Master Chef

by Danielle Berggren

  Tears were streaming down my face. I wanted to come, but he had not given me permission yet. The pleasure was overwhelming. I could not see, even though my eyes were wide open, and though I cried out, I could form no words. I could hear nothing but the slap of him slamming into me, and smell nothing but my arousal and his. He’s literally fucking me senseless.

  His rhythm changed and I could feel his end coming. He reached down and touched my clit, rubbing his fingers along the slick button. “Come for me, Veronica,” he said.

  As though my body were waiting for his order, the orgasm tore through me like a maelstrom. I screamed and bucked against him. He faltered for a moment in his movements and then renewed them with increased vigor. I was still coming when I heard his breath grow ragged and he stopped, trembling, sheathed fully within me, and I knew that he had found his release.

  I gasped and shook. Ethan stayed within me for a time, and then slowly withdrew. He let out a shaky laugh. “Code check.”

  I laughed back. “Green. Super green.” I cleared my throat. I needed water, bad. “Sir.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Veronica

  Ethan untied me and helped me stand. My limbs were trembling so much that I could not manage on my own, but he helped me out of the playroom and into his bedroom, where he eased me into a seated position on the bed. I hissed when my bare backside touched the coverlet and his hands on me stilled, “I’m going to go get you some water, and then we’ll see about your marks.”

  I nodded and leaned against one of the posts of his bed. I concentrated on my breathing when he went away and tried to will my limbs into compliance.

  I raised a hand and looked at it. I was shaking bad, my fingertips twitching, a red mark encircling my wrist from where I had been bound. I leaned over and saw that my ankles were similarly affected, and once I was bent over I could not seem to summon the strength to straighten up again.

  Ethan returned. He knelt before me and pushed at my shoulder until I was upright once more. “Here,” he said. “You need to rehydrate.”

  I took the water gratefully and drained the entire glass in several long gulps. The water was cool and fresh and tasted like heaven on my dry, sore throat. I instantly felt more alert and realized that Ethan was still completely naked. I stared at him, at the hard, strong muscles evident in his shoulders, arms, torso, and legs. He was at what I assumed was half mast, but even without being fully erect he was an impressive specimen. If I were an artist, I would never tire of drawing his beautiful body. He was just this side of perfection.

  “I’m going to draw you a bath. The tub in my bathroom is large enough for someone our height to stretch out in.”

  I shook my head, “I prefer a shower.”

  He smiled at me, his perfectly white, straight teeth brilliant against his face. “You’re going to be thankful for the bath in the morning, trust me. Your body is not used to holding these positions. They exercise different muscle groups.” He stood and held out a hand, “Come. I don’t want to make it too hot.” He winked, “I’ll scrub your back.”

  I took his hand and he held it loosely, leading me into the master bathroom. It was enormous granite, chrome and glass affair, with a huge sunken tub surrounded by gray tile, complete with Jacuzzi jets and a single unlit white candle on the ledge. There was a window here, but the shades were drawn against the darkened sky.

  Ethan started the bath and I adjusted the temperature, keeping in mind his advice to make it as hot as I could stand it. When he had seen me safely within the filling tub, he went to retrieve another glass of water, which I drank slowly but with no smaller feeling of gratitude.

  I peered at him over the rim of the glass. “Why are you so attentive?”

  He sat on the edge of the tub. “It is imperative that, since you have performed well and pleasured me, I see to your well-being afterward. You’ve heard of aftercare?”

  I nodded, “But they don’t focus on it too much in the films I’ve watched.”

  He trailed his fingers in the water, close to my body but not touching. “Simply put, aftercare is to ensure the bond between dominant and submissive, and to make sure the submissive feels well enough to engage in activities later.” He paused and reached into the water, his hand trailing down my arm. “And to center you. What we did tonight was rather light compared to what we might do in the future. The more intense the activities, the greater the aftercare. I want to bring you back to a more ‘normal’ state so that you can process the distinction between that life and the life outside. It’s easy to get lost when you go that deep into the pleasure and pain centers of your mind.”

  I sank down in the water until it was almost at my chin. I raised my arm so that I could catch his hand. “Well, the bath is lovely, I can say that at least. I’m not sure I understand everything else.”

  He lifted my hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on the back of my hand. “You will, in time. If you have any questions, never hesitate to ask.”

  I was silent for a while. Ethan shut off the water when the tub was at its limit. After a moment of silence, I whispered, “Was I... was it good, for you?”

  Ethan stood and motioned me to sit up. I did, and he stepped into the tub behind me, sinking down into the water and arranging his legs so that they were on either side of me. He grasped me around the middle and pulled me up against his chest, running his hands up to cup my breasts.

  I gasped and felt his breath on my neck. “You were wonderful,” he breathed. His fingers traced my nipples, roaming in circles, the touch just a brush of skin.

  I arched against him and turned my head so I could see some of his face. “You would tell me if there was something I did wrong, wouldn’t you?”

  He nodded. “But I can think of nothing that you could do that I would object to. We’ve outlined the rules, your limits, and my own.” He kissed my cheek, and his lips trailed down my face to my jaw, and then down my neck, pressing soft kisses into my flesh. “And you? How do you feel about tonight?”

