by Kira Blakely
I loved the feel of her, the softness of her thighs around me, the heat of her legs over my torso, that trail of juices dripping over me. I’d done that; I’d made her wet from across the room. If it were possible, I think my erection grew even more rigid. Fuck, the things this woman did to me.
“Have you ever ridden a man, princess?”
“You know I haven’t,” she said, her eyes downcast, and some of that sexy siren attitude drained from her.
“Well, kitten, I’d love to be your first. In fact, I want to be your first in everything. There’s so much I have left to show you, so much I have left to teach you, and I don’t want any man to come between us, for anyone else to feel you the way I do.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone else, Master,” she said. Then she shook her head, as if brushing the scene from her mind. Then she looked back at me, her blue eyes brimming with sincerity, and she placed one hand on the side of my cheek. “Drake, I mean it. I don’t want there to be anyone else but you.”
In a normal session, I would have reprimanded her for dropping the rules. I would have called her on forgetting that I was her master, but this wasn’t a normal anything for me, and my crazy, messed-up head and heart were both touched that she wanted me and only me in this room.
I wished I could have touched her then, but I did what I could, lowering my voice to a gentle tone. “I feel the same way. There’s no one I’d want in here with me either.”
I should have said I cared about her, that I needed her to stay, but I didn’t think she’d believe me with me tied naked to a bed in the damn playroom. But I knew it really was time to tell her everything, to be laid bare before her again. Tomorrow. My brain was already racing with plans for tomorrow night.
“Good, then… I… if it’s not good or I do this wrong, let me know.”
I laughed. “Belle, princess, there’s no way anything you do would ever be wrong. Now ride me, baby. Fuck me.”
She pushed herself up on her knees and then eased herself up over my cock. I hissed at the heat of her, at the enveloping warmth of her pussy as she slid right over me. Belle smiled, that coy look back on her lips, and reached over to undo my bonds.
“I want you to be able to do everything, too,” she said.
I sat up and wrapped my hands over her waist. “No, cowgirl, you’re in control here.”
“I…”
“Just do what comes natural, princess. Make me scream. Make us both scream.”
She nodded and started to run her pussy up and down my cock, the friction building deliciously between us. I arched my hips up to meet her then we were pounding away. I followed the rhythm she set—slow and hesitant at first—then frantic like she was outracing the fucking devil. She pounded against me, up and down, up and down, and that friction grew hotter, made my balls grow heavy with need.
Finally, she raked her nailed down and across my chest, that slight bit of pain I needed to come, my dick spurting inside of her, my guys mixing with her juices, all of us—every part—mixing together so thoroughly. I pumped as hard as I could, thrusting into her and draining into her. I kept pumping long after I was spent, the combined force of our mutual orgasms leaving us fucking like animals, wild and almost rabid in each other’s arms.
Once we were both finished, once some common sense had clawed its way back into our brains, Belle slipped off my stomach and curled up next to me, lazily releasing my bound hands. Then she laughed and eyed the sink. “I think we made a mess.”
I reached out and stroked her hair. “But I’ll have the best time cleaning you up, princess. There’s a massive jacuzzi in the attached bathroom, tons of fun we can get into with the jets, too.”
“I just… so you liked that, too?” she asked, biting her lower lip and fluttering her eyelashes at me.
I leaned over just enough to kiss her temple. “I love everything you do, Belle, believe me about that.”
“I try,” she said, but the wavering in her tone made me think it was hard for her, too. Maybe I just wasn’t giving enough.
“Here,” I said, slipping out of bed and heading to the sink and grabbing some towels. “I think we could both use some cleaning off, but I also had something I wanted to give you, something I think is right finally.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
I knelt by the sink and opened a drawer, pulling out the black velvet case that still held the collar I’d fucked up giving her last time. She’d been right. I’d rushed it and almost lost her because of it. I wasn’t going to do that again, but I wanted her to know that she was mine. That she’d always have a place with me in this playroom and in my bed.
