“Dieu m’aide, Maîtresse!” His shoulders shook with tired laughter as she rubbed her hands over them. His chest heaved as he fought to calm his breathing. “I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard. Coo!”
Chance laughed with him. “You earned it.” We both did.
Chapter Five
“Cynthia, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were coming.”
Chance winced internally, and somehow conjured a smile for her mother. It wasn’t her fault they hadn’t given her enough heads-up to make it halfway across the Quarter before they were seated. But her father’s quiet smile made up for her mother’s annoyance. Until Belinda opened her mouth, anyway.
“Jaden’s going to be crawling soon, I know it. He’s so smart, like his daddy.”
Chance made a point of keeping her eyes on the menu she’d picked up and avoided looking at her sister. “That’s great, Bels. Speaking of your little tagalong, where is he? And Darren?” She actually genuinely liked Belinda’s husband, a quiet man who took all of her sister’s high-strung qualities in stride. Chance was surprised not to see him.
Belinda smiled at what she perceived to be a compliment. “Darren took Jaden back to our room to change him. He’s so good about helping out. It’s such a shame you haven’t found someone to settle down with yet. Isn’t it hard being single? I don’t think I could stand it. Having Jaden is everything I wanted.”
Chance resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Belinda’s obvious one-up tactics, but almost lost the battle when their mother chimed in.
“At least you’re seeing someone now.” The unspoken finally was still clear. “Why didn’t you bring him to dinner? I’m sure we’d all like to meet him.”
Dammit. Despite knowing better, she’d hoped her mother would have let it go. Chance smiled sweetly and did her best to answer nonchalantly. “He’s a Marine, and he’s on duty tonight.” She watched Belinda sniff skeptically. “But he’s free for lunch tomorrow and is looking forward to meeting all of you.”
Lies, Chance Gordon. You had to beg him to come. And he only agreed if you’d think about telling them.
Belinda pursed her lips, then turned back to her menu. “Can’t wait. You know, Jaden made the most adorable noise this morning, I swear he’s trying to talk…”
Chance let her gush, then asked safe, boring questions of her parents. How was the flight? What did they think of New Orleans so far? What were their plans? The last was interrupted by their waiter, who came to take their order. And while Belinda gushed to the waiter, ordering for both her and Darren, Chance let her mind wander.
Landry’s training was coming along quite well. The man was such a natural it was ridiculous. All he really needed was to know the rules. And he certainly had the art of pleasing a woman down. Her core ached simply thinking about the things his tongue could do, let alone his—
“Cynthia!” Her head whipped up, only for her to see her mother staring, brows creased in annoyance. “Honestly, have you heard anything I’ve been saying?”
Chance blushed. “Sorry, Mom. Things have been busy at work.” And had they. Between her routine clients and training Landry, she hadn’t had a lot of downtime.
“That’s a poor excuse for bad manners.” Her mother shook her head. “I was saying how nice it was to hear you talking about a man. It’s past time you settled down.”
Chance swallowed the familiar surge of annoyance. Her mother had always been of the opinion that working was all well and good, but marriage and children should be the end goal. Chance vehemently disagreed. “Mom, we’ve talked about this.”
“Oh please, Cynthia. Your sister has been married for more than two years and has a baby, and she’s several years your junior. It’s time you stopped playing around and got serious about life.”
“Mother—”
A plate of steaming food interrupted her tirade before she got started, timed perfectly with Darren’s arrival. Chance looked up at her brother-in-law and gave him a wan smile. It was probably a good thing they’d arrived when they did.
Maybe it’ll get Mom to back off.
As soon as the servers finished and Darren handed Jaden off to her sister, however, her mother picked right back up where she’d left off. “We’re not getting any younger, Cynthia.” Chance barely managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes. The constant repetition of the name her mother insisted on calling her and the inevitable guilt trip were classic moves. “I want to know you’ll be taken care of when we’re gone.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Chance didn’t even bother to avoid swearing. “I can take care of myself, Mom. I have a good job that pays well. I don’t need a man to fulfill some antiquated patriarchal expectations. I’m fine on my own. And if I do happen to get married, it will be on my terms, and not so he can take care of me.” She pushed away from the table and stood, anger making her shake, while her mother stared aghast. “Sorry, Darren. I know you just got here, but I can’t deal with this. It was nice to see you.”
