by Lucia Jordan
“Would you like something to drink?” He’d been working on his second glass of scotch when he’d seen her pull into his driveway on the security monitor.
Avery shook her head. “No, thank you,” she answered shyly.
Burke waited patiently as she tried to find the words but when she continued to open her mouth then close it, open her mouth then close it, he knew she needed a little push. “Do you want to tell me what happened this morning?”
“I…Margot…I’m so sorry,” she finally huffed. “I got to the shop a little later than usual because…well, you know.”
“Because we fucked all night long and I wouldn’t let you go until the very last possible moment?”
Avery nodded with a smile, remembering what they had done. “Yes. I usually get in before Margot but this morning she beat me there. The flowers you sent had already been delivered.”
“Yes, I saw them in the trash when I went to the shop to see you.”
“I didn’t put them there,” she swore. “Margot must have done that after I left.”
“You mean, after she fired you.”
Avery nodded. “Wait, how did you…know I got fired?”
“Margot. When I came by the shop to see you, she told me you no longer worked there.”
Oh god! She could only imagine what else Margot had done when he stopped by the shop. “What did she say to you?”
“I’m more interested in what she said to you,” he countered as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Avery shivered at his touch. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of his fingers on her skin. “It’s…really not important what she said. How I reacted to it is the issue.”
“And we’ll get to that, but I need to know what she told you.”
Avery looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn’t going to let this go. She had to tell him. “She was furious when she saw that the flowers were for me. She told me she knew you were…a Dominant and she wanted to be your…submissive. She said that I had ruined her chance.”
“Not that it makes any difference, but I would never be interested in a woman like Margot. But that’s not why you wouldn’t talk to me earlier.” It wasn’t a question.
“No. She said…that I could never be what you needed, that I was…an embarrassment and that you…would be ashamed of me, that you wouldn’t be able to take me to the clubs or the parties because I wasn’t…a real submissive.”
Burke had suspected that was the path Margot had gone down. It pleased him that Avery had admitted it to him, but he didn’t like the fact that she had so easily accepted what she’d been told. “And you believed her.”
“I…yes. But that had more to do with me than it did with anything you’ve done,” she declared.
He wasn’t so sure. “The empty restaurant, me insisting we spend tonight in, that got you thinking she was right, didn’t it?”
“Well…yes, a little.”
“Just so we’re clear, I explained to you last night why I rented out the restaurant.”
“No distractions,” she confirmed.
“That’s right. And I wanted to spend the night with you alone to continue to explore what we had started. I didn’t want to share you with anyone. I wouldn’t lie to you, Avery.” He nearly cringed at his own words, knowing he was lying to her through his omission of not telling her who he was. But their relationship was too new, too fragile to withstand a blow like that just yet. “I had no ulterior motives.”
“I know that now. It took my little brother reminding me that I had a very bad habit of thinking I’m not deserving of…something good.”
“Wait, you told your little brother about me, about us?”
Avery giggled at the surprised look on his face. “I didn’t tell him what we did. I just told him that I had gone out with you, about getting fired.”
He was glad she had someone to confide in. If things didn’t turn out the way he wanted, she would at least have her brother to console her. “Can I assume that since you’re here that you no longer believe the vile things Margot told you?”
Avery shrugged. “Yes, pretty much.”
Burke frowned. “But you’re still unsure.”
“Well, like I said. It has more to do with me than anything else. But I…know that I want to be with you.”
Burke pulled her into his lap. “That’s a good start because I want to be with you, too. I’ll have to work on convincing you just how much, but for tonight, I think a punishment is in order for your earlier behavior, don’t you agree?”
***
Avery stood at the end of the bed facing Burke as he sat in the chair. He’d demanded that she take her clothes off herself this time, which was good, because she didn’t have the money to keep replacing the articles that he ripped off her body.
She’d learned from the night before that she couldn’t cover herself with her hands, no matter how uncomfortable she was. She assumed that she would get used to the intensity with which he looked at her, but it was still so unnerving.
She wondered what her punishment would be. She knew a little about Dominants, that they liked to inflict pain and pleasure. How badly would it hurt? Would he leave marks on her skin? Would she cry? She’d heard that some submissives liked pain—got off on it. She didn’t know if she was one of them or not. No one had ever punished her before. If she did like it, would she want it from other partners? Would Burke ruin her for other men?
“I can almost hear your mind racing from one thought to the other,” he stated as he steepled his fingers under his chin and looked her up and down.
Avery trembled as his eyes raked over her naked body.
“What am I going to do to you,” he pondered with a lascivious grin. “Do you trust me?”
Avery took a moment to think about what he was asking. Did she trust him? Did she believe that he wouldn’t actually hurt her? He’d told her last night that he wouldn’t. Did she still believe him? “Yes, I trust you.”
“Come here,” he commanded.
She did as she was told and walked forward until she was standing directly in front of him. When he reached out and ran his hands up her legs and landed on her hips, she couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her lips.
