by Zoe Mullins
Her cheek to the mattress, she whispered, “Yes Sir.”
The sight of her bound wrists against her lower back made his cock twitch. He could smell the sweet aroma of her arousal. She was ready. She had given herself to him in every way except marriage, and he knew one day she would give him that too.
His hand slid down the crease of her ass, pausing on the starburst that he wanted. He had warned her that he going to take her ass. He’d been the first, and he would be the last. He had spent the last few weeks teasing her, retraining her. He needed to be inside her.
She wiggled her ass back at him. A little tease. He rewarded the wiggle with a hard wallop. She groaned, arching into him even more.
He walked away from the bed, standing to the side where she could see him. He stripped off his clothes. He slid one hand smoothly over his torso to his hard cock. It stood straight out from him. He ran a hand down it and palmed his balls, squeezing them together. They felt full and needy too.
He watched her bite her lower lip as he pulled the condom over his aching shaft. He headed to the dresser to get the rest of the toys, then knelt on the bed behind her. “You know what I want tonight.” He felt the dark edge of his desire clawing at him, telling him to take her. Possess her.
He watched a shiver ripple through her body as he eased a little lube between the crease of her ass. He watched it slide down to her pussy.
“It’s cold,” she murmured.
It would be, he thought, since the room felt as if it were one-hundred degrees. He added some more, two fingers working it inside her. “I am going to be so deep inside you, you will never let me out.”
“Jackson.” She pushed back against his hands. “Master, please. Fuck me.”
He rimmed her with the plug, teasing her, before sliding it inside. He watched the plug sink into her. Its girth readying her ass for him. He was a lot wider than anything she’d taken so far, and longer. He couldn’t wait to be balls-deep inside her.
The vibrator buzzed as it came to life in his other hand. He slid it between her legs, teasing her pussy, rubbing it over her mons, but not giving it where she wanted it. Where she needed it, against her clit, tapping that steel barbell. He continued to slide the plug in and out, fucking her with it.
She started grinding down, as much as her position would allow her, searching for the vibe in his palm. Her actions became more feverish, rocking back on the plug, then arching forward for the vibe. “Please.”
“You needed this baby.” He rolled the vibe over her clit, from side to side. “You need to come.”
She moaned and thrashed and screamed her need to him. Begging for release. He gave it to her. Releasing the column tie, he brought one of her hands down to her pussy, giving her the vibe so she could press it just where she needed it. “Come as much as you need,” he whispered to her before releasing her hand. He wanted her relaxed and ready for him.
He felt her body shiver as she came, and he slid the plug out, replacing it with his own cock. He felt her body yield to accept him. He heard the catch in her breath when her body stopped fighting him and let him in. He held himself there a moment before he began to gently rock in and out. She took a little more of him each time.
“Please,” she begged as he tortured her with a slow, gentle fuck.
“Please what?” He smacked her hip.
“Master.” She hummed. “Please, Master. Fuck me.”
“That’s what I’m doing, Caitie-girl,” he assured her. “You just have to trust me. You feel so amazing. I’ve missed this so much.” He was at the edge of his control but he wouldn’t hurt her. He wanted to be deep inside her but he wasn’t there yet. He added a bit more lube and pulled her hips back. He watched her body stretch to take him. “That’s it, baby. Take all of me, just like that.”
She melted against him. Opening herself up, body and soul, and he cherished the gift she was giving him. He covered her back. One hand holding the wrist that supported her on the mattress, the other gripping her hip, as he began to quicken his pace, sliding easily now.
He heard her drop the vibe, it buzzing against the mattress. She braced herself with both hands as he took her, harder and faster. He felt his orgasm rushing up his cock. “Again, Cait, come again.” His fingers dug into her hip as she clenched down on him, crying out as she fell over the edge with him.
Time passed as he cuddled her to him, his cock softening inside her. “Stay. I need to clean us up.” He kissed the top of her head and rolled off the bed.
He washed his hands in the bathroom, caught off guard by the face that looked back at him from the mirror. He wasn’t young and arrogant as he had been when he first took her. He liked to think that the gray in his hair and the lines around his eyes meant he maybe had learned a thing or two.
Like what a precious gift her trust and submission was. It wasn’t something he could demand because he knew better. It was something he had to earn. He had to prove, and continue to prove to her that he could give her what she needed.
He liked to think he was a kind Master who always had his sub’s best interest at heart. But no one tested him like Cait. And no one made him feel like a hero with just a smile. He would test her, push her boundaries, give her rules that she would hate and relish at the same time. He would earn the submission she yielded so sweetly.
He braced his hands against the sink and took a deep breath as it sank in that she had said yes. His collar was resting against her throat. She was giving him—giving them—a real chance to do it right this time. He swallowed hard against the rising emotion in his chest. He wasn’t going to fuck it up.
Chapter Eighteen
She fingered the collar around her neck. It had been an uneventful couple of weeks, at least from the point of view of the vandal. Granted Jack, Ben or Sophie was always with her, except when she was in the studio, but nothing else had happened. It had been quiet. Even though they now split their time between his place and her cottage, their lives had fallen into an easy rhythm.
