FLUID as a panther, Mac shifted positions and scooped her up, cradled her in his arms as though she was something precious. He rubbed his cheek over her hair as he rocked her. “They didn’t deserve you, baby. Not one of those six fucking families deserved you.”
The vehemence in his voice was such a contrast to the way he held her. It shocked her to feel the fierce need to protect her under any circumstances radiating from him. In the safety of his arms, the walls of Tess’ emotional dam creaked under pressure. They’d held strong over eleven years, with only the rare lapse here and there.
“I’d give anything to go back and sort those little bastards out. To save you from having to go through that.” He pressed his lips to her hair. “To protect you.”
Tess all but heard the resounding crack as the walls crumbled away, each tumbling chunk bigger than the last. Her breath sobbed out, accompanied by streaming rivulets of tears. She curled into Mac’s naked chest and comforted herself with his scent.
His hand cupped the back of her head and fingers kneaded her scalp as he bent and touched his mouth to hers. “Don’t be afraid to let it all out, baby. I have you. You’re safe. Give yourself a break.”
So, she wept until there was nothing left and her eyes were swollen red. Her head was deadweight atop her neck, slumping back over Mac’s biceps. Exhausted emotionally, it was as difficult to bounce back from that as physical exhaustion. “Sorry, Mac. I didn’t expect…this.”
He reached out and snagged a handful of tissues from the bedside table. He spent several minutes in silence as he painstakingly wiped her face free of signs of the outburst before he covered her mouth in a deep, lush kiss. “You’ve repressed everything into the back of this pretty head of yours, and it’s going to destroy you, Tess.”
“I just needed to let off some steam,” she argued. Her words slurred a little after she surfaced from that kiss.
Those green eyes sparked with anger. “Don’t be fucking stupid, woman. The sooner you admit you need help coping with these issues, the sooner you’ll overcome them. I can handle you crazy. I can handle you being wild in bed. I especially like handling you there. But I can’t handle watching you tear yourself apart with memories.”
Tess scoffed, feeling better now that the vulnerable state had passed. “They’re not—”
His mouth came back to hers, savage this time, possessing and punishing with each sharp nip of teeth on her tongue, the hard suction that was produced by two questing mouths sealed together. “Try lying to me, Tess, and see what happens. Here, in the privacy of your room, between me and you, summon up a modicum of courage and admit it.”
Heat flooded between her legs. Body rested, mind purged for now, she was primed to end all conversation and satisfy the ache. “Fine. I’m tearing myself apart with memories,” she said blithely. When he scowled at her, she gave him a cocky grin and pressed her mouth to his ear. “However, I far prefer it when you tear me up with that very distinctive cock of yours.”
Something untamed grumbled in his chest, not unlike the throaty purr of a motorbike, a throbbing sound that did delicious things to her insides. “Don’t push me, baby. This needs sorting out before you even think about getting laid.”
Tess shrugged nonchalantly, suddenly feeling cocky and uninhibited. Where the change came from, she couldn’t say, but the short boost of confidence did wonderful things to her self-esteem. “I don’t want to think anymore, Mac. I want you to check another box off my list.”
The limits of his control frayed quickly. The first telltale sign was the sudden fisting of his hands. “Tess…”
Time to try something different and test her newfound bold streak. She shuffled slightly in his lap, cupped her sex, and then gave a sexy little moan. There was still some discomfort, but she was willing to overlook that. With tongue between teeth, she traced the parting of her pussy lips with her fingers and tested the hot, smooth glide of natural lubrication.
Mac’s fisted hands kneaded at her back.
With his body for support, Tess leaned back, spread her legs a bit farther apart, and found his eyes, held them. This was unchartered territory for her. She could only hope she knew what she was doing, trying to keep the cockiness pumped up so she didn’t back down.
She plunged two fingers inside herself, a place she’d never been inclined to explore. Silky heat enveloped her fingers. Strong, tight muscles gripped them. She bowed upward on a quick cry, back arched in a taut arc.
