Submissive Beauty (28 page)

“Is everything okay?”

He turned to see Gabrielle standing in the doorway to her bedroom, a fluffy white robe wrapped around her. He clenched his fingers into fists and tensed the muscles in his legs to keep from pouncing on her. Despite her sweet appearance, he found himself torn between fucking her senseless and bending her over his knee for a spanking that would keep her standing for a week. David must have sensed it as he stepped between them.

“We just finished listening to the last of the messages.”

“Thank God. I didn’t want to keep them but figured for my own protection I would want the record.”

Thomas noticed the slight tremor in her hands before she clenched them together.

“Smart move. These could one day be evidence in case anything were to happen.”

“Happen? Like what?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Come on, Gabrielle. You know as well as I do that an angry ex can sometimes take things too far.”

“I know. But now that I’m calm and some time has passed I feel kind of stupid. He’s probably not that dangerous.”

“What about the gift he left?” Thomas interjected, tired of waiting for his answers.

She shook her head. “Both Angel and I looked around for anything that didn’t belong and so far haven’t found a thing. He’s probably blowing smoke, trying to scare me.”

“Who’s Angel?” David looked confused.

“My best friend. Thomas knows her. As soon as I got to the last message, I got scared and ran out of the house and called Angel. She came over, went through the house for me then we spent the afternoon drinking margaritas and calling Scott filthy names.”

“You should have called me,” Thomas murmured.

Gabrielle opened her mouth to say something then clamped it shut, averting her gaze to the floor. Too little too late as far as he was concerned. She still had a lot to answer for and a lot to learn. Although David was right, now was not the right time.

“So what next, David. You think we should head back to my place?”

“No, actually, I don’t. I think we should spend the night here. I’ll find the right spot to stake out and keep any eye on the property. I want to see if he does actually show up.” He turned back to Gabby. “Do you have a recent photograph of him that I can study?”

She nodded. “Yeah, in the bottom drawer of my desk I have some photos from about a year ago.” She pushed past David and avoided even brushing against him before kneeling in front of the desk.

“Are you sure this is the best thing for her?” he whispered to David in a low tone.

“Yeah, I really do. She needs to feel like a part of the solution so anywhere I can use her help I intend to. She needs to face this and deal with it head on.”

“Fine.” Frustration clouded Thomas’ judgment, but he’d keep that fact to himself.

“Here you go.” Gabby handed them each a photograph. A small 4 x 6 of a man standing in front of a barbeque grill with one of those ridiculous aprons that said ‘Kiss the cook’.

He looked average, with sandy blond hair, dark eyes and a thickening middle. He could have been any middle-aged suburbanite. He had a beer in one hand and a spatula in the other. Harmless. But as Thomas had learned many, many times the hard way, looks could be deceiving. It wasn’t all that difficult to hide evil underneath a veneer of civility. At least for a while.

“Perfect. I’m going outside to scope out the area. Am I safe to leave the two of you alone?”

Gabrielle shrugged.

“I won’t be punishing her tonight, if that’s what you mean.”

Her head jerked, her gaze locking with his.

“Don’t look so surprised, Gabrielle. As long as you’re wearing that collar, you are our responsibility and your inability to be forthcoming compromised us all.”

Guilt flashed into her eyes alongside her sadness.

David shot her a knowing look and shrugged his shoulders before quietly slipping out the front door. They were obviously standing together on this issue.

“Look at me, Gabrielle. We aren’t getting into this now. You need to know that whatever’s happened, we’re both behind you one hundred percent. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Her lower lip curled into her mouth where her teeth lightly nibbled on it. Without her realizing it, that shy and worried move tore down a good chunk of his anger. He really did want to help her.

He sat down on the arm of the couch and reached for her. “Come here.”

She took two tentative steps in his direction until his fingers wrapped around her arms and pulled her to him. The sudden urge to touch and comfort her overwhelmed him as she stepped into his arms.

“I’m here for you, sweetheart. Always.” He breathed deeply taking in the freshly bathed scent of warm vanilla and that underlying scent of the woman who’d worked her way under his skin.

She could take care of business if she had to, but he didn’t want her to. She should be able to rely on his protection and ability to keep her safe when they were together. He tamped down the anger he felt toward her ex, afraid it would taint how he looked at her. In no way did he blame her for that asshole, but he couldn’t afford her misreading his reactions.

“I’m so sorry, Thomas. I only wanted to keep you out of my mess.”

“Don’t you see? We’re all together now. What you go through, we go through.”

“But it’s so embarrassing.” She pressed her face into his shoulder, and the wet tears she shed soaked through the fabric of his shirt.

“Don’t cry, baby. He’s so not worth it.”

“It’s not him I’m crying about. It’s the fact that I’ve disappointed you.”

“Shh.” He rubbed a path up and down her spine atop the thick fabric of her robe. “Everything will be fine. We’ll talk about it when we’re ready. Now is definitely not the time.”

She looked up at him, hope glimmering in her eyes. Her hands went to her neck where she traced the path of her collar. “Are you going to take this away from me?”

“Do you want me to?”

“No, Sir. I do not.”

Not a second of hesitation in her answer. Good, he liked that.

“I’m not done training you, and I doubt David is prepared to walk away.”

“What happens when the training is complete?”

“Let’s not worry about that quite yet, okay, sweetheart?” He leaned in, grasping her bottom lip with his teeth. His body ached to be inside her with a force he’d have to temper for now. Frustration and confusion warred within them, and right now they needed to be together. He wanted her to see that nothing going on in her life would turn him away.

“Thomas.”

“Yes, babe?”

She reached down and undid the belt around her robe, letting it fall open. Her hips angled closer as she melted into his body. “I need you,” she whispered.