“Cynthia Marie Gordon!”
“It’s Chance, Mom. Chance. Not Cynthia. You should know, you signed my birth certificate. If you hated it that much, you should never have agreed to it.” She took a slow breath, clenching and unclenching her fists. “Enjoy your dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her mother opened her mouth to protest, but Chance beat her to it. “And I swear, Mom, if you pull this again tomorrow with Landry, we’re done.”
Her mother closed her mouth, schooling her face into a look of indifference. “Fine.”
“Fine. And good night.”
Chance walked away, wishing it were as easy to walk away from their expectations as it was to leave a single conversation.
As it was, she’d pay for it tomorrow. Her mother would never let it slide.
Chance walked home barely seeing her surroundings. She was angry, angry at her family, angry at herself. This was her territory, her life. She’d left Michigan to get away from the ridiculous attitudes her mother propagated.
After unlocking the door to her apartment, Chance dropped her keys on a side table and stepped inside. Part of her wanted to call Landry. She wanted to beat someone, and badly. But taking her anger out on a sub was a huge no. Adrian would kill her for it, and she’d be pissed at herself when she finally calmed down. Besides that, she’d had a chance to look over Landry’s questionnaire, and pain wasn’t really his thing—he wanted order and discipline; he needed to please. Most of the time, pain wasn’t her thing either.
She took a deep breath. The alternative was obvious. Chance poured herself a glass of the shiraz Adrian had sent over as a welcome home gift, and headed straight for the bathroom. She was going to light a few dozen candles, have a nice long soak, sip her wine and dig into a book.
And God help anyone who disturbed her.
* * * * *
Chance was settling into the scalding water when her phone chirped an incoming message. She scowled at the table beside her tub, debating whether or not to answer. Or even bother seeing who it was. It chirped again while she waffled. Wrinkling her nose, she reached out for it, pleasantly surprised to see the text was from Landry.
Off duty for the night and checking in, Mistress.
A smile slowly spread across her face. Few things put her in a good mood like being called Mistress. There was power in that single word, and she loved it. She swiped her phone screen to reply and changed her mind at the last minute, calling him instead.
“Mistress Chance?”
“Landry Boudreaux.” She swirled the water with her foot, already in a better mood for hearing his voice.
Now what’s that all about?
She shoved the question away. “How was your day, trainee?”
“Full of reservists. How was yours?”
Chance leaned her head back against the rim of the tub and sighed. “My family made it to town. They insist
ed I come to dinner, where Belinda and Mom gave me the third degree. And then Mom started in about how it’s high time I was married, and I lost it.”
“Mais, you didn’t pull out a flogger and start beating them all in the middle of the restaurant, did you?”
Chance laughed. “No, but I almost wish I had. God, the looks that would’ve caused.” She shook her head and let out a slow breath. “I yelled and stormed out. Classic avoidance, though at least I made it clear how tired I am of it. But that reminds me, much as I hate going back for more, are you still available for lunch tomorrow?”
“I don’t go back on my word. I’ll be there. Though if you’ll forgive my saying so, you could simply tell them. Maybe then at least the marriage talk would stop.”
She sighed. “Possibly. And possibly it would only cause more problems. Heaven knows why you agreed to this. You sure you’re not a masochist?”
Landry laughed, and she shivered at the smooth timbre of his voice. “Just a sucker for following orders. And beautiful women issuing orders.”
“You are indeed, Sergeant.” She twirled a finger in the water and was suddenly struck by an idea that made her grin widely. “How would you like to follow a few orders right now?”
The silence on his end of the line grew heavy before he finally answered. “Mistress?”