“Jesus, Tess.” Mac growled, the green of his eyes glowed with lust. “Tell me how you feel.”
“Tight. Still tight, even after your cock’s been there. Wet, so wet. Like liquid velvet. And hot.” Slowly, deliberately, she thrust her fingers. In and out, punctuated by a whimper on every sharp inward thrust. When Mac groaned, she moaned again to torment him. “If you’re not going to quell the ache, Mac, I’m just going to have to deal with it.”
He hissed out a breath between his teeth. “Harder. Do it harder, baby. You’re going to make yourself scream.”
Plunge and retreat, over and over. Harder, soft wet sucking sounds getting louder. Her whimpers grew desperate. Her hips rose and fell to the movement of her fingers. “Hear that? I’m ready for you, Mac. All you have to do is take me, any way you want me.”
“You’re not ready for me,” was all he said, an ominous edge to his voice. His hand covered hers, and he added one of his own fingers to the two inside her. “But this is an acceptable start.”
“Not ready for you?” Tess squeaked.
“Not ready by half,” he crooned and nudged her hand aside. Then, he shimmied her on his lap and spread her legs farther apart. “Bend your knees and hold on to something.”
Her bravado faded fast. She shot out one last quip. “Your cock?”
“Soon,” he promised with a wicked grin. “Knees up, baby.”
Tess did as he ordered. She drew them up and back so her sex spread out in all its aroused glory. Now, with doubts of what she’d set in motion, she hooked one arm around Mac’s neck and cupped her free hand beneath his thigh.
“No holds barred,” he said glibly, and attacked her pussy with ardent precision. His fingers entered her and stabbed through the slickness like sharks through water. The position shortened her vaginal passage so his fingertips battered against her cervix. “Not quite the heart of you, baby, but you feel fantastic.”
Tess mewled and lost all control over her body. She bucked and wriggled. Her hips jerked in frenzied motion with every penetration. “Harder, Mac. Deeper.”
“Baby, I get any deeper in you and I’ll damage you. I’m going to carry you all the way to the brink of orgasm, and when you’re standing there, I’m not going to let you come.”
She gasped in horror. “What?”
“You’re going to wait on the edge of orgasm until I’m ready to fuck you. This orgasm is mine, and I want to feel every spasm of your tight pussy around my cock. You wanted to play with fire,” he said with a deliberately hard thrust. “I’m afraid you’ve been burned, baby.”
The edge came faster than expected and she nearly sailed clean over the horizon. She wished desperately the climax could just sneak in, rock her world and retreat before Mac cottoned on.
But he knew her too well, and all activity stopped. “Damn you, Mac!”
“Two can play your game, Tess. I’ve just had more practice.”
Climax hovered, a single feather-light touch away. Enraged by his control, she shot a hand down between her legs to finish the job herself. A scream of frustration whistled out of her throat when he blocked her. Her hips swiveled and writhed, seeking one damn nudge to give her what she wanted.
“Ah-ah-aah,” Mac chastised. “I’ll let you come when I’m ready, not a moment before.”
The orgasm slipped away, out of her reach. Sprawled over his lap, legs spread wide to reveal her swollen, aching sex, she felt wanton and slightly slutty. “You bastard.”
He just lifted an eyebrow. “Come down from the brink, have we, baby?”
Tess’ temper started to rile again, and she rolled, shoved away from him, and crawled across the bed with the intention of heading to the bathroom and taking her own sweet time. “Don’t call me baby.”
“Well, well.” Mac’s weight came down on her back as she crawled away from him, pinned her down. “Baby’s having a tantrum. Don’t know where you think you’re going, Tess, but think again.” He reached out and whipped the fluffy blue belt free from her dressing gown. Before she could comprehend what he was going to do, he already had one wrist bound and looped the loose end through the rails of the bed.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Tess shouted at him.