“I need to know that you aren’t going to shut me out again. I need you to promise that if you have any questions, any concerns that you’re going to talk to me. This can only work if we both know that we’re completely open and honest with each other.” He winced inwardly at his words.
Avery looked down at him, at the passion in his eyes, and knew she’d promise him anything. She wanted to see where this could go, to see if what she was feeling for Burke was based purely on the sexual chemistry they had, if the powerful hunger they both felt was fleeting and would be quenched after they’d gotten their fill of one another.
She nodded. “I promise.”
As much as he needed and appreciated her declaration of honesty, Burke felt horrible that he was not following his own rules. Time would fix that, but until then he needed to tamp down his desire to tell her the whole truth. He needed to prove to her how he felt about her, how he’d felt about her for nearly a decade.
“Bend over my lap,” he demanded.
Avery took a deep breath and did as she was told.
“I’m not going to lie to you, this is going to sting. Your initial reaction will be to stop me, to think that it’s too much, but if you trust me, I can guarantee the pain will evolve into something exquisite. Are you ready?” He rubbed his hand over her exposed cheeks, loving how her skin felt under his fingers, so soft and supple. He was hard as steel just thinking about how beautiful her ass would be when he turned it a bright shade of pink.
“I th-think so,” she stammered.
He continued to massage her cheeks, moving his fingers closer and closer to her apex. He traced a fingertip between her damp folds and dipped inside her. “Mmmm, I like how wet you are. Is it because I’m touching you or are you excited abo
ut what I’m about to do to you?”
“I don’t know. Both.”
“That pleases me. The anticipation only heightens the experience.” Without warning, his free hand came down hard on one of her cheeks.
Thwack!
“Ouch!” she shrieked and tried to squirm off his lap.
He gripped her hips and held her steady. “Be still, otherwise I’ll be forced to add more to your punishment.”
Avery’s ass burned like fire and he was right, she was tempted to ask him to stop. But she’d told him she trusted him. She would follow through with this. “How m-many are you p-planning on giving me?”
“Hmmm, let’s see. How many hours were you away from me?”
Thwack!
His hand came down again without forewarning on her other cheek, then he soothed over the mark he’d left.
Avery couldn’t think as the pain seared through her. “I d-don’t know.”
“By my count, it was almost fourteen hours, baby.”
Oh shit! Was he planning on giving her fourteen smacks? She knew she couldn’t take that many. Her backside was nearly numb already and he’d just gotten started.
Thwack!
Avery whimpered but remained still on his legs.
“Just breathe through it,” he encouraged as he stroked her hot skin. “Concentrate on my hand smoothing your skin.”
Thwack! Thwack!
Then, the strangest thing happened. The two swats he’d just given started a slow tickle in her core and the pain morphed into something pleasant.
“Ooo. I’m…good…not…fine,” she babbled.
Burke couldn’t help the smile that curled his lips. He knew he’d eventually get her to the point of pleasure but it had taken five hard smacks to get her there. He reached down between her folds again to see just how turned on she was and was ecstatic that his finger came away dripping with her juices.
Thwack!
“We’re almost done. How are you doing?” If her breathless gasps were any indication, she was going to explode very soon.
Avery felt her core start to spasm. “I d-don’t know,” she panted. “Oh, god, Burke!”
“Spread your legs a little wider.” When she obeyed him, he slipped his hand between her legs and plunged two fingers into her and started fucking her fast and hard.
Thwack!
“Burke! No…yes…please,” she cried out.
He felt her walls squeeze his fingers as she slipped quickly over the edge.
He left her splayed across his lap has he caressed her backside and let her catch her breath. “How do you feel?”
How did she feel? Uh, fantastic, relaxed, abused but blissful. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Incredible. Exhausted.” She yawned.
“Well, I’m not done with you so no sleep for you yet.”
She instantly perked up. “You’re not going to punish me anymore, are you?”
Burke helped her to sit up and move into his lap. He smoothed her hair away from her face and smiled at her. “Was it so bad?”
Avery thought about it for a moment. She wanted to give him the most honest answer she could. “I…at first, yes. It hurt like hell. I almost asked you to stop.”
“But you didn’t.”
She shook her head. “You asked me to trust you, so I did. Then…I don’t know. It turned into something completely different.”
Burke leaned in and kissed her gently. “You did very well. I’m very proud of you. And no—no more punishments for you. Tonight, at least,” he said with a wink and an evil grin.
“What do you have in mind?”
He stood with her in his arms and walked over to the bed. “I’m going to fuck you while I admire my handiwork.” He gently tapped her butt then ran a finger between her cheeks.
Avery stilled. “You don’t mean…I haven’t ever…”
Burke chuckled at her reaction and gently traced a fingertip over her puckered hole. “Not tonight. But someday soon we’re going to have to explore that option.” When Avery scrunched her face in disapproval he chuckled again. “Trust me, it’s not as unpleasant as you imagine.”
She did trust him, but that was just a bit too much for her to handle at the moment.
He set her down on the bed and ordered, “On your hands and knees.”