  I let out a purr when his teeth grazed the sensitive cleft between my neck and shoulder. His hands continued to massage my breasts, working the nipples between two fingers. I was beginning to get too distracted for conversation. I gasped when he pulled one nipple hard, and I felt warmth curl low in my stomach.

  “Are you going to answer my question, Veronica?” He asked, a teasing note in his voice.

  His motions stopped and I sagged against him. I laughed low in my throat, “I feel like the cat who ate the canary.” I turned my body a little to one side so that I could look up at him and lay my own kisses on his lips and neck. “And I can’t believe you’re the same man who almost drove me to insanity at work.”

  He laughed as well, the sound echoing in the large bathroom. He lifted and turned me so that I was forced to open my legs and straddle him. I gasped when I felt him pressed hard and firm against my stomach. He ran his hands up my arms and down my chest to my breasts, cupping one in each hand.

  I leaned down against him, and his hands tightened around my sensitive nipples. His cock pressed hard against my stomach and core. I stopped a hairsbreadth away from his lips. “I’ve never been with someone as strong as you,” I murmured. “Someone who makes me weak in the knees with a single glance.” I pressed my mouth to his, tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip. I pulled away and saw the same heat I felt in my own eyes reflected in his. “I love the way you commanded me, and the way my body responded to yours. I’ve never felt that with anyone else.”

  “Neither have I,” he said. “It was incredible.” He ran one hand down and slid a finger inside me, hissing when he found me still slick and ready.

  “Ethan, I—”

  “Wait,” he said, his voice low and husky. “The water is going to cause friction, and you’re already sore.”

  He lifted me so that I sat on the granite shelf around the tub, the stone cold against my skin. I could feel the sting of where he had smacked the flogger against my back and as
s. Ethan reached for a basket on the lip of the tub and tore at the foil packet of the condom, rolling it down his length in record time. Before I could say anything more he knelt in front of me, spread my legs, and thrust home.

  I cried out and wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer. He propped himself up on his arms and legs, then reached one hand up behind my back to grasp my hair and pull until the long line of my throat was exposed. He bit down on the flesh of my neck while he moved in and out of me, a growl rising up within him.

  I dug my nails into his shoulders and back, never enough to cause him any real pain. He released the hold on my hair and lifted his head to claim my lips with his. I gasped against him, “Do I need your permission to come?”

  He shook his head minutely and bent his head to take my earlobe in his teeth. “No,” he growled. “Come as many times as you want.”

  I did. I came until it felt like the world would dissolve into nothing but prisms of light and a rolling fog of pleasure. We ended up out of the bath, Ethan directing me to the vanity where he bent me over the double sink and took me from behind. I could see his reflection in the mirror, watch him as he continued to pump his body into mine. He met my eyes in the mirror and bared his teeth in a savage smile. I saw what I had never seen before—my face and body racked with pleasure. Color rode high in my cheeks, my eyes sparkled, and my mouth open as he tore gasp after moan after cry from my lips.

  I lowered my head, but Ethan said, “No. Watch me. Watch us.”

  I raised my head again, the blush deepening, and held his gaze through the mirror. I was practically vibrating with the waves of sensation that continued to assault my body. I thrust my hips back toward him and he let out a sighing moan that made my stomach clench in anticipation.

  I watched him as his face took on a slack, open-mouthed look, his eyes losing focus in the same instant as his rhythm became frantic. I let out a shout along with him when his end came and nearly fell against the stone countertop, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

  Ethan pulled me with him when he sat down on the floor, his back against the cabinets and his arms encircling me. I ended up with my head pressed against his neck, breathing in the scent of his skin, and my legs curled up almost to my stomach. He smoothed my wet hair back from my face and lay a gentle kiss on my lips. He laughed as he pulled away, “I don’t think I can stand.”

  I chuckled, “And I think we both need that bath now.”

  “It might be dangerous. Look how the last one ended.”

  I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair. It was a little damp from sweat and water but smooth between my fingers. “It was your fault.”

  “Oh, was it?”

  “Yes. You and your body have undone me. I’ve never been this insatiable.”

  I could not see his face clearly, but I saw his eyebrows raise. “Insatiable? Is that an invitation?” His hand began to play along my stomach.

  I laughed and grasped his fingers in my own, twining them together. “Don’t start. Can you stand?”

  “Give me a minute.”

  We sat curled around each other. I could feel a lazy sort of contentment roll over me. I was sore, I wasn’t sure I could walk, and, most of all, I had slept with my boss. Okay, he did not have the ability to fire me, but he was still my workplace superior.

  But Ethan Craymore looked different here, between the walls of his condo. He was almost a new man, not just in action but in appearance. He was funny, relaxed, and too seductive for words.

  I nuzzled the skin of his neck and sighed. “Okay,” I said.

  “Okay, what?”

  I leaned back so that I could see his face, “Okay, I’ll stay here if the invitation is still open.” I smiled, “But we need to discuss rent, and it’s only until I figure things out with my insurance and find a permanent place.”