He secured the other end of the belt to her wrist with difficulty. She did everything but punch him in the face to keep him from tying her up, but his sheer size and weight had her at a disadvantage. Then, his weight was gone, and she was tied to her bed on hands and knees, her backside displayed for all to see.
“Keeping you where I want you, baby,” he said as though she were stupid for not figuring that out. “I’m going to do wicked, naughty things to this body. You’re just going to have to stay there and take it. My only regret is my toy cupboard is at home, and we’re not there. Perhaps next time…”
Distracting me with his lowlife tactics, she thought with a snarl. Keeping me off balance with suggestions of toys…She shook her head, determined not to slide off track into thoughts of what toys he had stashed away.
“I haven’t said you can tie me up,” she snapped at him. “Let me go.”
“You haven’t said I can’t tie you up,” Mac reminded her and flashed an infuriating grin. He caressed her bare bottom gently. “Stop being stubborn, Tess. You’ll get your orgasm when my cock is deep inside you, baby. I promise.”
Tess proceeded to throw the biggest tantrum of her lifetime. The bed creaked ominously as she rived and chewed at the restraints holding her prisoner, and curses turned the air blue. She kicked out at Mac like a donkey and missed him by a hair.
“Enough!” he ordered sternly and engaged his Master’s voice so dominance radiated like a heat wave. His hand cracked down on her buttock. He put some force behind the blow so a line of fire streaked across her flesh upon impact. “Keep it up, Tess, and you won’t get an orgasm at all.”
Her sex revved back into life, willing to piss Mac off and take the spanking of a lifetime in exchange for climax. “Don’t touch me, you son of a bitch! Who do you think you are?”
Another hard crack, more pleasant stirrings. If she willed it hard enough, put enough effort into testing Mac’s patience, spanking alone would give her what she wanted. She felt like an addict now, going to any lengths to get her fix.
Tess kicked again, this time managing to graze her heel over some part of Mac’s anatomy. Part of her quaked at the thought of retribution, but it was shoved under a rug and left to quake.
“Tess.” Mac’s voice cracked like a whip, taut with building anger. She couldn’t see his face but, at a guess, it would be hard as stone and getting scary. “You really don’t want to see my dominant side at play.”
“Give me an orgasm and I’ll behave,” she sneered at him.
He scoffed. “You want an orgasm. Are you sure?”
“Yes! For God’s sake, Mac, yes!”
“When the lady demands, who am I to deny her?” he said pleasantly, submitting far too quickly for her liking. He whistled a jaunty little tune, and her heart sank. Far too cheerful. “I need a couple things, baby, you just wait here for a few minutes.” She heard him chuckle as he walked out of the bedroom.
He’d completely run circles around her, she realized. She thought she’d been clever, cunning, getting her own way. But he’d twisted it, she could tell, he had something in mind as punishment. She tested the limits of the belt again. His expert knots weren’t going anywhere.
Time crawled past and with every tick of the second hand her anxiety levels squeaked higher. She felt so exposed, vulnerable now, tied in the position he’d left her in without his presence to guard her.
“Still here?”
Tess jumped and yanked at her wrist ties. “Can’t exactly go anywhere.”
“You won’t be going far either,” he retorted and set a rolled bath towel on the bed next to her. He sat beside her but didn’t touch. “We seem to have a small problem with a certain someone,” he gave her a pointed stare, “not respecting the decisions of her Master when he decides to be lenient with her.”
“Withholding orgasms is not being lenient!”
“I know you see it as me being cruel. It tests your trust in me, your ability to submit to me and to obey my orders on the rare times I let my dominant side have a few hours of fun. It also allows me to see how much control you have over your body, and how to teach you to extend those limits.”
Mac spoke very calmly, very quietly. Tess tried to put a bored expression on her face, but inside she hyperventilated, wondering just how much she’d screwed up with her cockiness, and how much her arrogance was about to cost her.
“I’m sorry, Mac.” She turned her head to look at him, and thought, oh fuck. Apologies weren’t going to cut it now, and mercy would be at a premium.
