Master of Secrets

by Sienna Snow

  Lowering his head, he sucked my lower lip into his mouth and then nipped it with his teeth.

  Immediately my nipples tightened into hard buds and my cleft grew slick with desire. I gripped his arms, trying to bring him back for another kiss but he held still.

  Adrian’s emerald gaze burned into mine. “I love you, Ana. I never stopped.”

  My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to ask him why he’d left me if he loved me but I knew it wouldn’t make a difference. Our breakup had given me the push I’d needed to succeed in a dangerous profession. He’d been the catalyst for proving my abilities.

  “What does that mean for us?” I had to know.

  “It means nothing outside of death is going to keep me from being with you again.”

  There was fierce determination on his face that showed me the truth of his words.

  “Are you getting out?”

  “That’s the plan. But it may take time. I’ve been on this assignment for a long time. The higher-ups are going to have to find a plausible reason for why I all of a sudden disappeared.”

  I was in the same boat. Well maybe not as bad, since I hadn’t lived as another person for years at a time. My debriefing would take about a month and then I’d go home.

  Solon wasn’t for me anymore. I’d accepted it. My place was with my family, with my annoying, overprotective brothers, my sister, my cousin, and my friends.

  I was done running away.

  He rubbed his thumb over my lips. “Are you willing to wait for me?”

  That was a ridiculous question, but I realized he was truly worried.

  “After all we’ve been through. You’re asking me that?”

  “Ana, answer the question.”

  “Of course, I’ll wait.”

  His shoulders visibly relaxed, as if he was truly worried I wouldn’t.

  In this moment, he wasn’t Julian or Adrian. He was my Ian. The boy I’d fallen so hard for.

  For a split second, my heart ached to be back in Vegas in that tiny apartment he’d had in college.

  “Ian?” I stared into his emerald eyes.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can we pretend for a few moments that we aren’t in the middle of a mission where lives are on the line? That the only thing important is how we feel about each other?”

  I needed to feel something that was just us. A connection without restraints. Without someone watching us and our most private moments.

  He was quiet. Not saying anything.

  Just when I expected him to tell me that it was impossible to expect more right now, he said, “Grab the slats of the headboard.”

  I threaded my fingers through the wood and held on.

  My nipples immediately beaded and goosebumps prickled my skin.

  The tenderness in his eyes turned feral. Whatever he had planned was something that would be a mix of pleasure and pain meant to drive me insane.

  He rose, caging me with his arms and legs.

  “I have one question for you and then you do everything I say. Gentle or hard?”

  I held his hungry gaze. “Hard.”

  His lips quirked up at the sides. “Hard it is.”

  He reached over to the bedside table, opened a drawer, and pulled out a leather flogger.

  My eyes grew wide. He’d had that in the bedside drawer this whole time?

  Had he used it on the other women he’d bought in the harem auctions? A pang of jealousy shot through me.

  He smacked the leather against his palm, pulling me from my thoughts. “I know what you’re thinking. And to answer your unsaid questions, I have never used it on any other woman. It’s sat in the drawer since Trevolo gave me the bungalow. The only woman’s skin I’ve ever wanted to turn red from a flogger in my hand is yours.”

  I swallowed. “Oh.”

  “Yes, oh.” He slapped his palm again. “Let’s see how hard we can go.”

  Maybe I should have said gentle. The last time we’d played anything that was in the true realm of kink was when Adrian had taken me to one of the clubs in Vegas.

  He’d chosen a place that wasn’t owned by my brothers, a place where Adrian was a member. But that was a different time and a different Anaya.

  “Ian.”

  “Ana.”

  He trailed the braided handle over my pubic bone, across my stomach, and up my neck.

  “The straps are suede, not the harder leather we used long ago. You aren’t ready for that.”

  Was I even ready for this? From my memory, suede stung pretty bad. The only benefit was that the marks disappeared faster.

  “Don’t let go or I won’t let you come.”

