Authors: Scarlett Sanderson
Jesus Christ.
He twitched, jerked against his palm.
Pre-cum oozed from the helmet.
He felt like it would pop off at any
second.
He hadn’t been this aroused since high school. It was Tessa’s
fault, her and those hungry eyes.
Gritting his teeth, he gripped the root of his cock, held it
firm and straight, pointing it at Tessa. “Come over here. Get down on your
knees and suck your Master’s cock.”
He wanted her tongue on him, he wanted to feel her hot mouth
sucking his balls. He’d fantasized about this since the moment he’d laid eyes
on her.
Her eyes widened. For a brief second he thought she was
going to refuse. Not taking any chances, he repeated, “Get down on your knees
and suck your Master’s cock, slave.” He kept his tone even yet commanding.
Even now, this was a choice. A choice she had to make. If
she complied, Tessa’s submissive streak would be satisfied. It she refused,
their arrangement was over. He prayed she wouldn’t disappoint him. He needed
her to want this as much as he did.
She padded over to him, staring for a heartbeat before
sliding sinuously to her knees. His heart surged in triumph.
Jared moaned as she pursed her lips over the head of his
cock and gently blew. His dick twitched in response. She slowly lowered her
mouth. Her tongue snaked out to lick the pre-cum that had gathered at the head.
He fisted his hands by his sides, determined not to touch her lest he break the
spell.
Wrapping her delicate fingers around him, she lowered her
mouth. The first feel of her lips made his body jerk. Her mouth—warm, wet and
so fucking inviting.
She sucked him like a pro. Twirling her talented tongue
around and around the head, using the devastating combination of hand and lips,
twisting and turning, fondling his heavy sac with the right amount of pressure.
He felt his balls tighten and fought back the pressure by
gripping a handful of her hair. He massaged her scalp, and her lips slid down
his cock, eager to take more.
Hot. So hot and soft. He pushed farther into the cavern of
her mouth. She felt like home. No other woman had him this turned-on, this
desperate to come. He’d always been so controlled. He wouldn’t come until he
was ready. A few strokes and sucks from his Tessa and he was going to spill his
load.
“That’s it. That is so fucking good. My little submissive
loves her Master to fuck her.”
His. She was his. His submissive.
His crude words made her moan, and he felt it right through
his body. Unable to stand it any longer, he gave one mighty groan and threw
back his head. His body jerked and tightened as he spewed hot, jetting cum into
her willing little mouth. She swallowed every drop. The suction of the movement
made him shiver.
Tessa released his cock. He heard the wet popping sound and
looked down at her. She had a wicked gleam in her eyes. Locking her gaze to
his, she swallowed. The action was deliberate and one of the hottest things
he’d ever seen.
His.
His heart pounded as he pulled her to her feet, dragged her
body against his and kissed her. He couldn’t resist. She tasted salty, musky
and oh so sweet. He wanted to wrap her in warmth and comfort. He wanted to care
for her.
He dropped his forehead against hers and smiled. “Like your
submission lessons?”
Tessa chuckled. “Oh yeah. They are the highlight of my day.”
Her tone made Jared laugh. “So you want to keep this arrangement
going for a little while?”
“You betcha, cowboy.”
Chapter Six
“What do you mean, you can’t come until tomorrow? It’s
leaking all over the kitchen floor!” Tessa squealed into the phone like a
banshee. Her kitchen was a disaster area and had been for the past couple of
hours, since the faucet started leaking.
It didn’t do any good, as the plumber still refused to get
his lazy ass out on a Sunday to fix her leak. His advice—turn off the stop tap
and wait until tomorrow.
“Yeah, thanks a lot.” She slammed down the receiver before
releasing a stream of verbal abuse. It wasn’t often she cussed, but goddamn,
when she did the air turned blue.
She bundled a cup of lukewarm coffee into the microwave
before turning to survey her kitchen. She’d already dealt with the stop tap.
Did he think she was stupid? Numerous towels lay draped on the floor, soaking
up excess water.