The eyes staring back at her were the color of the darkest emeralds, penetrating and hard. The man in possession of those eyes was not Mac, her lover, the man who sat beside her with an epic erection fisted in hand was the epitome of dominance.
Master was in residence.
“I’m not interested in how you feel, Tess. You have exhibited rude and unbecoming behavior. You disregarded and disobeyed my orders. You set your own needs above the needs of your Master, and that is unacceptable.” He rose to his feet, that big hand encouraging his already massive cock to bigger, harder extremes.
She trembled. This side of Mac was so different to even the rough part of him she’d enjoyed in the early hours of the morning. This was violence and dominance and severe self-control wrapped into one package. Any move he made would be well thought through and executed to the highest standard.
“So, seeing as you have made your demand, I will meet it. You will have your orgasm. After I have mine.”
“What’s the towel for?” She gulped. “What’s in the towel?”
Mac’s mouth curved into a sly smile full of many secrets. “That’s nothing for you to think about yet. It has nothing to do with the current agenda.” He reached over, unfastened the belt from one wrist, and dragged her over the bed by her ankle.
She tried to kick free, but he dragged her clean off the bed so she dropped to her knees in front of him. He wasn’t particularly rough, he didn’t hurt her, but the deadpan expression on his face scared her.
She was face to crown with his penis, close enough to lean forward and lick away the copious trickle of pre-cum from the head if she was so inclined. Fascinated, she watched the rigid column jerk and twitch of its own accord, wanted to touch the steady throb pulsing through the thick vein feeding his arousal.
Mac looped the belt around the back of his neck and reattached Tess’ wrist. He lifted her hands and suspended them loosely on a level with his navel, so she couldn’t touch his stunning cock with them.
“You’re going to suck my cock, baby, until you satisfy me enough that I come. You are going to trust me to guide your head. You’re going to trust me to fuck your mouth like I would your pretty pussy. Your hands are going to be your means of safe wording—because your mouth is going to be fully engaged.”
“Mac, please.” Panic kicked in and the anxiety attack considered whether this was enough of an inconvenient time for it to unleash hell.
“I don’t want you to be afraid, Tess. This is not about hurting you or humiliating you. This is about teaching you to respect me and my orders on the occasions when my dominant tendencies want to play. You need to trust me, and respect me, and at the moment, you seem to like testing the limits for chinks in the chains.
“There are no chinks in my chains, Tess. You’ll have to learn that the hard way.”
“I was only messing around!” she pleaded.
“I’m not,” he retorted and set his hands on either side of her head. He tilted her head back farther so she gazed up at him in submissive pose. “If you need me to slow down, the equivalent of safe word yellow is to snap your fingers.” Mac demonstrated and then made Tess prove she could do it, too. “For a complete halt to events, safe word red, smack my stomach with the flat of your hand. Should you safe word unnecessarily, you will not be permitted to orgasm.”
The plush head of his cock brushed over her lips and left a shiny trail of fluid in its wake. Her tongue flicked out over the same path, tasting the salty evidence of his desire and catching the underside of his penis at the same time.
He groaned, fingers digging into the sides of her scalp. “The faster you make me come, baby, the sooner I can reciprocate.”
Tess found herself unwilling to rush. While his demeanor was still that of Master, he’d gentled some as his frustration morphed into passion. She wanted to make love to his cock, take her time pleasuring him, and apologize to him in a way he wouldn’t forget.
Without her hands, the task was going to be difficult, but she would manage. She rubbed her face against him, using her cheek and nose to caress the silky shaft in place of her hands. He smelled divine, a combination of his usual bergamot and cinnamon and the pure scent of alpha male.
Pulse points throbbed in excitement as she angled her head, slid the head of his cock into her mouth, and sucked heartily on the crown, the tip of her tongue fluttering over the eye and encouraging more liquid to come to the surface.
