The Matchup

by Alice Ward

  Lucas’s face fell, but only for a moment. He met my gaze, and something deep in my stomach twisted. “I hope not.” He held out the box.

  With trembling fingers, I took it with as much hesitation as I would take a snake. Just as warily, I opened it and took out the card.

  Good afternoon, Ava and Lucas,

  CHALLENGE #12

  Too Sore to Walk and Too Submissive to Talk

  The submissive partner must endure a night of passion, pleasure, and pain administered by the Dominant.

  Your challenge begins at five o’clock.

  The rules of BDSM apply. Be safe and have fun.

  My hands were still trembling, this time with anticipation, but he didn’t know that. “You created this?” I looked at the clock. It was four-fifty.

  “Yes. I created it before I knew you. I wanted to mess up Mason. I knew he shied away from this sort of thing.” He stepped toward me, and the hair on my arms stood up. “But you didn’t, Ava. You wanted me anyway.” His eyes blazed with heat and hunger. “Do you still?”

  God, I did. Restraints and all.

  The thing was, I knew there was more than whips and chains between us. I knew he liked being challenged by me. Liked when I took over. If I could accept him for who he was, he could accept me. And we’d find the middle ground that pleased us both.

  And I trusted him. I… loved him. Wanted him. Needed him.

  We could make this work.

  I still had hope that some day, he would want something more along the lines of making love, but until that time I would bend a bit to have the man I loved in my life. None of us were perfect. We would be imperfect together.

  “Yes,” I whispered. When I looked up at him, the temperature of the room soared, a white-hot flame burning in my belly.

  “And you trust me?”

  “Yes.” Another whisper.

  In a way, I wanted it, this crazy excitement of not knowing what he was about to inflict on me while at the same time knowing he would never really cause me significant pain. All I would have to do was tell him to stop, and I knew with all my heart that he would.

  Lucas reached out, ran his hand lightly through my hair, taking a lock in his hand and studying it as he spoke. “There are a few basic rules you’ll need to follow tonight. First, it’s a silent submission exercise, you’re not meant to make a sound. I can leave you to be non-vocal on your own, or there are devices I can use. As a Dominant, it’s my choice, what I do to ensure your silence. Tonight, I’m your master. You may not disobey me, or you risk forfeiting the challenge.” His eyes were brimming with a dare.

  “Agreed.” I swallowed, my mouth salivating at his words.

  “Do you still have the BDSM outfit you designed for tonight.”

  A shiver went through me. He’d watched me design the outfit. Had he been thinking of this very moment while he did?

  “Yes, Lukas.”

  My nerves were all over the place as I found the outfit and changed. Until I saw myself in the mirror, looking like a kinky biker chick who lived in a very hot climate. I looked tough. Badass.

  It occurred to me then that I was those things now… tough and badass. I’d graduated from the New York School of Design, participated in a BDSM contest with snippets of footage featured on Hedon.com. Occasionally someone recognized me. They never said anything, but I could tell by the look they gave me that they thought I was brazen. The woman staring back at me from the mirror was brazen. She was a hardened survivor who had the ability to take on New York City and kick some city butt.

  She was me.

  “Ready,” I called out, and Lucas instructed — ordered — me to go to the living room.

  In the long, draping leather coat I’d designed, coupled with a velvet bustier that barely held my breasts in, letting the slopes of my milky white skin pour over the top, I walked into the room. His eyes took in the black silk tap pants that barely covered my ass cheeks and defined every centimeter beneath. The thing that I was nervous about was the band of leather at my neck and the metal ring dangling from it.

  “We’re going to start, Ava. Do you have any questions before we do?”

  I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. Willed my pulse to slow as I waited for his instructions.

  “Good. I want you to kneel in the middle of the living room floor, bend your head to the carpet, and spread your legs with your hands behind your back. I need to prepare a few things. If I come out and you’re not in that position, I will punish you.” His voice was much more strong and commanding than it’d ever been with me before.

