by Nadia Aidan
Katherine’s head snapped up. “What do you mean you’re headed to bed?” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
She could swear his lips twitched with just the hint of a smile. “I’m tired, so I’m going to grab a quick shower and then I’m off to bed.” He turned to leave. “You should probably get some rest too.”
Her eyes rounded. Was he serious? All he wanted to do was sleep? After what had happened earlier? After she’d spent all day fantasizing about what he’d do to her as soon as they got to her home? She’d spent a very long hour sitting through a board meeting, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She imagined his calloused hands against her bare skin spanking her ass again, or binding her then forcing her to her knees to suck his cock, just as she’d seen him do with the woman at the club. By the time her meeting was over, her panties were dripping wet with her juices and her clit throbbed so hard that even the tiniest movement sent a shock of pleasure shooting through her. Her entire body was on fire, hungry, needy, and he wanted to go to sleep?
“But I thought—”
He turned to face her, spearing her with his penetrating gaze. “You thought what?” His voice was low, and even as his eyes revealed nothing, the deep timbre of his voice was warm and sensual. She shuddered as her eyes traced the curl of his lips when they slowly lifted into a wicked grin.
She couldn’t speak—her mouth was open, but nothing came out.
Seth nodded, the small grin still on his lips. “Good night, Katherine.”
And just like that, just like the night before, he left her there on the edge of sexual frustration, wanting more, needing more, only to be denied.
* * * * *
It had taken an almost inhuman strength of will to walk away from Katherine, to leave her standing there alone in her kitchen, but he’d managed to do it, which was why Seth now stood beneath a cascade of pelting water. The warm spray of the shower eased the knots of tension that corded his muscles. He closed his eyes with a groan. Too bad it did nothing to ease the throbbing ache of need that hardened his shaft.
Katherine. He whispered her name in his head.
He rarely called her by her first name, but he thought it was somehow fitting, given the intimacy they’d shared earlier that day in her office.
She wanted what only he could give her, what he’d given her a taste of earlier. He’d glimpsed the desperate need to be mastered in her eyes as he’d bared her ass and disciplined her. That look had been there all day, and he could almost feel her desire for him to punish her again pouring off her in waves. Dinner had been torture, cleaning up afterward—pure hell.
He ached to master her, to dominate her, to force her complete surrender and claim her, but he wasn’t sure if she was truly ready for what he would do to her.
He’d never been this uncertain about a woman, a submissive, before. But with Katherine, things were different. Today in her office, their relationship had changed, but he was the one who would determine if it was temporary or something more permanent.
Katherine—always-in-charge Katherine. He blew out a long, shaky breath, his hand curling around the stiff flesh of his cock as the water peppered his skin. What would it be like, feel like, to have her beneath him, completely bound as he rode her body and watched her surrender to him—body and soul.
He stroked his hand up and down his hard length, slow at first, but as the image of her grew sharper, he pumped his ruddy shaft harder and faster. He could hear her cries of pleasure, soft, feminine, wanton. Her breath hitching as he pushed inside the dark, tight tunnel of her wet flesh, her warm, full breasts flattening against his chest, her nipples piercing his torso.
Seth clenched his eyes shut tighter, his head falling back against the bathroom tiles. It was a fantasy, but he could almost taste her on his lips, smell her, the sweet scent of her perfume. Her cunt was plush, tight, wet around him as he sank into her over and over again. Seth groaned, tightening his hand around his cock as he jacked himself faster. Every muscle in his body corded, his gut clenched and he came on a swift jerk, a shattering cry echoing off the walls as he shot his seed in thick ropes against the tile.
He slumped against the shower and ran a hand through his hair, finally opening his eyes when his panting eased. He felt like a fool. Countless times he’d fantasized about Katherine, the one woman he could never have, the one woman he shouldn’t even dare to want. Katherine was ballsy, a real firecracker. She certainly wasn’t a submissive, probably didn’t possess a submissive cell in her body, and yet, she’d taunted him the night before, then in her office she’d revealed a side of her that hinted at more than just a passing interest in submission.
In the two years he’d known her, he’d never seen her yield or bend to anyone. How could he be so sure that in the bedroom things would be different? What if he was wrong about her? What if he introduced her to that part of himself he’d only shown a chosen few and she rejected it—rejected him? It would ruin their professional relationship, but there was more at stake than that. He wanted Katherine, and not just for one night, a brief sexual odyssey or even a passing affair—no, he wanted more, and from her, he would accept nothing less.
* * * * *
Katherine went to bed soon after Seth left the kitchen but she didn’t fall asleep. How could she? Her body pulsed with unfulfilled sexual energy. How could Seth tease her like that, then leave her hanging? Even her attempts at masturbation were useless. After coming so wondrously against his bulging cock, she wanted the real thing, not her hand. She wanted Seth.
It took her a long time to fall asleep, as pent-up sexual frustration kept her tossing and turning. So when she was abruptly awoken in the middle of the night, just after one o’clock, she was pissed.