Mac grunted, flexed his lips a little so another inch of erection came to the attention of her tongue. Then, another inch, another, until the head of his cock bumped into the back of her throat. “Good girl. Take more.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head almost imperceptibly. Already the presence of his masterful erection in her mouth caused a surge of saliva she couldn’t swallow. She had a shocking image of herself choking to death on the flood of it.
“Relax, baby. Relax your throat and let me in.”
This was above and beyond proving she trusted him. If she did what he asked, she wouldn’t be able to breathe. She pleaded with him using her eyes, willing him to see this from her point of view.
“Swallow, Tess. You won’t come to any harm, I promise.”
A tear slipped down her cheek when she squeezed her eyes shut. Steeling herself, she tried to swallow, but the muscles wouldn’t work. One of Mac’s hands cupped the back of her head, tipping her back slightly. The other stroked her cheek, wiping away the tears.
“Just relax, baby. Don’t force it. You’re visualizing the worst possibilities and scaring yourself. I’ll take care of you. This is where the trust needs to kick in.”
It took a few minutes of convincing her mind to overcome the knee-jerk resistance, but after a couple of attempts, Tess managed to swallow around the obstruction of his penis. He eased forward, groaning with delight as his cock slipped into her throat.
She tried to fight the gag reflex, couldn’t quite manage it and retched. She automatically went to suck in a breath and all systems flashed red with panic when she couldn’t.
“Easy, baby. You can still breathe, I promise. Calm down and find the rhythm.” Mac’s hips drew back slowly, pulled away so she could draw in a breath through her nose, and slid back in until her nose pressed against the neatly trimmed pubic hair at his crotch. “Christ Almighty, you’re amazing, Tess. I can feel your throat rippling around my cock, sucking me in.”
After the first few hiccups—literally and figuratively—she found the rhythm and began to accept each thrust of his erection with more ease until Mac gripped her head again in both hands and met her eyes. “I’m going to come, my beautiful girl.”
Tess’ head bobbed in acceptance. Not sure of how this was going to work, needing to anchor herself, she grabbed hold of Mac’s sides and held on tight as his hips picked up speed. She swallowed convulsively with each inward lunge and tightened her throat around his cock.
“Fuck! Suck me, baby. Suck me hard!”
Complying, she watched his eyes turn dark an instant before his head fell back and he let loose with the most erotic sound she’d ever heard. His crotch was flush to her face, her lips around the base of his cock, and the sudden swell in her throat indicated his release.
He howled her name as his seed spurted hotly into her belly and filled her with warmth that spread to her toes. Pulse, spurt, pulse, spurt. He held her close until the last of his orgasm faded and she began to feel lightheaded.
Tess tapped on his belly and then sucked in a massive breath when he withdrew carefully. He crouched in front of her, framed her face in his hands, and kissed her like the world was ending.
“My beautiful girl, you’ve made me incredibly proud. Do you trust me to take this next step with you? Part punishment for your earlier misdeeds, part reward for your courage and dedication to a task.”
Frankly, she felt a bit battered and bruised. Her throat felt raw, understandably, and her knees hurt from kneeling. “I safe worded.”
He kissed her again, softly this time. “Do you think I would hold that against you considering the circumstances? You completed what I asked of you, and did it well.” He released her hands and scooped her into his arms. “You’ll enjoy what I do to you, Tess, but you will have to trust me explicitly and trust I know when to stop.”
Tess narrowed her eyes at him. “That sounds ominous.”
He grinned, quite obviously refreshed by his climax. “Not at all. Just remember that punishment and reward will go hand in hand.”
Anticipation tingled along her skin. “All right.”
“Excellent.” He kissed her before he settled her carefully in the middle of the bed. He knelt and unrolled the towel, careful to keep the contents shielded from her view. “Give me your hand.”
Tess held it out and he accepted it, running his thumb over her knuckles. Then, he wrapped a strip of material around her wrist and tied it close to the headboard so she had very limited movement. He skirted around the bed and secured her other wrist to the opposite side of the headboard and her ankles to the footboard so she was spread out like a starfish.
