Love Another Day

by Lexi Blake

  “I’m sure they do, but it’s different when it’s my skin against yours. I still remember how you smell and how your hair tickles against me. It goes everywhere when you wear it down. It’s like a gorgeous, soft net catching me and pulling me in. I won’t make more of this relationship than is there, but you can’t make less of it.”

  She flushed again, a sure sign he was getting to her. “I think you’re the one making more of it. Not on my side. I know how nice the sex was, but you’ve had more relationships than I’ve had.”

  She wanted to do this now? She could do it on her knees. “You want to talk about my past relationships, I’m willing, but you’ll obey me first or we’ll get dressed and go home and maybe if neither of us can sleep we’ll have plain vanilla sex that we’ll tell ourselves doesn’t mean anything. Does that sound better?”

  Her hand went to the top of her neck and she undid the knot of her swimsuit. “You know it doesn’t. And all I’m saying is you’ve had way more sex than I have in the last couple of years.”

  She had to try to win. That was the funny thing. Somewhere under all that guilt was a competitive alpha bitch who never quit, and damn but he wanted to meet her. “You think I’m some kind of playboy? The James Bond thing is nothing more than a fun costume. The reality of my work is long hours spent in a car with Walt and a bag of stale chips, following around a suspect.”

  The top came off and she handed it over to him. Despite her breezy, couldn’t-care-less nature, her nipples were hard points. Those beauties were pink and tight, as though begging to be tweaked again.

  “Somehow I think there’s more to it than that.” She unhooked the thigh holster and handed that to him as well.

  “Yes, that’s when the people we’ve been watching figure out we’re watching them and they start shooting,” he agreed. “That’s the excitement I get.”

  “You live over a BDSM club in one of the world’s greatest cities,” she countered. But he didn’t mind the argument. She was more animated than she’d been all night. Her mind wasn’t going over the collection of ways her world could go topsy-turvy.

  “First of all, it’s only a club a few nights a week. I spend most of my time in the bar. And in the last year I haven’t touched another woman sexually. I’ve performed my duties as one of the tops in the club, but I haven’t taken any gratification from a single submissive because I couldn’t have the only one I wanted.” He saw the way her eyes lit up and realized he would always have to add on to this line of thought. “I couldn’t have her because I was a bloody wanker who couldn’t answer my mobile.”

  Her mouth firmed as though she was considering continuing on, but finally she sighed and hooked her thumbs around the last bit of clothing she had on. The bikini bottom slipped off and she offered it to him. “Though you shouldn’t think you could have had me. I was merely calling because I thought I owed you the courtesy of telling you I was pregnant.”

  He placed her clothes and the prop on one of the prep tables. “Well, I was already missing you something fierce by then. A situation that would have been remedied if I had picked up my damn mobile.” He turned back and she was on her knees, adjusting herself to fit what he’d commanded. She wasn’t the most graceful sub he’d ever seen, but she was the loveliest. Why this woman? Why this stubborn, difficult, self-sacrificing martyr of a woman had to be the one who held his heart, he had no idea, but there was no way around it. No chance that he could wriggle out of the trap, and he didn’t want to. He simply wanted her stuck in this happy trap with him. “I didn’t think I was smart enough for you.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  It occurred to him that he had an enormous amount of power here. In this room. At this time. He should use it because she had the power everywhere else. “Hush, luv. We’re in the training room and we’re in a training session. That means you only talk when I give you permission.”

  Her head came up. “Seriously?”

  He selected a nice flexible crop and let it slap against his hand with purpose. The sound cracked through the air and her eyes widened. “Seriously. Look, Big Tag even left this in case it becomes difficult for the sub to remember.”

  He held up the small, clear plastic bag that contained several different size fresh and ready-to-use ball gags. Silence Is Golden the bag was titled. With the subtitle, Or your butt is red…

  She started to open her mouth and then it closed, though there was pure fire coming from her eyes.

  He was all right with that. She was lovely when she was angry. He put that one back on the shelf, but kept the crop. “Excellent choice. See, I would have named that bag To Drool or Not to Drool. Because that really is the question. Those damn ball gags make a man drool like a bloody idiot.”

  He should know since the first time he ever met Big Tag, the arsehole had been shoving an incredibly large one into Brody’s mouth. They’d quickly overcome that mistake, though Brody would never forget the copious amounts of drool associated with one of those things.

  He set the crop down for a moment because he’d promised her something, too. He shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket and went to work on the tie and shirt as he talked. “I thought you deserved better than an Army grunt from nowhere Australia who barely had an education. The funny thing is, I’ve realized how little you need a man with a highbrow university degree who would likely do nothing but make everything more complex. You can do that all on your own. You need someone with street smarts. Someone who understands that when the bullets start flying, it’s smarter to not run right toward the man with the gun because you think he might be hurt.”

  That mouth firmed again and he was sure she had a few choice words for him.

  They could wait until later. He slid out of the shirt and her eyes heated. “See, there it is. That’s what I need. You need someone who looks out for you because you don’t ever look out for yourself, and I need that look in your eyes. I need to know I’m not some ugly beast who’s good for nothing but throwing his body in front of bullets for his betters.”