  But I nodded, trusting him, and followed his orders. He went back into the kitchen, and I could hear him rustling something around. Maybe choosing tools from that damnable red and white box.

  I was in the position he’d instructed me to be in when his footsteps sounded in the room. I was proud to have obeyed thoroughly and tried to peek through my legs at him. What I saw — Lucas with his shirt off, wearing only his slacks — made me draw in a sharp breath.

  He moved until he stood in front of me then used his finger to lift my head until I was looking him in the eyes. “I’m glad that you trust me, Ava. You should. I won’t do anything to hurt you. However, I don’t trust you not to speak, especially to implore me or pull me in with your words. So…” He pulled out a piece of linen knotted into a ball, with long ties at each side. “Open your mouth.”

  I hesitated, looking at the thing and wondering if this was a ball gag.

  “Let’s not start this evening with a punishment. Ava, open your mouth, now!”

  My natural instinct was to argue, to tell him where he could stuff his ball gag. But I took a deep breath and surrendered.

  Surrendered to him.

  For us.

  I opened my mouth as he leaned down and placed the knotted part of the gag in my mouth. It hit my gag reflex, and he pulled it forward a little before tying it tight. It was a bit uncomfortable but nothing I couldn’t handle.

  “Maybe if you’re really good,” he drew out really, “I’ll loosen it some, but it’s already less than I’d prefer.”

  On my knees, with my attention directed at him more now than the gag, I noticed there was quite a bulge in his pants. My pulse tripped, and the gag made it difficult to disguise my increased breathing.

  “Since you won’t be able to speak, I’m providing you with a set of bells.” He took the bell bracelet out of his pocket and rang it for me. “This will be tied to your wrist. If for any reason what we are doing becomes too much for you or you want to stop, you need to ring them three times. Like this.” He rang the bells with a sharp hand motion, three times fast. “As soon as you ring them, we’ll pause the game. Nod if you understand.”

  I nodded slowly, wondering if he was testing me to see if I had what it took for the long haul.

  “Stretch out your arm.”

  I did as he said, and he tied on the bells. Next, he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a leather leash.

  I closed my eyes. Trust him. I trust him.

  “You’ll do exactly as I say tonight, Ava, or you’ll be punished. Punishments will graduate in intensity. They can be very uncomfortable, so I suggest you not do anything that would warrant a punishment. Nod your head if you’re ready.”

  I cast my eyes to the floor to hide my fear and excitement and dipped my head once.

  “So, we’ll begin. The first thing I’d like you to do is stand up, remove your jacket and tap pants, you won’t be needing them, but leave the corset. When you take them off, do it as if I’ve made no promise to pleasure you tonight. Take them off in a way that’ll make me want to fuck you.”

  Heat spread through my limbs at the thought of raising his desire piece by leather piece. I met Lucas’s eyes for a moment and saw something that gave me a rush of confidence. Love. Strength and… humor? He’d never been amused by this type of thing before.

  “Ava!” he scolded when I didn’t jump at his command.

  I ro
lled my hips, letting my eyelids veil my eyes, and within moments I was the seductress as I undulated, gyrating my pelvis from side to side as my fingers hooked in the waist of the silk shorts and slowly slid them down my long, lean legs.

  Wiggling my hips, I ducked out of the jacket, making sure to push my tits way out for his viewing pleasure.

  “Walk over to the dinner table,” he commanded. “Yes, perfect. Now, bend over it with your arms and legs spread out like you’re my dinner.”

  I’d seen this kind of thing on the website, so I knew just what he was going for. I did as I was “commanded” to do and wasn’t the least bit surprised when the cuffs came out, and I was locked into place, my breasts smashed into the cool wood.

  When he had me all tied up, he started the first of the evening’s many tortures, slapping my exposed ass. I writhed against my restraints, mostly for show, but I really did worry about any upcoming pain. However, since I’d already been tied up, I knew what to expect, and it wasn’t as scary. I breathed through it.

