Safeword: Matte - In Training (31 page)

Travis gave a cocky grin. “I guess that’s
one way to look at it.”

Sam loaded her plate and smiled at Ethan in
thanks. He knew what her smile meant as he leaned in and spoke into
her ear, “Tomorrow night, your ass is mine, darling wife.”

Viv was close enough to hear and said,
“Tomorrow night?”

“Yeah,” Sam smiled. “He wanted me to enjoy
the food today without worrying about…”

Tyler laughed as Viv said, “You’ve got a
keeper. You know that, right?”

Sam looked at Ethan and their gazes locked
as she said, “I do.”

Chapter
Seventeen

One of Ethan’s cousins
caught the bouquet, and Ethan told Sam he’d had the first dance,
and now he wanted the last. He motioned to the band, and they broke
into
When a Man Loves a
Woman
.

Sam came very close to crying as Ethan held
her, and they danced.

Going to their room only involved getting on
the elevator, and Sam accepted hugs from her parents, Ethan’s
parents and grandparents, and myriad friends. Ethan gave Dustin an
extended hug, much longer than men usually do in public, but Sam
realized it was because they wouldn’t see each other again before
Dustin went back overseas.

Sam didn’t like the morbid feeling of
knowing she may never see him again, as he’d be stepping into
unknown dangers, and she hugged him extra hard as well, even though
she’d only met him a few days ago.

“You take care and stay safe, and we’ll see
you next time you can get away.”

“Yes, ma’am. Take care of Ethan, I’m glad he
has you.”

When the elevator doors closed and they were
alone, she squeezed Ethan’s hand and said, “It’s hard, saying
goodbye to him, isn’t it?”

Ethan nodded. “I worry about him. I know he
can take care of himself, but I also know a little of what he does
and it’s terrifying to think of him in enemy territory.”

“He’s given you details?”

Ethan turned to her with a haunted look. “A
few years ago the government bought plane tickets for me to come to
the Pentagon, and I spent a week with him and a psychiatrist. I had
to sign a million forms saying I wouldn’t talk about the things I
learned, but apparently the doctor felt Dustin needed family close
by to help him deal, and they brought me and Justin in. Justin
already had the right clearances, but it took them a few days to
run background checks on me before they flew me up.”

“So, you were in the sessions with him?”

“Not all of them, but
some. The doctor had him tell us everything that happened, and said
he needed people from his everyday life who knew. There was a
workout area we had free use of, and we sparred quite a bit that
week, too.” Ethan laughed. “One of the
generals
tried to recruit me. Lots
of stars, not just a few.”

Sam started to ask if Ethan had seen Travis
and Dustin talking. She’d had the impression they already knew each
other, which made her think Dustin must work with the CIA, either
directly, or teamed up with them through whatever Special Forces he
was part of.

Viv had told her Travis used to work for the
federal government, and had said no when Sam had asked about the
FBI and Marshall’s service, but had changed the subject when she’d
mentioned the CIA. Sam and Kirsten both knew how Viv and Travis had
met, but she didn’t think anyone else knew, so she didn’t bring it
up with Ethan.

Sam gave a happy exclamation when Ethan
keyed them into their room. It was huge, and beautiful, and a
bottle of champagne was chilling in a fancy ice bucket, right
beside a box of super-fancy truffles and a tray with strawberries,
raspberries, and honeydew melon.

Sam stepped in, spread her arms, and turned
in a slow circle as she took everything in.

“If I’d known this was up here, I might’ve
dragged you up after Justin sang.”

“But then I’d have missed getting to watch
my wife have a blast dancing with all of our friends.”

“And your dad,” she reminded. “How is it he
can dance and you can’t?”

“Same reason Justin can and Dustin can’t?”
He shrugged. “I might consider taking ballroom lessons with you
once we get back, though. You and Travis were like magic together,
and I want to be able to Dom you in front of people like he
did.”

“I don’t know about us being magic,” she
said as she sat on the edge of the bed and slid her shoes off, “but
he and Viv were downright mesmerizing when they did the Foxtrot
later.”

“Not to mention the fast dance they did,”
Ethan agreed, “where he threw her into the air and caught her, and
spun her around his back. I wouldn’t mind learning how to do that
to you, either.”

Sam glanced up as she massaged her foot.
“You’re serious?”

“I am.” He nodded as he stepped towards her.
“I also want to claim you with the dress on. Lay back and spread
your legs.”

Sam raised her arms over her head as her
back hit the bed, showing him she was willingly submitting. Gentle
hands worked her white hose and panties off, and he lowered his
mouth to her clit as his fingers sank inside.

After days without an orgasm, she almost
came on the spot, but held back as she begged, “Please tell me I
can come. I’m so close. Please!”

He raised his head, met her eyes, and shook
it back and forth once before standing and dropping his pants and
underwear. “Wrap your arms and legs around me,” he said as he
leaned back over her.

Sam held on as he stood, her dress spilling
down her legs in the back, but trapped between them in the
front.

He used one hand to lift her bottom, the
other to position his cock, and Sam closed her eyes and groaned as
he lowered her onto his hard length.

“Open your eyes, Samantha. Look at me.”

Their gaze locked and she opened her mouth
to beg to come, but he said, “Come as often as you want, no
permission needed, but keep your eyes on me, even if I close mine
for a few minutes.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He gave her a relaxed smiled as he lifted
her, effortlessly sliding her up his cock and back down. “That’s my
girl.”

Sam held eye contact as he raised and
lowered her, and when he finally turned and pushed her into the
wall and began jackhammering his cock into her, her orgasm
detonated its way through every muscle in her body, and she rocked
and spasmed against the wall as he held her firm and continued
pounding his way to his own violent release.