She shot straight up in her bed, the blaring of her alarm wrenching her awake. Disoriented, her belly churned with fear as she breathed slowly, trying to gather herself. Within seconds, she snapped into action, reaching for the loaded .38 handgun inside the drawer of her bedside table. Chambering the bullet, she slid out of bed and tiptoed across the room.
Katherine listened for the sounds of movement but heard nothing, only the alarm. She slowly cracked open her door and, with hesitant steps, walked down the hall. She halted when the alarm abruptly stopped, her heart pumping wildly in her chest.
She turned the corner to her living room just as she heard someone shout her name. She raised her gun, screaming when she saw one was already pointed at her.
A sharp curse drew her attention to her intruder’s face and she lowered her gun with a startled frown.
“Seth?”
He flipped on the light and she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright glare.
“Of course it’s me,” he growled out. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”
“What the hell’s wrong with me?” She was incredulous. She’d done nothing wrong. “You’re the one who tripped the alarm.”
He glared at her. “I didn’t trip the damn alarm.” She yelped when he wrenched the gun out of her hands. “And what the hell are you doing with a gun, anyway? You could have gotten us both killed.”
His words deflated her anger in an instant and she began to tremble, now frightened, realizing that he was right. When the alarm went off, all she could think about was protecting herself. Disoriented and groggy, she’d completely forgotten Seth was in her home. She could have shot him—or worse.
“I bought it after the second note,” she muttered weakly. “I know how to handle a gun, and I’m a decent shot.”
He glowered at her but he must have noticed the trembling of her body because he tempered his voice when he spoke again.
“Wait in here until I get back.” He ushered her over to the living room couch. “I’m sure whoever was here is long gone, but I need to check all the rooms and the perimeter to see how he got in and if he took anything. While I’m gone, call Aaron and tell him to get LVPD up here now.”
Two hours later, the last of the cops were leaving Katherine’s hom
e. As far as they could tell, nothing was stolen and the intruder hadn’t broken in. Las Vegas’ finest were saying it was just a false alarm, that the equipment had probably malfunctioned, and told them to call the security company. Seth wasn’t buying it. He’d called Aaron who agreed to stop by and take a look after his shift ended later that evening.
Seth knew whoever was stalking Katherine was getting closer, their actions creepier, and it was only a matter of time before he acted out. Seth needed to figure out who they were dealing with so they could catch him before this asshole caught up to Katherine.
He glanced over at her sitting on the chair beside the couch. Throughout this whole ordeal she’d remained calm and composed, but he knew all of this was starting to wear on her. She stared with vacant eyes out the window, her hands clutching the teacup that had been empty for half an hour.
She looked up when he walked over to her.
“Let’s get you to bed.”
She nodded with a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and stood, setting the cup aside.
He followed behind her until they reached her bedroom. He was about to leave when he noticed she stood there in the center of the room, her arms wrapped around her body as if she didn’t know what to do with them.
“Katherine? You okay?”
She stared at him with wide brown eyes that held something in their depths he’d never seen there before.
“Katherine—”
“Will you stay with me—just for the night? I just don’t want to be alo—”
“I’ll stay,” he said immediately. Closing the door, he walked toward her, his heart beating faster with every step. “But where do you want me to sleep?” It was an innocent question, or at least that was what he’d tell himself later.
She blinked in surprise until desire darkened her eyes.
“Where do you want to sleep?”
In your bed, beside you, underneath you, inside you was what he wanted to say, but he said none of those things. “The floor is fine.”
“But you didn’t answer my question. Where do you want to sleep?”
He sucked in a sharp breath. Christ. All he had to do was say the word, tell her the truth. And yet, he held back. She’d been through a lot already. He didn’t want to take advantage of her when she was already so vulnerable.
“You’ve had a rough night and you’re not yourself. You need to get some rest.”
She looked away and he swore his heart stopped. “You’re probably right…it’s just that I thought—” She shook her head then as if to stop herself. “You know what? It has been a tough night and I’m not feeling quite myself—”
“Katherine.” His gut tightened and he cursed himself silently as he crossed the room, hating that he’d glimpsed a sadness mixed with disappointment in her eyes and knew he’d put it there. He gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face him. “I know what you’re thinking—”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you? Because I’m thinking you have no idea.”
He released a small breath in frustration, his sense of reason warring with his own desires. “I know you must think that I don’t want you—” Damn it, he wanted her, but he just couldn’t, not with everything she was going through, not when she was already so vulnerable. “But believe me, Katherine, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“The truth?” She wrenched out of his grasp and folded her arms across her chest. “Please tell me what that is because I’m clueless here, Seth. One minute you’re kissing me, punishing me, and then the next you’re pushing me away. I just don’t get it.”
He ran his hand through his hair. He knew that’s exactly how she would see things, but she was right about that last point—she didn’t get it. She didn’t realize just how hard this was for him—that if he took their sexual relationship in the direction they both seemed to want to go there would be no turning back.
“Tonight, after everything I’ve been through—that we’ve been through with these crazy notes and this intruder—” His gut twisted into knots when her voice broke. “I just didn’t want to be alone tonight.”
