Double Down (9 page)

But it wasn’t just about sex, and that was nice, too. He had taken her to dinner at some very intimate, high-end places and out for another ride on his “small boat.” The past two Saturdays they’d gone exploring in the small towns around San Antonio. Who would have thought that Branch Colby collected Western antiques? Last Sunday he’d shown up with pizza, and they’d watched football together.

And, of course, there had been the sex—plentiful and spectacular. He was an inventive lover who enjoyed all aspects of sex. What made it more enticing was the constant battle between them for control. More and more, she saw the Dom in him, and she wondered if, when he wasn’t with her, he gave full rein to it. Somehow, strangely, it seemed to her they were both winning the battle.

The thing that bothered her the most was that, against all expectations, shockingly she found herself becoming emotionally involved with him, with a man who didn’t do emotional attachments or lasting relationships. And neither did she. She’d long ago given up looking for or expecting one. Men who weren’t submissives didn’t connect with her. And most of them resented a woman taking charge in bed. How was she supposed to handle what was happening now? What should she do with her own emotions? Sooner rather than later, she knew she’d have to end this. Wouldn’t she? Could they somehow make this work, two such controlling personalities? In any event she planned to enjoy it as long as she could. Tonight they would be staying in. Casual, he told her. At home. A nice, relaxed evening. Come and spend the night.

And have lots of sex.

Just enjoy it, Lee. Enjoy the fact that a man like Branch Colby is attracted to you and wants to spend time with you. Worry about the fallout later.

She had managed to take the edge off her needs with a few scattered visits to Infinity, but even that had left her with an unfinished feeling. Branch Colby was different from the men she usually dated outside the club. It wasn’t just the money, although god knew he had enough for a small country. Maybe it was the absence of his need to impress her. He drove an SUV instead of a high-dollar vehicle. He seemed to enjoy dinner at a highway diner more than the most expensive restaurant in the city. And he didn’t have an air of entitlement. That was it. He was completely unimpressed with himself.

Again, she gave herself a jolt of reality. She couldn’t afford to develop real feelings or a sense of attachment to Branch. However he acted with her, men like him didn’t marry women like her or, in his case, maybe any woman at all. No, the vibes he gave off, despite the other pleasant times they’d spent together, were of a man who based his personal life on sex and nothing more. He certainly gave no indication that he was a man looking to settle down. She’d had the sense from the beginning that this was an adventure based on sex, and, damn, it had certainly been good.

But marry? Was she crazy? Where had that thought come from anyway? She needed to quit letting her brain run away from her, get out of the tub, and get dressed for the evening. Branch had tried to insist on picking her up, but she wanted her own transportation. He’d told her he hoped she’d stay the night with him, something she’d avoided so far. Going home to her own bed gave her the feeling of being in control of the situation. She didn’t know if she was ready to take this to another level or put an end to it, and she wasn’t used to having her emotions all over the place like this or being so indecisive. She’d just have to see how it played out. Having her car there was her safety valve. It gave her a sense of security. She could leave any time she wanted to.

So get with the program
, she told herself.
And stop looking for trouble where there isn’t any
.

*****

He checked everything one last time. The wine was chilling. The finger foods were ready in the fridge. He had a stack of CDs ready to go at the push of a button and, in his bedroom, an interesting assortment of toys that he hoped he’d get to use. Now he paced back and forth from the kitchen to the foyer and back again. He was edgy and impatient. Edgy because, unexpectedly, he had misgivings about what he’d planned for tonight and impatient because he was eager to see Lee.

And that fact made him even edgier. At his age, he’d had more than his share of women. Maybe someone else’s, too. He thought back to his conversation with Max when the discussion of Lee had first come up and the things Max had said. It was definitely true the women he dated outside Ultra occupied him for a while, but he’d come to realize they were interchangeable. His attraction to them faded quickly, and it had become harder and harder to find one who held his interest. Lee had become the exception to the rule, and it made him uneasy about his plans for the evening.

Because something had entered into the equation that he hadn’t expected—emotions. And he had no idea what to do with them. He’d spent so many years guarding his heart from the women who wanted to use him as much as he used them, the ones who lusted after his money and position, that now he was afraid to let it break free.