“Are you alone?”
“Oui, Maîtresse.”
Chance shivered. She loved it when he slipped into the Cajun French he’d grown up with. “Get comfortable, Landry. And by that, I mean strip and find a place to sit. I think we both deserve a little fun.”
The water splashed softly as she put her phone to speaker and set it aside, then drew her legs up until she lay with them wide. She cupped her breasts, then slid her hands slowly down her body.
“You ready, Boudreaux? Oh, and put your phone on speaker.” She rubbed her hands up and down her stomach and thighs while she waited.
“Ready, Mistress.”
Chance smiled as the day’s tension drained out of her, replaced by anticipation. “Are you sitting or lying down?”
“Lying on the bed.”
“Good.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, hands still running slowly up and down her body. “No touching anything until I say. I want your hands at your sides, palm down on the bed.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Eyes closed.” Her hands traveled up, lightly squeezing her breasts, then wrapping around the back of her neck and down again. The water slapped gently as her arms moved in and out of it. “I want you to picture me as I touch myself. I want you to pretend you’re here watching. I’d have you restrain your hands, but you’re so good at following orders, you won’t need it, will you?”
“No, Maîtresse. My hands won’t move.”
“Good. I’m soaking in the tub. It’s a great old claw-footed monstrosity, nice and deep, and the water is scalding—exactly the way I like it.” She splashed the water a little, for effect. “I have my legs pulled up and spread wide, everything on display while my hands travel from my thighs to my breasts and back again, only touching. Have you got the image?”
A soft groan came over the phone, followed by “Oui.”
“Are you hard yet, Landry? Picturing me? Should I have you stand at attention?” Chance laughed, pleased by the idea. “Oh I like that. Stand for me, Sergeant. At ease. Are you standing?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Mmm. Close your eyes again, and don’t move a muscle. I’ve been tracing patterns on my breasts with my nails. It feels lovely, little swirling touches, but my nipples are feeling neglected. Picture yourself sucking on them, one at a time, worshiping them with your mouth.” She rolled her nipples, tugging at them gently. “Biting, even.” She added a few sharp pinches, then returned to tracing her nails around the soft mounds.
Chance pinched her nipples one last time, feeling a jolt of pleasure shoot straight to her core, then cupped her breasts again before smoothing her hands down the plane of her stomach. “I’m letting my hands slide down my torso now, slowly. Savoring the touch, pressing my fingers hard into my skin. My clit is throbbing with need, but I’m not ready for it yet. I want to enjoy this, to draw it out. I want you dying to touch yourself before I come.”
There was no reply from Landry, but she could picture him standing there, jaw clenched, muscles flexed, one hand gripping the other behind his back.
“Are you hard, Sergeant?”
“Yes.”
Her grin widened. “I’m running my hands over the juncture of my thighs, so close, but not quite touching. It’s maddening, in such a good way. Look down at yourself, and tell me what you see. How hard are you?”
Landry grunted. “So hard it hurts, Maîtresse. My bibitte, he’s standing at attention, nice and tall. He’s throbbing, he is.”
Chance sucked in a breath as she pictured him. Her pussy ached at the image of his dick straining and him waiting, immobile. Her hands slipped over her labia, a single finger dipping between them, and she moaned a little at her slickness even in the water. “Mmm, that’s a lovely image, Landry. So lovely I can’t help but bring my fingers to my center. But I don’t think my fingers are going to be enough now. Ideally, I’d take your dick. But since I can’t, I’ll have to improvise.”
She turned, lifting herself out of the water enough to reach the cabinet beside the tub. She kept a few toys there, for such occasions. She bypassed the waterproof vibrators, going straight for the large rubber dildo. “I may be about to make a bit of a mess. How does that make you feel?”
“Like I wish I really was there watching.”
Chance settled back in the water, wishing he was there too. She’d love to ride him hard and deep, making him hold off until he screamed. Which reminds me, I need to start training him to hold his release and come on command…
But not tonight. Tonight was all about her.
