A View to a Thrill (Masters and Mercenaries Book 7)

by Blake, Lexi

  “Flatten out your back and don’t move.”

  What was he doing? “Simon?”

  A hard smack to her ass. “Don’t question me. You have a safe word. You can use it. Until then, flatten your back.”

  She did as he asked. Yoga lessons were definitely in her future. So was a whole lot of rehab. If he didn’t take her back, he would have to watch her change because she wasn’t going to slink away and hide. She was done with that. He’d brought her into the light, and she wouldn’t go back to the shadows.

  “This is going to be cold. Don’t move or I spank you again and we’ll start over.”

  Her brain nearly short fused as she realized what he was doing. Warm hands parted the cheeks of her ass and then she felt something cool and slippery. “Holy shit. Are you plugging me?”

  “Yes and if you move again, I’ll grab the ginger lube. I really wanted to. I want to punish you, but this isn’t about punishment. This is about preparation. It’s a small plug. You’ll wear it for a few hours and I’ll move you up to a bigger one until you can take me.” The evil bastard was already pressing against her asshole though he wasn’t using a plug yet. His fingers were massaging in the lubricant. He worked in slow circles, opening her up bit by bit.

  Pressure built, but she didn’t complain. Simon wouldn’t hurt her. Anything he’d done to her before had brought only pleasure. And she had to admit that she wanted him to take her in every way possible. She wanted to submit to him because she could, because he was worthy. Now that she thought about it, he’d submitted to her for months. He’d been patient and kind, allowing himself to be teased and taunted and frustrated by her. Most men would have given up, but not her Simon.

  She groaned as he gained ground, his finger just sinking into her asshole before coming back out again. He rimmed her, sinking in a little and then massaging her before pulling back out and starting the process again.

  It was hard to stay still, but somewhere along the way she found an odd strength to it. She was doing what made him happy. It was only okay because he’d earned it and wouldn’t abuse it. She wouldn’t ever be able to do it all the time. She had to be an equal partner in life, but this was something different. This was something just for them. There was a deep intimacy in knowing she would only ever do this for him. If he left, she might be able to take another lover some day in the distant future, but she would never ever take another Dom.

  “Relax for me.” His voice had deepened, and she wished she could see him. She loved watching his eyes heat up and those sensual lips of his curling in desire.

  She took a deep breath and let her body relax. She wanted this. She needed this, needed to be open to him.

  She felt it all along her spine as he pressed the tip of the plug to her and pushed it inside. Electricity seemed to spark up her backbone and the pressure flared as he dragged the plug back out and then slowly pushed it back in again.

  “You like this. You should see what I see. You should see how pretty this is. It’s going to be so much better when it’s my cock your little hole is trying to strangle.” He placed his hand on the small of her back as he fucked the plug in and out. In and out.

  He was going to drive her insane.

  Just when she was about to beg him for more, he pressed the plug deep and it stayed there. He sighed and stepped away. She heard water running in the sink.

  “Wear it until I tell you it’s time for it to come out. If you lose the plug, there will be punishment and I’ll apply the ginger lube. It burns, but it will serve as a reminder to not lose your Dom’s plug. You can get dressed again.”

  It took a moment for the words to sink in. He was leaving her like this. The bastard. The fucking bastard. He’d gotten her all hot and bothered and now he was going to punish her by walking away and withholding affection.

  She managed to stand, though her legs were a bit stiff. She breathed through it and got ready to tell Simon where he could shove his fucking plug. And then she watched him. His movements were stiff, lacking his normal grace. He was turned away from her as he washed his hands and cleaned down the countertop, but his back was stiff. He was hurting too.

  For months and months she’d let him get close only to push him away again and again. Didn’t she owe him that patience she’d promised her sister? It was time to act. She’d spent her entire life reacting. She never thought, simply got mad or hurt, never considering the other person’s feelings. A child. She’d been a child, but if she wanted him, she had to become something more.

  “Can I make you some tea, Master?” A simple gesture and yet he was always the one to ask if he could bring her coffee or a snack when they were in a meeting. Never once had she returned his kindness.

  He stopped and turned slowly, as though he was afraid of what he might find. “What did you say?”

  She stood in front of him, naked and vulnerable and calmer than she could have imagined. He wasn’t calm. Underneath his placid demeanor he was a storm of emotions, and she’d put him there. She’d brought back all his old fears and only she could make them go away again. He needed her. “I asked if I could make you some tea.”

  He stared at her a moment before asking a question of his own. “Why?”

  “Because I think you would like it,” she returned evenly. He was obviously going to be stubborn, but she had to get through it.

  “I told you to get dressed.” He was staring at her breasts and there was no way to miss the erection he was sporting.

  Now was the time for honesty. “I’m terrified of bending over, Master. I think I’ll try to find a robe or something. I really should have thought about tossing my clothes on the floor.”

  He was suddenly in her space, backing her to the wall and pressing his body to hers. “Why are you doing this?”

  He was close again. She’d worried she would never feel this close to him. “I love you, Simon. I want to be good for you. I want to make you tea when you’re tired and I really want to keep this plug in so you don’t get mad at me.”