  My pulse pounded into my ears and my fingers clenched the slats.

  “Relax, baby.” He guided the multitude of soft leather straps over my face and down my body, circling my breasts, teasing my navel, and grazing my cleft.

  He stroked all over my body, hypnotizing me with his movements. Slowly I began to relax into the bed.

  Smack.

  “Oh fuck.” I arched up as the sting of the leather straps shot over my abdomen.

  I should have known the second I relaxed he’d start.

  Dammit, Ana, just because it’s been five years doesn’t mean you forget the way of things.

  Smack. Smack.

  The next ones hit my outer thighs.

  “Ian.” I moaned and thrashed, unable to shift my legs because of Adrian’s weight on them.

  How the hell had I forgotten it hurt so damn much?

  Smack. Smack. Smack.

  Tears streamed down my face as I bit my lips.

  Adrian shifted off my legs and leaned over my face, cupping it. “Breathe, baby, let the endorphins take over.”

  I whimpered in response.

  Adrian licked my tears. “You’re so beautiful, so perfect for me. Now do as I say.”

  I inhaled and then exhaled; the pain of the leather began to morph into a warm, dull ache. My nipples responded and my core clenched.

  “You ready for more?”

  I nodded without a second thought.

  Smack. Smack. Smack.

  This time the sting was there but the pleasure came right along with it. His strikes landed all over my body but now I arched into the graze of the suede.

  My pussy wept and clenched as my mind clouded.

  “I need to come. I need to come. Ian, please let me come.”

  He dropped the flogger to the side and slipped a finger deep inside my pussy, curving in just enough to hit the bundle of sensitive tissue that encompassed my G-spot.

  I convulsed around him, milking his fingers as my body finally got the reward of release.

  He pulled out, bringing his fingers to my lips. “Suck.”

  I followed his directions, letting the taste of my essence add to the high of release.

  “Now it’s my turn. You know the rules, Ana. Don’t let go.”

  Pushing down his pants, his beautiful thick, hard cock sprang free. Adrian spread my legs, positioned his cock, and slammed in.

  “This is going to be hard, just the way you asked for it.” He pulled out and shot in.

  “Oh God,” I gasped.

  He fucked me like a madman. The only thing keeping me from smacking my head against the headboard was my hold on the slats.

  “I need you so fucking much, Ana,” he said between breaths.

  “I need you too.” I wanted so desperately to hold him, dig my nails into his ass.

  “Fuck, I can’t hold back.” He squeezed his eyes shut and roared, “Mine. My woman. Mine.”

  He came and came, pumping so hard that it pushed me into another orgasm.

  I cried out, arching against him and clamping down on his still-thrusting cock. All of a sudden, he pulled out, slid down my body, and fastened his mouth to my pussy.

  He ate at me, not caring that his cum was coating my body.

  “Oh God, Ian.” I dropped a hand into his hair, causing him to growl and bite my inner thigh.

>   “Ow,” I whimpered, but my arousal and need didn’t ebb. In fact, they were heightened by the pain.

  “Hand. Move it back.”

  I gripped the headboard again. His tongue flicked and thrust until he’d wrung another orgasm out of me. Then he crawled up my body and drove his cock into my contracting core.

  The man was a fucking machine.

  He grabbed my throat, squeezing with each thrust.

  “One more time.”

  Was he out of his mind? He could go all night, but my body was all done with orgasms. My pussy was too swollen, too sensitive

  “No. Please. It’s too much. I can’t.”

  A moan escaped my lips and a tremor shot through my core, my body betraying my words.

  Adrian pressed harder against my windpipe. “I say when you come, not you. Who owns this body, Ana? Who owns you?”

  He pistoned hard and fast as he loomed over me. Sweat dripped from his temples, and the dark, feral lust I saw had my core quivering.

  “You do.”

  Thrust. Thrust. Thrust.

  “If I say I want one more, what do you say?”

