by Linzi Basset
She puffed out a breath as his broad chest pressed her harder into the padded bench. His fingers brushing and pinching her nipples followed by a deep growl caused her ovaries to burst excitedly into song and dance.
“That agreement was between you and Dom Sam, Cinderella. This is part of your punishment and since you already had multiple climaxes, you don’t get to come. Don’t discard my warning again. You won’t like the consequences.”
Sage trembled at the strength of his hardness inside her. She’d been fucked hard before but instinct warned her with Master Cratos, it would go beyond a hard and rough fuck. She felt hot and struggled to breathe properly. A nacreous veneer of sweat covered her body. The sensations that engulfed her became unbearable. If only he’d move and give her what she so desperately craved.
Cole was aware of the conflict that was at war inside Sage but he held onto his master control. Not only to give her little pussy time to adjust to his girth but to treasure the heat and tightness that surrounded him. He felt her heartbeat pulsing in the softness of the folds that wrapped around his hard shaft.
“This isn’t going to be the fuck you expected to get tonight, Cinderella,” Cole gruffed and hesitated. He waited until she drew a shuddered breath, then slammed into her, driving her body forward on the bench. He pinched her nipples and yanked her back into position.
Sage screamed as the world tilted. No matter the firm resolution that she wouldn’t climax, she was helpless against the unexpectedness of her body’s reaction to his rough treatment. Her loins throbbed, engorged with blood, and threatened to rip her apart as she climaxed. She moaned as, in her mind, she curled into herself, desperate to compute the shocks of pleasure and pain overwhelming her. It had an electrifying effect that tossed her about and stole her ability to breathe.
“Oh god, oh god,” she panted with a faltering breath as he continued to pound ruthlessly into her. Each thrust deep inside her triggered a rush of renewed lust.
Every forceful thrust pushed her forward on the bench, only to be yanked back by her nipples. She was inundated by the rush of sensations, the unprecedented lust that sparked to life from the contrasting sensations of pleasure and pain he inflicted.
Cole powered into her. He relaxed the masterful control of the raging orgasm that now compelled his fervent thrusts but was helpless against the added coercion of the constant spasms of her pussy clenching his cock.
“Ugh,” he groaned as he was all but blinded by the rush of arousal as heat tickled at the back of his scrotum. A wave of warmth surged through his veins.
“Fuck.” His roar reverberated through the dungeon. A sharp pain shot through his head as he came deep inside her, triggering a final spasm from Sage that forced a groan to rumble from his throat. “Good god, you’re tight . . . so fucking tight.”
Cole didn’t move until his breathing settled and then he withdrew gently to untie her after cleaning and zipping up himself. He carried her to the aftercare area in the reception of the dungeon like she was a lightweight and not a very healthy five feet seven inches woman. Sage was too lethargic to protest and with a sigh, leaned into his body as he wrapped a light blanket around her naked body and settled onto a plush sofa.
It was the first time since she’d joined the Lifestyle that she felt like this. Warm and cold simultaneously. Relaxed and satisfied to the depth of her soul. More than that, she basked in the intimate connection she could still feel like a tenable thread between them.
After the shaking intensity of the spanking and the undisputable best fuck she’d ever had, she needed to feel his tenderness. Sage felt like she was wandering ... lost in a maze, not knowing what to do, and terribly confused. Her emotions were scattered all over. Master Cratos was the kind of Dom she’d always avoided like the plague—because they were so powerful and unmovable. Maybe it was time to acknowledge that had been a mistake. Maybe, deep down inside she’d known how devastating a scene would be with a Dom like that.
But it hadn’t been a scene, Sage. He punished you. She tensed and her eyelids fluttered. Good god! Imagine what he would make me feel in an actual scene!
She was too spent to put a name to what it was that swirled inside her mind as he murmured in her hair, “Relax, Cinderella. It’s over and you did exceedingly well. I’m proud of you, little one.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to snap at him that she was anything but little. On the other hand, with him being so humongous, she imagined he viewed everyone as little. What shook her to the core was how she basked in his praise. It created a completely new maelstrom of emotions to swirl inside her. For the first time, she felt … like a true submissive.
