More

by Lea Griffith

  Just the way Tobias liked her.

  Her hair was braided and had been pinned up. She wanted to feel every stroke over as much skin as she possibly could. Her neck was healed for the most part. Gallo hadn’t cut her deep the second time either, and she healed relatively quickly.

  A fact she now mourned, because she wanted to feel Tobias’s marks for a long time.

  “Let do this,” she said firmly.

  Candace hit the emergency stop button again and the door swished open. Radiohead’s “All I Need” began to pump from the speakers and everyone stopped talking. Ruthie allowed Candace to lead her to the Gold Stage, followed her up the stairs, and turned toward the bar. He was there; she could feel his gaze like a tactile caress.

  “He’s watching you. I can’t tell if he’s turned on or angry,” Candace murmured in her ear. “Everybody’s gone now, including my Finch. Let’s get you your man.”

  Ruthie nodded and lowered her head.

  “Take off your skirt, sub,” Candace said above the music.

  The beat took Ruthie deep and dark, much like her passion for Tobias. Already she was wet. The anticipation beaded her nipples under the corset. The rub of them against the silk of the corset was a torture all its own. Ruthie unzipped the skirt in the back and slowly stepped out of it. This left her in her heels and corset and nothing else. The cool air wrapped around her legs and stroked her heated pussy. She almost moaned.

  “Turn around,” Candace demanded.

  Ruthie obeyed and Candace led her to the St. Andrew’s Cross. “He’s at the stage, but his face is blank. I can’t read him,” Candace said in her ear.

  Ruthie shivered again, knowing he was close, unable to not respond to his presence.

  “Lift your hands, sub,” Candace demanded.

  Ruthie felt the pounding steps up the dais. She lifted her hands.

  “Step out of the heels.” It was Tobias, all hard demand and gruff need.

  “You did it,” Candace said, then she left and Ruthie was alone with her Dom.

  “You want to play, sub?” he asked her.

  She didn’t respond. He hadn’t given her permission.

  A sharp bite on the soft skin of her shoulder. Ruthie’s breath hissed in.

  “Answer me. You’ll use the words tonight, sub. I want you to tell me how everything makes you feel, am I clear?”

  “Yes, Sir,” she answered automatically.

  He ran a hand down over her hips, along the curve of her ass and then between her legs, playing with her anus, taunting her. Then he tapped her sharply on both globes.

  “I want to know how everything feels, sub. Tell me, do you like it when I touch you here?”

  “Yes!”

  Another tap, the sting nowhere near what she craved.

  “Yes, Sir!”

  He unsnapped her corset. “It’s a lovely corset. Had you spoken with me first, as you should have, I would have told you not to wear it.”

  “I’m sorry, Sir,” she replied.

  “Looks like everything is set up perfectly. You’ve gone above and beyond, and yet all you really had to do was talk to me. This,” he said patiently, “wasn’t necessary.”

  “It was, Sir,” she replied.

  “You’re being incredibly disobedient, sub, but I’m going to allow it because I want to know why you thought it was necessary.”

  “Because, Sir, you abandoned me. You’ve left me hanging, floating in need, and I had to let you know this way because it’s what I needed.”

  “You’re telling me I haven’t been taking care of you? I lie beside you every night, holding you close, loving you in the most gentle of ways,” he said in a brittle voice.

  Ruthie choked back a sob. “But I don’t always need gentle and I haven’t felt you inside me in weeks. It’s torture, Tobias, knowing you’re right there but refusing to give me what we both want.”

  He pulled her corset off and she heard the heavy thing hit the floor. She was completely naked now. Tobias ran a hand down her back and then around to her front, pinching one of her nipples until she yelled out.

  “So good, Sir,” she said loud enough to be heard over the music.

  “Well, then, little sub, since I’ve neglected you, allow me to remedy that,” Tobias said. The music was loud, but she knew he was probably rummaging through his play bag.

  As the song began to replay, there was a lull in the music and the snap of a whip sounded. She jumped.