Ethan took a few seconds to catch his breath
before gathering Sam in his arms and holding her to his chest, her
legs still wrapped around his waist.

“You okay?”

“I’m wonderful. I love you so much,
Ethan.”

He sat on the bed and Sam leaned back to
look into his face as he said, “I love you, too. More than words
can say.” He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and said,
“Two massage therapists will be here in about thirty minutes to
give us a side-by-side couples massage. Want to get undressed, put
the hotel robes on, and dig into the champagne, truffles, and
fruit?”

Sam kissed his forehead, his lips, and the
tip of his nose. “You’re too good to me.”

“I’m glad you think so, but I intend to
spend the rest of my life making sure you know how much you’re
loved. If you ever think I’m taking you for granted, please tell
me. Deal?”

Sam nodded. “Deal, but the same goes for
you. If we want this to work, we’ll have to communicate, and let
the other know when we aren’t happy.”

Ethan helped her up, turned her around, and
unzipped her dress. Sam let him help undress her, and then she
helped him out of his shirt. The robes were heavy and snuggly, and
Sam curled up on the bed and rested her head on Ethan’s lap.

“Do we have time for you to tell me about
your adventures last night?” asked Ethan.

“I can get started, but I doubt I’ll finish
before the massage therapists arrive.” She wiggled her toes. “After
dancing for hours last night in heels, and then doing the same
today, my feet and calves aren’t terribly happy with me.”

He caressed her shoulder and ran a heavy
hand down her robed arm. “Make sure you tell the massage therapist,
but I can work on them now, if you want.”

Sam rolled to her back and
looked up, meeting his gaze. “Thanks, but I think I can survive
until they get here.” She smiled and added, “
Husband
.”

“Well,
wife
, what would you like to do
after our massages? There’s an indoor pool, and a workout center,
or we can walk around downtown, or we can stay in and snuggle and
smooch.”

“I’d be open to any of those things except
the workout center.”

There was a knock on the door and Ethan
stood to let the massage therapists in.

Ethan had paid for two massages, for an hour
and a half, and Sam hadn’t considered how romantic it would be for
them to be worked on at the same time, so they could moan in
pleasure, groan in pain, and talk as the therapists worked.

When the massage therapists finally folded
their tables and left, Sam just wanted to lay in bed and relax.
Ethan seemed to feel the same, and he brought the fruit, truffles,
and champagne to her in bed.

Sam told him all about Tara, and being part
of the show’s finale.

“If you’re serious about wanting to be her
friend, why don’t we invite her to the house for some self-defense
pointers, so I can meet her?”

“I think I’d rather meet her for lunch in a
public setting first, and then invite her to the house.”

Ethan fed her a truffle and said, “You want
to set the two of you up as just girls, without any romantic
overtones. Right?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah. I get the feeling she
wants a normal friend-who’s-a-girl, and I’d like us to have a
chance to develop that rapport, without any touching or
kissing.”

Sam fed Ethan a strawberry and smiled as his
lips sealed around her finger and slid away as he took the fruit.
“Do you think she wants a girlfriend who’s okay with her gender
status, and who she can be honest with about her boy-toy
submissives.”

“Do you mean
girlfriend
, or
friend-who’s-a-girl
?”

“The latter.”

Sam sipped her champagne and felt the
bubbles make her a little lightheaded as they went down. “Probably.
I really liked her though. I mean, as a person. The way she talks,
her outlook on life, her self-confidence.” Rearranging herself on
the bed, she sat up and pulled her legs crisscross under her before
admitting, “I think she might be better at being a woman than I am.
Do my muscles bother you? Do I feel like a girl to you?”

“Lay back down, Samantha. You don’t want to
mess up your nice, chilled, relaxed, buzz.” He waited until she
returned to her reclining position across from the fruit and
truffle trays before feeding her a bite of honeydew melon and
saying, “You’re perfect for me. I don’t have to cut my runs short
when you come with me, I can bike with you until I’m tired, and you
don’t nag me about how much time I spend working out, because
you’re usually working out with me. I wouldn’t want you any other
way.”

“You’re pretty perfect for me, too.” She
sipped some more champagne and laughed as she said, “Sheesh, could
we get any mushier? Did you still want to walk around downtown, or
are you good with staying in?”

“I think you’d prefer to stay where you are
and not have to get up and get dressed.”

“Well, yeah, but if you need to move I’m not
opposed to walking around.”

“No.” He shook his head and fed her another
truffle. “I’m pretty happy veg’ing for the night, too.”

They talked and ate, and eventually started
kissing, and Ethan made love to her — soft, slow, and tender. Sam
was glad they’d decided to wait until they made it to Hawaii to get
started on their honeymoon in earnest, because she’d needed tonight
to regroup after the craziness of the past weeks. It was so nice to
just relax in his arms as his wife.

The End

Coming August 1,
2014

No Safeword: Matte – The
Honeymoon

Follow Candace on Facebook for snippets,

teasers, and a contest to win an advanced
review copy.

facebook.com/candacesblevins

ABOUT CANDACE BLEVINS

Candace Blevins is a southern girl who loves to
travel the world.

She lives with her husband of 16
years and their two daughters. When not working or driving kids all
over the place she can be found reading, writing, meditating, or
swimming.

Candace writes romance books about strong women who
happen to be submissive, and in some cases have some pretty extreme
kinks. Relationships can be difficult enough without throwing power
exchange into the mix, and her books show characters who care
enough about each other to fight to make the relationship work.

You can visit her on the web at
candaceblevins.com
and
feel free to friend her on Facebook at
facebook.com/candacesblevins
and Goodreads
goodreads.com/CandaceBlevins
.

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Safeword: Matte – In Training,
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Safeword: Matte