  His fingers squeezed mine, “What brought this subject about?”

  I lifted his hand and kissed his fingers, my eyes rolled up to look at him. I smiled, “We got distracted earlier, but I’ve thought about it now.”

  He growled and lifted me up to kiss me thoroughly. When he broke away, his voice was low and deep, “If you had time to think during all that, I wasn’t doing my job right.”

  I chuckled, “Okay, you caught me. I just thought of it now. But I can’t think of a reason why not, except that I don’t want to be beholden to you. Which is why we need to discuss rent.”

  He nipped my lower lip and disentangled himself, then helped me stand. “Good,” he said. “I was beginning to think you were laying down a challenge.” He smiled, “We’ll talk about rent later. For now, let’s get cleaned up.”

  I nodded and leaned up against the vanity, my legs still trembling enough that I was afraid to put my full weight on them. I watched Ethan’s tall, hard-muscled body as he moved to drain the tub and refill it with hot water, and wondered.

  What exactly am I getting myself into here?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Veronica

  After we had cleaned ourselves, Ethan had me lay on my bed on my stomach while he massaged my body with oils and strong, talented hands. He was better than any masseuse I had ever been to, which was saying something since Fiona had a spa habit and often dragged me along.

  By the time he finished with the massage, I was riding an edge between sleep and arousal. I had never been touched like that without it ending in carnal relation, but Ethan was all gentleman—now, at least. He helped me to bed and kissed me softly, saying good-night. He had not even left the room when my eyelids drooped and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  The next morning I woke slowly and stretched, memories of last night flowing over me as I smiled. I was surprised by the lack of pain in my limbs and back. My muscles were a little sore, but nothing that I couldn’t stretch out of them. I examined the place where I had been flogged and saw that I was nothing more than a little pink. I was mostly sore down there, but that was to be expected since Ethan was of considerable size and it had been a while.

  Despite that, my body reacted immediately when I saw Ethan shirtless in the kitchen again. I wore a new maroon robe, one that reached to my ankles—at my height even full-length robes rarely hit below the knee—and was made out of soft cotton. I thought it balanced against my blonde hair and light blue eyes.

  When he saw me, his gaze immediately traveled down my body, and I knew I had chosen well. His smile was slow and full of satisfaction. He came to me and cupped my face in both of his hands, tilting it up so that he could touch his lips with mine. “Good morning,” he said when he had pulled back. “You look lovely.”

  I reached up and touched a strand of my curly hair. I rarely bothered with a brush, which made it frizz worse, but after a night of sleeping in wet hair it had turned into a veritable rats nest. I had done what I could with my fingers in the bathroom, but I had not even thought of buying a brush while we were out the day before. “I’m a bit of a mess in the morning.”

  “Nonsense,” he said, following my hand with his own to run a lock of golden hair between his fingers. “Did you know that your hair is one of the first things I noticed about you?”

  I laughed, “It’s hard not to notice. It gets everywhere.”

  He grasped a fistful of it and brought it to his face, inhaling deeply. He dropped it and kissed me again, his lips working softly at mine. When his tongue slipped inside my mouth, it was soft and sweet, and he tasted like the peppermint in his toothpaste. I felt my body begin to respond, warming beneath the feel of him and his hand traveling up my side to circle my waist. I placed both my hands on his bare chest, skimming my fingers over the muscles until I could sink my hands into his soft hair.

  “I love your hair,” he said when he had pulled back enough to look at me. “And your eyes,” he brushed his thumb under one. “Your lips, and your skin.” He ran his hand down my neck to where the robe gapped and slid under the fabric, tracing around the edge of one nipple with his finger. “And every other inch
of you.” He smiled when I gasped, his hand stopped by the belt tied at my waist, his fingers brushed against the bottom of my breasts. His other hand came up to cup my cheek.

  I smiled into his hand, “My mother always said that I was too tall for a woman.”

  He shook his head and leaned down to kiss me again, the soft skin of his lips caressing me. “No,” he murmured, pressing his mouth against the corner of mine, then to my cheek, and across my closed eyelids. “You’re the perfect height.” His hands left my side and my face to cup my ass. “Too much shorter and it would be harder to fuck you from behind.”

  I laughed and pulled my head away so that I could look at him, “You certainly know how to woo a woman, don’t you?”

  He leaned down and breathed into my ear, “I prefer chains to flowers, you know.”

  I giggled and leaned into his cheek. He smelled like pine soap. “Then you know how to woo this woman,” I whispered back.

  Ethan moved his hands up my back and pulled me hard against him. I explored the muscles of his back and neck, plunging my fingers into his hair and giving it an experimental tug. He growled, “Careful, Ms. Delaware.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  He shook his head against my neck, “I like it, but I have plans for you. If we start down that road now, you won’t have time to go to the bank today.”

  He released me and I stepped back. My body screamed not to let him go, to step forward once more into the circle of his strong arms and hard body. I could see the evidence that our brief touches had aroused him, and seeing that brought heat to my cheeks. I knew by the smile that lifted the corners of his mouth that he could see the effect he had on me, too.