Stronghold (Stronghold 1)

by Angel, Golden

  "And you chose to read?"

  "I chose both, but a lot of the time reading was preferable. Big brothers are mean."

  He chuckled, although a small pang hit him in his chest as he thought about his own big brother. "What'd they do?"

  "What didn't they do?" Angel rolled her eyes. "Whenever we played any kind of good guys vs. bad guys game, I was always the damsel in distress."

  Adam raised an eyebrow. "Think maybe that's why you like being tied up?"

  "Ew, no!" Angel said laughing, trying to shove him and then throwing up her hands in frustration when her tiny push barely moved him. He couldn't help but grin at her obvious annoyance with that. "I hated it when they tied me up. Although..." She got the most wickedly mischievous expression on her face as she giggled. "There was one time when we were playing Pirates and my brother Captain -"

  "Your brother's name is Captain?"

  "Yeah, my parents chose uncommon names for all of us. Anyway, Captain was the pirate and he kidnapped me and tied me to the 'mast' of his ship - which was this big tree in our front yard - and then he and Percy were running around sword fighting and doing all the fun stuff. While they were doing that I managed to get myself free, make the rope he'd used into a lasso, and I ended up being the one to ‘get’ the pirate that time." The triumphant smile on her face said that her brothers hadn't seen that one coming.

  "And was Percy thankful for the help?"

  "Alas... no. So I tied him up along with Captain and left them there. I told them that if I could get out of being tied up then they could too."

  Laughing with Angel made Adam feel as though tension was just melting off of him. He couldn't remember the last time that he'd felt this relaxed. Or that he'd enjoyed himself this much. It occurred to him that even though they'd chatted and talked while she'd been at Stronghold, their conversations had always been somewhat constrained. Maybe it had been because there were other people around or because they just hadn't known each other well enough yet, but they'd never really shared any personal stories like this. He'd liked talking to her but this... this was something more.

  Wasn't it?

  "What about you?" Angel asked. "Any siblings?"

  It was amazing how fast his eyes could change, from the warm blue of a clear sky in summer to the crystal ice of winter in just moments. He forced a smile, but Angel could tell that it was definitely forced because it didn't come anywhere near his eyes.

  "An older brother. He's dead."

  "Oh... I'm sorry." She felt absolutely wretched for bringing it up and she didn't really know what to say to make it better. They'd been getting along so well dammit. She'd been surprised when he'd first offered to help and even more so when he'd been pleased that they'd been paired together for work, but it had made her happy too.

  Seeing another side of Master Adam had just made her like him even more. Although he was dressed the same as always, in a white button down shirt and a pair of dark jeans, he'd seemed more relaxed all around. They'd been having an actual conversation for once, instead of just making small talk. And he hadn't seemed angry or grouchy one bit, until just now.

  "It was a long time ago," he said slowly, avoiding her eyes. "His name was Brian."

  Angel bit her lip and then decided to ask the question anyway. Better now than to wonder about it and end up bringing it up later, right? "How did he die?... You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

  "No, it's okay." But those solid blocks of ice that were avoiding direct eye contact with her said otherwise. She wanted to hug him so hard, but everything about his body language said not to come any closer, not to touch. "It was a drug overdose when he was in high school."

  There was a long moment of silence between them. Any pretense of work had stopped and they just stood in the quiet hallway, facing each other. Tension was in every line of his body and his eyes seemed to be looking inward at something she couldn’t see. Empathy surged.

  "I had a friend who committed suicide in high school," she said softly. "I think the worst part about it, for me, wasn't her death. It was wondering why I hadn't been able to prevent it. Why I hadn't seen the road she was on and why I hadn't been able to do anything to stop it."

  Finally, finally, he met her eyes again. The ice was still there, but it seemed like maybe it had thawed a bit. Angel just looked back at him, her face calm even though the emotions roiling her in chest were not. She didn't talk about Hannah often. Ever, really. It was too painful. But he'd just shared an integral part of himself and she couldn't not respond. Couldn't not to try reach out.

  "Yes," he said, very softly. "That's exactly it."

  He studied her face as if looking for the answers, but she didn't know what he saw. The muscles around her mouth and jaw felt stiff. But after a moment he smiled, and this time it did reach his eyes. Just a little bit. And the ice thawed just a little bit more.

  "Let's go decorate the doors down in the Dungeon," he said, with a lightness that neither of them felt.

  "It'll be the fanciest jail and doctor's office in D.C.," she replied with cheerfulness that was only slightly forced.

  ******

  They did the Interrogation room last, the easy camaraderie between them finally restored now that they'd both made a concerted effort to move away from depressing topics of conversation. Returning to their conversation about books had broken the tension completely when she told him about her first fantasy book by Tamora Pierce and he'd immediately known that she was talking about the Lioness Quartet.

  Angel had howled with laughter. "Those were written for girls!"

  "Sexist," he retorted, although his cheeks looked a bit red. Was he actually blushing a little bit? "They were good books."

  "I know... I just... the main character's a girl!"

  "And you read the Hardy Boys."

  "I know... I know..." she said between fits of giggles. "I just have trouble picturing you..." And then she dissolved into laughter again.

