Temporary Master (20 page)

“Mrs.
Croshaw. She hit me. She wanted to do more but Kaleb stopped her. Then she
accused me of molesting her son.”

Ethan’s
blood froze. Sabella was the last person who’d ever hurt a child. “Why did she
accuse you of this?”

“She
found a drawing Samuel had done.
Of me.”

He
continued to stroke his hands over her forearms. “Why would that concern her?
Kids draw pictures of their teachers all the time.”

She
sighed roughly.
“But not nude ones.”
Her eyes opened
and she looked up at him, her gaze pleading. “Please say you believe me. I’ve
never once taken my clothing off in front of students. I don’t know how he…”

“Shhh,
I know you wouldn’t.” He gave her a firm look. “And I didn’t tell you could
break form, Sabella.”

“Sorry,
Sir.”
Her head moved
back into its original position.

“So
this young man, Samuel, drew a picture of you naked, and his mother came
unglued about it? How old is Samuel?”

“Fifteen,
Sir.” Her breath rasped a bit but settled back into the same rhythm as his.

“Ah,
a prime age for young libidos to go into overdrive.”

“Yes,”
she sighed. “I tried to explain that to the mother, but she punched me again.”

He
wanted to growl, to go out and find the woman who dared to touch his
submissive. “Where was Kaleb?”

“He
was there. He pulled her off of me. I got suspended with pay until Kaleb can
get to the bottom of this, but God as my witness, I’ve never seen or met any of
the students outside of youth center. And there are cameras in every room. If I
somehow seduced him, it’d be on tape - but it isn’t. He even tried to tell his
mother nothing like this had ever happened, but she was so incensed, she
refused to even listen to the truth. She wanted my blood and she got some of
it. She threatened to go to the police.” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
“What am I going to do if they arrest me, Sir?”

“Shhh,
they have to have more than accusations and a drawing to arrest you. No one’s
going to throw you in jail because of a boy’s over-active imagination. ” He
continued to rub his palms over her arms.

“You
think so, Sir?” She seemed to be clinging to his words like they were a
life-line.

Brushing
his lips over her ear, he murmured his agreement. “I know so. Now relax back
against me. Let me take your mind off this nastiness for now. We’ll deal with
it tomorrow and that’s an order.”

“Yes,
Sir.”
Her gentle submission
made him ache.
His poor little subbie.
He’d protect
her. It was his job.

 * * * *

“How
is she?” Davis asked Ethan several hours later, as he slid shut the heavy oak
door to his bedroom. Ethan gestured for his friend to follow him to the
kitchen. As they settled down at the table after he made himself a cup of his
precious tea, he finally answered the question.

“Sleeping
at the moment.”
He
tried not to think of the temptation she presented in her current state of
undress in his room. But after the day she’d had, he’d willing give up his bed
for her. The woman’s accusation had blindsided her. “Thanks for taking care of
the cab. Let me know what I owe you.”

Davis
brushed it off. “No worries. So what exactly happened? In all the times I’ve
seen Bella, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as messed up.”

“A
shit storm as Dad would say. She’s on paid leave from her job because some
mother accused her of sexually molesting her fifteen year old son.” Ethan
flicked back one of his dreads, before cupping his tea between his palms.
“There’s no evidence other than some drawing the boy did. Even the son claims
nothing had ever happened between him and his teacher.” He took a sip of the
tea, savoring the slightly bitter taste of the brew. He met Davis’s eyes. “I
believe her, Davis. I’ve seen her teach. She loves kids, she’d never hurt one.”

“Damn.”
Davis leaned back in his chair. “Let me know if she needs legal representation.
I’ll take her on.”

Ethan
had never been more thankful in his life that his best friend in the world was
an attorney. “Wow, and no questions asked?”

Davis
rolled his eyes. “There’ll always be questions, dude. But I trust your
judgment.” He tossed Ethan a grin. “Besides if Lauren can vouch for her, she
has to be a good guy. You know it takes an Act of Congress to get the ‘good
Lauren stamp of approval’. She’s a scary judge of character. Look how long it
took you to get in her good graces.”

