by Jenika Snow
Bittersweet: A Story of Dominance and Submission
When Piper agrees to go on vacation with her friend at an exclusive sex resort, she finds it has more surprises than she is ready for. Because what Piper doesn’t realize is that when she agrees to play a submissive for two weeks, it won’t be with only one dominant man, but four.
Piper finds out she has been hand selected to not only submit, but to be possessed and conquered by the towering men. To make matters worse, the four men that have chosen her to play their sex slave are the sovereign and arousing Grayson brothers--her employers and the men she has been lusting after.
With her identity hidden behind a mask of feathers and jewels, Piper allows herself to experience the delicious pleasures that only the Grayson brothers can conjure within her. But soon she realizes it isn’t only her body that is in the game, but her heart as well.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 26,655 words
BITTERSWEET: A STORY
OF DOMINANCE AND SUBMISSION
Jenika Snow
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
BITTERSWEET: A STORY OF DOMINANCE AND SUBMISSION
Copyright © 2010 by Jenika Snow
E-book ISBN: 1-61034-079-5
First E-book Publication: December 2010
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2010 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter from Jenika Snow
Regarding E-book Piracy
Dear Readers,
I would like to thank each and every one of you for purchasing this story, and I would like to thank you in advance for not sharing a copy of it. There is an ongoing problem with e-book piracy, and I just wanted to say a few words about it. A lot of time and effort goes into creating a story, and when e-books are distributed illegally, it makes it more difficult for the parties involved in creating that story to produce more. My stories are not just my dream, they are also my livelihood.
So once again, thank you for purchasing this ebook legally and for not participating in e-book piracy.
With deep gratitude,
Jenika Snow
DEDICATION
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
-- Helen Keller
I want to thank everyone who helped make this story become possible, but I want to especially say thank you to my dear friend and talented author Desmond Haas for helping me with this story. Without his input, Bittersweet would just be another idea in my head.
BITTERSWEET: A STORY OF DOMINANCE AND SUBMISSION
JENIKA SNOW
Copyright © 2010
Chapter One
“There is no way in hell I’m going to a sex resort.” Piper glanced up from the brochure her friend Lucie gave her. She knew disbelief covered her features, and she could hear shock lacing her voice.
“It isn’t a sex resort, per se.” Lucie looked down at her own brochure, excitement clear in her eyes.
“The hell it isn’t. There are naked people on the cover. How did you even find out about a place like this?”
Lucie shook her head and set the pamphlet down. “That doesn’t really matter. Listen, I know this is kind of extreme, but hear me out, okay?” At Piper’s silence, Lucie continued. “We’ve known each other for, what, fifteen years? Have I ever made you do anything you didn’t want to do?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact you have.”
“Okay, okay,” Lucie held her hands in front of her as if in surrender, “that blind date happened to be a fluke. How was I supposed to know he had that crazy fetish?” Lucie leaned back on the couch and sighed. “We need a vacation, Piper. Like a real one.”
“I agree, but to a sex resort?” Piper’s voice held speculation and a hint of irritation.
“Would you quit calling it that! It’s an exclusive resort catering to a woman’s fantasies, and before you go on saying you aren’t that type of person, may I remind you I have known you for more than half your life. I know all about you, including your dirty little secrets.”
Piper felt her face become hot. Lucie and she had been friends since they were thirteen, and although they shared everything, this whole scene was a little beyond the norm. “Even if I agreed to go, there is no way I could get the time off with such short notice.”
“Bullshit. You have been working at that firm since you got out of college and have hardly taken a vacation. If those pompous assholes won’t give you two weeks off, then fuck them.”
“Lucie!” Piper set the pamphlet down, and even though she sounded upset, she couldn’t help the smirk that tilted her lips. “Don’t talk about my bosses that way. They’ve been really great to me.” The law firm that Piper worked in was owned by the Grayson brothers. Just thinking about those four tall and heavily muscled men made her tingly all over. It was completely unprofessional to think of them so blatantly, but completely unavoidable.
“I’m serious. All the years you’ve been working there, you have taken, what? One week off, if that?”
Piper shrugged, hearing the impatience in her friend’s voice. “You just don’t want to go alone.” She knew how Lucie was, wild and reckless with a little bit of kinky thrown in there, but shy.
