by Avery Gale
“Your vaginal muscles are already rippling around my finger, and I’m looking forward to feeling them squeezing my cock.” Her soft moan went straight to his cock—it was going to be a miracle if he got through this with his control intact.
“Look up into the mirror, Josie.” Her eyes widened when she saw where Kip stood. “Tell my little songbird what you see, Kip.”
Kip’s lips curved in a smile of pure appreciation. “Damn, she’s got a world class ass and those hot pink hand prints are a nice touch. Her pussy isn’t deep rose, yet. But I’m sure it will be by the time you finish reminding her about the rules of the playroom.” Yes, indeed, little brother managed to cover it all in a couple of sentences.
“We don’t allow idle chatter in the playroom for several reasons, Josie. First, it’s about respect and discipline. You were asked to be respectful at all times, and you weren’t. Failure to follow a simple rule makes me question your ability to follow more complicated directives that might well involve your safety. What does that mean? It means you’ll have to prove you’re ready before we spend much time in this space. The second reason we don’t allow unnecessary talk is for your protection as well as your pleasure. If I’m not distracted by the chatter, I’m better able to monitor your every reaction, and I know that anything you say is going to be important.” There was more to it than that, but she’d learn as they went along.
“I’m going to give you five swats, you don’t have to count them—I’m perfectly capable of doing that on my own.” He’d never understood Doms who made subs count their own swats or lashes—it was a set-up to fail situation, in his opinion. If they were concentrating on the numbers, they couldn’t fully let go which was the whole purpose of D/s play.
Colt always wanted the submissives he played with to walk away smiling and deliberately stacking the deck against them sure as hell wasn’t the way to make that happen. He didn’t want to give her time to overthink things—that always got the really bright subs in trouble, so he didn’t waste any time getting started. Even though this was supposed to be a punishment, he was going easy. Colt hadn’t had time to learn her pain tolerance level yet, and he damned well didn’t want to hurt her. A little awareness when her sweet ass met the booth seat at the diner later? Oh, abos-fucking-lutely. But leaving a mark that wouldn’t fade in a few hours wasn’t anything he’d ever be interested in.
Maria wanted to strangle Todd. He’d managed to get them lost in the mountains despite the directions she’d shouted at him for fucking hours. How he managed that feat was anybody’s guess. She’d read the signal from the tracker and told him in excruciating detail exactly how to find Josephine, but that hadn’t been enough. Oh hell, no, he’d made sure they’d spent a very cold night in the fucking car. Thank God she’d made him stop when she did because the first thing she saw in the morning was how precariously they were perched on the very edge of a steep drop-off. Why the hell don’t the people in this damned wilderness state build the roads wider?
Once they’d finally gotten back to civilization, if that’s what you could call it, she’d tried to make another bank transfer. Everything was still locked up due to some computer glitch. Leave it to a bank to fuck up when you need them most. The system wasn’t recognizing her password, and she was the only one who knew how to make the changes to Josephine’s account. Hell, the woman never had so much as accessed the main account, she used a smaller secondary account and from what Maria could tell she rarely bought anything aside from groceries and fucking Big Chief tablets when they weren’t touring. What that boring bitch did with all that paper was anybody’s guess.
“Don’t worry about the money, Maria. I’m sure Josie will make things right when we meet with her today. She wouldn’t have locked up the accounts, and she’ll understand that we’re just trying to pay her bills.”
Todd had more faith in the fucking dimwit they worked for than she did, but she was anxious to get things straightened out. Another couple of transfers and she’d be gone. It was time to move on to bigger and better things. And the best part? Todd would be left holding the bag.
Kip slid his phone from his shirt pocket and turned off the ringer. He was surprised to see a message from Phoenix and raised a brow in question when he noted what he wanted. Evidently he wanted to talk to Josie before she met with her manager—hopefully, that meant he’d found out exactly what the man and his girlfriend were up to. Setting his phone aside and pulling off his shirt, Kip watched Colt land one last stinging swat along the crease between Josie’s upper thighs and ass cheeks. Damn, that’s gonna be tender for a while. Even from several feet away, Kip could see the moisture glistening on her pussy lips. Looks like Colt’s pretty lady is going to enjoy playing as much as he does. Perfect.
Kip liked Josie—he’d been a fan of her music since she first started moving up the charts. But it was the woman behind the soulful sound that was turning out to be fascinating. Josephine Alta’s stage persona was a sharp contrast to the Josie currently draped naked over Colt’s lap. His brother was whispering words of praise for the way she’d taken her punishment even as he was giving him hand signals indicating what he had in mind.
Kip nodded his understanding and set everything he thought Colt might need on a tray. After covering the tray, he turned just in time to see Josie bucking against Colt’s fingers as he fucked her just to the edge of release. Her skin was glistening with sweat, and the smell of her essence filled the air. Damn, his brother was going to owe him big—his cock was about to burst from watching them play.
“Not yet, songbird. You didn’t think I was going to let you come already did you?” Colt’s voice had already deepened, and Kip wondered if Josie noticed the difference. She’d soon learn what all her Dom’s intonations meant, and with her ear for sound, it would happen sooner rather than later.
