by Kells, India
CHAPTER NINE
After a couple of minutes without stimulation, Lani’s lust was slowly replaced by apprehension. What was he doing? On the other hand, she was still scrambling to say something that would convince him to put his fingers inside her when she felt him come close again.
This time, what parted her labia was hard, cool and way too big.
The more it entered her, the larger it got.
“Easy, please. Easy Langdon. It’s too big.”
Gasping, Lani tried to arch her back trying to find a way to make the entry easier, but her tormentor had other ideas.
“This isn’t meant to be easy, or painless for that matter. After all your efforts, I thought you wanted a release. I was about to give you exactly that.”
Lani knew it was only trick, a way to tease her mind into believing it, but her body’s sole focus was way more primal. “Please put it in me, harder.”
Langdon bit the plump flesh of her butt, and instead of shoving the dildo inside her again like she thought he would, he reactivated that cursed vibrator.
Once more pleasure increased, Langdon chose that moment to press forward and finish inserting the remaining unyielding length. The pain pulled her back once more from orgasm and the damned man stopped the vibrator.
Out of her mind, Lani started sobbing, trapped in a storm of her own making, and hoping for something that he may never be willing to admit.
Langdon started pinching her hanging nipples, taunting her ear. “You know I can go all night. Whatever your plea, beg or cry, I will continue leaving you on the edge until you say the words I want to hear. I have all the time in the world. Do you?”
Lani wet her lips, trying to build a coherent sentence. “Please. Please.”
He had been right; her throat was aching now.
Twisting her nipple once more, his bearded cheek tickled her shoulder before he nipped at her ear. His voice brought a new wave of lust, making it even more difficult to breathe. “Say that I am a monster. That I am a bad man with no hope for redemption. Say it.”
Her brain took more time than usual to process his words, and when it did, it brought welcomed steadiness. “No. You can’t force me to lie.”
“Oh, my pet. I can mold you into whatever I want. I can break that rebel soul of yours to suit my needs, until your lust is so great that you will obey me in every way so you can come. Now, say the words. Say that I’m a monster.”
Opening her mouth to contradict him, a dreaded click resonated. Lani’s screamed as the vibrations returned with a vengeance. Her pussy clenched hard around the giant intruder and then she started to feel the slight rumbling in it, accelerating her fall to the precipice.
Part of her feared he would stop everything, deny her again, that he was chipping away at her sanity. However, she would never say the words. There was no way she could tell him something she didn’t believe. Even if she lost herself in the process.
“Say the words, Lani. Say them to me and I will let you come.”
Staying mute, praying for strength, Lani sobbed when he shut down his torture device.
Crying, she braced for his teasing. This time, Langdon’s voice had an angry edge she hadn’t heard before. “Stubborn woman.” And he removed her blindfold.
Eyes still swimming with tears, sweat all over her body, Lani blinked several times, so she could bring the man before her into focus. He was as breathless as she was, his jaw clenched and an impressive erection pushing against his unfastened jeans.
She could see the tension in his body, the way he clenched and unclenched his fists. He grabbed her blue braid and forced her to look at him. “You will submit to me!”
At the end of her rope, she started to doubt her determination, then Langdon did something she wasn’t expecting; he fell to his knees and kissed her. It was as if something had cracked inside him. The energy around him changed.
More tears flooded her eyes when his big hands cupped her face. At first, she thought he would ravage her, but his kiss was tentative and tender.
When his hand traced softly to her neck, both vibrators switched on again. Lani whimpered in defeat against his mouth, and Langdon took advantage of her open mouth to slide in his tongue and play with her. Lani tensed, preparing for another session of going close to the edge and pain, and this one would be the worst of them all, especially as he overtook her mouth with such passion. However, that was when she noticed that both of his hands were touching her, thus he couldn’t turn anything off.
At the realization, her body seized, as if hesitant to let go. After so many denials, it was as if it couldn’t find its way as easily as before
Sensing the confusion of her body, Langdon left her mouth and trailed his lips, so he could murmur in low words. “Cum, my lovely. Cum for me.”
Lani buried her face in the crook of his neck while she screamed. Her orgasm turned her wild, and now the torture of denial rolled into a series of orgasms, each of them so close together, Lani both wished they would stop and continue forever. Her pussy spasmed around the toy, and she wished it was Langdon instead.
As her body contorted into her last bout of excruciating pleasure, her mind was filled with Max’s image, scent, and touch.
Head buzzing, out of breath, Lani felt dissociated from her body, as if hovering above it.
It took a while for her senses to return, and it was when she felt the cool hard floor against her body that full consciousness returned.
The ropes were gone, and she felt strangely bereft. A blanket came over her and Langdon pulled her into his arms to carry her out of the room.
All she wanted was to find the energy to open them and look at his face, at Max and find out how he felt, to see it for herself.
Unfortunately, her body had other plans. Something soft came to rest against her cheek and then her entire body was engulfed in warm marshmallow, shutting down from the world before she had time to care for Max.