She could do without her kitchen for a whole day. It wasn’t
a major thing. She could use the bathroom water works; they were still
operational. It was the principle. She’d paid the guy good money for previous
jobs, the least he could do was help her out of a jam.
The microwave beeped and she retrieved the coffee. Taking a
sip, she frowned as the hot liquid scalded her tongue.
Life had become interesting these days. First there was
Jared. Her Dominant, her Master. Submitting to him was…thrilling, exciting,
mind-blowing. When they weren’t in a sexual situation he treated her as an
equal. Was that unusual?
Many Masters and slaves had loving, respectful relationships.
Despite this, the submissives she’d known always gave up certain things—their
jobs, their homes. Even in vanilla situations such as going for a meal, the
Dominant took charge.
Not so with Jared. He gave her exactly what she
needed—submission in the bedroom, equality everywhere else. A strange
contradiction, especially considering his background as a Dom. It puzzled the
crap out of her.
Startled by a knock at the door, she hoped the plumber had
changed his mind.
She twisted the lock and gave her guest a surprised look.
“Jared. What are you doing here?”
Her heart beat wildly. Just one look from him and she
quivered. Her pussy slicked, anticipated taking his hard cock inside her.
Amazing. Her body became liquid and pliant, as if screaming
take me now!
He shrugged, treating her to a devastating smile. “I was in
the neighborhood, thought I’d drop by, see how you were.”
Tessa invited him in and offered him some coffee.
“Would love some, thanks.”
She poured him a cup and became intensely aware of his presence.
It was like a bulb lighting the way in the dark. She wanted him, wanted to feel
his arms around her, his lips on hers, skin against skin. She craved. She
needed. She wanted many more mornings like this with Jared Campbell.
The thought slammed into her like a freight train. It wasn’t
supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to form an attachment to him. When the
month was up, he would be gone, on to his next submissive. Caring for Jared was
exactly what she’d been afraid of. From what she could gather, his past
submissives hadn’t been about permanency.
“Is it laundry day or something?”
Tessa gave him a puzzled look, followed his gaze toward the
wet towels.
“Oh no.” She laughed. “Problem with the plumbing. The
asshole I usually pay reminded me it’s Sunday and not really an emergency.” She
rolled her eyes. “Soooo, I’m stuck with a semi-
Titanic
and no downstairs
water.”
Jared pushed away from the breakfast bar and walked to the
sink. Squatting down, he opened the cupboards and began feeling around the piping.
“You know, this wouldn’t take much to fix. I could do it for you.” He flashed
her an impish smile. “And my fees wouldn’t be much.”
Tessa composed herself and returned his smile. She’d been
having wicked thoughts about how great his ass looked in those tight blue
jeans. “I’m sure I could pay your fee. But one thing I need to know, are you a
professional?”
She sauntered toward him. Unable to stop herself, she ran
her fingers through his hair, a gesture she loved performing. He loved it too.
“Well, I know my way around women’s piping if that’s what
you mean, ma’am.”
Tessa threw back her head and laughed. “Let me get some
tools from the garage and you can take a look.”
He clutched his chest. “Be still my beatin’ heart. A woman
who has tools? Marry me!”
Her heart lurched. He was joking but those words did
something weird and wacky to her emotions. Her cheeks heated and she slapped
him gently upside the head. “Behave.”
When she walked away, he swatted her ass. “Aww, but you like
it when I’m bad.”
She rolled her eyes and waved a dismissive hand in his
direction.
Rummaging in the garage, she thought how nice it was to
banter and share laughter. She grabbed a few things he might need but then
changed her mind, deciding to take the whole toolbox.
She wondered what had driven him to stop by. His
neighborhood was a good distance away. Surely he didn’t have business in
suburban Middle America? Dare she let herself hope he’d made a special journey
to see her?
Jesus, all these thoughts were driving her crazy. They led
to one thing she’d dared not admit, even to herself. She was falling for
Jared—hook, line and leather-bondage restraints. And she despised herself for
it. Jared would never allow himself to get attached. Not to her, maybe not to
anyone.
