Finding Orion (3 page)

Fully alert,
I looked away from the collar when he took a few steps back.

"Kneel."
He glared at me when I didn't move and pointed to the floor at his feet. "Was
I not clear? I said
kneel.
"

I swallowed.
Hard.
My face felt as if it was on fire, and I averted my
gaze as I stepped away from the bed. Cool air kissed my naked body.
That's not the only thing on your body.

He was
staring, devouring me with his eyes.

I made sure I
was far enough away from the bed before kneeling at his feet.

He stepped to
my left and removed his socks and shoes, but left everything else on. Circling
around me, he straightened my back and placed my arms behind me.

"I won't
use the cuffs," he murmured, padding off to my right. He leaned over me so
his lips were almost touching my ear.
"So long as you
hold your hands in place.
Understand?"

I nodded and
held on to one of the wrists behind my back.

"I'm
sorry. I must be hard of hearing. Do.
You.
Understand?"

I closed my
eyes. "Yes, Master."

"Good
girl." He placed the collar around my neck and buckled it in to place,
standing back to admire his handiwork.
"Too tight?"

"No,
Master."

"Glad to
hear it. Now, remove my pants."

Just his pants?
Placing my hands in front of me with
fingers that refused to stay still, I struggled to unfasten his belt. When he
didn't say anything, I moved on to the button of his pants, which was just as
challenging. Thankfully, there was no way for me to screw up on the zipper, and
in due time, I'd pulled his pants down to his ankles so he could step out of
them.

The heat coming
off his body seemed to intensify as soon as I removed his slacks. There was
only one article of clothing left between my mouth and his cock, which was
visibly erect through his dark boxers.

I replaced my
hands behind my back, bowed my head, and counted back from ten as I waited for
him to give me his next order.
To praise me.
To say anything at all.
I got down to five when he finally
spoke.

"Good.
Very
good."
He grabbed what little hair he could find at the back of my head, yanking at it
so I was looking directly at him. "But we aren't finished yet, are we?"

God, I hope not.
"No, Master."

"Continue."

Bit by bit, I
removed his clothes. The buttons on his shirt were especially frustrating,
slipping through my fingers more than a dozen times as I worked on getting the
light fabric away from his increasingly warm skin. His boxers were the last to
go.

Once again, I
corrected my posture, placing myself at his feet while I awaited his next
command.

He placed a
hand on my shoulder, and I glanced up at him.

"Lick
me."

With pleasure.
Widening my stance to avoid losing my
balance, I brushed the tip of his cock with my tongue and smiled when it
twitched. I took my time, licking around the head, down to the base, and back
up again. I inhaled his scent, which was spicy and made me half dizzy. It'd
been so long since I'd given head that being asked only to lick and not touch
was almost too much.

The more I
tasted him, the harder it was for me to keep from going down on him completely.

His hand
settled on top of my head, not guiding me, just there.

A moan came
from somewhere above me as I traced the vein under his cock with the very tip
of my tongue, applying just enough pressure to make sure he felt it. My clit
throbbed each time he twitched, and if he didn't let me suck him off soon, I
wasn't sure I'd be able to wait.

Again, I
moved from the base to the tip, licking at the slit I found there, tasting the
salty sweet pearl of semen before going down again.
Please, please let me suck you.
He had to of been going out of his
fucking mind by now. There's no way he could have complete control over his
reaction. Could he?

It's a learned art.
And that's exactly what
it was. As far as I knew, a Dom had to practice patience and control no matter
how long he'd been in the scene. And while he may have had the desire to
control just as much as a sub wished to submit, there were skills he had to
constantly reinforce.
With
practice.
The amount of patience, of control he showed then was
staggering.

"Brianna,"
Master Orion
began,
his voice terse.

I'd zoned out
and completely ignored the slight pressure on the top of my head.
He's directing you.
How long had I been
drifting?

"S-sorry,
Master," I said. "I..."

"I know."
He lifted my chin. "Am I frustrating you?"

"Yes,
Master."

"You
want to suck me, don't you?"

Breathe, Brianna. Remember to breathe.
"Y-yes,
Master."

"Get to
it then."

My mouth
watered at the invitation, and after releasing a breath, I wrapped my mouth
around his cock. He was a little bigger than expected, but after adjusting my jaw
to accommodate
him,
going down on him wasn't nearly as
uncomfortable. And I'd certainly had worse.
That's
right, guys, bigger isn't always better.

I shuddered
at the memory of trying to go down on a man who almost choked me to death. Oh
yeah, I knew how to pick out the winners.
 
But Master Orion?
He
was almost perfect.
And before I could even begin, I deep-throated
him.

His breath
caught. He groaned. The grip on my hair grew a little tighter. He obviously approved,
and if the slight sway of his hips was any indication, I'd caught him off
guard.

Following the
earlier
 
movements
of my tongue, I made my way back up to the head, delighting in his helpless
moans whenever my tongue circled around the head of his cock. I slowly worked
up a rhythm, bobbing my head up and down his length.

I listen to
his breath, which turned ragged the longer I sucked on him. His hand pressed
down on my scalp, and as directed, I went down as far as I could. My eyes stung
with tears and my clit throbbed from the brief lack of air before I went back
up again. Luckily for me, I'd trained my gag reflex to back the fuck off years
ago. So long as he wasn't too large, I could take just about any man down to
his balls.