Ethan
wadded up his napkin and tossed it at Davis. “After all the stories you told
about me, I’m surprised you got in.”

Davis
wiggled his eyebrows. “What can I say? The woman just loves me.”

“Loves
to strangle you, you mean?” Ethan shot back. Davis’s laughter filled the
kitchen and suddenly things didn’t seem as bleak as they had before. Ethan
didn’t know what he’d do without his best friend. Davis always managed to put
things in perspective for
him.              

Yawning,
Sabella shifted against soft sheets, trying to figure out why she was so warm.
In winter, despite the electric blanket on her bed, she was always cold. Moving
closer to the heat source, she wrapped her arms over it, startled a bit when it
growled softly. Her eyes flew open to see the expanse of lots and lots of skin
the color of caramel laid over tight muscles in the soft lamplight bathing the
bed. Two tiny chocolate nipples decorated well-defined pectorals. She was in
bed with Ethan! The man who’d held her during her meltdown the night before.

“What
the…” her soft words were met with a chuckle. She moved to scramble backward but
froze at his command.

“Stay
still.” His voice was rough from sleep. The sensuous roll of his shoulders
caught her attention as he snuggled closer. “It’s early.
Too
early to be up.
Go back to sleep, Sabella.” He pressed her close, until
her uninjured cheek was now resting against his bare sternum. Her eyes widened.
Bare sternum?
Doing a quick mental check of her
own body, she gave a small sigh of relief to find she still wore her bra and
panties. He hadn’t taken advantage of her emotional state the night before.
Listening to his heart beating, she tried to drift off again, but her brain
wouldn’t shut off as she examined what had happened at work the day before.

Why
had the woman said I had a record? I’ve never as much as had any brush with the
law.
It irked her.
She’d have to see about retaining the services of a lawyer, because she had a
feeling this situation was going to become worse, particularly if the woman
went to the police as she’d threatened. Closing her eyes, she wondered how soon
she could possibly wiggle out of Ethan’s arms to contact an attorney without
rousing her Dom’s anger.

It
was amazing how quickly her view had changed after last night. The man holding
her hadn’t done anything extraordinary. He’d merely given her the routine she’d
needed. He’d shadowed her in the training room, even steadying her when she’d
nearly fallen over. Then he’d gone through the ritual. Checked her safewords,
held her tight while performing the
kokyo-ho,
which had turned out to be
one of the best stress relievers she’d found. He hadn’t done anything sexual to
her, hadn’t brought out any rope, but more importantly he hadn’t abandoned her
when she’d been floundering.

“
Anata
no sensei
ni
kansha.”
Whispering the respectful
Japanese words of thanks he’d taught her during their second session, she
wasn’t surprised when he replied in kind.

“Anata
o kangei shi, amai ne.”
His fingers toyed with her hair
before finally stilling.

Listening
to his breathing even out once more, she pushed the thoughts of the terror
twins, her job and even the attack from her mind, as her body finally seemed to
realize she was pressed skin to skin against the man she’d been dreaming about
for the past month. Her libido stirred and she had to quash the urge to wiggle
against him while reminding herself they weren’t lovers. That he’d only held
her for comfort not sex. But it didn’t stop the needy flesh between her thighs
from moistening, nor did it keep her nipples from tightening against the lace
cups of her bra. She almost wished he had taken off what remained of her
clothing. It would’ve been so much easier to tempt him into taking her.
Damn
his conditions.
She logically knew all she had to do was ask him to make
love to her and he would.
Along with our short length of acquaintance there
are so many reasons it wouldn’t be a good idea, but dang if my body cares.