Go figure
, he told himself. Just when he least expected it—when he least needed it—that four-letter word —
love
—had imprinted itself on him like a brand. He had never trusted it, kept himself immune to it, but that made this all the more shocking. He was totally unprepared for this. What had started out as a sexual adventure had turned into something so deep, so emotional, he had no idea what to do with it.

Lee Sullivan was the ultimate self-possessed female. That was what had attracted him to begin with, a woman who could meet him on equal footing. She’d probably think he was nuts if he told her how he felt.

He had to get himself to square one, the reason for this little dance they’d been doing. He had seen her as a challenge, and now it was time to meet that challenge. If tonight worked out the way he expected, he’d win his bet, he and Lee would part friends with her none the wiser, and they would each go back to their private lives.

Tell that to someone who believes you
, said the little devil in his head.

For that one moment, he was tempted to call the whole thing off. Never mind that Max would laugh his ass off. That wasn’t what was important here. Was it?

He was standing in the foyer looking out the window next to the door when his cell rang. He pulled it from his pocket, looked at the screen, and saw Max’s face.

“What?” he asked abruptly. “I’m busy.”

“Just checking in to make sure tonight’s the night.”

Fuck. He wished to hell he’d never told Max this was it. Again he even wished he’d never made the damn bet.

“It won’t be anything if you don’t leave me alone,” he growled. “Goodnight, Max.”

He disconnected the call and turned off the phone, uncertainty holding him in its unfamiliar grasp.

Don’t be nuts. You may think she’s different, but, in the end, she won’t be any different from any of the other women.

That’s what he had to hang on to. He had just shoved his cell in his pocket when he saw Lee’s car head up the driveway and stop in front of the house. Smiling, he opened the door.

“I like a man who’s anxious to see me.” She grinned at him.

“Always. Come on in. I’ve got your favorite white on ice.”

Just looking at her made him hard as a rock. Her thick curtain of dark hair brushed softly at her shoulders, and he couldn’t resist brushing it back from her face and placing a light kiss on her cheek. The sheer blouse and tank top she wore did little to disguise the roundness of her breasts or the fact that her nipples were already hard and poking against the material. He didn’t remember ever being with a woman as hungry for sex as he was, not until Lee. He couldn’t wait until later when he could get her clothes off and get her on her knees. And he definitely planned for that to happen.

By the time they’d had some wine and nibbled their way through their food, his cock and balls actually ached with anticipation. When she held out her wine goblet for a refill, he took the glass from her and set it on the table. The he stood up and urged her to her feet also.

“I can’t wait any longer to get my hands on you tonight.”

He cupped her cheeks, drawing her face to him, and licked her soft lips, one casual swipe of his tongue then another. With the tip he traced the closed seam of her mouth, back and forth until she opened for him, allowing him to sweep inside. Jesus, she always tasted so damn good. Not even the crisp flavor of the wine could disguise the taste that was distinctively Lee, and he drank his fill of her. She lifted her hands and threaded her fingers through his hair, taking the kiss deep and teasing her tongue to duel with his.

Finally he lifted his head, breathing hard. “Let’s take this into the bedroom.”

Something he couldn’t define flashed in her eyes, and, for a moment, he thought she was going to refuse. Then she smiled at him, that smile that lit a fire in his blood, and she nodded her head. In his bedroom he dove in for another kiss, sucking her tongue into his mouth and biting down on it gently. She gave as good as she got, her tongue as wicked as his. When he slipped his hands down her back to squeeze her buttocks, she moaned softly into his mouth.

Catching his breath, he took a step back. God, she was hot. Knowing she was a Domme—and that she was unaware he knew it—made this even more arousing.

“Are you up for a little game tonight?” he asked, his mouth nearly touching hers.

“What kind of game?” She searched his eyes as if seeking some kind of hidden answer.

He dropped his gaze and instead focused on the pulse beating heavily in the hollow of her throat. Damn! She was already aroused, too.

He nipped along the edge of her jaw.