  Adam scowled at her but she could tell it wasn't for real. There was none of the intensity that she'd seen when he was actually piqued with her.

  "You're going the right way to get that sexism beaten out of you," he threatened, stepping closer to loom over her. "I've got all the equipment I need right here in this room."

  And just like that, the atmosphere changed.

  He hadn't meant it to. Not really. But she'd looked so beautiful flushed with laughter, so carefree, so different from the way she had upstairs when she hadn't shown him pity or judgment but instead had showed him that she understood. He'd found himself wanting to touch her, to kiss her.

  They weren't in a scene now. He could kiss her without breaking the restrictions that he'd put on himself.

  Watching the laughter fade from her eyes to be replaced with a different kind of warmth, with the sparkle of anticipation and hope, Adam knew that he was going to do it. Hell, maybe he'd known since the moment he'd seen her walk in the door.

  Her lips parted slightly as he leaned down, slowly enough that she could move away if she wanted to. But she didn't.

  Adam brushed his lips over hers, gently, testing. A whimper sounded low in her throat at the slight touch and then he found himself cupping her chin in one hand, the other arm snaking around her back as the fabric she'd been holding dropped to the floor around their feet. Granted, they hadn't had much left after doing every doorway in the club, but up until now they'd been more careful with it. He hadn't wanted her to have to wash fabric that she hadn't even used for decorations.

  Now he simply couldn't care.

  All he cared about was the fact that she was responding to him, her mouth obediently opening beneath his, her hands clutching at his shirt as she pressed against him. She tasted sweet and minty and like a woman. Her kiss wasn't passive, like some submissives could be, but it wasn't aggressive either. She met every stroke of his tongue with one of her own, with an enthusiasm that had his already hard cock feeling like granite.

  Deepening the kiss,
he tightened his arm around her, sliding the hand on her chin to the back of her head so that he could hold her securely in place. Somehow he had to keep control over the situation.

  ******

  No one had ever kissed her like this.

  It wasn't the passion or the skill or even the taste of him... no one had ever kissed her so demandingly. Every muscle in his body was rock hard against hers, his erection digging into her stomach, and yet it was as if his entire focus was on her mouth. Taking her breath away.

  Literally. She was getting a bit dizzy actually, but who cared? Air was overrated anyway.

  She loved the way his hands felt on her; controlling, authoritative. There was no guesswork about whether or not he was enjoying the kiss or what he wanted her to do; Adam took what he wanted and it was all she could do to keep up with him. It was the hottest kiss of her life.

  When he finally pulled his lips away she realized exactly how starved for air she was, sucking it in as her chest heaved and she stared up at him. Blue eyes studied her. His gaze was hot, but didn't look nearly as wild as she felt. That stung a bit; she wanted to ignite the same kind of uncontrollable heat and need in him that he did in her.

  "We should go back upstairs," he said softly. "Before anyone comes looking for us."

  "No." She said it automatically, without thinking, her hands bunching into the fabric of his shirt as if she could hold him there by sheer force. As if he didn't outweigh her in sheer muscle mass.

  One blonde eyebrow lifted, questioning - not just her no but also her judgment in saying it to him. Damn, she wished she could do that but her eyebrows never cooperated.

  "I want... I want more," she said, a little unsteadily but firmly.

  The eyebrow lowered as he studied her expression. "You want a scene?"

  Now it was her turn to hesitate. She licked her lips. "I want to... do something for you. The past two scenes have been all about me, I want to know that you're enjoying yourself as well."

  "Trust me, I enjoyed myself," he said, chuckling. Fingers pressed into her back, traveling up her spine and she would have melted against him if she hadn't been so set on getting her way with this.

  The balance of their two times together had been sadly out of whack as far as she was concerned. After all, wasn't a Dom supposed to be the one taking his pleasure? And yet he hadn't once. Maybe it was because he wasn't actually interested in her in that way, although the stiff length still pressing against her body seemed to indicate otherwise. He'd definitely had a hard-on the other times too.

  Still, maybe she should give him an out. Maybe there was another reason.

  "We don't have to if you don't want to," she muttered. "It was just an idea."

  Perhaps a bad one, but Angel liked to be honest about what she wanted. Especially considering how her acquaintance with him had started off. And right now she wanted him. Actually, she'd wanted him the last two times they'd scened together but the last time she'd begged and he hadn't given in. Maybe this really was a bad idea.

  That conclusion seemed even more justified as he released her and stepped back. She immediately felt rather cold without him pressed against her.

  "Take off your shirt."

  "What?" Startled, she looked up at his face. She'd been steeling herself for pretending that his rejection didn't matter, for acting like everything was okay even though he was turning her down. The last thing she'd expected was an order to remove her shirt.

  A small smile played on his lips. Almost teasing. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

  Having her own words thrown back at her so unexpectedly made Angel smile a little too. For a moment she hesitated... but it's not like he hadn't seen her butt naked before. Somehow she felt more vulnerable in her normal clothes though. Plus she hadn't exactly been expecting sex tonight. Of course part of her had hoped that Adam would be here, she couldn't deny that, but she hadn't thought anything like this would happen. She definitely hadn't expected that kiss.

