by Zara Chase
“They’ll be too small.”
“Try them.”
The camisole just about covered the tops of her tits, but when she leaned forward to eat he was hoping for a view of those enticing areolas, just to remind him of the treats to come. She appeared both astonished and a little bit pleased when the jeans proved to be a perfect fit.
“My ass looks huge in them,” she said, turning sideways and frowning.
“Your ass is gorgeous,” Ward replied, leaning in to nibble her neck. “And just so you know, it’s a sin to cover up your flat belly and slim waist beneath those tunics you favor. Put the shirt on, darlin’, tuck it into the jeans, and then belt it all in with this.” He handed her a soft leather belt with a wide silver buckle and grinned. “I might have to use the belt on your backside later on, but for now feel free to wear it.”
Her eyes grew impossibly large when she caught sight of her reflection. “I actually look okay,” she said, sounding genuinely surprised.
Ward laughed. “Modesty prevents me from telling you that I told you so.”
“Modesty?” She sent him a disbelieving look. “You?”
“Well, what can I say? Modesty’s for those with something to be modest about.”
“I had absolutely no idea that I could look like this.”
“Because you’re so fixated on the size of your ass and thighs you’ve forgotten all about your good points.”
She shrugged. “Perhaps.”
“Why do you wear those tunics? They actually hide the good bits.”
“Well, I was told—”
“Let me guess, by Melanie.”
“No…well, she often says that tunics are a good way to cover up but she never actually said I should wear them.”
No, Ward thought, she just said it often enough in your hearing for the seed to be planted. That was how controlling people worked. Drip, drip, drip—the odd remark, the occasional innuendo, was all it took to erode the confidence of someone as self-effacing as Tanya. It doesn’t matter, he told himself repeatedly. Why are you getting so wound up about it? She’ll be out of your life this time next week. Just make the most of the time that you do have together and stop trying to fix all the world’s wrongs.
“Of course she didn’t.” Ward wrapped his arms around her from behind and inhaled her sweet fragrance. “Come on. If we don’t get out of here right now, I’ll only rip all those clothes off you again and have my wicked way with you.”
She offered him a saucy smile. “Whatever my Master wishes.”
“I’m hungry. For some reason I didn’t get much lunch. I’m gonna take you out and feed you well because you’re gonna need lots of stamina for what I have in mind. But first let’s go downstairs and show off your new look to Melanie.”
“Oh, she won’t be there. She’s still a bit shaky and was going to eat at the hotel.”
“Bet you ten euros she’s in the bar.”
“You’re on.”
They made their way downstairs and entered the bar hand in hand. Leo and Ross were leaning against the counter, drinking beer. They looked up and waved. Ross whistled and beckoned them over. As they joined his buddies, Ward noticed Melanie in the center of a crowd of men, looking none the worse for her fall. She saw them make their entrance and did a double take at the way Tanya looked and the attention it was getting her. She narrowed her eyes and an expression of pure vitriol flashed across her pretty face. By the time Tanya saw her and waved it was long gone, but it had been enough to tell Ward he’d pegged her exactly right.
Chapter Ten
“Hey, Melanie.” Tanya gave her friend a hug. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Oh, the bath revived me and I figured I’m on holiday, so—”
“You look great. Much better.”
“Carl suggested we came here and I thought, why the heck not.”
Tanya felt disappointed when Melanie made no comment about her changed appearance. Her silence spoke volumes, causing all Tanya’s insecurities to come flooding back. Presumably she looked like a tart but Melanie was too kind to actually say so. Thankfully Melanie couldn’t know that she had a plug up her backside, sending shivers of liquid excitement through her bloodstream whenever she moved. She’d die of embarrassment if anyone even suspected. Leo and Ross were both sending her admiring glances, but it was her friend’s honest approval that she most craved. Old habits die hard.
Ward’s arm slid around her waist and gave it a gentle squeeze, like he knew what she was thinking. He probably did and she hated being so predictable. She looked up into eyes that shimmered with hot intentions and sent him a grateful smile anyway.
“Say, are you guys about to eat here?” Melanie nodded in the direction of the dining room that had a long line of people waiting for tables. “Carl and I haven’t eaten yet. Perhaps we could join you.”
Tanya was ashamed at the strength of her determination not to have her date crashed. Much as she loved Melanie, she would only spend the entire evening flirting with Ward. It wasn’t her fault—it was simply the way she was programed. It usually worked for her, too, so why change a winning formula?
“Sorry,” Ward said, “but we’ve got a reservation elsewhere.”
“It’s snowing hard.” Melanie glanced toward the window, her tone defiant and a tad desperate. “Would it be wise to venture out?”
Ward shook his head. “To eat where we’re going, I’d ski there if I had to.”
“Food is just food.”
Tanya knew Melanie’s incomprehension was genuine. If she took any pleasure from a culinary experience, the guilt ate away at her for days afterwards.
“Anyway, they’re used to these conditions in these parts and keep the roads pretty clear. Talking of which…” Ward glanced at his watch. “We’d better get going or they won’t hold our table. Drink up, babe.”