  Since I was restrained with my face pressed against the polished wood of the dining table, I couldn’t see what was coming next when he’d had his fill of spanking me.

  “You’re doing great, Ava,” Lucas said above me. “Now, we’re going to start with something easy.” He smoothed his hand over my stinging ass.

  Something warm and wet glided up my center, and it felt delightful. I waited for the pain to come. Waited while something warm and wet glided back down and dipped into my entrance. His tongue. He was lapping, circling, teasing my clit with his tongue. The unexpected pleasure of it made my muscles tighten, and I threw back my head, drew in a hissing breath.

  His touch felt good. I’d missed his fingers on my thighs like they were now. The caress of the man I’d fallen for. Still, I waited for the pain that was second nature with the BDSM stuff.

  His fingers left my thighs, and I tensed, sure this was the moment he would make me scream. But when they came back they were only warm with oil, oil he slathered my folds with. Before he trailed kisses over my ass and upward, then licked all the way up my spine and to my neck. My breath caught in my throat, and my teeth clamped down on the gag in my mouth. The obstruction somehow raised the thrill factor.

  His hot breath in my ear made me shiver. “You’re so beautiful.” His hand slipped down my arm to the restraint, flicked, and my wrist was free. Then the other, then my legs.

  When I was free, he slipped his oiled finger inside me as his mouth devoured my neck. Two fingers, in and out. He smoothed his hand over my hot ass cheeks and again, kissed them. It was so sweet, the sensation of his fingers scissoring open inside me as I was pressed to the cool kitchen table by his weight over me, his bare chest pressing against the skin of my back. My heart raced frantically as warm oil oozed between my legs, a weird sensation that kept me from going over the edge.

  His body shifted over me, expertly diving one hand into my bodice to find an aroused nipple. His fingers played with it, and for a second, it felt like he was making love to me. That familiar, tight knot in my stomach appeared, heat building, flushing through every cell. I was on the verge of a hard, merciless orgasm. But he’d commanded me to not speak or make a sound, to do only what he commanded. In the past, he’d forbid me from coming, so I didn’t know what to do. I was confused that he’d untied me.

  I panted, breathing through my nose, and clung to the edges of the table, trying my very best to hold on to the orgasm.

  “Yes.” His voice was deep and sounded in awe as he plunged two fingers deeper inside.

  I threw my head back and cried out around the gag, clamping my legs around his hand to keep from orgasming, but he somehow managed to pump his fingers in and out anyway. His hand delved into my hair, untied the strings, and I spit the gag free of my mouth. Inhaling deeply, I took a chance. “Please, oh Lucas, please, can I come?” My words ended at a high pitch as I gritted my teeth together.

  “Yes, Ava, yes. Come for me. You don’t ever need to ask again. Just come for me.”

  I came so hard, every muscle in my body quaked as the room spun around me. I had no control over the sounds coming out of my mouth as he hit my g-spot and my hips came up off the table. When I finally was only shuddering, his hand turned my face toward his. I’d absolutely never come so hard in my whole life, and I tried to catch my breath as I looked into his eyes. Eyes that held something different, but I was too dazed to figure out what right now.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Lucas

  “Lucas?” Ava stared up at me with pleasure-glazed eyes.

  I couldn’t have held back the flood of love that rushed into my being if I’d been the coldest bastard on Earth. Scooping her up into my arms, I carried her to the couch, where I sat with her on my lap and wrapped her in the soft throw. I had been the coldest bastard on Earth, but this amazing woman accepted me anyway.

  It was now or never. I needed to let Ava see exactly who I was, who I’d been and who I wanted to be. I hoped that she could think of us in terms of the future.

  “Having Isabella win the snowmobile competition handed me my masculinity on a platter. Having a sub dominate me shook everything I thought I knew about myself and the person I thought I was. And not just her… but you too. It sent me over the edge just enough to have me questioning everything.”

  Ava opened her mouth to say something, but I pressed a finger to her lips. She nodded, letting me know she could wait.