  The bra she was wearing was one of her favorites, her favorite royal blue color with a little bit of soft cotton sky blue lacy edging along the top of the cups. It wasn't the sexiest bra she owned, but she loved the way the blue looked against her skin tone, and it didn't look like he minded at all that it wasn't lacy or see-through.

  "Take off the bra and get on your knees."

  That shouldn't make her as hot as it did. If any of her previous boyfriends had said something like that to her she probably would have found it derogatory or disrespectful. But when Master Adam said it, she just felt desirable and eager to please.

  As her shaky fingers unclipped the bra snap, she realized that she'd very quickly and easily transitioned to thinking of him as Master Adam when she'd been thinking of him by his first name only for the entire evening before this moment. Was it because they were about to go into a scene? And was it something that she did herself in her head, or had he influenced her thinking?

  "Beautiful," he murmured as she carefully knelt down, trying to be as graceful as she could. It wasn't something she was practiced at, but her dance training helped a lot. "Play with those pretty breasts for me, Angel."

  Heat flushed her entire body as she cupped her breasts and squeezed them, watching Master Adam watching her. This was definitely not something she'd done before. It was uncomfortable, unnerving and so damned erotic that she was creaming her panties.

  "Pinch your nipples."

  Holy hell. Angel mewled as the spike of pain and pleasure went straight down to her pussy. She sometimes played with her breasts before masturbating, but rarely, and it definitely never felt like this when she did it. Was it because Master Adam was watching? Or because he'd told her to do so in the first place?

  "What's your color, sweetheart?"

  "Green... Green and impatient, Sir," she said, a little impudently. She knew she was risking being punished, but it was true. To her relief he just chuckled again.

  "We're not having sex tonight, Angel."

  "We're not?" Dammit, she sounded almost wistful. If he didn't want to have sex with her then she wasn't going to beg for it. Of course if he did want to and he just wanted to hear her beg...

  ******

  Big hazel eyes gazed up at him and he wondered if she knew just how pleading and tempting she looked. Her breasts were gorgeous, filling her hands completely as she rolled her darkening nipples between her fingertips. Those pouty lips were slightly parted, her skin flushed with arousal and pleasure, and he knew very well that if she would definitely have sex with him right now if he wanted it.

  And it wasn't that he didn't.

  He just didn't want to rush things. Not between them when it came to furthering their relationship or the first time he did have sex with her. Right now he had no idea what she wanted; it was possible that, like a good submissive, she wanted to know that she had pleased the man who had Dommed her during two rather intense scenes. Or it was possible that she was just as attracted to him as he was to her and that she was thinking along the same lines as he was when it came to furthering a relationship.

  Hell, it was also possible that she was still just putting on an act and was doing what she thought she should. Although he didn't really believe that.

  But no matter the reason, he wasn't going to rush into this. And when they did have sex, unless all she wanted was to play in the club, it wouldn't be when he was feeling rushed and worried that someone might walk in on them. Although the latter did add to the erotic illicitness of the situation.

  Adam had never played in Stronghold when it wasn't actually open, although he'd been here during non-Club hours before.

  "I'm going to indulge in a little fantasy of mine," he said softly, undoing the front of his pants as he stepped up to her. Angel's almond shaped eyes grew even bigger, flicking back and forth between his face and the bulge in the front of his pants. "One that I've had since the night that I first met you. Open up, sweetheart. And don't stop playing with those pretty breasts."

 
; Obediently Angel's lips parted as he reached out and inserted one of his thumbs between them. Her tongue laved over the tip, her mouth closing around the digit eagerly. It did make getting his cock out of his pants slightly more difficult, but he wanted to give her a little time before he actually began anyway, make sure that this was really what she wanted.

  The little moan as her tongue swirled around his thumb said that it was. She was eyeing his cock as he stroked it, her expression eager.

  Deciding that he'd waited long enough, Adam removed his thumb from between her lips and aimed his dick at her mouth. Angel leaned forward eagerly, her tongue snaking out to caress the tip. Catching her by her hair, Adam held her head at the perfect position for her to tongue him, not allowing her to take him in her mouth immediately.

  It felt like heaven and hell all at once. He was teasing himself when he could already be enjoying her sweet mouth, but he liked the way she strained against his hand, trying to get to his cock. He liked seeing her tongue licking his cock and the way she kept looking up at him between her eyelashes, to see if she was pleasing him. No worries there.

  "What's your color, Angel?"

  "Green, Sir." Her eyes looked up at him. And impatient, they seemed to say.

  "Good girl."

  Watching his cock slide between those little bow-shaped lips was just as satisfying and erotic as he'd fantasized about. Angel did not have a big mouth, but she stretched her jaw open to accommodate him eagerly. He could feel the gentle scrape of her teeth along the underside of his cock, but he didn't chide her for it. Adam happened to be one of those men who actually liked a little bit of teeth when he was getting head. Teeth, tongue and suction... the best parts about getting a blow job.

  She leaned forward, her hands starting to move off of her breasts and towards him and Adam growled at her.