Tanya dutifully drained her glass, feeling like an actor in a play as Ward held out her coat and helped her into it. This wasn’t real. She’d wake up soon, she’d be back in her small apartment in Brighton and the drop-dead gorgeous guy paying her so much attention would be a figment of her imagination.
But right now he was real—big, bad, dangerous, and totally compelling. She watched him laugh with Leo at something Ross had said. He was relaxed, charming, and totally in control of himself. Tanya thought how easy it would be to fall in love with him. His manners, his vital strength, his physique, his intelligence, his Mastery—every aspect of his character drew her toward him like the earth responding to its sun’s gravitational pull.
“Okay, we’re out of here.” Ward again slid an arm around her waist. “Play nice without us, children.”
“Bye, Melanie,” Tanya said. “See you back at the hotel.”
Melanie mumbled something indiscernible and turned a full-wattage smile on Ross. Tanya didn’t think she was a spiteful person, but Melanie’s rejection stung and she found herself hoping that Ross had an appointment in the dungeon with his trapeze-swinging partner that evening.
“She’s jealous,” Ward said quietly, anticipating her thoughts again. “Don’t let her get to you and spoil our evening.”
“Thanks.” Tanya tossed her head. “I won’t.”
“Attagirl!”
Ward led Tanya to the large garage at the side of Hadleigh’s and ushered her toward a new-looking SUV. He opened it up with a remote and held the passenger door for her. She slid onto the leather seat and took the seat belt from his hand. He was such a gentleman. She could barely recall a man ever opening a car door for her, much less making sure she buckled up.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he slid behind the wheel and fired up the engine.
“To a popular restaurant about a quarter of an hour away. I managed to sweet-talk my way into a booking.”
Tanya figured he could probably talk his way into just about anything he wanted.
“You still thinking about her?” Ward asked as he drove them with swift economy through the steadily f
alling snow and Tanya sat beside him, staring through the windshield but not speaking.
“It was mean of her not to say anything about my new look. It was like she didn’t even notice.”
“She noticed, darlin’. So did every man in the damned bar.” He placed a warm, ungloved hand on her thigh. “But you’re mine. Don’t ever forget that.”
She laughed. “With that thing up my ass, it’s kinda hard to forget.”
“You still comfortable with it?”
“Hmm.” She sent him a scorching smile. “And I like the way the PVC cuts into my pussy, too.”
“Just so long as you don’t get any ideas about bringing yourself off,” he replied sternly. “That’s my job.”
“Yes, Master.”
He pulled the car into the lot in front of a rustic restaurant and dashed round to help her out. Inside the place was warm and intimate, with soft lighting and a roaring log fire. Every table was full, except for one, close to the fire in a tucked-away corner. A tall, middle-aged woman dashed toward them, arms outstretched.
“Ward, you devil, why have you stayed away so long?”
Ward smiled and embraced the woman, kissing her on each cheek. “If I come here too often I’ll look like the side of a house. No one can resist Pascal’s cooking, Maria.”
“Well, you could do with some fattening up.” The woman’s eyes lit up when they alighted on Tanya. “Who’s this?”
Ward made the introduction, and Tanya immediately felt drawn toward the eccentric restaurateur.
“At last you bring a lady that I approve of,” Maria said, punching Ward in the ribs as she led them to the vacant table.
How many women does he bring here? No, don’t spoil things by thinking about that.
Left alone, Ward told her what was good on the menu.
“Actually, everything’s good,” he said. “That’s why the place is always so full.”
“You order for me.” Tanya closed her menu and sent him a teasing look. “I like it when you dish out orders.”
His hand found her thigh beneath the table, and she felt warmth searing through her new denim jeans.
“Now don’t you go saying things to get me all stirred up. I’ve had enough of being rock hard all day, thanks to you.”
She giggled. “I thought men never had enough of being randy.”
“Time and place, darlin’. Time and place.”
“Then I deserve to be punished for making you uncomfortable.” God, she loved this game.
“That you do.” He paused when Maria returned to their table and reeled off their order. As though sensing that they craved privacy, Maria quickly left them again. “Do you want to know what you have to do to make amends?”
She lowered her eyes to the snowy-white tablecloth. “If it pleases you to tell me, Master.”
He leaned close enough for his lips to brush against her ear. “When we get back to Hadleigh’s, the private club will be in full swing. We’re going to stop on the walkway, just like we did yesterday.” She nodded, moisture seeping around the PVC that covered her cunt. Okay, that didn’t sound too bad. In fact, she was looking forward to it. “While we’re there, I’m going to strip you down to your corset and—”
“No!”
“No?” The hand still on her thigh worked its way between her legs. Pathetic creature that she was, they fell open to give him easier access. He chuckled but made no comment on her desperation. “I’m your Master,” he said in the same deep, persuasive purr. “Wouldn’t you feel sexy as hell, displaying yourself for all those Doms and subs to see?”
Would she? “I would find it hard, but if it pleases you, Sir, then I’ll try.”
“I know you will.”
Their appetizer arrived—a large fish and fruit salad to share, along with a couple of glasses of wine. The ingredients in the salad shouldn’t work but somehow they did. Ward fed her a forkful of smoked salmon and mango. Tanya closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure as the mixture of flavors fired up her palate.