His tender caresses soothed her into a state of relaxation until he tilted back her head with a fist under her chin. In the dimness of the dungeon, she’d only seen the glimmering of his eyes. Now, in the brighter lit reception area, she realized with a start it was the first time she was this close to him and could look into his face.
He didn’t say a word, just watched her as she silently regarded him, tracing every line of his face that was visible under the mask. Tension returned to her body, like the slow treacle of molasses from a spoon.
The stark cerulean color of his eyes rippled through her mind like the slash of a whip. She had only ever seen one person with that specific shade of blue with sparks of gray and black surrounding the pupils. She’d looked into them before … many times over the past three years. She shook her head as her gaze dropped to the fullness of his wide mouth. Lips she’d watched as he talked and smiled or thinned as he snapped at her in irritation. Shock threatened to flatten her to the ground.
She pushed upright.
“Y-you … it’s … you!” She slapped his hands away as she struggled to get off his lap and stumbled a couple of steps away from him. She desperately clutched at the blanket around her quivering body. “How … it can’t be.”
“And yet it is.” The dark gravel of his Dom voice lifted, lightened and the familiar richness of Cole Sawyer's deep soothing tone floated toward her.
She stumbled backward, inching further away from him, holding her hand out as though to ward him off, even though he hadn’t moved from the sofa.
“How could you … I … you … we … oh god. I work for you! This can’t be happening.”
“What? That I now know you’re into kink? Or is there something more to it, Ms.. Porter?”
Sage could only stare at him. The sensations and the multiple climaxes she’d had while he’d fucked her swamped her mind and manifested itself in the bright red blush blooming over her cheeks. It was incomprehensible that her boss brought her to such heights, notwithstanding the fact that she’d been having fantasies about the very thing for years.
The Cheshire grin flashing over Cole’s face was the conduit to make her turn tail and run. Cole let her go, a smile of achievement remained on his lips as he watched her scurry up the stairs. A sense of ownership and pride captivated his mind. He’d been enchanted with the gorgeous redhead since the day she’d started working for him at Sawyer’s Academy. As owner of the university and her boss, he’d kept his distance.
But no more. She’d come into his world, his territory and here the rules of decorum out there didn’t count. What mattered now was the desire to bring her to uncontrollable pleasure. So much that she would become addicted to it.
“No, not to it.” His dark Dom voice grated from his lips. “To me. I want her to become addicted to me to such an extent that no one else could ever satisfy her again.”
He got up and stretched lazily. His face split into a smile of contentment. “You’re mine now, Sage Porter. Mine and mine alone.”
Chapter Four
“Where were you?” Sage attacked Talia the moment she opened the door to her the next morning. “You just left me in the hands of that demon!” She rubbed her still tender buttocks and her voice thinned. “He almost whacked off all the skin from my ass.”
“Now you’re exaggerating, and besides,
what exactly could I have done? You know I walk wide circles around Master Cratos.” A sly smile curved Talia’s lips. “I’d say he rewarded you bountifully afterwards. From what I could see, you climaxed more during the punishment and that hot as holy hell fuck afterwards than in the past year.”
Sage clamped her lips together. She refused to give credence to that achievement, especially as she was still struggling with the emotions the entire experience had unleashed inside her.
“I’m not going on the road trip anymore.”
“You’re what?” Talia straightened and pinned her in place with a confused look at the sudden shift of topic. “Why not? Come on, out with it.” She threw her hands in the air at the obstinate look on Sage’s face. “You can’t pull out now. You’ve given your commitment to Dean Sawyer that you’re going.” She reached out to squeeze Sage’s knee. “You can’t afford to lose your job; you know that as well as I do. Prof isn’t the kind of man who makes idle threats, Sage.”
