“Tamara, with your agreement, Master Connor will continue with this scene while I relieve Master Greg from monitor duty. If, at the end of my hour commitment you wish to resume with me, I’ll be happy to take back over.” Cupping her chin, he lifted her face to meet his descending mouth. Whispering above her lips, he said, “I think it’s best if you and Master Connor iron out your differences before you proceed with me, or anyone else.”
He covered her mouth with his, kissing her long and deep, leaving Tamara in no doubt of his sincerity in wishing to return. By the time he released her, she didn’t know if her trembling stemmed from that carnal kiss or the way Connor kept his unreadable gaze glued to them. Frustration mingled with a thread of excitement as she contemplated her decision. How could she refuse or move on when all she wanted the minute she saw Con was to get naked with him? A quick peek at him sealed her decision when she s
aw the banked heat in his cobalt eyes as they rested on her bare breast. The thrill of finally feeling his hands on her overrode the letdown of defeat.
With a jerky nod, she breathed one word. “Yes.”
Master Devin inclined his head. “Connor.”
“Thanks for understanding, Dev.”
“Just don’t make me regret it.”
The steel edge in Master Devin’s voice belied the friendly smile he walked away with. It was nice knowing she’d pleased someone enough he would look out for her. But as Connor stooped and tapped the inside of her right calf, a silent order to spread her foot over to the cuff attached at the bottom of the frame, she knew she didn’t need or want anyone else. And wasn’t that the crux of her constant, impossible dilemma?
Wrapping the soft, lined cuff around her ankle, he peered up at her, his eyes skimming her breast before settling on her face. “Remember, I’m Master Connor tonight and that I warned you this lifestyle wasn’t for you. Other foot.”
She shuffled her other foot over, saying, “I’ll remember. And I plan to prove you wrong.”
“Stubborn minx,” he muttered under his breath as he checked the cuffs for tightness and then plucked an ice cube from the glass he’d set on the floor. “No talking unless you need to use one of the safewords,” he instructed as he trailed the frigid cube up the inside of her right leg. “Red, I’ll stop and end the scene and escort you out to your car.” He slid under her skirt a few inches and then pushed to his feet, leaving a line of goosebumps down her leg and a burning desire for more. With his eyes on hers, Connor brought the ice to her neck and traced a path around her collarbone. “Yellow if you’re unsure of something or need me to pause.” She shivered as her body heat melted the ice into a cold trickle down her chest, his eyes warming her even more as they followed it. “Green if you’re fine with me continuing. And, Tam?” His gaze whipped back to her face. Gripping her hair with his free hand, he tugged her head back. “I’ll know if you lie.”
The pull on Tamara’s scalp coupled with Master Connor’s stern tone and hot look sent her pulse soaring, the combined effect astonishing. “I’ve never lied to you,” she reminded him, determined not to let him push her into retreating.
He smiled, the teasing grin all the girls fell for, the one she’d never been able to resist returning. “True, little one. Get ready.”
That was his only warning before he circled her nipple with the ice, the frigid cold drawing the puckered tip into a tighter pinpoint. A low moan vibrated in her chest as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The hard frame failed to render an uncomfortable distraction from what she agreed to submit to; instead, the smooth wood and secure bonds provided security for her quaking body and offered only two choices for her to consider—stay or go. The minute she’d seen Connor coming toward her, the choice had been inevitable.
Tamara gasped, a small startled cry wrenched from her throat as Connor bared her other breast and tormented that nipple with another ice cube. Her torso broke out in goosebumps but the heat emanating from the nearness of his much bigger, broader body and occasional brush of his denim-clad legs against hers added enough warmth to keep her senses stirred up and vacillating between discomfort and arousal.
“Give me a color, Tam.”
His deep voice resonated between them, drawing more heat, making her ache for more. “Green.”
“Green what?” he reminded her with a pinch on her thigh.
“Master Connor.” Oh God, why did that have to sound so right?
He brushed his fingers over the small throb and praised her. “Very good. Take a deep breath.”
“Why?” she asked, keeping her eyes closed against the onslaught of rioting sensations he kept stirred up as she fought the growing need to beg for his hands on her.
“Because I’m going to do this.”
With a quick shift of his hand under her skirt, he slid the ice inside her panties, withdrew his fingers and cupped between her legs to move the cube around. Tamara screeched in shock, her eyes flying open as she gasped and writhed in the restraints. To her astonishment, the inability to free herself combined with the numbing effect of the ice heated her blood into a torrential molten rush through her veins. Or maybe it was the warmth of Connor’s palm through the thin silk of her panties that was responsible for her off-the-charts response. His low chuckle in her ear didn’t help.
“You should have obeyed my directive without questioning me. Let’s try again. Deep breath.”
This time she didn’t hesitate, just sucked in as much air as possible and looked down. Watching his hand move under her skirt, he pulled what was left of the ice out of the front of her panties and around to the back, sliding his hot hand and the icy cube over her bare buttocks. “Connor,” she groaned, thrusting her pelvis forward in a silent plea for more of his touch, for something to ease the throbbing ache in her pussy.
Pulling his wet hand from her panties, he smacked her thigh. “Ow! What was that for?” she demanded, glaring at him despite how that sudden burn ramped up her arousal.
“Speaking and not addressing me properly. Color.”
She narrowed her eyes, rising to the challenge etched on his face. “Green, Master Connor.”
This was not going well, Connor thought as he looked down at Tam’s flushed, determined face, her gray eyes glazed with frustration and lust. His plan to show her this lifestyle wasn’t for her with a demonstration of sensation play had backfired on him with her response to the ice. Convincing Devin of his desire to protect Tam from herself had been easy compared to trying to deter her from the course she’d set herself on. He didn’t know whether she was pushing this to get back at him in some way or because she possessed an honest interest in embracing sexual submissiveness. Neither was acceptable for his peace of mind, and he refused to relinquish her to someone else.
“Good enough,” he returned, trying not to smile at her disgruntled frown. “But I’ll caution you about your tone. You can push me all you want outside these walls, in fact, I like it when you do. But in here it’s my way, as I command, or not at all.”