She scrambled into the position he’d requested and waited. When she didn’t feel him crawl up behind her, she turned and looked for him. Burke was gazing at her ass with such passion a tremble went through her body. She thought about shaking her butt at him but he would probably smack her again and she wasn’t sure she could take another one. Even though the spanking had gone from painful to satisfying, her ass ached.
She was getting uncomfortable just sitting there on display with her butt the air. “What are you waiting for? Is something wrong?”
“No. I’m just thinking about all the things I want to do to you. Blindfolds, paddles, spreader bar, nipple clamps.”
“Spreader bar? What does that do?”
Burke groaned. If he hadn’t been ready to plunge into her before, her innocent question pushed him closer to the edge. “It keeps your legs spread wide open for me. So I can fuck you for as long and as hard as I want.” The image nearly destroyed him.
Burke couldn’t wait a moment longer. He finally climbed onto the bed and reached over to the nightstand to grab a condom. He slipped it on quickly then grabbed Avery’s hips. He reached down and ran a finger between her folds to make sure she was still wet. “Jesus, I love how ready you are for me all the time.”
Avery didn’t get a chance to respond before he sunk into her in one full thrust. “Oh god!”
“You feel amazing,” he growled as he moved in and out slowly. “I could fuck you for hours.”
As delicious as that sounded, Avery wasn’t sure her body would comply. She had already had more sex in the last twenty-four hours than she had had in the last few years and her body was starting to feel it. “I…don’t think…”
“Don’t worry. We’ll have to work up to that. For tonight, I just want you to show you how much I want to be with you.” Burke had been on edge all day and he knew he wouldn’t last long…this first time. But he intended to make love to Avery throughout the night, and maybe even wake her up with his cock buried deep inside her.
Avery could feel herself start to climb again, could feel her walls start to pulsate. “Burke! I’m…it’s…”
“Hold on, baby. I need to feel you wrapped around me a little longer.” He increased his speed as he felt her spasm around his cock. He knew he wouldn’t last long considering he’d been hard for her for hours. As she tightened around him, his control started to slip. Damn, he’d never been so carried away with a woman before.
Avery couldn’t hold back too much longer. It felt so incredible to have him pound into her, to hit her g-spot over and over. She’d never been asked to control her orgasms before and she wasn’t sure exactly how to do it, but Burke wasn’t making things any easier as he moved faster and faster into her. “Oh, oh, oh! I can’t…Burke!”
“Let go, baby.”
As Avery cried out Burke’s name and squeezed him like a vice, he lost complete control and tumbled over the edge with her. “Fuck!”
***
“What are your plans for today?” Burke asked as he twirled Avery’s hair around his fingers. He didn’t want to let her out of his bed, but he had a meeting at Dalton Printing he needed to prepare for.
Avery didn’t want to think about all she had to do that day. The idea of looking for a job was daunting. “I need to put together my resume and check out the local employment sites,” she responded with a frown.
“I have an idea,” he offered. As soon as he’d found out about Avery getting fired, a thought had formed in his head. “I still need to decorate this place. You have a good eye and a solid understanding of what pieces would work in certain spaces.”
Avery knew where he was going with this and started to shake h
er head.
“Don’t discount my offer so quickly. I know this isn’t a long-term solution to your problem but I would really appreciate it if you would continue what you started and decorate my house. It would save me time trying to find someone else, and besides.” He rolled her over onto her back and hovered above her. “I want full access to you any time I feel the need to fuck you until you scream.”
Avery opened her mouth to protest but he crushed his lips to hers and slipped his tongue inside. He continued to assault her lips, her jaw, and her neck. She shivered as he nibbled on her earlobe and traced the tip of his tongue down to her shoulder. He nipped at her collar bone and trailed kisses further down until he latched onto her breast. He sucked the nipple into his mouth and gently bit down.
“Ahhh,” she moaned in delight.
He slid his hand down her body and gently slipped between her damp folds. He flicked her clit over and over then entered her slowly. Finally, Burke looked up at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Say yes.”
She couldn’t remember what they had been talking about but she would have promised him anything at that moment. “Yes,” she breathed and pulled him back to her mouth.
Burke rolled over, taking her with him. “Good. Now, let’s take a shower. I have a meeting in about an hour. When I get back, we can go see what the other antique shops have to offer.”
Avery couldn’t believe he’d just started to fondle her, that the beginning of her next orgasm had just started to stir, and then he stopped. She reached down and took his hard cock in her hand and started to stroke him. “You can’t leave me hanging like this, Burke. That’s just cruel.” Then the last part of his statement sank in. “Hey, you can’t just manipulate me into…”
He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m leaving you in a state of need so you remember how much I want you. And as far as you working for me…” He shrugged. “You just agreed. You can’t take it back.”
“That’s not fair.” She pouted. “When you kiss me and touch me like that, I can’t think. I’d agree to just about anything.”
“Hmmm. I’ll have to remember that and use it to my advantage,” he assured her as he stood with her in his arms and made his way to the master bathroom. “Now, shower then work. You can stay here while I’m at my meeting at Dalton if you like.”