“I’ve got one of my dildos out, and I’m teasing the head along my clit. Imagine it’s you there, Landry, imagine the feel.” Her words, and the picture in her mind, were more of a turn-on than the dildo itself. “Now it’s sinking into me, slowly, so slowly…oh God, it feels good. So good. Are you aching yet, Landry?” She certainly was, with the dildo filling her up, and one finger drawing lazy circles around her clit.
“Dieu, it aches, Maîtresse.”
Chance didn’t bother to hide the moan of pleasure as she drew the dildo out and pushed it in again. “On your back, soldier. You’re going to get yourself off with me, nice and slow. You’re going to envision your hand as my pussy, and I’m riding you for all your worth.”
Landry let out a loud groan that Chance echoed, as they both began to pump. Their conversation became reduced to the sound of strain and pleasure, and the splashing of water, broken occasionally by commands to slow down, speed up or even halt altogether. Chance worked herself up, one hand on the dildo, one on her clit, until she teetered on the edge, then cruelly left them both hanging until she couldn’t stand it, and the water had gone from hot to tepid, and too much of it had spilled out onto the bathroom floor.
“Are you close, soldier boy?”
“God, yes.”
“Come for me, Landry. Come hard. I want it all over your chest and hands, I, I’m—oh!” The orgasm she’d put off again and again ripped through her, sending wave after wave of pleasure rolling over her. A moment later, she heard Landry moan and grunt, and in her mind’s eye she pictured thick ropes of white semen lashing out over his dark chest. She worked the dildo inside herself a few more times, coaxing herself through her aftershocks, and then finally lay still. “Mmm. How do you feel?”
He gave a small laugh. “Wrung out.”
Chance laughed. She knew what he meant. “That’s good. And?”
“I feel amazing.”
She smiled. “You should. Get some sleep, Sergeant. I’ll check
in with you tomorrow morning.”
“Goodnight, Mistress Chance. And thank you.”
Chance pulled the plug on the bath and stood on wobbly legs. “It was my pleasure.”
Chapter Six
Lunch was not going well.
Oh, her mother was being plenty gracious to Landry, if somewhat cold to her. Dad, at least, was making an effort. Belinda, however, was being her usual charming self, which meant that every other word out of her mouth was “Jaden this” or “Jaden that”, even though Darren did his best to steer the conversation away from the baby. While her mom was clearly still annoyed about Chance storming out the night before, she was at least easy to read. Belinda seemed…well, jealous.
Though why in the world she would be is beyond me.
Chance narrowed her eyes slightly, searching her sister’s face as she directed another comment about families and babies at her and Landry. She wasn’t sure, but something about her seemed off. Her sister was being too polite, and when she finally stopped touting Jaden’s praises, she was too quiet. With Belinda, that never boded well. Chance worried she was up to something.
Landry nudged her gently under the table, and she glanced at him, questioning. He quietly raised an eyebrow and nodded faintly in her sister’s direction.
“Sorry, Bels, what did you ask?”
“Daydreaming, Chance?” Belinda gave a small snort and rolled her eyes. “I asked how you guys met.”
Wouldn’t you like to know. The idea of giving her the unfiltered truth was appealing, if only for the shock value, but as always, Chance shut the thought down. “We met at one of the local clubs. A mutual friend introduced us.”
Belinda looked at her, waiting for more. “Wait, that’s it? God, you haven’t got a single romantic bone in your body, do you? Clinical and boring, as always. No wonder you turned into a therapist.” She shook her head and turned back to Landry. “Darren and I met in college. First day of classes my junior year. He very literally ran into me, goofing around with a few of his friends. Sent me sprawling, books everywhere.” She reached over and grabbed Darren’s hand, smiling at him. “But he was such a gentleman helping me pick them up again, insisting on walking me to class, then begging to take me out for drinks as an apology. He swept me off my feet.”
Bonne Chance: Bourbon Street, Book 2 Page 5