Cait felt as if she was home, and for once she knew what that meant. Where once the intimacy that Jack needed from her, the trust had frightened her, she wasn’t scared any more. She relished knowing how much he needed to take care of her, and her heart ached to take care of him too. There were no barriers between them. No history they couldn’t overcome together.
He hadn’t stopped trying to push her boundaries and she was loving every heart-stopping moment. That didn’t mean they had invited Ben back to play. But there had been no lasting embarrassment between them either.
Part of her felt guilty to have fallenback into a relationship with Jackson so quickly. She had promised herself she would be strong, and independent. But with the exception of making sure she had protection, which she appreciated, he hadn’t tried to take over. Not anymore than her other friends had and she realized it was because she was important to them. She was important toJackson.
And wow, wasn’t that a wonderful feeling. She shouldn’t be getting a second chance at love, but she had been lucky.
She had been lucky with the studio too. It was nearing its first-quarter anniversary. She had a good clientele made up of her regulars, those with packages and memberships, and the seasonal drop-ins. She had been asked to lead a workshop next month on the beach as part of the St. Augustin Day celebrations. And one of the water sport instructors from the marina had suggested she look at offering paddleboard yoga once a week.
Of course, that would mean that Cait was going to have to spruce up her own paddleboard skills. Her board had been sitting out back since she had returned to town and she had yet to put it in the water.
“Maybe I should ask Jack if he wants to take a run out?” she wondered aloud.
“A run out where?” Sophie asked, slipping in from the back.
Cait started at the voice behind her. “Weeping Jesus you frightened me.”
Sophie laughed. “Sorry, babe. Didn’t mean to. I guess I should start using the front door. You should
probably keep the backdoor locked.”
She sighed. “It’s July. I’ll be damned if I’m going to start locking the patio door during class hours. We are on the beach. I’m paying a premium for the sound of the surf and the breeze off the Atlantic.” She mimed air quotes around sound of the surf and breeze off the Atlantic because that was the argument Sophie had given her to convince her to spend just a wee bit more to get this place.
“I know. It’s just that…” Sophie shrugged. “I worry.”
Cait smiled and hugged her friend. “I couldn’t ask for a better friend. You know that.”
Sophie held her tight, stroking her hair. “Me too, babe.” They broke apart, but not all the way, their arms loose around each other. “So what were you thinking about when I came in?”
Cait frowned and dropped her arms. “That I was lucky. Even with this vandalism shit going on, I’m feeling pretty lucky.”
“Being in love will do that.” Sophie traced her finger over Cait’s collar. “I am so happy for you.”
Cait smiled. “Once I stopped arguing with myself and just let the past go, it fell into place. It feels so right.”
“Way to embrace the Thich Nhat Hanh teachings.”
“Don’t make fun.” She elbowed Sophie.
“I’m not.” Sophie laughed. “No really, I’m not. I’ve seen a big change in you since you expanded your meditative practice, and accepted that having a Master doesn’t make you a slave.”
“I just realized that the biggest obstacle wasn’t the past, or Jack or Logan, or moving back here. The biggest obstacle was me. Take me out of the equation and the path seemed really clear.”
“I hate you.” Sophie poured herself a cup of tea. The scent of the organic peppermint tea lingered refreshingly in the air. “If I take me out of the equation, where does that leave Ben and me?”
Cait continued to unpack the box of new Lolë jackets. “All other issues aside, do you love him?”
“I can’t push all other issues aside. He’s younger. He’s a Dom. I’ve had cancer, which has complicated things physically and sexually for me.” She shook her head. “And then there’s Chet.”
“But what if you could?” Cait held up her hands. “Just think about it. What if none of that mattered?”
“But it does,” Sophie complained.
“Really? Do you think he wouldn’t take the time you need to prepare for intercourse? Does he really seem that selfish? You forget who you are talking to. I know why you want control. Do you think he would run roughshod over that?”
“Look, missy, I came here for the tea.” She raised her hand, stopping the conversation before pointing at the tea. “Not for a lecture where you throw everything I once said to you about Jack back at me.”
“Yeah, cause you were so wrong.”
“You in love are really annoying.” She mimed air quotes with one hand as she began walking toward the frontdoor. She was laughing as she did. “I am just going to take my tea and go back to the bank.”
“And stew about what I said.”
“Maybe.” Sophie winked before walking out the frontdoor.
Cait laughed. Was it too much to want her best friend to find the same happiness she had? She didn’t think so.
She put the jackets on hangers, grabbed the pile and moved them into the boutique. When she heard the screen door slide open again at the back she called out. “Ah, ha! You already decided that I was right.”
“No. I don’t think you are right. In fact, I don’t think you’re lucky at all.”
Cait stiffened. She knew that voice, and it wasn’t Sophie. “Shit.”
* * * * *
It had been a long morning as Jack sat in the town hall meeting to hear the discussions on the redevelopment of the community arena. The town was divided on what the citizens wanted and what the communitywanted. Jack knew the budget for design and reconstruction was going to fall somewhere in the middle. Having already won the contract to develop the concept, it was going to take all his innovation to come up with a plan to satisfy everyone.