“Oh, believe me, I know that better than anyone else.” Sage shifted uncomfortably under Talia’s sharp gaze. She had been pondering whether or not she should confess all to her friend since she woke up that morning. She knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t stop until she’d wrung everything out of her.
Talia tapped a nail against her teeth as she regarded Sage thoughtfully. “Something isn’t adding up. One moment we’re talking about Master Cratos, the next you’re telling me you’re not going on the summer road trip. What exactly is the connection between the two, Sage? What aren’t you telling me?”
Sage jumped up from the chair she’d been slumped in and headed toward the kitchen. “I need coffee. Want some?”
“Only if you have chocolate chip muffins to go with it.”
“Don’t I always?”
Sage was relieved when Talia didn’t follow her into the kitchen. Not that it mattered. With the open plan setting of the living area, she felt her eyes following her every move. She used the time to sort through the myriad of emotions that had assailed her since she’d realized the powerful Dom Cratos was none other than Cole Sawyer. It was incomprehensible that even with that knowledge, her loins spasmed every time she thought of him. Of how he’d plundered into her, pounded her like she was an extension of himself … at least that was how it had felt at the time. What completely mystified her even more was that he had done it knowing who she was all the time.
The one thing that stood out above all else, was that he had made her feel things she’d never felt before with any other man. From the first touch of his hand on her skin, she had felt a sense of belonging … of possession. Oh, lord! His possession. Every brush of his palm over her sensitized buttocks had felt like a mark, a sizzling brand for all to see. The way he’d cared for her afterwards had filled her with contentment, with a longing for more to come.
She returned to the living room carrying a tray, all too aware of Talia’s close scrutiny. As soon as she settled in the chair with a cup of coffee and a muffin, Talia prodded, “Out with it. You know I won’t stop until you tell me what’s bothering you.”
Sage took a bite of the muffin to give her a little more time to bring some order to her thoughts. If anyone would understand her scrambled emotions, it would be her best friend, but how in the hell did she express them without sounding intemperate?
“Don’t you dare take another bite, Sage Porter.” Talia’s warning slashed like a sword through the atmosphere.
“Now I understand why the students call you Slash.” Sage smiled at Talia’s snort. She took a sip of her coffee; one hand fluttered in the air—a sign of surrender as she peeked at her through her lashes. She felt her cheeks heat at what her friend’s reaction was going to be.
“Master Cratos … is there anything familiar you’ve noticed about him?”
Talia’s eyebrows shot toward her hairline. A line slashed between them as she realized Sage was serious.
“Hmm … apart from comparing his huge ass body to Dean Sawyer’s … no, can’t say that I have.” Her eyes widened as Sage’s cheeks suddenly popped as red as overripe tomatoes. “Holy shithead! No,” she gasped with wide eyes. “Are you saying … good lord, Sage! Are you trying to tell me Master Cratos is Prof Cole Sawyer?”
“Yes.” She gulped down a mouthful of coffee. “Now do you understand why I can’t go on the road trip?”
“But … how? I don’t understand. I saw him with you in the aftercare area. He never once removed his mask.”
“Oh, believe me, he didn’t have to, but he made sure I realized who he was.” Sage nibbled on the muffin. “It was the first time there was enough light for me to see his eyes … he made me look at him. I’ve only ever met one person with that color blue, Talia and his broad mouth with those full lips … I know it’s him. I’ve fantasized about feeling them against mine more than enough to realize they could only belong to one man. God, I still can’t believe it’s him.”
“Holy shit,” Talia puffed as she finished her coffee. She placed the cup on the tray. A sly smile curved her lips. “He completely rocked your boat, didn’t he? And I don’t just mean fucking you. The spanking … I’ve never seen you as submissive as you were under his command.” She stabbed a finger in the air at Sage. “He’s the Dom you’ve been looking for, Sage. I dare you to deny it. That’s what upsets you so much. Not that it was Dean Sawyer but that he’s the one who managed to trigger the sub who has been yearning to come to the surface for two years.”