  “That is so untrue, Brody. And you can spank me for that. It’s worth it to say it.”

  There was his Steph. There was the woman he’d fallen completely in love with. Champion of the underdog, willing to take all the punishment of the world if she thought the cause was worthy.

  He needed to take that impulse and excise the guilt from it. He didn’t want a Steph who didn’t fight for the world around her. He merely wanted her to know that she was worth fighting for, too.

  And that he was her champion.

  “I can be reasonable. Since what you said was sweet and not bratty, only one swat.”

  She started to lean forward.

  He brought the crop out, stopping her forward progress. “No need. I didn’t say I was going to swat that pretty bottom. Get back into position and spread your knees wide.”

  He loved how her eyes flared and she bit her bottom lip. Her mind was working but there wasn’t worry for her life or brooding over the past in there now. Nope. Now she was worried about what lovely piece of her flesh he was about to torture.

  When she was in the proper position, he stepped in close and brought the crop up to her chin, gently bringing her head up. “Do you have any idea how good you make me feel? When you look at me like you could eat me alive, I’m suddenly the luckiest man in the world.” He traced a line down the center of her body, a light touch that made her shiver. “When you look at me, I’m suddenly not a mass of scars. I’m…handsome.”

  “Pretty. You’re pretty, Brody.”

  “That’s two. Again, because what you said was sweet just an extra one, but soon we’re going to have to talk about that ball gag.”

  She pressed her lips together as though promising she wouldn’t do it again.

  He let the crop slide lower, skimming over her belly and the faint silvery lines that hadn’t been there before. Stretch marks. Signs that his baby had grown inside her body. They only made her more beautiful because they were signs
of her strength and her resolve. “You are even more gorgeous than before. You’re stunning to me and I realize that all those months I spent wanking my own dick to the picture of you in my head were wasted because nothing compares to how lovely you are in real life.”

  He skimmed the crop down to the mound of her pussy, noting the sharp intake of her breath and the way she tensed.

  “I missed everything about you. And yes, I wouldn’t have had to if I’d answered the phone. But I realize now I should have done other things with it as well. I could have taken pictures of you so I could always see you. Pictures of your pretty face and your breasts. Pictures of your perky arse, and definitely a picture of your pussy. I’d have you spread your legs and I’ll take a picture when you’re ripe and wet for me, and then I’ll have something to remind me of what I’m really missing every single second I’m away from you.”

  “You can’t take a picture of my cootch,” she said.

  Ah, finally something he could punish her for. He brought the crop back and up in a short, sharp arc right on the object of their current contention.

  Steph gasped but managed to hold her position.

  He slapped that sweet pussy with a flick of the crop that made her eyes water. He made sure he was using the soft leather tip of the crop. Her whole body braced itself for the next blow and he gave it to her. Harder this time, the sound reverberating in the silence of the room. Another and another, because her final stolen words hadn’t been sweet.

  Brody rubbed the leather tip of the crop over the flesh he’d tortured. Gently now, because he was testing a theory. He eased the tip over her swollen flesh, all the way from the top of her mound down between her legs. Those palms that had previously been relaxed on her thighs were now tight fists, and she gasped as he gently eased the tip through the folds of her pussy.

  “What do you think I’m going to find when I bring this crop back up, Stephanie? Do you think I’m going to find it unaffected, dry as the leather it is?” He chuckled because she remained silent this time. “That’s a direct question. You can and should answer it. Unless you’d like to see what else I can do with this crop.”

  “That crop is not going to be dry, Brody. It’s not. I’m having a definite physical reaction to you slapping at my female parts. There’s a rush of hormones running through me right now that I would have thought could wait for a bit. This is why some women end up with back-to-back babies. I thought my sex drive would take a while to come back online, but nope. It’s a perverted sex drive.”

  “It’s a perfect sex drive.” He eased the crop up and sure enough, she’d left her sweet mark on it. He breathed in the scent of her arousal. It was the most perfect smell in the world. It got his dick hard and made his head a little fuzzy. She intoxicated him. “But it’s going to have to wait. I think you’ve used that mouth to say many things I don’t like.”

  She sat up straighter, and he could see the desperate need to defend herself. Why couldn’t she do this in the real world? Why couldn’t she see how deserving she was?

  “Would you like to know what I’m talking about? I’m sure you would. I can see it in your eyes. You see, that’s how close a Dom and his sub can be. You don’t even have to talk and yet I know what you’re feeling. Brody, you would say if you could talk, please explain how I say things you don’t like. Because I never want to disappoint you.”

  The cutest frown covered her face, yet she managed to remain silent.

  Likely because she knew damn well he got her point. He wasn’t going to admit it though. After all, they were playing. He wiped off the crop with the handy box of wipes someone had labeled Bacteria Isn’t a Fetish. She watched him, every move he made. “Saying things like I’m not sexy when you obviously are. Saying you’re not lovely and beautiful when you are, that upsets me.”

  He moved around her, letting the crop drift over her skin again.