“No. I couldn’t care less if I went alone, you should know that, but the package is a two-for-one deal for all new female members, and this place looks incredible.”
Piper knew Lucie went to a place such as this, but suspicion threaded through her. “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” She didn’t miss the pink that started to tinge her friend’s cheeks. “Is this about some man?”
Lucie cleared her throat. “No, I’ve n
ever been there before.” Lucie’s eyes darted around, and Piper knew her friend was hiding something. “Okay, so when I went to visit my parents last year, I met this wonderful man, and well, one thing led to another if you know what I mean.”
Piper could only imagine. “So what? He’s going to be at this place?”
“We’ve been talking for the past year, haven’t seen each other but for that one weekend, but we decided to go to this resort. He apparently has been there before. He’s actually the one who told me about it.”
“Hold up.” Piper raised her hand to stop Lucie from continuing. “If you want to go with this man and spend some ‘quality time’ with him, why on earth would I tag along?”
Lucie was silent for a moment. “It isn’t like you’d be hanging out with us or anything. We wouldn’t even be really seeing each other.” Lucie played with the hem on her shirt, and Piper saw anxiousness in her face.
“What’s up? You’re acting all fidgety and weird.”
“It’s nothing.” Lucie glanced up and smiled, but Piper could clearly see how forced it was. “All I’m asking is that you think about it. Look over the pamphlet, see what they have to offer.”
Piper hesitated before she spoke, “When do I have to let you know by?”
“They only have those two spots left, and if I want to hold them, I have to let them know by Monday.”
“That’s only four days away! Even if I agree to go, how am I supposed to get those two weeks off? We would be going next month, right?”
Lucie nodded. “Just think about it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Lucie stood and grabbed her purse. “I have to go, but I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
Piper nodded but didn’t move from her seat. When her front door closed, she picked up the pamphlet again and looked at the cover. Several nude and beautiful bodies graced the front cover. The ocean and setting sun were the backdrop, and every single person had a grin on their face.
“Bre’zail Resort,” she read the name aloud and flipped the brochure open. There was a list of the “normal” things someone could do, such as swimming, hiking along the tropical terrain, or even scuba diving. All of those activities sounded wonderful, but of course those things weren’t what held her attention or made her hesitant in going.
She scanned the next page which showcased all of the “adult” amenities which were offered. The resort was catered to fantasies, both mild and extreme. Her eyebrows rose as she read. Bondage, domination, submission, and even fetishes were amongst the many scenes that were offered. As she continued to read, she couldn’t help the flush running through her. Reading about letting a man control her, pleasure her with his possessiveness and dominating demeanor, had her so hot she thought she’d burst.
That was one of her dirty little secrets, or so Lucie had called them. She had never told anyone as much, but when she got drunk one night with Lucie, years ago, she had spilled the beans, so to speak. It had been awkward and humiliating to say the least, but then Lucie had revealed her own secrets, and Piper didn’t feel as embarrassed about the whole thing. She was a closet sub. Not anything extreme, but the very thought of a man taking control, telling her what he wanted and what he wanted her to do, made her so aroused she could scream.
Of course, she would never act upon her fantasies because, well, that is what they were, just a fantasy. As she continued to look at the pamphlet, she couldn’t help the excitement she felt. It truly did sound like an experience of a lifetime, but it was a daring one.
It isn’t like you would even see anyone you knew. The place is on a freakin’ island. She set the pamphlet down.
Feeling resolve run through her, Piper decided she wouldn’t make up her mind until she was sure she could take the time off. Just thinking about asking the Grayson brothers anything caused fear and trepidation to wash through her. They were a fearsome bunch, and just thinking about them made her pussy clench with the need to be filled.
Chapter Two
Piper stepped into the Grayson Law Firm building the following day. Her nerves started to assault her. What intimidated her most about this whole situation were the four men behind the double oak doors in front of her.
Grayson Law Firm was owned and operated by four brothers, four men which were, by far, the most powerful and frightening males she had ever seen. When they wanted something, they got it. It was as simple as that.
She was just one of the receptionists at the large and prestigious firm, but she had heard enough stories about the brothers that if she had been going up against them in court, she would have crumbled.