Master Orion
was no exception. He staggered back against a wall and lifted my chin.
"Stop.
That's enough."

Pleased with
my work, I corrected my posture and averted my eyes.

"Stand
up." He offered me a hand and pulled me in against his chest once I was
off the floor. He looked down at me and brushed the stray hairs from my face
before kissing me on the lips. It was a light, almost there kind of kiss. And
when he pulled away, my heart sank.

"That's
enough for tonight." He held a hand to my face, drawing arcs across my
cheek with his thumb.

Fighting back
my sexual frustrations, I glanced around the room. The dream was shifting. His
suit jacket was missing, as were his slacks. The hand that was caressing my
face was fading, becoming more ghostlike with every passing second.

"What's
happening?" I asked, grabbing at him only for my hand to run right through
his body as if he weren't even there.

He nodded
toward the window.
"Daylight."
Master Orion
leaned in and kissed me on the forehead, just as light as he'd been on my lips.
"Until we meet again, my pet."

I held a hand
to my cheek, trying to capture whatever was left of him there. The sunlight
from outside streamed in through my blinds. I was waking up.
I'm not ready.

I opened my
eyes, and my body fell back into reality.

Chapter Two

Disappointed
couldn't even begin to describe how I felt once I woke up. For the first time I
could remember, I'd found a guy I actually wanted to be with. There was just
one problem—
he wasn't real.
I sighed
and stared at the ceiling.

You know when
you have a dream you really want to get back to, and no matter how hard you try
you can't get back to sleep to see how it ends? That was me. I was scrambling
for a foothold in the dream world, but it didn't exist. I fell, crash landing
into my very normal, very boring life.

I felt for
the collar around my neck, which was absent in the daylight. Frantic, I got out
of bed and opened the top drawer to my nightstand, only to find the band of
cool leather wasn't there.
It really was
a dream.
It'd felt so real, I'd nearly forgotten. I'd have to wait until tonight
to see him again, to feel my collar, —his collar—around my neck.
It's worth it.
If I never met another
man in my entire life, the time I shared with master Orion had been worth it.

Still
sluggish and maybe a little lightheaded from my dream, I somehow managed to put
on my work clothes without screwing anything up. I managed to wind up in the same
colored socks, the same shoes. Hell, even my shirt was turned right-side-in. I
was off to a great start.

Tying my
shoes, I let the memory of last night—of my dreams—carry me through the usual
morning crap I had to do before rushing off to work.
At least it's Friday.
And so long as the boss
didn't call me in to do a double shift or worse, it looked to be a fairly
laidback weekend.

****

The register
beeped and complained as I slid yet another item over the scanner and bagged it
along with everything else. I thought of how wonderful it would be if we sold
anything even remotely close to sexual at
Farrin's
Grocery, but not even our cucumbers were brag worthy. Not that it would've
helped my current situation anyway.

Through all
the monotony that was my daily life, I couldn't shake the feeling of last
night. Orion was constantly on my mind.
His chiseled jaw,
bleached hair, and the gentleness in his eyes even when his voice was terse.

I sighed,
handed my customer her change and sat back against the counter of my register,
happy for the break between produce, bread, cosmetics, and whatever else folks
could find in this place. It was close to eleven, so the reprieve would be a
short one.

For some
reason, I wondered if it was possible to ask master Orion for his number, just
so I had something to punch in to my cell. I didn't care if he didn't exist,
but having an evening of good company like I did last night usually warranted a
phone call the day after.
Or at the very least a text.

It felt wrong
not being able to reach out to him—to thank him. I squinted at the clock on my
register. 11:03. I furrowed my brow and pulled my cell from my back pocket,
flipping it open to check the time. It wasn't any better.

"I know
that look,"
Karie
, one of my close co-workers
said as she drifted by. She stopped at my register after grabbing a handful of
bags and made it appear as though she was adding some to my pile as she spoke. "You
met someone, didn't you?" She smiled when I looked up at her. "Don't
worry, your secret's safe with me."

If it weren't
for her longer hair, we could've been mistaken for sisters. And by the way we
both hung on each other and joked around, it was no wonder. She and I had been
stuck working at
Farrin's
for close to four years,
without a single raise. The closest job offer I'd found was almost a thirty
mile commute one way and they didn't pay nearly enough to cover the gas or the
lost sleep I'd have just to get up on time.

No, compared
to the jobs I could find if I was willing to venture into the heart of
Seattle
, getting stuck
working for
Farrin's
wasn't the worst thing that
could've happened. And so long as he kept signing my checks and my landlord
didn't up my rent, I'd be fine.

"Well?"
Karie
crossed her arms over her chest. "Aren't
you going to say anything?"

By now, I was
pretty sure my face was beet red. Out of all the cashiers I worked with, I was
the only one who didn't entertain guests half as often as everyone else. It
soon became a running joke with
Karie
and our small
circle of friends that I didn't want to become a sappy
fangirl
the way they had. But if I ever did find someone, I knew I'd never live it
down.

"It's
not that," I said, checking my phone again.
What the hell? Are any of the clocks in this place capable of telling
time?
11:05.It was almost as bad as my clock not changing time when I was
with Orion.