“Jesus, Marie,” he said, and he broke eye contact first, throwing his head back as he began a slow pumping rhythm. “So good.”
He lifted her hips and on his next thrust, he went even deeper, hitting a different spot inside her. Gradually, he picked up speed, still going as deep, but the speed had her rushin
g toward release, until she remembered that she wasn’t allowed.
She tried to count by threes, then she did multiplication tables in her head, until she couldn’t remember six times seven. Finally, she settled on running through ballet moves, over and over.
“I’m going to come so hard,” he said. “Hold yours back and I’ll reward you.”
It was damn near the hardest thing she’d ever done. But she called upon all her strength and even when he thrust deeper inside her than he’d been before and released into the condom, she held back.
He leaned over her, placing his hands on either side of her, breathing heavily. She wanted his weight on her, wanted to feel him pushing her down, holding her under him. He ran his hands up and over her body, and since she hadn’t climaxed, she quickly found herself on the edge again.
“So good, Marie,” he murmured. “Everything about you is good.”
She loved how strong she felt being able to make a man like Lennox let go of his control. Knowing she was the one who’d finally broken through his defenses and touched the Dominant inside him was heady. She wondered if what she felt was something similar to how a Dom felt when a submissive yielded to their control.
If so, she understood the appeal.
He pushed back up from the bed. “Everything was good, but if you think I’m finished with you, you are sorely mistaken. I’m just getting started.”
She shivered under his smoldering gaze that promised so much. Wanting to please him, she remained still and waited for instructions. Besides, he might’ve had some relief, but she was still on the edge.
“Go to the bathroom and clean up,” he said. “You have five minutes. Then meet me in the living room.”
She took her time getting out of bed, wanting to see what he was going to do, but he gave her ass a quick slap and told her to get to it. Not wanting to provoke him further, she waited until she had twenty seconds remaining and hurried into the living room.
She tried to take in everything he’d set out, but as soon as she stepped into the room, he said, “Eyes on me. None of that concerns you right now.”
She didn’t want him to find any fault in her—she wanted to be the best damn submissive he’d ever been with. She pushed everything from her mind and focused on him. His eyes were dark and held a hint of wicked pleasure as she walked toward him. Without being told, she went to her knees before him and bowed her head.
He dug his fingers into her hair. “Someone’s being a good girl now.”
She remained silent, looking at the floor.
He chuckled. “Someone must really want to come soon.”
Again she didn’t say anything because one, it wasn’t a question and two, duh.
He didn’t say anything else, but she heard him step away, and then came the rustling of a cloth. It was several more seconds before he spoke again.
“When you stand up, you’ll see I have a sheet on the floor. I want you on your back on top of it.”
She almost moved, but remembered in time that he hadn’t told her to stand, he said when you stand. She waited.
“Good girl,” he said. “You may stand now.”
Obeying his earlier command not to look around, she only looked at the floor to find the sheet. It was plaid, and she didn’t recognize it. He must’ve brought it out of his car. Somehow that made her feel better, knowing that she wasn’t using Winnie’s things.
She situated herself on the sheet, and waited.
“Hands above your head, and knees spread.” His voice was rough again, gravelly, and filled with desire.
She moved into the position he wanted, feeling horribly exposed as she did so. But this was Lennox, and she knew him; more than that she trusted him. And, holy hell, did she want him.
“Lovely,” he said. “You are beautiful in your submission.”
And when he said things like that, she wanted him forever.
He started whistling, whistling. She had never heard him do that before. Was it something he always did in a scene? Or was it just her? Either way, it made her happy. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen or heard him be so carefree. Surely now he would see how he needed his Dominant nature, and he wouldn’t repress anymore.
She watched as he walked to the blanket and sat beside her.
“I like you spread out for me like this. So trusting and giving. Seeing you like this is a feast for my soul.” He brushed a wayward piece of hair from her forehead. “Now, I did promise that if you held off on coming that I would make it worth it, didn’t I?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered.
“You should know I always keep my promises. Here’s what we’re going to do: I’m going to spend time learning everything I can about your body.” He rose to his knees. “Close your eyes and just feel. Don’t move.”
Her heart pounded and her mouth was so dry. She still couldn’t believe they were together like this. She took one more glance at him, just to make sure it was real, and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, his hands were on her.
First, he stroked her collarbone. “Your skin is so pale and delicate. I’m almost afraid to touch you. But from that spanking I gave you earlier I know there’s nothing fragile about you. You are a strong and determined woman and you turn me on so much.”
Heaven help her if he decided to talk the entire time he touched her. There was no way she could remain still.
Light as a feather and so soft she thought she imagined it, his fingers brushed down her arms. “I wonder if you like light touches.” His fingertips danced along her ribs, stroked the inside of her elbow, and gently canvassed her belly.
Yes, she wanted to shout, she liked light touches.
“Hmm,” he hummed. “I’ll take those goose bumps to be a positive sign. But I wonder . . .” His hands left for a brief second and when they came back, he pinched her nipple.
It was so unexpected, she couldn’t hold back her gasp of surprise.
“Yes,” he said, his voice a combination of humor and lust. “You like it harder, too. Don’t you?”
“Yes, Sir.” She answered him quickly, hoping that in doing so, he’d give her more.
He didn’t disappoint—almost immediately, he pinched her other nipple, but this time when he let go, his mouth replaced his fingers. When he sucked her deep into his mouth, the pleasure was so intense, she saw stars for a few seconds. When he let go, she was torn between not wanting him to repeat his action on the other side for fear of pleasure overload and desperately wanting him to continue.
But when he nibbled at her other breast, she realized she was in more trouble than she had ever imagined, and for the first time in all her years as a submissive, she understood why Doms were called “Master.” Because the way Lennox worked her body and drew out feeling after feeling and sensation after sensation was nothing short of masterful.
He continued playing with her breasts for several minutes, or maybe it was an hour, she had no frame of reference and couldn’t really tell how much time had passed. Nor did she care. He did exactly what he said he was going to do.
He explored every inch of her, testing different touches and teasing relentlessly. She had no doubt he was cataloging every response and would never forget a reaction. Though she did nothing but remain still under his scrutiny, when he pulled back, she felt like she had run a marathon.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, and it wasn’t until he smoothed his fingers over her brow, that she realized she’d had it wrinkled.
Tonight she vowed there would be nothing other than honesty between them. “That I’ve never experienced anything more incredible in my life.”
“You looked as if you were thinking very hard.”
“I was trying to decide if you were real, Sir.”
He brushed her cheekbone with his knuckles. “Does this feel fake?”
“Not so much fake, Sir. More like too good to be true.”
“On the contrary.” His hand brushed lower, sweeping down her side and co
ming to rest on her hip. “What’s too good to be true is you here, spread out like this for me. Why do you think I want to spend so much time exploring you?”
“I don’t know, Sir.”
“Because the more details I can learn about you, the more I can