  “Questioning who I was,” I went on, stroking my fingers through her hair. “Who you were. Questioning you with Mason. Uncle knew what he was doing when he set up the competition. He was exactly the man I was becoming, and he wanted to make sure I became something else before it was too late. It all started to dawn on me at the chalet — that’s why he pitted Mason and me against one another. It was to make sure we’d become better men than he was.”

  Ava closed her eyes, and a stab of panic went through me. It was classic Ava to smile through anything, and her lips had barely flickered since I’d arrived. Stress bubbled up, almost unbearable.

  I forced my mouth open, forced myself to talk. “I know my penchant for the dark things, coupled with my behavior, may have ruined this, what we have.” I leaned into her, buried my nose in her hair and inhaled lavender and sugar. “But Ava,” I looked into her eyes that were watching me carefully now, praying I had the strength to say the words. “I love you. I realize I’ve been a complete ass to Mason for a very long time, and closed myself off to anything good in my life that didn’t turn a profit, but I—”

  “Lucas.”

  I wasn’t ready to hear her beautiful voice say the words I knew were coming. The ones that would send me back out her door for good. I couldn’t imagine ever being able to drink her in with my eyes, never feel the silkiness of her skin beneath my fingertips. So I didn’t let her speak.

  “I love the way you smile.” She smiled that lazy way she had every day after I’d ravaged her body at the chalet. “I love your body. I love how brave you are. I love how talented you are. I love that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’d love it if our child had your eyes one day.”

  Tears brimmed in her eyes as I spoke, and her words came out in a rush. “I love you too, Lucas. It’s just, we’ve known each such a short time. You don’t know me outside the chalet, in my real life. Our lives are and have always been so different. I think a slow integration would be best.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled as she gazed into my eyes.

  “I just don’t want to lose you,” I said, unable to keep a note of sadness from my voice.

  “Letting me be who I am isn’t losing me, I promise.” She laid a tender kiss on my lips as I rolled her onto the couch beneath me.

  “You promise, we’ll have this chance?” I held her tightly as I listened carefully for her answer before I lost myself to the call of her bare skin.

  “Yes.” She brushed her hands over my chest as I shed my pants and slid inside her and int
o the perfect rhythm that was just us.

  I’d spend every minute of every day if necessary falling in sync with her, letting time show her that the gap between our lives didn’t matter at all. That this would work.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Ava

  We’d had a great deal of couple’s time at the chalet, and we’d been together every night since he showed up at my apartment. So, for Valentine’s Day, Lucas and I decided to do the family thing instead. I’d flown my sister in for the weekend, and she was staying with me. Lillie was so grown up now, and so excited to hit the big city for dinner.

  I loaned her one of the cocktail dresses I’d designed, and we met our group at the Rainbow Room and were seated at a table with a fabulous view of the city skyline.

  Lucy was dressed in a chic new suit, looking stern when Harvey made eyes at my sister. I had no idea how she’d forgiven him for the heart attack sham, but she seemed to have him on a short chain, and he looked pretty damn happy about it.

  Harvey’s reading glasses dangled on his nose as he looked at the menu then shot a glance at Sylvia, who was practically dancing in her chair. “Is there something you’d like to discuss?” He was a billionaire businessman through and through, the one with too much to do and too little time for another person’s feelings at first glance. But underneath, he was all teddy bear. I could see now where Lucas got his outlook on life, but Lucas, with his extreme personality, had just let his life circumstances take his lifestyle too far.

  At that moment, nothing seemed more wonderful or ideal than being here, surrounded by these people. When I’d left the hospital the night of Harvey’s fake heart attack, I thought maybe this whole thing was meant to jump start my engine, get me to appreciate what I had. I was ready to start my own boutique and hoped that I might even find someone just like Lucas one day, without Evil Lucas lurking in the shadows.

  The trouble was, I didn’t want to find someone just like Lucas. I wanted him.

  In the past week, we’d spent a lot of time together, and we were so in tune, naturally, like at the beginning. Every day we became closer.