  “You aren’t ready for the whip, sub. But the crop? Oh, I remember how much you like my crop. Let’s play, shall we?”

  Ruthie nodded.

  The crop fell.

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “What’s your word?” Tobias asked ruthlessly.

  “Red,” she said. Then, “Sir!”

  He laughed. “I’m not tying you, but if you drop your hands from the handholds, I will stop. For me, that’s a safe word. So if you like my crop, you won’t drop your hands, understand?”

  “Yes, Sir,” she responded immediately. Ruthie wanted to yell at him to hurry up—she wanted the bite and the heat and pleasure.

  But Tobias took his time and the longer he waited, the more anxious Ruthie got. Was he fighting himself? Fighting her? Her hands were sweating and she grabbed even harder to the handholds, her arms tiring and her legs shaking.

  Ruthie dropped her head to the wood of the cross, and that’s when he struck.

  She yelled out, couldn’t help it, the surprise and sting so furious her eyes watered. Then it fell again, this time on the top of her ass. Over and over he let the crop fall and the sting disappeared, becoming a nearly unbearable heat.

  The music pushed into her ears, combining with her screams and driving her even higher. He moved from her ass to the backs of her thighs, an area Ruthie was sure was her favorite erogenous zone. She winced with every fall, cursed him with a few, but how she flew, her pain becoming pleasure so beautifully.

  She lost count of the strikes, unable to even form a coherent response when he asked, “Do you want more, sub?”

  She could only nod, her breath and voice gone—that’s how lovely the heat was.

  She heard the snap of a flogger, and then he went to work on her back, first the stinging followed quickly by the thudding flogger, and she was transported beyond ecstasy to a place she’d never imagined.

  Her hands never fell, because even when the sting bordered on a deeper pain it was pleasure. She craved more and that’s what she yelled out.

  “Your skin looks good and reddened from my crop and floggers, sub,” Tobias said, and he was breathless. “You’ll take everything I give you and love it, won’t you?”

  There was wonder in his tone and no small amount of disbelief.

  “Yes, Sir, because even when it hurts, it’s so good. I need it. I crave it. More!”

  And he gave it to her until her skin could take no more and she was lost. He stepped behind her, canted her hips back to him, and entered her. She screamed again, begging for release now, the feel of his jeans rubbing her burning ass and the backs of her thighs as he thrust against her almost too much. He grabbed her shoulders and leaned back. This pushed him deeper.

  She was sweating and panting, running a race toward completion, needing the colors to burst in her mind and free her.

  “Give it to me, sub. Give me everything,” Tobias demanded.

  And she did, exploding around him, her body demanding his do the same. Her pussy clutched at him, and he cried out behind her, a single word. “Ruthie!”

  It was a benediction to her insecure heart. It was verification that she wasn’t alone and that coming here tonight had been the right thing.

  “You safe-worded,” he said in her ear, his lungs billowing like those of a sprinter.

  She wanted to say something but coherent speech was beyond her, so instead she mumbled, “Nunh-unh.”

  “You dropped your hands. I win this round. We’ll try again after these marks heal and see if you can hold your own,” he
promised her.

  The tears came then. He was promising her a future.

  He’d almost broken her, but as he picked her up in his arms and took her up the elevator to her apartment, she knew he’d put her back together.

  He cleaned her up, gave her water, and applied the Tiger Balm. He lay down beside her, his hand stroking her hair, and he told her how much he loved her.

  How she had always been his light in the darkness.

  Ruthie let him talk. Time was something she’d give him for the rest of her life, because she loved him as much as he loved her.

  They were silent for a long while and she thought he’d drifted off, but she had one more thing to say.

  “You told me you wanted more,” she whispered, tears clogging her throat. “But all I can give you is me. I hope it’s enough.”

  He sipped her tears away, his big hands cradling her face, his thumb rubbing over her lips. “I did want more. But my more is you. It’s always been you, Ruthie. You’re my everything.”

  She fell asleep beside the man who’d become her Dom and she knew a peace she’d never imagined.