“I was so close. I don’t think I’m going to like this much if you’re not going to let me come.” Kip wanted to laugh at her sullen attitude, but he was understood exactly what she was saying. Women often confided in him about their struggles to reach orgasm, insisting having one denied to them was a major turnoff.
He’d seen subs at the club go into complete melt-downs because they’d been right on the cusp of finally reaching release when they’d been shut down. When a Dom cared more about playing power games than what was best for the woman who’d entrusted him with her pleasure, Kip was never surprised when they sawed down a couple of trees in the Crazyland Forest.
He hoped his brother knew what the hell he was doing because Kip would much rather sit back watching her tremble with an earthshattering orgasm than try to clean up a playroom trashed in frustration.
Josie struggled to rein in her frustration. She’d never been able to reach orgasm before meeting Colt Morgan. And now that she’d discovered how delicious it was; she wasn’t at all happy about being denied the pleasure. Her brain was still stewing in all those anticipatory hormones…it didn’t matter that she’d gotten to that point in a less than convention way. Damn it all to freaking hell, she’d been a heartbeat away from shattering, and then he’d pulled back leaving her teetering on the brink of a cataclysmic release.
All of the erotic romance novels she’d read talked about how pleasure and pain were essentially two sides of the same coin, but she’d been surprised to discover how true those words turned out to be. No one knew her E-reader was full of steamy romances—it was a secret she hadn’t even shared with Coral. Watching her peers make public relations mistakes over the years, tanking their careers because they never expected to get caught had taught Josie to never let her guard down.
The wise words of her hairdresser played through her mind any time she started to think perhaps she was too isolated. When she’d first started making a name for herself, Josie drafted her long time stylist to join her on tour. Rikki had been more than happy to leave the small shop she’d worked for. The younger woman had always been insightful, but one pearl of wisdom struck a chord with Josie, and she’d
always used it as a sort of golden rule. Rikki regularly reminded her that, “The only way to keep a secret is to not tell anybody—and I mean not one single soul. I swear, you just wouldn’t believe the things people tell their hairdressers. It’s nuts. If you truly don’t want anyone else to know something…then it’s only logical that you can’t tell anyone.”
She couldn’t deny reading about the link between pleasure and pain had intrigued her. But fuck it, the reality was far less appealing since she hadn’t gotten to come. Hell, what was the point of suffering through the spanking if she didn’t get to come. Tobi had lied to her. She could feel herself edging toward hysteria. Damn, every cell in her body was misfiring now that Colt had pulled back and her anger was getting dangerously close to hitting a flash point.
Holding back her inner child wasn’t easy on a good day, and right now the little demon wanted to stomp her feet and sling curse words like a veteran sailor. But somewhere in the back of her brain, she remembered Colt promising to show her the difference between a punishment spanking and one meant to bring her pleasure, and if the pleasure was better than what she’d just been given a glimpse of…well, she was going to the moon, Alice.
Chapter Twelve
Colt slid his fingers under the cuffs securing Josie to the spanking bench. He took his time, wanting to be sure they were property adjusted. The extra time served two purposes, Josie would be assured he’d taken every precaution—the foundation of trust could only be built if she believed her safety would always be his number one concern. And the extra time gave her mind and body a chance to build the anticipation. When he knelt down in front of her, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes glazed over with desire—obviously, she enjoyed a bit of bondage, damn if everything about her wasn’t fucking perfect. “I know you were frustrated, songbird, but it was a part of the lesson. You handled it beautifully, by the way, you managed to keep quiet even when your face gave you away.” His smile wasn’t returned, but that didn’t surprise him.
Colt wasn’t as in tune with women as Kip, but he wasn’t a fool either. He knew full well the struggles she’d had with orgasms during sex before they’d met. Colt was sure she hadn’t intended to reveal so much the night of Sage and Coral’s wedding and doubted she even remembered what she’d said.
He was always amazed at the truth serum effect of a window-rattling orgasm. In those precious seconds after release people are an open book. She’d whispered how surprised she’d been to find out it was real. “I thought my friends were lying, but I’m totally toasted. Holy Hannah, I’d stay in bed all the time if I could feel like this. The whole world lit up, and it was amazing.”
Smiling down at her, he’d been taken back by how open she’d been in those precious moments of candor, every emotion so clearly painted in her expression and words. But, as the post-orgasmic bliss began to ebb, he’d watched the shutters slide back into place and wished he had enough time to rip the damned things from their hinges and burn them to ash. He’d felt then, and still believed, no woman should ever feel the need to shutter themselves from their lover.
The intimacy of human connection is too strong to be denied for long without the soul suffering—and Josie’s heart and soul were definitely suffering. Colt had always believed isolation was one of the worst kinds of torture, and his little songbird was dealing with it in spades.
Breaking through the walls she’d put up wouldn’t be easy—and it wasn’t going to happen today, they didn’t have enough time. Today was all about testing the waters and distracting her before her meeting with her manager. She needed to be calm and focused to get through the coming confrontation and in his opinion, a couple of Earth shattering orgasms would go a long way toward that goal.