  His hands tangled in her hair, tugging her head back so she was forced to look up at him. He stared straight at her, his mouth faintly cruel. “It won’t work. I’m done, Chelsea. I won’t trust you again.”

  His mouth hovered over hers. It didn’t feel like he was done with her. His words were meaningless against the slow grind of his cock against her belly. “I’ll earn it this time. I didn’t earn it the first time. It was a gift and I didn’t understand what I was missing. I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, but I love you.”

  “You chose Ten.”

  “I thought I was saving you, but maybe it was the easy choice to make, too. I won’t say that’s not possible. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to hide. I’m done. I found the one thing worth fighting for.”

  He chuckled but there was little amusement in the sound. “Are you trying to say that’s me?”

  More honesty. “No. It’s me. You made me realize that I matter, that I have something to give you and it’s not mine to throw away. I love you. That love is yours. It’s not mine. It’s simply the truth. I love Simon Weston and I’m going to do everything I can to make him love me back.”

  “It won’t work, but I’ll take the sex.” He turned her around. “Hands on the wall.”

  She wanted to kiss him, wanted the intimacy of being face to face with him, but a beast was raging in her Dom and he needed the distance. He needed to tell himself this was merely sex, but she knew the truth. He couldn’t stay away, wouldn’t be able to if she really opened herself. Her own fears had been his ally, but the war had turned.

  She heard the drag of his zipper, the tearing of the condom, but the time between those sounds and the feel of his cock pressed against her pussy was lightning fast, as though he couldn’t stand another moment.

  He’d been so gentle with her before and now he was rough, the other side of the man. He gripped her hips and shoved his cock inside in one hard thrust.

  So full. Oh, between the plug i
n her ass and the massive cock invading her pussy, she could barely get a breath.

  He fucked her hard, never relenting a second. The minute he fucked inside, he dragged himself right back out. All the while she felt the pressure of the plug and the way his dick jostled it, bringing to life nerves she hadn’t known she had. She pressed back, not wanting to lose the feeling.

  “That’s right. Fight me for it,” Simon groaned as he slammed inside again. “You don’t get an orgasm without earning it.”

  She pushed back, catching his rhythm. Heat flushed through her system. She could feel him pounding into her and she pounded right back, giving as good as she got. “More. God, Simon, I need more.”

  “I knew it would fucking be like this.” He brought her up on her toes with his next thrust. “You’re so fucking tight. I can’t last, but don’t think I won’t be back. For as long as this op lasts, you’re mine to fuck and discipline and I’ll take you three or four damn times a day.”

  His hand moved from her hip to find her core, his thumb pressing on her clit.

  The orgasm flashed like fire through her body. She couldn’t contain her gasp or the little scream that came after. She yelled out his name, and in that moment she didn’t care who heard her. He was all that mattered, and maybe that was the way it should have been from the moment she knew she cared for him. She’d placed everyone else first.

  As he stiffened behind her and thrust in one last time, she vowed to put his needs first, before her own because that was what people in love did.

  He slid out of her and stepped back, and she heard him toss the condom in the trash and zip up. “Get dressed.”

  He was cold again, but she saw through him. Or maybe she was naïve, but she preferred to be naïve when it came to him. She stepped up to him and put her arms around him. He stood still in her embrace and after a moment, she backed away. He wasn’t ready yet.

  He bent over and picked up her clothes. “There’s a shower in back if you want to clean up.”

  “Thank you.” She took the bundle he offered her. It was going to suck to get into those clothes and not lose the freaking plug. “Can I make you some tea?”

  He stopped and turned again as though remembering why he’d come back in the first place. For a second she was sure he would tell her no and walk away. “Thank you. I like…”

  “One sugar, no milk.” She’d watched him enough to know his habits.

  “Yes.” He started out and then turned back. She was in his arms again, enveloped by him.

  He kissed her on the top of her forehead. “This doesn’t mean anything. It’s just after care.”

  Oh, but it felt like love. “Yes, Master.”

  He straightened up, fixing his tie. When had she started finding suits so sexy? “Don’t lose the plug.”

  He turned and left and Chelsea happily made tea. Naked. It gave her deep pleasure when Ian walked in, made a vomiting sound and ran away.

  Her day was looking up.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Simon paid for the private boat with a credit card Adam had approved and turned back toward the dock. The office he stood in was slightly gloomy and he could smell the sea, but the light outside was brilliant even this late in the afternoon. He had to breathe a sigh of relief. Their passports had worked perfectly and he had yet to detect anything out of the ordinary, but he was nervous. He glanced outside, the reason for his nerves currently looking at the Adriatic.

  Chelsea stood with Charlotte on the dock outside Marco Polo airport waiting on the private boat that would take them to Venice. In the past, she always looked a little lost when standing in a crowd. Her eyes would be on the ground, but this time, her face was turned up to the sun and it lit her a little like a halo.

  What the hell game was she playing at? She wanted to fix his tea and play house with him?