  All because she was Tobias’s more.

  Epilogue

  Tobias was nervous. His hands shook, and he kept adjusting his tie because it felt way too tight. He’d come to her studio with a purpose and he had no idea if she’d accept him. He just wasn’t sure if she was ready.

  He pushed aside his own doubts and grounded himself in Ruthie. She had to know he was there, but she continued to paint as if he weren’t.

  He watched the sun play in the ebony strands of her hair and remembered the things he’d said to her in this studio a few months ago. How he wanted to take her on these hardwoods, fuck into her while she screamed his name. He’d have to make that a reality soon. Her crystal gray-blue eyes sparkled in the light and he knew he had the best thing going.

  He was constantly afraid she’d wake up beside him one morning and realize she’d taken a step down to be with him. His pocket was heavy with his hopes and dreams and he reached in, stroking the smooth gems and praying.

  “Are you going to acknowledge me?” he asked finally.

  She started and her hand went to her chest. She hadn’t known he was there, which meant she’d been so involved in her painting she’d lost her surroundings.

  Tobias stepped around the easel and glanced at the portrait. “You’re still painting her?”

  “She haunts me, Tobias,” was her only response.

  Tobias kissed her neck and said, “You haunt me.”

  She laughed and lifted her face for deeper contact. Tobias obliged.

  His hands were shaking again.

  “What’s wrong, Toby?” she asked as she grabbed his hands and brought them to her face.

  He cradled that precious face, knowing his heart would belong to her for eternity.

  “I love you, Ruthie. With all that I am, I love you.”

  She cocked her head and lowered his hands. “I love you too, baby. What’s wrong?”

  He pushed his fears aside. It was now or never. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, it’s never been more right.” He emphasized the word more because that’s what he considered her.

  His more.

  “I want you forever. I want to be your Dom, your Master, and Ruthie, I want to be your husband,” he announced.

  Her mouth fell open. “Are you serious right now?”

  “Yes.”

  Long moments passed and he became lost in her beauty. He found himself content to just stare at this woman who’d healed the biggest cracks inside him. She was everything he’d ever wanted or needed, and he still had a hard time believing she was his.

  Confusion passed like a cloud over her face. “Are you asking me?”

  He smacked his forehead and lowered to one knee. Ruthie went on her knees before him.

  “No, no no!” he exclaimed. “I’ve got to do this right.”

  “I love you, Tobias. If you kneel then I’ll be right there kneeling with you. That’s how much I love you,” she stated.

  “You’re my more, Ruthie. I’ll never love anyone the way I love you. Will you marry me?”

  “I’d like to see the ring, please,” she said seriously.

  He smiled. “Open your eyes,” he responded.

  “They are,” she reminded him.

  He smiled, she giggled, and Tobias put first the red diamond choker around her neck and as he’d thought, it looked amazing against her skin. He’d never be able to look at it without thinking of his marks on her. Perfect.

  Then he lifted her hand and slid an enormous red diamond solitaire on her finger. “Well?”

  “Oh, Tobias, if you have any doubt about my answer, I’m not doing something right. Yes, yes, yes! A million times yes!” Ruthie said on a joyous shout.

  Tobias tugged her to her feet and wrapped her in his arms, taking her mouth under his and making his promise the old-fashioned way.

  “I love you, Ruthie.” It was his solemn vow.

  “As I love you, Tobias.”

  His heart clicked into place. He had pushed her away but she’d returned. She’d given him everything and he’d spend the rest of his life doing the same for her.

  “Daly will lose her shit. She said you’d never ask me, that I’d have to ask you,” Ruthie teased him.

  He’d known about Daly’s bet. He’d rub it in her face later.

  “Oh, and we have to call Vince and Julio. They’ll be thrilled,” she said with a laugh.

  Tobias winced, glad she couldn’t see it.

  “I saw that, Tobias Edwards,” she whispered.

  Tobias realized she was touching his face. Damn, he couldn’t hide anything from her.