* * *
It was Max’s scent that first made her emerge from slumber. When she moved, her body felt like coming back from a battleground. Sore and aching, Lani forced herself to push back at the fluff of blankets. The cool air finally made her open her eyes.
Even in the dim light, she knew it wasn’t the guest bedroom.
Everything in here appeared huge and had darker colors. It must have been Max’s bedroom.
Surprisingly enough, the more she stirred, the better she felt. Her body was rested, more than she expected it to be following the last couple of days.
Part of her yearned for a very hot, very long bath, but she needed to find Max first. Rummaging around, she found a wrinkled shirt on the floor and put it on.
It was still dark outside, the fireplace one of the few sources of light. One other shone brighter, coming from the kitchen.
With his back to her Max sat on a stool, hunched over a glass of red wine. The wine bottle on the side was half-empty.
“Care if I join you?”
And for the first time, she saw him jump, surprised by her sudden appearance. When he turned to her, his blue eyes lit up before dimming significantly, and looking away.
Instead of answering, he went to the cupboard to retrieve another glass. He filled it and handed it to her. “I think you should eat first. You’ve been asleep a long time.”
Lani turned, searching for the clock before realizing that she had been out for nearly twenty-four hours. At that thought she gulped her wine.
As she placed her empty glass on the counter, Max grabbed her wrist.
Pushing the sleeve up, he started examining her skin. There were a lot of reddish patches, but no bruises at first glance.
He then let go of her arm and turned to pour himself some more wine. After swallowing half of it, he sat down again and extended his arm to pull her uncle’s box closer. Max opened it and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to her.
Instead of grabbing it, she circled her other hand over her glass of wine. “What is it?”
/> Max exhaled and put the folded paper on the counter. “The final signature on the form for the attorney. The one that confirms that you’ve completed all of what was asked in the envelopes, thus giving you access to your inheritance.”
Lani blinked and looked at the box where one more envelope laid untouched. “It would be a lie. I can’t take it. I won’t. And I don’t think we successfully completed the communication task.”
He shook his head. “You aren’t the one who failed it. I was. You shouldn’t suffer for my inability to complete it. You deserve that money. You are a good soul and have a bright future in front of you.”
Those words sliced through her like a knife, insinuating that he had no future in front of him. “Tell me, Max. Please.”
This time, he lifted his face to her. He looked so tired, his blue eyes hollow. For the first time since she’d met him, he appeared unkempt, frazzled. “There is nothing to tell, Lani.”
Gathering every bit of patience she had inside her, she placed the glass down and stood before him, placing a hand on his cheek to make him look at her. “Tell me.”
He exhaled as if the world weighed on his shoulders, but at least answered her request by lifting his head. “I don’t think your uncle sent you the box as a test of your capabilities. I think he sent you to me. That was the real test.”
Lani blinked, not really understanding. “What kind of test? Why?”
“This comes from a painful memory. Sometimes, the actions we do affect people deeper than we thought, and nothing can redeem them. You asked earlier why I worked for your uncle, and why I became a dominant. The real questions should be why did I stop being one, and leave the city to lead this isolated life.”
Lani only nodded, inviting him to continue.
“I was at the top of the world. I think now that the higher you go, the harder you fall. Not only was I swimming in money, but I could have all the women I wanted, especially all the submissives I craved. None of what I did was about caring or love, it was about my own needs and wants. I never should have been called a dom to begin with. What your uncle taught me, what I learned as I grew more experienced, that was the correct way of doing things. Instead, power invaded my brain, making me harsh, unyielding. Finding satisfaction in the submission, and not in the process. All of them had enough self-preservation to flee. All except Amelie.”
The pain that came from his entire being called to Lani, but she preferred to wait for him, let him come to her if he needed to.
“I didn’t know. I was too full of myself, too greedy with my accomplishments and power. She was so perfect, a piece of art like no other; beauty, gentleness… I made her my puppet to a level that shamed me. Even worse, she fell in love with me.”
Max exhaled harshly. His fingers digging into his pants, his entire body caught in suffering. “I didn’t see the person she was, I only used her. Abused is a more correct term. One night, she came to me, and revealed her feelings for me. And I turned my back on her. She committed suicide the following morning.”
Lani closed her eyes for an instant, her pain mixed with sorrow.
“The news of her death hit me like a ton of bricks. Shook me like I never thought I would ever be. I didn’t love her. But I was supposed to care for her.”
His voice hitched and when Lani opened her eyes, his head was bowed. A tear fell on his hand.
“Max.”
That single word, his name, made him bow even more. Unable to stay away, Lani touched his hair. His response was to grab her hips and bury his face in the softness of her belly. His entire body was coursed with tremors. Not knowing if he was crying or not, she just held on to him, running her fingers in his short hair and simply waited.
CHAPTER TEN
Many things made sense now. How he reacted, why he hated seeing bruises on her, why he didn’t want to help her until she told him about her dream. Grief and guilt have been pursuing him for so many years, it was insane.