  Wasn’t that exactly what he’d wanted from her the whole time? Not exactly the fixing his tea part, though it had felt nice and rather domestic to have her bring it to him. It was all about her bending the slightest bit. Didn’t he want to show her that they could work? When he’d taken her on board the plane, she’d been everything he’d hoped she would be. Fierce. Giving. Loving.

  Why couldn’t he believe it?

  “Could you ease up on the nudity thing when it comes to my sister-in-law? I nearly hurled.”

  Ah, the dulcet tones of Ian Taggart. Luckily he had an answer for his boss. “No.”

  “Seriously, all I get is a no?”

  “Yes. My sub. My rules. You can stay out of it.” No matter what happened, Ian wasn’t going to be in control of his relationship. He was certain Ian thought he was the head of the family, but Simon wasn’t so sure he was family yet. Possibly never. He would always be waiting for her to walk away and it wasn’t as if she’d said she’d stay with him. She’d simply told him she loved him. He knew better than anyone those three words didn’t mean a person would stay with him.

  “So you two are all right? You’re going to keep her so she doesn’t show back up at my place again?”

  He was so bloody nosy, and Simon wasn’t convinced that this was all about keeping her out of Ian’s hair. “We have a contract in place and she insists that I honor it. That contract is over the moment we solve this case and she’s safe. After that, I assume she’ll be wherever Ten places her.” And that would be classified. He might see her again, but it would be sporadic and never for long. She would be far too valuable for Ten to let her keep her own place. She would likely live in Agency approved quarters. “What has Adam learned about Chelsea’s flat?”

  Ian stared at him for a moment, but then sighed. “I should have known you would be the tough one. British reserve and all. All right. He’s popped into the CCTV around the area. Cannaregio. One of the quieter, more residential areas of Venice. It seems like Charlotte bought the flat in full and set up a routine maintenance plan. Apparently this was what they did those years they were running. A cleaning woman comes every two weeks and dusts and wipes down counters. She keeps things in ready in case one of the owners returns. She has a key and so does the super for the building.”

  They began to walk out as the line moved. Simon could smell the ocean. From this vantage they couldn’t see the city, only the waters of the Adriatic that would take them to the lagoon. “Would they leave any packages in the flat?”

  “No idea,” Ian replied. “I don’t know if she would have to sign for it. They have all kinds of taxes on products coming into Europe. It’s possible it’s still at the post office because there wasn’t anyone home to sign. The Italian postal service is fucked up, man. Do you know the one place you can’t buy a stamp in Italy? Yeah, the freaking post office. Great food, weird services.”

  Americans always thought their ways were the best. Though he’d seen Italian post offices, so he didn’t disagree. “We can’t just walk in.”

  Ian pulled his ball cap down as they walked into the sunlight. “No. I looked through some of the surveillance footage Adam tagged. I don’t like it.”

  He should have done that himself, but he’d been busy flying the plane. “Anything suspicious?”

  “A little glint of light that goes off from the same angle every fifteen minutes or so.”

  Hell. “So they have someone watching. How do they know? The property isn’t in her name.”

  “Her friend could have told them. I think that’s likely. Or they found the address on his computer. I don’t care how much he resisted. Everyone breaks in the end,” Ian said.

  It was frustrating to not know. “Then why are they parked outside her flat? Why haven’t they just taken the bloody evidence?”

  “I have a theory but you’re not going to like it.”

  He knew what Ian was going to say. “They want Chelsea as much as they want that package.”

  Sometimes it was hard to be in love with one of the world’s greatest criminal masterminds. He stopped. He had to stop thinking that way. He hadn’t really been in love with her. He’
d been fascinated by her because he had a soft spot for hard cases. Anywhere he went, he was always drawn to a challenge. He needed to be necessary and that was the bane of his existence because she certainly didn’t need him. She was strong and once she decided to, she would be so strong she might never need anyone again. She would disappear into the work Ten gave her and cease to need affection at all. She would become the robot she’d always bloody wanted to be. No one would stop her.

  So why had she stood there naked and vulnerable and offered him tea. Stupid tea. Why had it tasted better because she’d made it? Why had it made him feel good?

  He pushed it all aside as he considered the problem. “We have to get her out of this. The Collective is known for giving up arms to save the body. If we can figure out what company is involved and expose them, it’s likely The Collective will leave her alone. They won’t need her anymore if they think we’re satisfied with taking down the single entity.”

  Ian nodded as they approached the women. “I think we have to go for the throat, but only of the company involved. We’ve seen that they don’t have a problem cutting their agents loose when they fuck up. We have to hope it’s the same here. Simon, you know I want to take them down.”

  “We can’t. Not now. They’ll use her as a pawn.” And he couldn’t allow that to happen. No matter how much he wanted to crush the whole organization, he had to protect her first. “I know she’s your sister-in-law. We’ll play this your way.”

  “So I’m taking over the op?” Ian’s voice got tight.

  Simon turned. This was his out. He would give it over to Ian. He could still help, but he wouldn’t run the thing. He wouldn’t be in charge of her. Oh, bugger all. “No. It’s mine and you know it.”