A hungry moan sounded in his throat as he scooped her into his arms and carried her down the hall to the bedroom. The light spilling from the partially open bathroom door gave off a romantic glow that bathed the room in a soft, barely there light. He went straight to the bed and laid her out, spreading her robe wide.

“Stretch your arms above you head and spread your legs for me.”

She whimpered softly and did as instructed. The bare skin spread before him made her look like a special offering, one that he had to devour quick or die from needing it. He toed off his shoes and yanked at his socks before pulling at the belt looped around his waist. He stared between the strip of leather in his hands and Gabrielle stretched across the big bed, debating the right course. As much as he ached to bind her wrists to the headboard with his belt it wasn’t what either one of them needed this time.

He finished removing his clothes, grabbed a condom and moved over her on the mattress. Her soft body gave under the weight of his until he’d aligned himself above her with the head of his cock nudging at her soaking wet sex.

“Jesus, Gabrielle. You burn me alive.” Emotions swirled in his head as he looked into her eyes and saw that same churning and confusion. He’d not yet broken through her shields, and still, he felt more for her than anyone else in his life. He sensed his plans to train her and hand her over to David slowly unraveling. If he took her now, like this, with them both burning alive from the emotions of the day, they’d never be the same again.

Fingers brushed his shoulders in a tentative move and sent a sharp shudder of longing from his head to his groin. Wet spots still shone on her cheeks, and he bent to lick them, the slight salty taste awakening his taste buds.

“Tell me everything is going to be all right,” she pleaded on a soft cry.

That sound ripped at his gut and tore through what little resolve remained. “It is, darling. I swear it.” He pushed an inch forward, her hot moist channel beckoning.

“Make love to me, Thomas, please.” Her quiet plea trembled through him, making his limbs shake with the force of holding back.

His mouth pressed down on hers in a possessive kiss meant to dominate the situation as he rolled the condom over his erection and slid inside her to the hilt. He absorbed her moan of pleasure as he pressed into her mouth deeper, his tongue sweeping every inch.

Her tight sheath clenched around him as he slowly pulled from her before thrusting forward once again. Sensations of intense pleasure shot through him from head to toe as he fought to maintain control. She needed him to take care of her, to show her that he cared, and so help him, that’s what he’d do no matter what it took. Tonight, her comfort and security were all that mattered, not broken promises or worries about a lack of trust.

No, this feeling, listening to her harsh pants in his ear, the tilt of her hips to meet each push inside her, the contracting muscles of her thighs bracketing his hips, it was all that mattered as he let everything else go for tonight. This woman, his beauty who continued to burrow into his heart against his will, needed him to be her protector and lover. A role he cherished without even realizing it until now.

“Oh Thomas,” she moaned.

He kissed his way down her neck and bit slowly into her shoulder until the pain reached her erotic level, and she wailed, a long, loud sound from a place deep inside her. He smiled against her skin and angled his hips so his cock would rub against her G-spot with each thrust inside her.

Quick bite after bite, he trailed down her chest to her breast. He suckled the tight nipple between his lips and laved gently over the tip. Her body writhed underneath him, her climax building under the steady rhythm of his cock shuttling in and out of her. He wanted nothing more than to make her come over and over again until the memories of her day were temporarily forgotten and pleasure was her complete and total focus.

Shifting an inch higher on her body, he created additional friction across her clit with each plunge. Her arms twitched, muscles jerking against the natural need to wrap them around him and hold on tight. That she could still hold onto that modicum of control told him he hadn’t taken her quite high enough yet.

Were she tied up, it would be easier for her to fight the bonds without fear of disobeying, but that wasn’t the point tonight. Tonight, he wanted to simply give her as much pleasure as she could take.

“Put your arms around my neck.”

After a momentary pause, she wrapped herself around him. He reveled in the soft warmth she gave off while he worked her nipple with his teeth.

“Oh God, Thomas I can’t…I can’t…”

He wrenched his mouth free, pulling her nipple taut. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t hold back. Come for me.”

He pushed harder against her clit until her muscles contracted and she squeezed around his cock.

“That’s it, baby. Let it go.”

The sting of her nails sinking into his back coincided with the tight fist-like grip she had on his dick. Tense muscles convulsed, her breath catching in her throat. His own heart beat heavy in his chest as the rush of blood roared in his ears. The tight rein on his control slipped a fraction as flames licked at his balls.
So much for control.

He drove harder, pushing through the tight muscles and creating enough friction to draw her from the tail end of one orgasm into a new harder release.

She screamed into his chest while he pistoned in and out of her at increasing speed. The tingling in his sac quickly changed to surging sensations as his need turned imminent. He glanced to her face and locked his gaze with hers. “You are so beautiful, you’re everything and I will keep you safe.”

“Thomas…” she whispered. An invitation he couldn’t resist.

“Take it, Gabrielle. Claim it.” He burned with feverish need as he waited for her to tell him, his pelvis thrashing against her with every thrust.

“Mine,” she whispered. “Mine. All mine.”

With deep satisfaction, he grabbed her hips and thrust hard and deep, so deep he bumped her cervix. He groaned when his orgasm tore from him and jerked his cock inside her, filling her.

With every jerk, more of his guard against this woman tore away. Before long he would be naked and vulnerable to her in every way. The only shred of protection that remained between them was the fact that deep down she had not given him or David her complete trust and, without that, none of them could move on. He would have to find out one way or another if Gabrielle could close the door to her old life and become the submissive her soul ached for. Every instinct he possessed swore he recognized that in her. From the moment he’d met her at Sanctuary, his mission had been clear. Break down the barriers and show her the woman she could and wanted to be.