Walking back over to the bed, I sat on the mattress beside her and opened the box. “Belle, I have some plans for tomorrow night, something I’d love to do on the beach—and no, not that, well, unless you want it to be.”
She chuckled and swatted at my arm. “You would say that.”
I grinned back at her and stuck out my tongue. “What can I say, baby? I’m incorrigible. Still, there is a lot we do need to talk about before we go back to L.A. I know we have a few more days to try and meet both side’s demands, but I mean about us, about the negotiations here,” I said, drawing out that word so she knew exactly what I meant.
“I’d like that,” she said, her tone sobering.
“I think we need it, but first, Belle, I should have done this like this all the way along, but will you be my sub?”
She nodded and took the collar in her hands, letting her fingers trace over the diamonds and precious stones that studded it. “I’ll do anything for you, Drake. Would you put this on me?”
Standing, I took the collar in my hand and slipped it around her throat. My fingers played with the silky skin of her exposed neck as I clasped the collar around her neck. Then I leaned down and kissed her.
“I’m glad you’ll meet with me tomorrow, princess.”
I just hope you like what I have to say.
Chapter Fifteen
Belle
The collar once felt heavy in my hands. It felt like an insult and a burden the first time he gave it to me… or, well, tried to give it to me. Now it was different. After last night, I at least knew he wanted us to continue as Dom/sub when we were home. It wasn’t everything I wanted. Not even close. I wanted the entire fairytale, the hearts and flowers, the romance that rocked the ages. There were these connections I felt with him, these moments that stole my breath away, and that’s what I wanted to keep feeling with him. That’s what I needed to keep having with him. I just wasn’t sure if that was on the table now. But the collar was a start, a promise of a bond and a relationship between us, a promise of everything we could have together.
Something that I’d hated so much only a few weeks ago now brought tears to my eyes. The beauty shone through it from the diamonds adorning it to the beautiful blue sapphires that dotted it as well. My fingers ran over the cool stones, and I was back in the playroom with Drake, back to last night with him pounding into me and filling me with his seed.
I almost wished I wasn’t on the pill.
Crazy though it was, I wanted to see so much together, to have a future and a family. He was slowly and obviously becoming everything I ever wanted.
But it wasn’t enough if all I was to him was a submissive, even a favorite one.
I wanted more.
Sighing, I slipped the collar on my throat and lay back in bed. “God, what am I going to do?”
There was a shrill ring and I groaned, realizing that my Skype was going off. I rushed to the desk and flipped open the computer. I never knew if there could be a possible emergency with Mom. She seemed to be responsive to her new treatments, but I’d seen that before with the chemo. Everything was hopeful and working well until it wasn’t. I was scared this might be the case again. When I answered the call, I tried to hide my frustration when I realized that it was my sister looking back at me. Carol’s calls were becoming more and more short-tempered lately. She was ma
d that I hadn’t closed the gap on the other fifteen-cents-on-the-dollar in the deal. But there was something else there, something frantic beneath her calls that I couldn’t quite place and wasn’t sure I wanted to.
“I… hey,” I said, trying to be polite.
Carol’s eyes narrowed to slit and when she spoke, her tone was glacial. “What the hell are you wearing?”
My eyes went wide and my hands flew to my neck. Sick realization creeping over me as I felt the cool stones against my palms. Shit, I left the collar on! “I… I can explain.”
Carol shook her head. “Oh, I can put the pieces together for myself. You aren’t exactly discrete. Let’s see, not only have you been fucking your way to a deal with McManus—one that’s still benefitting him more than us—but you’ve been doing it kinky style. Wow, sis, I’m shocked. I honestly didn’t think you had it in you. I thought you were better than that.”
I swallowed hard even as tears poured down my cheeks. “It’s not like that. I mean, I can explain.”