  “Yes, Ian.”

  Thrust. Thrust. Thrust.

  “Now come.”

  He held my throat as he pummeled my pussy, and with one hard roll of his hips, I exploded again.

  “Ian,” I cried out, my vision a complete blur except for this man above me.

  I was still coming when he pulled out, gripped his cock in his hands, and pumped his cum all over my stomach and pussy.

  “Fucking beautiful,” he panted out and pressed his body to mine a second before he kissed me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Adrian

  * * *

  “You can let go now,” I said to Ana as I rolled to the side, pulling my weight off her body. “We need to shower. We’re covered in cum.”

  I couldn’t figure out what had come over me. It was this insane urge to mark Ana. To have my cum brand her as mine. Maybe it was the fact we were stealing this time for ourselves in the middle of a fucked-up situation and I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to touch her like that again.

  “Back to reality and our jobs,” she said, releasing her hold on the slats, and then turning to me. “We need to end this sooner rather than later.”

  “That’s the plan.” I stared into her amber depths. “We can’t do this again until we’re back home. We can’t afford to let our guard down.”

  “I know.” Her tone has a tinge of remorse and she looked away, closing her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I didn’t expect to feel so guilty for taking time for a little bit of comfort.”

  She wasn’t the only one having those emotions. There were people arriving on this island that wouldn’t have a sliver of a chance at comfort or happiness, unless we helped them.

  I took her hand in mine.

  “Ana. We—”

  A hard knock echoed into the bedroom and both Ana and I stiffened.

  What the fuck? My monitoring system should have alerted me of anyone approaching. That’s when I realized my watch was on the side table.

  Reaching over to grab it, I pushed a button and an image appeared on the small screen of Trevolo with some of his henchmen waiting outside.

  “Fuck. Trevolo’s here.” I got out of the bed. “Ana, go shower. And no matter what you hear, do not come out.”

  She looked like she was about to argue, but then said, “Okay,” and slipped from the bed.

  I shrugged on my pants and grabbed a T-shirt I’d thrown on a table, not caring the remnants of fucking Ana were stuck to my body.

  I unlocked and pushed open my front door. “Want to tell me what’s so important that you came personally to my bungalow to chat?”

  Trevolo seemed unfazed by my words. “Something has come to my attention and I thought it best to speak of this in person.”

  Well, that sounded ominous.

  I widened the door to let Trevolo in but blocked it when his guards tried to enter. “You know the rules,” I said to the one in front. “You can stay out here as usual or fuck off. I don’t care.”

  Before the guard could protest, Trevolo spoke. “Dante, wait outside. Mr. Bonaparte isn’t going to hurt me, especially since he spends a great deal of time ensuring my safety with his gadgets.”

  I slammed the door closed and moved into the living area where Trevolo made himself at home in an armchair. He eyed the sofa.

  “Your scene last night was very entertaining.”

  My temper prickled knowing Trevolo and countless others had to have watched, probably live.

  “It was.” I moved to sit on the couch where Sebastian and I attended Ana last night. “Did you learn anything?”

  I should have kept my tone calm and left out the latter part of my statement, but I couldn’t help it.

  “It would have been better if you respected my authority and left the audio on. The sound of a woman’s cries of pleasure and pain are music to my ears.”

  Saying “more pain than pleasure” was on the tip of my tongue but I managed to keep it in.

  Something unpleasant was about to happen and I had to keep it together.

  “Where is your bride?” He glanced at the closed bedroom door.

  “Recovering.”

  He scoffed. “From last night? Hardly. She took a beating and stood up to punch my guards. And let’s not forget her handling of Mica Chance. The woman would have to be bound and flogged to make it so she needed to recover.”

  I gave a condescending smirk. “As a matter of fact, a flogger was involved in our morning activities.”

  A flash of surprise crossed Trevolo’s face, then was replaced by smug satisfaction. “I’m glad Aphrodite’s pussy hasn’t made you soft. I worried it had come to that.”