  He groaned. “I’m not apologizing. Vince is entirely too handsy and Julio is just a flirt.”

  She laughed. “They so are. Mimi will be over-the-moon happy. So when’s the big day?”

  “I’ll leave that up to you because I could carry your ass down to the courthouse, marry you today, and be just fine.”

  She smiled, and it was that special smile that told him he’d made her happy. “Let’s do it,” she said.

  “Seriously? I thought you’d want something more than an elopement.” Surprise colored his tone, but he couldn’t help it. With her he really was an open book. She’d split him wide open, taken his fears and scattered them. Ruthie had freed him with her love.

  “Just like you, I’ve already got my more, Tobias.”

  He took her mouth then, drowning in her.

  One thing inevitably led to another and before he knew it, he was driving them downtown. Tobias pulled some strings, got them a license, and within two hours they were Mr. and Mrs. Tobias Edwards.

  And he not only had his more, he had everything.

  BY LEA GRIFFITH

  All or Nothing

  Too Much

  More

  Never Enough (coming soon)

  To You.

  Yes again.

  For all the reasons I didn’t list last time.

  And to my readers…I hope you come back to me for more.

  Acknowledgments

  I simply write the book—it’s my editor and publisher who make it what appears before you here. Thank you to the lovely Sue Grimshaw and the entire Loveswept/Random House family. I’ve pulled up a chair and I’m staying, okay?

  I have to shout out to my amazeballs agent, Nicole Resciniti—your belief in my writing keeps me motivated. Yes, you’re a demanding wench, but I’d have it no other way.

  To my dear friends Becca Jameson and Nulli Para Ora—you kick much ass. Thank you for letting me drink wine and bend your ear using incredibly inappropriate words, any time. Okay, maybe all the time. Your support means more than I think you know.

  To my family, who supports my writing in all ways but especially by not complaining when I put on my headphones and zone out on the laptop. I love you, and without you none of this would be worth it.

  Last but not least, no auth
or is an island, but I might be a peninsula, and my street team is holding down my landlocked side. To the entirety of G’s BadAssAssins—much love and appreciation. I think you’re all a little bit insane, but it means I’m in great company.

  PHOTO: BENTLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

  LEA GRIFFITH began sneaking her mother’s romance novels at a very young age, cutting her teeth on the greats: McNaught, Woodiwiss, Garwood. As she got older, her need to devour all genres of romance—including contemporary, paranormal, and sci-fi—grew. Now, when she’s not working her day job, you can usually find her at her keyboard, using every spare second to write. She lives with her husband and three teenage daughters in rural Georgia.

  www.leagriffith.com

  Facebook.com/LeaGriffithWrites

  @LeaGriffith

  The Editor’s Corner

  February is the month for romance, especially at Loveswept…because this month we have a little something for everyone.

  Sure to please fans of erotic romance, Lea Griffith’s All or Nothing series returns to the deepest places of longing and obsession—don’t miss More. In Sidney Halston’s latest sizzling MMA romance, Below the Belt, a former title contender turns the tables on his knockout trainer with a lesson in seduction. New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff is back with another Ethan Frost novel, featuring the irresistible leading man from the New York Times bestsellers Ruined and Addicted in Exposed. USA Today bestselling author Sawyer Bennett hits the ice with the story of a playboy athlete whose winning ways lead him to a beautiful woman with a lot to lose. You don’t have to love hockey to enjoy Garrett, the next book in Sawyer’s Cold Fury Hockey series. Another of our Loveswept USA Today bestsellers, Mira Lyn Kelly, cranks up the heat for two lifelong friends whose most secret longings come true in every delectable way in Touch & Go. And later in the month, in Lavinia Kent’s luscious, erotic historical romance, a free spirit learns her true desires from a master of the heart, of the body—and of the sweetest discipline. Check out Bound by Bliss. Ashlyn Macnamara finishes up this month of romance with a blazing hot novel, What a Lady Requires, the story of mismatched newlyweds who discover a simmering connection.