“That you’re the holier than thou one? That you’re Daddy’s little snowflake, but you’ll get down and dirty when it matters? I mean, he thinks you’re not as ruthless as me. That’s why he likes you better.”
“Dad doesn’t like either of us better than the other. Where is this even coming from?’
Carol let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Dad’s always played favorites. Don’t even pretend. He has a favorite, and it’s always been you. For a long time, I thought you deserved it, sis, but you’re acting like a common whore!” She paused and eyed my necklace. “Actually, you’re acting like someone a lot more specialized than that. So I guess props there.”
I tried to take off the collar quickly but my hands were shaking too badly to get a good grip on the clasp. “I’m not a whore!”
“You’re his whore, his little piece on the side. He has a damn dog collar on your neck. It might have diamonds on it, but don’t pretend you’re not sleeping with him to get whatever you want out of the deal.”
“I’m working for us!” I shouted, leaping to my feet. “I’m working for this family. What happened with me and Drake was unexpected.”
“Oh, I’ll say.”
“It was unexpected but it wasn’t part of the deal. I’ve been working my ass off every day at the table to try and get us what we want but you have to admit he has a point. The company’s ruined and even sixty-five cents on the dollar is more than we ever could have hoped for, especially when no other agency can even be bothered to call us back. He’s the only game in town.”
Carol’s face twisted up into a grimace. “I can see you’ve been playing games. You do whatever you have to in order to close the deal, I can see that now. I don’t even care. Dad’s fretting every day over it and Mom’s sick, and you’re off fucking a billionaire and wearing diamonds. I can see how seriously you’re taking everything.”
“I am! Mom’s the only thing I think about.”
“Doesn’t look like it from here,” she said, before turning off the call and leaving me staring at the blank screen.
I cried then, great huge sobs that tore through my insides. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. I just curled into my bed and cried with the collar still thick around my throat.
***
The dress Mrs. Johnson picked out was gorgeous, a delicate canary yellow silk that dipped low over my breasts and was going to drive Drake mad. It also seemed to complement the sapphires on my collar. Drake had asked that I wear it tonight and, frankly, my hands had been shaking so hard since Carol’s call that even if it was a source of shame for me, I couldn’t get it off. I could have asked Mrs. Johnson, but the last thing I wanted to do was draw more attention to my collar, especially since she’d made such an effort not to mention it at all.
I had to respect the woman’s ability to ignore things.
Maybe she’d seen far too much working for Drake already.
The beach was set up much as it had been that first night. This time, it was a sound system playing romantic violin music on the stretch of private sand and not the live quartet. However, there was a table adorned with silver domed plates and white linens and twinkle lights strung up to light the waves in a haunting glow. Drake stood by the table, a bouquet of roses in hand. He looked delectable in khakis that still managed to hug every muscle in his legs and a loose, white Oxford shirt with its tail blowing in the breeze.
I forced a smile to my face and hoped I hadn’t accidentally started crying again. I’d been doing that on and off since Carol’s call, and I wasn’t even sure when I’d started up again. I probably looked like a raccoon with mascara smeared all over my cheeks.
Drake handed me the bouquet, and my smile grew more genuine. “They’re beautiful.”
He let his hand caress my cheek. “They’re not even close to you.” Then he dropped his hand and touched one of the stones on my collar. “You look so fucking hot in this. Did I tell you that enough last night?”
I set the roses on the table and my shoulders shook. “Thank you.”
Drake frowned and swept me up into his well-muscled arms. I almost wished he’d worn a short-sleeved shirt since I loved his sleeve of tattoos. Maybe I’d see that later…
No, I can’t think like this. I’ve made a mess of everything.
“Something’s wrong,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
I swallowed hard but couldn’t keep from shaking even in his warm grip. “Carol called me on Skype, and I wasn’t thinking. I answered the phone, and she saw my collar. The things she said…”
Drake clenched his jaw for a while, taking deep breaths before he could speak again. “I’ll kill her. I’ll ruin her career, anything that makes you feel better. No one should treat you like that.”