“Hmm, I knew you’d be a satisfying person to feed.” Ward took a forkful himself. “Food is one of the most sensual experiences on this earth and it’s a sin to rush it, or not fully appreciate it.”
“And yet we all feel guilty if we eat too much.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Melanie. She clearly has an eating disorder.”
“That and a heap of others, but it’s not her fault.”
“Stop making excuses for her.” Ward tapped her thigh. “And as for eating too much, it’s not quantity but quality that counts. Nothing you eat in this restaurant has ever seen the inside of a freezer.”
“That’s good to know.”
There was a lot of noise in the restaurant and great ambiance. Conversations were being conducted in several different languages. There was lots of laughter, discreet background music, and the pungent aroma of burning oak given off by the logs crackling in the grate. Tanya tried to store it all in her memory, convinced that her life would never get any better than it was at that particular moment. She watched Ward’s long fingers playing with the stem of his wine glass, mesmerized by his hands, by the ropy muscles standing proud in his strong forearms, by the air of unimpeachable masculinity that clung to him, making her feel safe and protected. She was intoxicated by the way the vertical clefts at the side of his generous mouth deepened when he was amused, fascinated by the planes and angles of his features, thrown into relief by the dim lighting and shadows cast by the flickering flames of the fire.
She prayed it would continue snowing. Hard. Then he’d have to keep her with him for a few more precious hours.
“Tell me more about your career in journalism,” she said when the salad was all gone and they waited for their entrees.
He shrugged, like it was no big deal, but Tanya noticed a shadow pass across his eyes that had nothing to do with lighting. “Not much to tell. I did it for a while, now I don’t.”
She knew he’d majored in journalism at college—not because he’d told her but because she’d greedily searched for every little piece of information she could get on him online. He graduated cum laude and had been predicted to have a brilliant career in front of him. From what she’d been able to find of his work, that appeared to have been the case, so what went wrong? She was burning to know.
“Tell me what happened with you and Melanie last night?” Okay, so he didn’t want her asking probing questions about his career. She got the message, but it hurt to be reminded that she was just passing through and didn’t get to be an insider in the way Leo and Ross obviously were. “I know there’s something and we didn’t have enough time to talk about it at lunch.”
“What lunch?” she asked, giggling.
“Oh, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. Did I hurt you with that fly swat?”
“Yes.” She sent him a scorching smile. “And I loved every minute of it.”
He chuckled. “That’s good to know. Ah, thank you, Maria. That looks and smells wonderful.”
“Enjoy,” she replied, placing steaming plates of venison stew in front of them.
“Oh god, this is divine!” Tanya chewed a mouthful of the tender stew slowly, enjoying its rich flavor. “You’re right about this place.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Ward paused to savor his own food. “Now, stop avoiding the question and tell me what went down with you and Melanie last night.”
“Pots and kettles spring to mind when it comes to avoiding questions.”
He appeared to find her annoyance amusing and waved an admonishing finger her way. “Now don’t go getting me mad or I’ll have to think up more fiendish punishments for you.” He lowered his voice and dropped his gaze to her tits, barely covered by the camisole and shirt that he’d made her leave unbuttoned almost to her waist. “And I gotta tell you, punishing you is one hell of a turn-on.”
Tanya’s insides liquefied when he looked at her with such fire in his eyes. More moisture seeped from her pussy. Dam
n it, she’d be leaving a stain on the chair at this rate. How embarrassing would that be?
“Okay, what the hell, it’s no big deal.” But it was, and Tanya didn’t want to talk about it. Then again, she’d do anything to win Ward’s approval. Anything at all. “I already told you that I hooked up with Melanie’s brother for a while.” Ward frowned and nodded, placing his silverware aside and giving her his full attention. “It ended badly.”
“When he put you in the hospital?”
“Right.”
“I made it a condition that Melanie wouldn’t mention his name this trip.”
Ward’s expression became dark and intense, like he was fighting some sort of inner demon. She’d seen that look on his face a couple of times before and wondered about it. “But she brought him up last night to get back at you for being with me?”
“Yes.” Tanya balanced her fork on the edge of her plate. “Brad’s tried to contact me a few times. He keeps saying he’s sorry and wants to come back.”
“I’ll just bet he does.” Ward’s eyes narrowed and he looked daggers at a spot across the room. “The jerk.”
“It won’t happen. I’d never put myself in a position where a man could hit me for a second time.” She shuddered. “You know how I feel about men who use their fists to do the talking. Besides, there’s also the small question of Brad virtually clearing out my bank account .”
“Good girl!” His hand found its way back to her thigh and his face lost its expression of concentrated fury. “But, let me guess, Melanie doesn’t think you’re serious, says she’s worried that I’ll hurt you…better the devil you know, blah de blah.”
Tanya shrugged and resumed eating. “Something like that. It annoyed me that she mentioned him, but I can understand why she’s on her brother’s case. I told you before, they didn’t have a happy childhood. Both the girls were abused and Brad was regularly beaten, for no reason at all. That sort of stuff leaves a mark.”
“Every fucking person in the universe seems to use an unhappy childhood as an excuse for doing what the fuck they like.”