She stopped in front of Dawn’s desk, the woman the Graysons’ personal secretary. The woman eyed her up and down, and Piper felt the need to smooth the invisible wrinkles from her skirt.
“Can I help you?” Dawn’s tone was irritated as she tapped one of her bright, red-painted nails on the desk.
“I need to speak with Mr. Grayson.”
One of Dawn’s perfectly manicured eyebrows rose. “There are four of them. Which one in particular?”
Piper felt her face heat. “Ian.” Ian Grayson was the oldest of the four brothers and the one that seemed the scariest, in Piper’s opinion.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Piper shook her head. Dawn knew the ins and outs of the Grayson brothers’ schedule, and knew damn well Piper didn’t have an appointment.
“I’ll have to see if he has the time, but I’m sure he is busy.”
Piper watched as Dawn picked up the phone and started to speak softly. Surprise flittered across Dawn’s face, and she hung up the phone. “You can go in.” She flicked her hand in the direction of the double doors.
Piper took a deep breath and pulled open one of the heavy doors. The first thing she noticed was how wonderful the room smelled. A mixture of expensive male cologne wafted around her and made her feel almost drunk. It took her about a second of breathing in deeply before she realized four sets of eyes pointed in her direction. She stepped the rest of the way in and closed the door softly. Piper placed her hands flat on the wood, and she swallowed roughly. She could feel the grains of the wood against her sweaty palms.
Ian, Logan, Brendin, and Jake Grayson all watched her with serious expressions, letting her know whatever she needed was interrupting them. The office was enormous, with an arched ceiling seemingly fifty feet tall. Floor to ceiling windows lined the entire back wall, and the four expensive wood desks lined up precisely, two facing the door, and the other two on the sides.
Marble and wood were the main makeup of the room, and it was after a full minute of her admiring the layout she realized someone kept clearing his throat. She looked in Ian’s direction since he was obviously the one who had been doing the clearing.
“You needed to speak with me, Miss. Crane?”
The other three brothers still watched her, and Piper was amazed every time she saw the four of them together. They resembled each other in their bone structure, but aside from that they looked entirely different. Ian was the oldest and in his mid-thirties with a head of short, coal-black hair and eyes the color of sea foam.
Logan and Brendin were only a few years younger than Ian, but their experience and prowess rivaled those of their eldest brothers. Jake was the youngest of the four, his light features a vast contrast to his other three brothers’ dark and brooding appearances. He had just turned thirty but still had the face of a man a decade younger.
“Miss Crane?”
She snapped her attention back to Ian and felt her face heat with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I, uh…” Actually speaking to them was harder then she thought. It was a rare occasion when she put herself in a position where she was actually alone with the four of them. “I’m very sorry to bother you, but I need to request some time off.”
Ian stared at her for a moment, and she was aware the other three were as well. “If this is a vacation request, I am sure you can handle it with Melanie. Unless, of course, the procedure has chan
ged?” He arched a brow, his stare unwavering, his tone slightly sarcastic.
“Well, no, sir, the procedure hasn’t changed, but this is kind of short notice.” She twisted her hands in front of her, but she kept her vision on Ian.
“How much short notice exactly?” He dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair. The leather made a soft sound as it accepted his weight.
“I need two weeks off the beginning of next month.” Again his brow arched, and he looked at his brothers. Each one of them seemed to communicate silently, and it unnerved her.
“That is very short notice, Miss. Crane. I’m not even sure we would be able to get a replacement for that time frame. Is everything okay?”
She nodded and swallowed again. Her throat felt like she had swallowed a gallon of sand. “Everything is fine, sir. I know how short notice it is, and I completely understand if it isn’t feasible. I’m sorry for disturbing you gentlemen.” She turned to leave, but a deep voice stopped her.
“I don’t really see a problem with it, do you, Ian?”
She turned around and looked at Logan. His sandy blond hair was slightly disheveled, and even though it wasn’t as impeccably styled as his older brothers, Piper knew he was a shark in the court room. She watched the four of them as they spoke softly with each other. She really couldn’t hear them, but it was either the vastness of the room that hid their words, or the fact that she was so nervous she felt sweat drip between her breasts. It didn’t matter much anyway because Ian’s next words surprised her.