  “Furthermore, I hate it when you act like you don’t deserve to be happy. I won’t stand for it in here. I can’t force anything on you outside this space, but inside it, you will acknowledge the truth.” He stared down at her. “You will say, Brody, I am good and worthy. You may speak.”

  Her head came up and her eyes shone with tears. “Even if I don’t feel it.”

  “Even if you think it’s the biggest lie in the world. You’ll say it for me. Say it.”

  She breathed in and took her time. “I am good and worthy.”

  She didn’t sound like she believed it, but they could work on that. “And you’re not allowed to degrade yourself. Tell me you’re sexy.”

  Finally a hint of humor. “Well, I feel that way around you, gorgeous.”

  “How do you feel about using that mouth of yours for good?”

  Her lips curled up. “If you’re asking if this poor submissive would like to ensure her Dom that her mouth can do good things, too, then yes. I would love to prove that to you. Can you think of a way I could make that happen?”

  His dick was dying. “Unzip my pants.”

  She breathed again. This time the sigh seemed to be filled with relief. An eagerness lit her eyes as she got up on her knees and started working open his belt. In short order she was drawing his zipper down.

  Brody bit back a groan as his cock bounced free.

  This was something they’d never done before. He’d taken control of their first encounter and he’d been focused on her the night before. Now he wondered why he’d wasted all those months. They could have been playing for almost two years now if he hadn’t been such a broody bastard. He could have been there with her, finding out she was pregnant, holding her hair through the early days, rubbing her feet and putting his hand on her belly. And all the while they would have had this.

  “I want you to touch me. I need you to touch me.” So much time wasted and he couldn’t stand the thought of wasting a second more. He needed to feel her mouth, to make the deep connection sex could bring them.

  She reached out, her fingers brushing over his cock and making him bite back a moan. He wanted more, wanted her mouth sucking him deep, but he was going to give her this time. He was going to let her explore since he hadn’t done that the first time. He needed her to understand that if she was his, then he was hers. One hundred percent.

  She seemed to want to explore. She ran her fingertips over his skin, pulling the foreskin back and revealing the head of his cock. He watched as she leaned forward and he could feel the heat of her breath. A drop of pre-come pulsed from the tip, and he nearly lost his cool when her tongue came out, delicately lapping it up.

  “Will you let me make you come, Brody?” Steph whispered the words against his flesh, each one a butterfly on his skin. “You’ve made me come. I want to do the same for you.”

  Well, if it was what she wanted, he could make the sacrifice. Besides, he would be hard again a few moments after he’d come because he seemed to have an endless appetite for her. He had been the one in control of everything during their two encounters. She needed to know the effect she had on him, too. “Do it. I want to come down your throat. I want you to love the way I taste as much as I love yours.”

  The tip of his dick disappeared inside her mouth, a light touch that made him long for more.

  He watched as she began to work his cock over. Her tongue rolled along his skin as she started to stroke him. She pulled back the foreskin and laved the stalk of his cock with affection.

  Over and over she rolled her tongue around him. Every touch and caress made sparks shoot through his system. He reached down and threaded his fingers through her hair, wanting more of a connection. If he could, he would touch her everywhere, surround himself with her.

  She settled in, taking his cock behind her lips and beginning to eat him up. He watched as she worked every inch of his dick inside. She sucked him hard, her hand stroking him as her mouth pulled.

  He let her go at it, the hands in her hair merely there to keep up his connection. He wanted her to go wild and she did. Her tongue whirled and he
felt the heat of her mouth give way to the soft place at the back of her throat. She swallowed around him and he couldn’t hold back a second more.

  He came in her mouth, his vision going soft as the pleasure poured over him.

  She lapped him up, not losing a drop, and when she sat back, she looked like a cat who’d gotten all the cream. Confidence was there in her face.

  Yes, this was the way to get to her. And now it was time to pay his sweet sub back.

  * * * *

  Steph watched as Brody slipped out of his slacks. He’d kicked his loafers off and gotten rid of his socks. He folded the slacks and placed them on the table where he’d put her clothes. If they could be called that.

  Though as she sat and watched him, she realized she wasn’t bothered by her nudity. It had been weird at first, but now she was comfortable. More than comfortable, actually. She felt good, aware of herself in a way she normally wasn’t. She could feel the cool air on her skin, the hardness of the wood floor on her knees. Her nipples tightened in arousal as she watched that man uncover his magnificent body.

  Scarred beast? She wasn’t sure she could handle him without the scars. He would be too perfect.

  Not that he was perfect, and that was something she needed to remember. He was a man who had turned her away for the silliest of reasons. He was a man who could cut her to the quick.

  All of this was just fun. It was a way to get her mind off her troubles. That was all. Now she knew the score and could properly play the game. Pleasure was the end, not a deep emotional bond.

  Even if she felt it.

  “Tell me how you’re feeling?” Brody asked.

  Like I want to stay here for the rest of my life. Like I need nothing more than to be naked with you. Like I want this to be real. “Good. I liked sucking your cock. It made me feel sexy.”

  She was going to concentrate on the sexual aspects of this session. Sex was safe. Sex was good with Brody. She was far from that child who had tried to destroy herself by debasing her own body. This was something different. This was empowering.