“What am I going to do, Talia? I can’t face him again … not with the vision of him fucking me in front of an entire crowd! Good lord, I still can’t believe I allowed it. I’ve been wracking my mind trying to understand why I didn’t shout out my safeword.” She slumped lower in the chair. The expression on her face painted the misery clouding her future. “It doesn’t matter whether or not I go on this freaking road trip … there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to walk back into the university knowing the owner and my boss fucked my brains out … and worse,” she all but wailed, “left me craving more.”
Talia swallowed the delighted laugh as Sage’s eyes shot daggers at her. “I’m sorry. I’m not laughing because it’s funny. I’m just delighted for you.”
“Delighted? Because I’m without a job as we speak?”
“Now you’re exaggerating. Come on, Sage. You know as well as I do the BDSM Lifestyle is a very tight community. What happens in the clubs, stays there. As the owner of The Rouge Lounge, confidentiality is the one thing Master Cratos is completely authoritarian about. He’s not going to blunder it to the world that you, and I for that matter, frequent his club.”
“I can’t face him again, Talia.” Sage squeezed her thighs together as a rush of pheromones presented itself in a wet patch on her panties as a ripple of pleasure raced down her spine at the memory of Cole pushing his cock slowly to the hilt inside her. She covered her face. “Freaking hell! Just thinking of it makes me wet. Looking into his eyes again … I can’t. I’ll probably climax on the spot!”
Talia’s giggle married with the melodious chime of the doorbell.
“Thanks so much for your support, you traitor,” Sage muttered as she stomped toward the front door. “I’m coming,” she snapped irritably as the bell chimed again. She opened the door, only to slam it shut with a loud gasp.
“Sage? What the devil are you doing?”
The hollow echo of knuckles rapping on the door ripped through the silence that followed Talia’s question. Sage didn’t move, only stared at the door with wide eyes.
“For goodness sake, open the door,” Talia said as she pushed past Sage and reached for the door handle.
“No! Don’t! It’s …” Her protest died as Talia ignored her and once again, she faced the now dangerously glowing eyes of Cole Sawyer, regarding her from beneath regally arched eyebrows—a look so fierce it made her envision a Siberian tiger on the prowl for his prey.
“Dean Sawyer? Now this is a surprise,” Talia cooed and took back a step. �
��Please, come inside.”
“NO! Go away. I don’t want you here.” She sent a searing glance at Talia. “He’s not coming in.”
Cole didn’t say a word but the glare softened as he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and folded his arms over his chest. One eyebrow hitched higher as he regarded Sage with amusement. He was the epitome of nonchalance.
It irritated the bejesus out of her.
“Don’t be silly, Sage. I’m sure he has a very good reason for being here. Isn’t that so, Prof?”
“Indeed.”
One word ... but his deep tone found resonance inside Sage as she struggled to maintain a modicum of control not to jump on him and fuck his brains out.
No! Claw his eyes out. I meant … shit! I’m in so much trouble.
No matter how hard she’d been trying to convince herself that Cole Sawyer was off limits, her body refused to acknowledge the command from her brain. Well, of course it would. Seeing as her mind was incapable of forming a coherent thought with his eyes boring into her.
Cole’s eyes moved to Talia. “Packed and ready for the trip, Ms. Scott?”
“Almost, and that reminds me, I better get going. I still need to buy some toiletries.” Talia picked up her keys and purse she’d left on the small entrance hall table. “I’ll see you in the morning.” With a wink and a wave, she trotted through the door, and before Sage could protest being left alone with Cole, she disappeared down the hallway.
“What do you want?” Sage didn’t bother to hide the animosity in her voice. One way or the other she had to erect a self-preservation mechanism against this man.
“I came to make sure you’re packing for the road trip.”
“I’m not going.”
The smile that twitched his lips grated on Sage’s nerves. He’d known. The asshole had expected her to react like this. She squared her shoulders and stared him down … or tried to, at least. Very ineffectively, of course, seeing as he shouldered her out of the way and strolled into the living room, which suddenly seemed much smaller as his huge body filled the space.