  “Never mistake indulging a new toy as going soft. I am the same man I was when we met. I’m only taking care of my twenty-million-dollar toy.”

  “That is the reason I’m here.”

  I lifted a brow. “The money cleared before I took possession of my bride. Is there a problem?”

  “Your money arrived as you said. It is another matter. Weber came to me with a proposition this morning.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “He offered me double what you paid to acquire your bride.”

  What the fuck was Sebastian doing? This was not part of our plan.

  “Since my money cleared, this is a moot point.”

  “Ah, but it’s not. I’m a businessman, and Weber is willing to pay a nice fee to you for your inconvenience. This is a win/win for both of us.”

  Like hell it was a win/win. I had to keep my emotions in check, or I’d let the fucker bait me into showing him what Ana meant to me.

  Then it hit me, the only reason Sebastian would change the plan was because our time had run out. A text on the sat phone would have been a better warning than orchestrating this shit. Who was I kidding? If plans changed, it had come from the higher-ups.

  I really hoped Ana wouldn’t neuter me when this was over.

  “How much for my inconvenience?” I rose and walked to the bar in the corner of the room. “Want some?”

  Trevolo eyed the Firewater Black Reserve bottle. “Of course. You’re the only one I know who stocks this brand of whiskey as if it were available in a convenience store. Isn’t this bottling almost impossible to find?”

  The reason I had unfettered access to Firewater, a whiskey that had taken the spirit world by storm, was because the company belonged to my sister. I always packed a bottle or two when I traveled, and it came in handy as a tool to get people playing on my side. Offer some fucker a thousand-dollar-an-ounce award-winning whiskey as a gesture of good faith and they’d sell their firstborn for more.

  “Almost impossible. I have connections.” I offered Trevolo the glass with the amber liquid. “What is my inconvenience fee?”

  “Half of what you paid me. And of course, I will return your payment
and offer you a seat at the auction.”

  “What kind of auction?”

  “The special kind.” He gave me a calculated smile. “The kind your precious dove should have been part of.”

  As if I believed the bastard was going to go through with having me at his special auction. Having me anywhere near anything to do with selling children would be a grave error on his part.

  The fucker planned to double-cross me and thought I was stupid enough not to see through his bullshit.

  “And when will this event take place?”

  “Tonight.”

  Fuck, that meant the shipment of women and children had arrived either yesterday or earlier today.

  God. Sebastian and my preoccupation with Ana had been the perfect opportunity for Trevolo to unload the women and children.

  “Did you offer this option to Weber?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t push. His way puts more money in both of our pockets. What say you?”

  I pondered and then said, “I will have to consider it and get back to you.”

  “You do that.” His lips quirked up as if he knew I was going to accept.

  “What if I said I’m not finished with her?”

  “Fuck her and beat her a few more times. Weber doesn’t care what you do to her, as long as she is his when he leaves the island tonight.”

  “What about the other guests? Won’t you lose too much goodwill when you cut their vacations short?”

  A gleam entered his eyes. “Mr. Finn was the only one I knew would have no interest in the special auction. He left this morning to take care of a family emergency. The rest are invited guests as you are.”

  Well, fuck. Everyone outside of Finn knew what Trevolo was setting up—the two-week pleasure vacation was only a front until the human cargo arrived. It wouldn’t surprise me if Trevolo set up Finn’s family troubles to get him off the island faster.

  This also meant Sebastian’s arrival wasn’t only to keep Ana’s team from invading the island to rescue her. Having him on the island meant there was another person around to collect evidence.

  “What say you to my offer?”

  “As I said. I’ll consider it.”

  Irritation flashed across his face. “This isn’t optional, Bonaparte. I’m sure your father would agree it isn’t wise to throw away a profitable arrangement for some used pussy.” Trevolo set his tumbler on the coffee table and moved to the door.