He pulled her into his arms, the expression on her face raising every protective instinct within him. She’d never admit it, but she was afraid. She hid it well, but it was still there in her eyes.
The warmth of her body seeped through his clothes, hardening his cock, and he let out a ragged sigh as he held her tight, fighting against his body’s desperate need to claim her.
“Katherine, you know if I get in that bed with you, I’ll do more than just hold you.”
She leaned back, her eyes flashing with a challenge that was dangerous for a man of his nature. “And what if I want you to do more than just hold me?”
He bit back a groan at her softly spoken question. “You have no idea what you’re asking.”
Her gaze never wavered. “What if I told you I know exactly what I want and what I’m asking for?”
“After everything you’ve been through tonight.” He shook his head firmly. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you, scare you—”
She frowned. “I trust you with my life,” she whispered softly, “I know you would never hurt me. I could never fear you.”
She had such faith in him, a trust that he refused to betray. What if he took her and he hurt her, scared her? What if—
“What are you so afraid of, Seth?”
He sighed. The desires of his body beat against him, demanding he claim this woman. But his sense of reason, logic, held him back.
“If you truly know about me and Joshua then you know what I want from a woman when I make love to her. If I take you, Katherine, I will have your full surrender, and nothing less.”
Of all the reactions he’d anticipated, he’d certainly never expected her eyes to twinkle with mischief and a grin to curl her lovely lips.
“Oh, I get it, you’re afraid I won’t submit to you?” Her eyes flashed with defiance and he knew her next words would seal their fates. “I never would have expected that from you. After all, what type of Dom are you if you can’t make your woman obey?”
Chapter Four
Katherine had baited Seth on purpose, but it had been a high-stakes gamble because she had no idea if he would take the bait or leave her high and dry. But then again, she was the owner and CEO of a Las Vegas casino, high-stakes gamble should be her middle name.
Seth’s eyes flashed from gold to silver beneath the sliver of moonlight that peeked through the curtains, and her heart stuttered in her chest at the deep gravel of his voice when he spoke. “You’ve pushed me too far, Katherine. I’m done with your games,” he warned as he stripped off his shirt and pulled his belt from the loops of his pants.
“If this is what you want, then I will give it to you, but when this is over, remember that I warned you.” He stepped behind her. “On your knees, right now, and put your hands behind your back.”
A fresh wave of juice flooded her pussy at his command, but she hesitated. She ached to experience Seth’s mastery over her body, but what if she didn’t enjoy it, what if—
“I said get on your knees, Katherine,” Seth whispered from behind her, his warm breath fanning her neck.
She’d blatantly taunted Seth, and more than once. She reasoned the time for reservations had long passed. On wobbly legs, she slowly lowered herself to the floor with her hands behind her back. He took her wrists in his calloused hands and easily secured them with his belt. When he was done he stood to admire his work.
She shivered as she watched him watch her. In many ways, he was still the Seth she knew, stoic and unflappable, but there was also another man present who she’d met only once before. That Seth was full of arrogance, a sexual confidence that came from knowing when he made love to a woman, he pleasured her fully, he mastered her and claimed her completely. Her nipples tightened and her breasts throbbed at the thought that the man before her would see to her complete satisfaction, although she knew he would also take his pleasure from
her body until she had nothing left, and yet still, he would take more.
She yelped in surprise when he ripped her nightgown from her, leaving her completely naked before him and his hungry gaze.
He undid his pants, pulling out the thick hard length of his swollen cock. She whispered his name just as he came to a stop before her, but he shook his head.
“You are not to speak unless I tell you. You are not to come unless I tell you. And when I do give you permission to speak, you are to call me Master, is that understood?”
“Yes—” She stopped at the frown on his face, realizing he hadn’t given her permission to speak. Instead, she nodded, which earned her a smile.
“You’ve always been a quick learner.” He cupped the back of her head with one hand, the other curling around his thick flesh. “Now open your mouth and show me what other lessons you’ve learned.”
Katherine had wanted this, waited for this, yearned for it for so long until her fantasies of Seth dominating her had dominated her dreams. Apprehension still pulsed through her, a small fear of the unknown, of what was to come, but her desire was stronger than it all.
With a soft sigh, she parted her lips, her eyes closing as he fed her the full, thick length of his cock. She swirled her tongue around him, earning a harsh groan from Seth. Her head bobbed back and forth, taking him all the way inside her, to the back of her throat. He tasted of sweat and all man and she licked him eagerly, inhaling the musk of his arousal until it filled her lungs. She sucked him harder, deeper, her lips wrapping tightly around his thrusting cock.
He drew in a sharp breath, his shaft twitching inside her mouth. Precum beaded on her tongue and she eagerly licked it from him, swallowing the tiny drop, her greedy mouth begging for more.
“Shit, Katherine,” he groaned out, low and deep.
Seth’s hand in her hair shook, and for just a moment she savored her feminine power over him. Her pussy throbbed, the wetness between her thighs making her needy. She longed to touch herself, to ease the dull ache at the center of her core, but with her hands bound she was helpless, powerless, completely at his mercy. She whimpered as heat crawled inside her belly, clawing at her.