He pulled up to the house, hoping to change his clothes. The morning may have started out cool, but it was warm now, and he wanted to change into a short-sleeve shirt and lighter pants before he began an afternoon of site visits.
Seeing the unfamiliar car in the driveway, he knew this wasn’t going to be the quick stop he had hoped.
“David,” he called to the man waiting on his front porch with a baby in his arms. His niece was playing in the front garden. “What’s going on?”
“Can we go inside and talk?”
Jack nodded, his instincts on high alert. His sister’s husband looked like hell. Worry lines creased his brow and there were deep circles beneath his eyes. He tossed a K-Cup into the Keurig for David, and set up Layla in front of the TV watching Frozen.
David was rocking the baby in his arms and pacing when he came back to the kitchen.
“Now tell me, what the hell is going on?” Jack demanded.
“I wish I knew,” he said earnestly. “I thought some timeaway was all she needed, you know. A change of pace and a chance to see you and your parents. Get away to the sea. I was okay with that, you know. I didn’t fight it.”
Jack knew. He had been surprised at the time. “But she’s become more erratic on the phone. Sometimes she’s yelling at me, other times she sweet as pie.”
“Just start at the beginning.”
“I would if I knew where the beginning was. I just…” He broke down, tears filling his eyes. “I think something really bad is about to happen. I could hear it in her voice last night, and when I drove down this morning.” He stopped pacing. “She had left the kids home alone. Hank was screaming in his crib. Layla was crying by the window.”
“Suzie left the kids home alone.” Jack’s tone was icy and he felt fear clutch at his gut.
“I don’t know how long, but it took me nearly an hour to calm them down and clean them up and she still wasn’t home.”
“Fuck.” Jack pulled out his phone and called his mother. “Mom, I need you to come over now. It’s important.” Jack knew that his tone alone would have his mother at his door in minutes.
He turned back to David. “Did she say anything when you were talking to her last night or before then? Anything that would make you think she could hurt herself or the kids?”
“She was high strung during this pregnancy, but our doctor said that wasn’t unusual. She would be fine after the baby was born. And she was so happy when Hank was born.”
Jack could hear the but coming on and kicked himself for not seeing that she wasn’t just stressed.
“She’s been going on and on over the last couple of months that she missed out. That she let the love of her life slip through her fingers. He was dead before his time, and that wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t let him go. That she was going to be true to his memory.”
“Wait. Back up and go slow,” Jack demanded. “Did she say the love of her life was Logan?”
“I don’t know. That may have been it.” David started pacing again. “But I can tell you in the ten years we’ve been together, she’s never mentioned any other love of her life.”
“Fuck,” he cursed again. “What else did she say?”
“Man, I stopped listening.” He shrugged in defeat. “I was just so happy to have a break from it when your parents came to pick her up. I was like ‘go pine for your lost love’. I know that was shitty of me.”
Jackson didn’t comment on that. “Did she say anything else? Anything about Cait?”
The front door opened softly. “Okay, what did I miss?” Rebecca asked, looking from David to Jack and back again.
“Yeah she mentioned a Cait.” He nodded. “So Cait is a real person?”
“She’s my girlfriend. They have history.”
“Fuck,” David cursed. “Last night she was jonesing for a fight with her.”
Jackson let out a deep, unsteady breath. “Mom, you and I are
going to Cait’s.” He grabbed his keys from where he’d dropped them on the counter and stormed by his mother.
“What about me?” David asked, looking at his mother-in-law.
Rebecca looked at David and the kids. “I would say wait here. It’s as good a place as any.” Then she dashed out after her son.
* * * * *
Cait still had the jackets in her hands when she turned to look at Suzie. “Hey, Suzie. You come in the back door?” She tried to sound casual, not wanting another fight with Jackson’s bitch sister.
She kept one eye on Suzanne while she hung up the jackets. “If you’re looking for a class schedule there is one on the desk. There’s not another class until four, but if you come at four we’d still be at your parents in time for the barbecue at six.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” Suzie told her. Her voice cold and even.
“Yeah, it’s a beautiful day out. Wish I could be at the beach. Hey, you should take the kids to the beach before the barbecue. That might wear Layla out.”
Cait watched uncertainly as Suzie cocked her head to the side quizzically, as if she didn’t know what Cait was talking about. “Not that Layla needs wearing out, but as you said the other day, she has so much energy.”
“Stoptalking.” Suzanne narrowed her eyes and held up a hand like a stop sign. “You don’t get it do you?” She moved from the studio doorway toward the front counter. It was a move that effectively cut Cait off from the frontdoor.
“Did you know I loved him first?” she asked Cait. “Did you know he was supposed to marry me?”
“What are you talking about?” Cait was getting worried now and began to move slowly around the boutique, trying to angle toward the studio door. She looked over the half wall and saw that the patio door had been left wide open.
“I told him. On graduation night. I told him that I loved him. That I would wait for him.” Her voice broke with strain.