Lani waited until he inhaled and broke away from her embrace.
His face wasn’t tear-stained, but haunted. As if surprised with himself, he got up and went to the window, peering into the thick darkness. “Your uncle didn’t say anything about it. But his actions spoke louder than words. He simply cut me off everywhere and anywhere he could. All the people I knew, all my resources and networks vanished. I was all alone once more. It took me a while to get to grips with what was happening, but when I did, I realized that I didn’t want any of it anymore. I felt empty. I still do.
“After a few weeks of wandering my penthouse like a zombie, I decided that it was enough, and I sold everything. My companies, my holdings, my apartment, my cars. I was like a ship lost at sea until I saw this property. Then, I knew what to do. Time passed. I’ve tried to redeem myself by helping her family anonymously. I’m also supporting many foundations under a pseudonym. It wasn’t enough, but it helped.”
“You never heard from my uncle again?”
“No. After our last talk, you are the first link to him I’ve encountered. I didn’t even know he was dead until you told me.”
Lani didn’t know much about Emile, but she knew enough to know that he never did anything without a clear purpose. Had Emile thought her weak enough to submit to Max completely? She sincerely doubted that. If he was the dominant Max had told her he was, her uncle knew she wouldn’t lose her soul in the process, otherwise he would have succeeded.
That meant Max was right. The money was only an incentive, so he could play them like pawns. Or even more astonishing, if he believed she could help Max.
“Why did you agree to help me? A way of redeeming yourself in the eyes of my uncle? Or yourself? Or because I reminded you of Amelie?”
Max turned to her, his face an open book. “You are nothing like Amelie. Not even close. You are what we call an Alpha Woman. You lead your life as you please, never waiting for someone’s approval. You agreed to submit to me not out of weakness, but out of strength. At the end of the day, you can leave this place and never look back. Your dream was your drive. Me? Only a means to attain it.”
Lani doubted she would ever be able to turn away and forget Max so easily. “And you? What did you get?”
“It would be too easy to talk about wrestling my demons. What I wanted was to prove to myself that I had changed. The craving for domination is still there, I wouldn’t have that room in my house if it wasn’t the case. And that dominance almost overwhelmed me with you. You submitted your body, but not your spirit. And it was what brought me back in the end. All this proved to me that I had made the right choice in coming here. I was lucky I tested myself with you. It only confirmed that I shouldn’t even dabble in it. Ever. I’m just thankful that I didn’t break your skin, or your soul while searching for that confirmation.”
Max came closer and pushed the folded piece of paper in her direction again. “And for everything that you endured under my hands, I hope ten million dollars is good payback.”
Once more she ignored the paper, and instead went for the box. Opening it, she saw all the envelopes already opened. In each of them were cards with printed words in gold.
Trust
Pain/pleasure
Control
Communication
Those were the ones already opened. And with each word, it was like missing pieces of a puzzle finding their places. These she supposed applied to his world, linked to BDSM. When Max first opened them, it would have been easy for his mind to associate each of them to some sort of training. But with this new perspective, they were more like a refresher course for Max. All that he’d forgotten when his ego was in the way.
Two more envelopes were unopened in the box. Lani took the next one and tore it open.
Fantasy
That word gave her a jolt.
“Why won’t you take the money?”
His question, filled with annoyance, made her smile. “As you said. I submit whenever I damn well please. I might take the money on one condition. That we f
inish what is in those envelopes.”
Max looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “I’m not going to continue this madness. Lessons learned.”
“Maybe. But this one is on me. I want to finish it. There are only two tasks left. Max. Please.”
It took a long moment, but when he finally nodded, Lani felt another puzzle piece finding its place. Now it was game on.
* * *
It took some doing to get Max out of the house long enough to prepare what she had in mind. The theme was easy enough to follow but finding what she needed to make it come true was a bit harder, especially since she couldn’t explain anything to him.
That problem allowed her to sneak in every nook and crevice of his house until she found the goody box.
Lani knew that Max wouldn’t have thrown away everything that he’d used when he was a dom in the city. Not after seeing his playroom and the admission he made to her. He did all that because he had hoped that one day, he would get the proof that he had changed.
That fact was something that Lani had known the moment he had opened his door to her.
The day passed in a blur with her setting everything up. Lani had asked Max to come back at nightfall, and the sun was setting so fast.
Lani grabbed a quick bite and jumped in the shower. Scrubbed, exfoliated, hair clean and shiny, falling in soft waves down her back, body oiled, and light makeup applied, she looked at the clothing she had laid out for herself on the bed.
His box of tricks had quite an assortment of women’s lingerie but finding something that fit was the challenge.
Her final choice had been found in a box at the bottom. This was a beautiful dark blue and green corset in a mix of lace and suede. Lucky enough to hook also in the front, the corset was a challenge to put on, but once she did, the result was astounding. As she was attaching her silk stockings to her garter belt, she heard the front door open.