“What if I gave you orders tonight? Told you what to do instead of asking you?”

His tongue circled the inner shell of her ear, a touch he knew raised her temperature.

“Maybe even blindfolded you so every touch, every response, would be that much more intense?”

When she didn’t say anything, he studied her face. “Afraid of me, Lee? Afraid of what I might make you do?”

He could almost see the battle she was raging with herself. A muscle twitched in the softness of her cheek, and she looked away from him, down at her feet. Not submissively, but to hide her thoughts from him.

“Haven’t you ever wondered,” he asked, “what it would be like to put yourself completely at the mercy of a man for one night? A man that you trusted completely?”

She lifted her gaze, tiny flecks of gold shimmering in the deep hazel of her eyes.

“And that would be you?”

“If you trust me. Do you, Lee? Trust me?”

For a long, tension-filled moment, he was positive she would refuse him. That the turnabout would be too much for her. As far as she knew, he had no knowledge of her life as Mistress Star, so he couldn’t simply suggest a switch of roles. Besides, for reasons that went far beyond his bet with Max, he wanted her to want this.

A slow, hungry smile tilted her lips, and the anxiety eased from his body.

“I do. And I think that might be—interesting.”

He blew out a breath and took a step back. “Very well, then. Remove your clothing, all of it, but slowly.”

He was mildly surprised to see that her hands shook slightly as she lifted them, but then they steadied. With deliberate movements she untied the tails of the sheer overblouse, let them fall, and unbuttoned the two closed buttons. Her focus never left Branch’s as she shrugged the garment from her shoulders and tossed it onto a chair next to the bed. The soft material of her tank top outlined the hard buds of her nipples. She waited for a moment, letting Branch look his fill, before she tugged the cami over her head.

Lee stood there, waiting until his eyes had raked over her before unclasping her bra and setting her breasts free.

Branch sucked in a breath, his mouth watering at the sight of her taut buds. He stepped forward and placed a hot kiss where her neck and shoulder joined, followed by a tiny bite. Then he did the same to the other side.

When he moved away, she slid her feet out of her sandals and eased herself out of her slacks and her thong. He watched every movement she made, admiring her gracefulness. He recognized the total control and lack of self-consciousness of a natural Domme. He had to resist the urge to lick his lips.

When she was completely naked, he took the opportunity to study her body, not that he hadn’t seen it so many times already. He loved the proud uptilt of her breasts, the dark rosiness of her nipples and the aureoles surrounding them. The slight curve of her stomach and the sweep of her hips to her thighs. The light he’d left on made the neat rows of curls on her mound glint, already dampened with her moisture. Lee Sullivan was a passionate woman who was easily aroused when she had her shields down. He wondered if any other man had ever discovered that side of Lee, then hated himself for the brief slash of jealousy.

She stood there, hands at her sides, relaxed, the corners of her mouth upturned just so slightly. Challenging him, the minx. He swallowed a smile.

“Spread your legs apart then touch your pussy and show me how wet your finger is.”

She moved her feet farther apart, drew her finger through her slit, and obediently held it up for his observation. Her cream glistened in the light.

“Excellent. Now lick it clean for me.” He needed to see how far he could push her simply with commands before he moved to anything else. His own problem was keeping his cock and his raging hunger for her under control.

Still watching him, she ran her tongue lazily over her finger, turning it to catch every surface then holding it out for his inspection. He moved close enough to grasp her hand and close his mouth over the same finger. The smile was gone from her lips but not the insolence. That only turned him on more.

“Turn around, bend over, and grab your ankles. I don’t think I’ve taken a good enough look at how well you trim the hair around your cunt.”

Again she hesitated for a moment, a hint of insouciance in her eyes, but then she turned and bent over. Branch sucked in his breath at the sight of her, pink pussy lips shiny with her juice, the thin strip of hair outlining her opening. Her tiny rear opening winked at him between the cheeks of her buttocks, and it was all he could do to restrain himself from falling to his knees and plunging his cock into her and at the same time teasing her rear opening with his tongue. He had to clear his throat twice before he could speak.