Running his fingers down the side of her face, he was pleased by her small gasp. Watching her lean into his touch, drawn together like steel to a magnet, stoked the possessive fire building in his chest. He saw her still and knew she’d just now registered the move. Her body already knew what her heart had yet to recognize—she belonged to him.
“We’ll have a nice long chat later, and I’ll answer all those questions I see in your eyes. But for now, remember you should never apologize for the way your body reacts to your Dom’s touch.” She was still strung pretty tight, so he wasn’t sure she’d realize he’d just referred to himself as her Dom, but Kip hadn’t missed it. His youngest brother’s brows raised in surprise as he watched. Colt wondered if Kip was surprised by Colt’s claim or by the fact he’d finally admitted what Kip probably considered obvious.
“Let’s get started, I’m anxious to play with you. I’m going to introduce you to several of my favorite toys. Let’s see what you like, shall we?” Colt planned to spin her up pretty high, but he needed to walk a fine line, too. He wanted her sated and calm, not comatose for her meeting. And if he played with her the way he wanted to, neither of them would walk out of the playroom until tomorrow morning.
“What are your safe words, songbird?” He smiled as she struggled to recite the stop light system in a voice only he could hear—one far different from the one the rest of the world clamored to hear. Josephine Alta’s voice might belong to the world, but Josie’s throaty, desire-laced words were for his ears only.
Colt pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered against her sweat dampened skin, “Perfect. Use them if you need to, but if I’m doing my job right, there will be no need. This is going to be all about pleasure, baby.”
Colt stood up and moved over to the tray Kip had prepared. He wanted to laugh at the implements his brother had chosen. Obviously, his brother was going to make sure he didn’t screw this up. Smiling and shaking his head at Kip’s not so subtle hint, Colt picked up a flogger with fronds so soft he wondered if she’d even feel them. Running the delicate strands of leather over her back, Colt watched chill bumps chase ahead of the touch. She was so incredibly responsive, and it humbled him to realize the vulnerable position she’d allowed him to put her in.
Light flicks of the flogger over her upper back and dimples above her ass brought the blood to the surface. Colt’s own body was fighting him every step of the way. His cock was going to have a permanent imprint from his zipper if he didn’t get out of his jeans soon. Hell, at this point unzipping held its own hazards. Great, just what I need, a There’s Something About Mary moment. Suppressing the shudder, he felt every time he thought about that movie scene, Colt leaned over to press a kiss against her shoulder. It fascinated him to watch the muscles beneath her fair skin ripple in response to his lips brushing over its sensitized surface.
“She’s beautiful, Colt. I’m not sure what she sees in you, but I’m sure enjoying watching how sweetly her body speaks to yours.” Josie’s body spoke to his in a way that made it difficult for Colt to stay on track, so he was grateful for Kip’s effort to bring him back to center. She’d obviously forgotten about Kip being in the room because she’d gasped at the sound of his voice.
Unable to resist the temptation, Colt reached down to slide his fingers through her wet folds. “You’re deliciously wet, songbird. It seems you’re enjoying the flogger and knowing Kip is watching your body respond so perfectly to my touch. And I have to tell you, sweetness, I’m enjoying the hell out of showing you off—I think our kinks were made for one another.”
He stood up but didn’t remove his fingers from her sex. Sinking two fingers in deep, Colt curved them until the tips brushed over the soft, spongy surface of her G-spot. Her entire body stiffened and jolted against the restraints. Hell, she’d have launched right off the bench if she hadn’t been strapped securely against the soft leather cushions. Anxious to give her the release he’d denied her earlier, Colt sped up his assault on the soft pleasure center buried deep inside her petite body.
Nodding to Kip, he watched her face in the mirror across the room not wanting to miss the way her eyes sparkled even when she hadn’t yet seen him watching her. “Push her over, I want to hear what she sounds like when she comes.” Kip had slipped a
small paddle into Colt’s hand and his words combined with one solid swat sent Josie spiraling into oblivion. The warm rush of her release over his hand nearly stole his control. Christ, he hadn’t come in his pants since he was twelve. She was shredding him, and he wasn’t even inside her yet.
Josie’s entire body felt like it was on fire, the heat of her building release was threatening to incinerate her. Who was she kidding, the whole damned place was going up in flames if Colt didn’t let her come soon. She’d lost control of her body the minute he fastened the first strap around her wrist. Each strap Colt secured around her wrists and ankles pushed her a little further into the submissive mindset. And, oddly enough, knowing what was happening didn’t make it feel any less real.
Sinking back into the warm pool of desire she’d been in a few minutes earlier, Josie made an effort to just let her mind float free of any worries. The sense of freedom was glorious—she felt like her soul had finally found its wings and was soaring above the clouds.
With the first fall of the flogger, Josie let another chunk of the wall she’d built around her crumble to the ground. Sure, the wall made it easier for her to maintain a professional distance between herself and the craziness that always seemed to accompany popular musicians on tour, but it had also meant she’d always been terribly lonely.
The one thing Josie had learned about loneliness was the way it eventually made you numb…you weren’t susceptible to pain, but you also missed the joy. She’d once read that you couldn’t experience one without the other…and it was true.