I laughed but it wasn’t a relieved sound, just a bitter one. “Don’t even joke.”
His nostrils flared. “Who said I was fucking joking? I’m completely serious. I can blacklist her in PR forever. She shouldn’t have made you feel bad.”
I shook my head and pulled away from him before sitting down at one of the chairs and shoving my head in my hands. “I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
Drake nodded and sat down beside me, his hand stroking my back. “Then tell me what to do to make it better. I’m a soldier, even now. I strike back. It’s what I do. I have to have plans of attack and plans B and C, too. How can I make this better?”
I looked back up at him, now sure my mascara was everywhere. I was definitely crying hard enough. “Am I a bad person?”
“What? No, Belle. I can honestly say that you’re the best person I know,” he said, his chocolate eyes full of the same warmth they always held for me. “Why would you even say that?”
“Because I’m having fun here. I mean, damn it, I’m having the best time of my life here. I’m supposed to be saving my father’s company, and I’m having sex. My family is back in L.A., worried about their future. I’m negotiating, sure, but I’m also swimming with dolphins and having wild playroom adventures nightly. I’m being a selfish bitch and I know it.”
Drake snorted and then pulled me into his lap. I tried to resist at first, but mostly I just needed the comfort. I needed to feel anything at all.
“You, princess,” he said, stroking my bare arm, “could never be selfish. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. You’re the reason that center exists and wildlife is getting saved. You’re the reason I can talk a little about my past, that maybe one day I could forgive myself. You came out here for a raw deal—and we both know it was at first—because you knew your family needed you. How can you possibly believe you’re a bad person, let alone a selfish bitch?”
“Because I wasn’t supposed to enjoy this. I was supposed to keep it all business and not fall for the seduction side of things, but I don’t even know anymore,” I said, looking up into his eyes. “There was something between us the minute we met in that boardroom. There was something there that I didn’t fight once I got to the isla
nd. Then you saved me, and I fell so hard that it took my breath away. I can’t be happy though. I don’t deserve it, not when my family is miserable.”
He stroked my hair and I leaned into the gesture, enjoying the feeling of his lightly callused palms against my skin. “You can be happy, too, without ruining your family.”
“Maybe I can’t,” I said. “My mom’s sick, all right? She’s been fighting cancer for a few years and the fact that we’re broke has made it so much harder. That advance you made on the deal helped some, I think. She’s in some experimental therapy and seems better for the first time in months all because we had the money to buy our way into the trials.”
Drake quirked his head at me. “Why didn’t you tell me? All this time? I was always going to sign the deal for eighty cents on the dollar. Truth is that I need to have Maurice on my executive team as much as you need the merger and influx of capital.”
“What?”
“The last head of my charity turned out to be embezzling funds. It’s too embarrassing and damaging to my own image to admit what had happened. I couldn’t let people know that the first charitable foundation I ever ran was turned into a sham through mismanagement. It would devastate my brand to admit it. I wanted Maurice’s name and his experience with management and kids to help turn it all around. But I needed it to look hard, to keep people guessing. If it looked too seamless or too eager, the press would dig and see the mistakes I made. But, Jesus Christ, we’ll settle on all the points you want tonight once we’re back. I don’t want to delay any other treatments your mom can get.”
“I… really?”
He kissed me, his tongue ferocious and firm against my own. “Of course. I wish you’d told me. Fuck, princess, I could have done more these last few weeks, too.”
I snorted and wiped at my eyes. “Maybe we could have been completely honest earlier. I shouldn’t have hidden Mom’s cancer but I didn’t know you well enough before. I was worried you’d use it as leverage. It was before I knew you.”
“And no one is ever allowed to know my mistakes. I didn’t want you to have leverage on me either, but no, the deal gets signed tonight. We’ll get you home to your mother as soon as you need. You’re not selfish; you were just trying to protect your family. Believe me.”