him uncomfortable? 

“Brianna is fine, Tiffany.  I promised you she would be.”

The relief on her face is palpable. “Sorry. I didn’t mean… I’m just so used to Jake hurting her… I mean…”

Lukus can feel the control exchange between them as he watches her get increasingly flustered, her assertiveness eroding.  He’s stunned that he genuinely wants to stop her from freefalling back into her more submissive mode, at least for now.  Only then does he realize just how much he’s been enjoying the witty banter with the confident Tiffany.  

“Tiff, don’t sweat it.  I’ve learned enough about Jake in the last twenty-four hours to know he’s a complete prick who belongs in jail.  Please, don’t judge every Dom - strikes that - don’t judge
me
with the same standard you judge him with.  I know you don’t know shit about me, but know this.  I take my responsibility as a Dom very seriously.  I would never terrorize a sub like Jake does.  It makes me sick we could even be lumped into the same category by anyone… especially by you or Brianna.”

“I’m sorry.  I owe you an apology, Lukus.  You’re right that I barely know you at all, but I’ve learned one thing about you already.”  Lukus is relieved to see a shy smile cross her lips. “Okay, maybe two things.”

“And what, may I ask is that?”

“You do take your responsibility as a Dom very seriously.  I couldn’t believe Brianna when she was telling me all of the things you’ve done to punish her. And yet, in spite of it all she said she still somehow trusts you.  I thought she was crazy, like maybe you had brainwashed her or something.  But I think I’m beginning to understand why she feels that way because… well… I sort of feel that way, too.”

Lukus registers how very pleased he is with her answer.  “And? You said you learned two things.”

He can see the indecision about how to answer fluttering across her beautiful face.  He’s struck by the desire to close the few feet between them to take her in his arms and kiss her.  The desire only gets stronger when she teases him with a growing grin.  “I learned you drive like a Nascar driver.  It’s a miracle we both survived the trip into the city.”  The playful twinkle in her eye as she teases him is intoxicating for the Dom and he’s just ready to say, “Fuck it” and snatch her to him when he hears the elevator arriving and the voices of Derek, Rachel and Brianna as they prepare to join them.

He’s forced to settle for delivering a devilish grin.  “Driving isn’t all I do dangerously, baby.  I can see you’re enjoying playing in the shark tank with me.”  Lukus’ flirting is meant to test her, to see just how far she’ll go before she backs down.  He’s pleasantly surprised when she meets his hard stare without so much as a flinch.

“Oh, I’m a pretty good swimmer.  I think I can hold my own in the shark tank with you, Lukus.”  Tiffany gets the last word with her flirty answer.  Her eyes are dancing with mischief as the others join them.  He can detect her pleasure at going another round with the Dom and, once again, coming away with an unscathed ass.

Lukus glances up and is happy Derek thought to put the girls in robes before coming up to the loft.  Stepping away from her, Lukus takes a seat at the massive island directly across from the stove where Tiffany will be resuming her food prep.  He watches with interest as Tiffany goes to hug Brianna. The friends have an exchange he’s not able to hear. 

Derek heads to the fridge.  “Hey, man. You want a beer?  I hope you don’t mind, but I could really use a drink.”