“You know the safe words, Tess. I really hope you don’t feel you have to use them, but what I do with you will be very intense. You might feel overwhelmed by it. I’m hoping it might make you think about your earlier behavior and urge you to rethink before acting that way again.”
She felt incredibly vulnerable. She lifted her hips when he asked, and he slipped a pillow beneath them to raise and expose her sex even further. Her breathing changed, shallow panting exhales.
“Ready?”
Tess gave him several rapid nods and bit her bottom lip.
“Nervous?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” he said pleasantly and situated himself between her spread thighs. His finger traced the folds of her sex, parted the swollen lips, and dipped slightly into the heat. “Fellatio certainly turns you on, baby. I could fuck you now without any need for foreplay.”
The thought did wicked things to her system. All she could do was moan enthusiastically in reply.
He made himself comfortable, his face at her open crotch, and hooked his arms around her thighs. His mouth was like a brand on her pussy, and he went to work with feverish skill. Tongue and teeth nibbled and tugged and licked on the lips of her sex until she arched her hips to find relief.
Whimpering, Tess begged him to end the torment. She was primed, just waiting for that sharp push off into space. Was that her screaming when his teeth bit down on her clit, followed by the strong suction of his mouth?
Everything went into spasm—heart, head, legs. The strength of the climax cut her off at the knees and sent every thought process she possessed into neural breakdown.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, baby. Your pussy tastes like heaven, so sweet and addictive.” He lifted his face free from the haven between her thighs and reached out across the mattress to draw the towel closer to him. He took something off it, arranged the towel under her buttocks, and covered the space between her thighs.
“Mac?” Tess asked blearily.
“Right here, baby. Hold on tight because this is where it gets tricky.” Something buzzed to life between her thighs, the sound like a hive of angry bees.
“What is that?”
“Your electric shaver with the head removed.” He held up her pink shaver and pointed to a tiny plastic attachment in the middle of the headless shaver which currently vibrated madly from side to side.
Oh shit. She had a fairly good idea as to what he planned.
He used his thumb to ease back the hood of her clit and exposed the swollen pearl. His fingers manipulated it, almost as if he was looking for something, and then he smiled as though he’d just taken the jackpot.
“Is this going to hurt?” she asked before he could touch the vibrating object to her flesh. Her hips already jerked, the touch of his fingertips on her aroused center sending signals to her brain. She wanted him inside her, deep, hard, filling the empty ache.
He kissed the inside of her thigh. “Trust me, baby.”
He touched his makeshift toy to her clit, running the tiny attachment over the smooth nub lightly, and her sex flooded within moments. Then, he skimmed it up, over what was protected by the hood, and pressed it hard against the small cord of nerves controlling her clit.
The orgasm was immediate and it was brutal. Tess howled, arched up, and felt the burn in her arms as she strained against her bonds. “Mac!”
But he didn’t move, just held that wicked device to her flesh and watched with brilliant eyes as the next climax rolled over her sensitive flesh. One orgasm simply tumbled into the next, built into the one after that. She became over-sensitized within a few minutes, her body unable to cope with the overload of pleasure.
Her legs shook uncontrollably, her arms as well. Shivers wracked her body and her brain struggled to rise above the torment. She lost her voice, crying out in ragged whimpers and then guttural mutters when making any sound became too much.
Fluid poured from her pussy, a never ending stream of visible desire. Her limp body suddenly stiffened and, to her horror, her bladder released without warning. She lost control of all bodily functions.
“Still want an orgasm?” Mac queried.
“No, stop. Please.” It cost her all her energy to form those three words. She imagined herself as a wobbling heap of jelly, unable to work her limbs, every circuit and system fried.
He did. A blessing. Her pussy continued to vibrate even after the torture stopped. All she could do was sprawl there shivering, exhausted and barely able to keep her eyes open.
Mac unbound her, kissed her, and said simply, “Go to sleep, baby.”