The thought cut through her giddy schoolgirl notions of love
and romance. She should know better. Her fiancé had dashed her hopes of
meaningful relationships. Although he hadn’t been able to satisfy her sexually,
Tessa believed she loved him deeply, that they could have had a life together.
Then she’d told him about her needs.
That is disgusting, Tessa. I cannot believe you can get
off on that kind of shit. It’s abnormal.
Even after all this time his words haunted her.
She
knew she should pull away from Jared, put some distance between them. She
couldn’t give her heart again and risk getting it torn in two. Jared would
never berate her for her submissiveness but she might not be enough for him.
Just a little while longer.
She couldn’t leave, not yet.
She was going to get hurt but right now she didn’t care. She
wanted Jared Campbell and she was going to have him, any way she could.
Even if it meant getting her heart broken.
“Where did you learn how to be handy with a wrench?” Tessa
stood behind him, arms folded over her chest, head tilted to one side.
He’d stripped out of his leather jacket and she watched,
fascinated, as his muscles bunched and moved while he worked his tools under
the dark recesses of her sink. Beads of sweat glistened on his skin and she
wanted nothing more than to lick them, taste the tangy scent of Jared Campbell
on her tongue.
“Growing up, we helped Momma where we could.”
The image of a little boy with dark, spiky hair and
piercing-green eyes holding a wrench too heavy for his tiny hands made her
heart melt. “What about your daddy?”
His gaze snapped to hers and the fury she saw startled her.
“That son of a bitch left when I was a baby.”
Unable to resist, she moved toward him, needing to touch
him. “I’m sorry.”
So that was why he refused to let anyone get close.
He patted her hand and returned his attention to the pipes.
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”
Therapist instinct kicking in, Tessa decided to leave the
subject alone. After all, it wasn’t any of her business. Jared wasn’t her
partner, just a business arrangement. “How did you come to own Inferno?”
Jared snorted. “A lot of shrewd moves and a lot of dumb
luck.”
“I don’t believe that.”
Turning, he batted those long, sensuous lashes. “I have a
head for business. And a body for sin.” His tone mimicked that of Melanie
Griffith’s in
Working Girl
, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“All done.” Rising, he wiped his hands on the towel she
offered him. He tested the water and Tessa smiled at the look of pure male
pride of his face. “Still got the knack.”
“Sure have, cowboy.” She glanced at the clock. “Um, can I
make you some lunch?” She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and
gnawed on her lower lip. “Unless you have somewhere else you need to be?”
Jesus, she was acting like a shy virgin.
His gaze locked with hers. “No, I don’t. Lunch would be
great.”
Tessa let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been
holding. “I’ll grill us some steaks.”
He helped her cook the meal. The simple gestures and casual
atmosphere pulled at Tessa’s heartstrings. How many Sundays had she spent like
this with previous lovers? None that came to mind.
Tucking into their steaks, Jared broke the silence. “Why did
you come to the club?”
She blinked, swallowed. He’d never really asked her that
before. “What?”
“Why did you come to Inferno? Why now, after all these
years? Why explore submission now?”
Pushing the meat around her plate, she toyed with her salad.
Good question, one she’d been asking herself for a while. She felt closer to
Jared than any of her previous lovers, even her fiancé. Maybe it was time to
reveal some of her past.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at Jared. He stared at her,
expectation evident in his eyes.
“It was time. I can’t keep denying the things that turn me
on.”
“And how did you discover submission a turn-on?”
She put down her fork and leaned back in the chair. Her
pulse quickened, nerves beat butterflies in her stomach. Why did she feel so
nervous talking about her past?
“Sounds clichéd but I guess I’ve always known. Does that
make sense?”
He flashed a wry smile. “Yeah, it does.”
Briefly, she wondered if it had been the same for him and
made a mental note to ask. “As a kid, being an only child, there were certain
expectations. I strived to be the best. That meant keeping a tight rein on
things. Always be in control. I couldn’t let things slip.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Long-buried emotions
bubbled to the surface. She didn’t have a bad childhood, she wasn’t abused.
She’d grown up in a safe and loving environment. But there was no room for
error, disappointment. She had to do well in school, in extra activities. There
was so much pressure on her to succeed.