She
wasn’t sure how long she lay in his arms, her body aching for his, before he
finally sighed and opened his eyes. “I can feel you thinking, Sabella.” His
fingers slid through her hair before he tightened enough to pull her head back
- the slight sting tweaking her desire. Lust filled his slumberous gaze. “Is
there something you need to tell me?” Hoarse, his voice sent a surge of
awareness through her body. She’d never actually seen his body up close and
personal before. She’d heard it, felt it against her, but never witnessed with
her own eyes.

“I…”
She wasn’t sure what to say or do. Her body longed for more, but her brain kept
screaming it was too soon. She didn’t want to rush into this, like she had with
Louis. She didn’t want to walk away with regrets.

Rolling
with her, his hips nestled between her thighs, he tucked her under him.
Supporting his weight on his elbows, his hair fell forward, cocooning their
faces. He kept his eyes locked on hers. “I’ve held you in my arms all night,
tempted by every little sigh and shift you made, while fighting my need to
soothe those pretty thighs open and wake you from the inside out.” A low rumble
escaped him as she subconsciously lifted her hips to his at the idea of being
awakened in such a way.

“Sir
,…
please…” She lifted her hands to his shoulders, her
fingers hovered mere millimeters from his warm flesh.

“Christ,
I want you, Sabella. More than you realize, but until you ask, I won’t take
what you seem to want to give.” The tip of his nose brushed hers. “So do I put
both of us out of our misery, or do I go take another cold shower and find my
solitary release once again?”

Her
lips parted on a gasp as the image of Ethan standing under the pounding water
as he furiously stroked his cock until he sent creamy waves of seed against the
tile filled her head. She loved watching a man masturbate, to see a wide
calloused palm move up and down his length gave her an illicit thrill while
giving her insights to his pleasure. And to do it in the shower while the water
streamed over his tightly muscled body, only aroused her until she couldn’t
stop the word from slipping free. “Shower…”

He
groaned, rolling way from her and off the mattress. Standing next to the bed,
she caught a glimpse of his impressive erection as it tented his cotton briefs.
Then he was gone, disappearing into what she assumed was the bathroom. A moment
later the sound of water drifted into the bedroom, spurring her into moving.
Unable to resist, she was off the bed and into the steamy bathroom before she
could stop herself.

She
started jerking off her bra as she devoured the silhouette his body made
through the frosted glass while he leaned against the tile, his hand moving
desperately between his thighs. She wanted to curse as the hooks on her bra got
tangled, but with a hard jerk they finally came free, spilling her breasts out
into the humid air. Hooking her fingers in the elastic at her waist, she jerked
her underwear down ignoring the sound of cloth tearing. Then she was in the
shower with him, before she had time to stop, think or even breathe.

He
spun around as she sank to her knees in front of him. “Please, Sir. I…want
you.”

* * * *

Ethan
stared down at the woman kneeling at his feet, her face tipped up as the water
saturated her hair. She was gloriously nude and offering
herself
to him, in a pose so classic, he wanted to howl. Her lips parted as she
repeated her request once more. His hand tightened on the base of his cock, as
her lips parted and she begged him with her expressive eyes to keep from
spilling. His body had been on edge most of the night as he’d held her. It had
taken every ounce of control he’d had left to leave his bed. Now here she was,
kneeling at his feet and asking for more. The Dom in him was just peevish
enough to demand more than the halting request she’d just offered.

“What
exactly do you want, Sabella?
To tease me some more?”
He gave his cock a stroke, loving the way her eyes dropped to his groin. He
forced a bit of hardness into his tone. “My face isn’t down there nor did you
answer my question.”

Her
eyes darted back up to meet his. “I…please. I need…” She moved as if to touch
him.

“Don’t
even think about it. You’ll remain there until we come to an agreement.” His
words came out harsher than he’d intended, but he was at his rope’s end with
her cold and hot treatment. First she’d told him yes she’d spend the weekend
with him, and had even come to him last night when everything had fallen apart.
Then when he’d sensed her desire in his bed, had felt the dampness pressing
against his thigh, and still she’d denied him, he’d nearly lost it. For every
two steps forward, he was going one back and it was driving him nuts.