What To Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection Part Two (148 page)

He must have heard himself, because he suddenly grabbed her hair and started pumping his cock into her, grunting in a deep, masculine way. She would have found it amusing, but then he spoke. “Those red lips on my cock. The tightness of your throat, the depth. Such perfection…”

She felt soulful satisfaction when his body stiffened and his essence shot deep into her throat.
The heaven I can share with him.

He stroked her soft curls and murmured, “My beautiful, talented blossom.”

She glanced up at Faelan and was touched by the tender look in his eye. This was the man who had rescued her from the pavement and then spent his nights becoming the best Dominant possible in order to be compatible with her. Sir had believed in him enough to take extra time to train the boy—as if Faelan was his gift to her.

She broke the suction on Faelan’s cock and kissed the tip before standing up. She could see herself becoming his. He was young, energetic, inquisitive, sexy, with that hint of danger she found addictive.

As Brie straightened herself for the next meeting, she prayed desperately that Tono would be waiting for her. She needed to talk to him, to see where they stood, before she could make a decision.

The final bell sounded. Brie took Faelan’s hand and walked him out of the room. She noticed Mary come out at the same time with the tall Spaniard. The Spaniard Dom kissed her hand gallantly and left.

Faelan nibbled Brie’s ear as his final goodbye and whispered, “I’ll be waiting, blossom.”

Brie watched him leave and then scanned the crowd for Tono. She let out a nervous sigh when she didn’t see him and shifted her gaze to Mary.

Master Coen came up to Mary and she whispered a name. He nodded and went to fetch the next Dom. Mary looked in Brie’s direction and gave her a funny smile, shrugging her shoulders.

“How’s it going?” Brie asked.

Mary didn’t answer. She just disappeared into the room to wait for her Dom.

B
rie didn’t know who else to interview. She glanced over the gathering, looking for a face that stood out from the crowd of foreign Dominants. Her jaw dropped when she saw Faelan walking with Master Coen to Mary’s room.
What the hell, Mary?

Faelan looked at her apologetically as he passed by. She understood. He was not allowed to turn down Mary’s request. It was part of the rules for the evening. The submissives were allowed to ask whomever they wanted without fear of rejection.
Fuck the damn rules!
Brie wanted to grab Blue Eyes by the hand and pull him away from the temptress-turned-backstabber.

Instead, she stood mutely by as Faelan entered Mary’s room and shut the door behind him. Could the evening get any worse?

Marquis Gray was by her side, asking for her next Dom. She muttered sadly, “I have no one else.”

“Surely there is someone who has caught your eye, Miss Bennett. Do not waste even one meeting tonight.”

Brie glanced over at Sir. He looked good in the expensive Italian tux he wore for the occasion. His face was relaxed and his smile radiant as he laughed at some joke a group of admiring submissives had made. Brie thought it cute the way his hands danced in the air as he talked.

She looked away and answered, “No. There is no one else…” She glanced at the door Mary and Faelan were behind and forced herself not to scream.

“You must pick someone,” Marquis Gray insisted.

“Fine.” She looked up at him. “Then I choose you.”

He seemed shocked. “You can’t choose me. Trainers are not allowed.”

Brie pouted. “But I’m not asking you to collar me, Marquis Gray.”

“What would be the point?” he protested.

“I need you,” she said quietly, turning away to hide her misery.

He was silent for a moment and then excused himself. She secretly observed him as he walked over to his submissive and the two had a short discussion. The woman followed him back to Brie. “Celestia has agreed to join us, if you have no objections.”

Brie glanced at the older woman and smiled. “I have no objections, Marquis Gray.”

“Fine.” Marquis guided both of them into the room. He left the door open, which Brie found odd but did not question.

He gestured her to the couch while his submissive settled down at his feet. Brie couldn’t help feeling jealous of her.

“What would you like to discuss?”

Brie’s eyes opened wide when she heard Mary’s passionate scream ring out from the other room, and she shut her mouth, refusing to speak.

“I know what you need, pearl.” Marquis Gray whispered something to his partner, and she gracefully stood up and left the room. “Take off your corset and shoes. Leave everything else on.”

With shaking hands she removed the few items he required, trying not to think about what was going on with Mary.

Marquis Gray commanded her full attention. “On your knees, facing away from the door. I want you to look at me.”

She knelt down on the mat in the middle of the room and watched as he took off his jacket and shirt, then tossed them on the couch. She stared up at him, but flinched when she heard Mary cry out again.

“Ask me a question,” Marquis Gray insisted.

Brie forced her brain to think, sifting through the fog of her jealousy. Her first question to Faelan popped into her head and she asked, “How old are you?”

Marquis smirked. “Thirty-nine. How much older does that make me?”

She had to concentrate hard to do the simple math. “That makes you seventeen years older.”

“Very good, pearl. Nice to know your public education has amounted to something.” It took a few seconds for her to register he’d made a joke.

Celestia returned with a flogger and lace. Brie took in a deep breath, grateful he had read her undisclosed desire.

Marquis Gray took the items and knelt beside Brie. He tied the black lace over her eyes, murmuring softly, “Remember our first night, pearl? You were kneeling on that stage, a bundle of nerves but determined to show the world what a superior sub you were.” He chuckled warmly. “You have succeeded in impressing all of the panel, young lady, even those set against you.”

He stood up and she heard something drag across the floor. “Lean your torso against the ottoman.”

She did as he asked, anxious for the thud of the flogger against her skin to drown out the occasional noises coming from the other room. He swept her hair to the front and lightly tapped her back with the flat of his hand.

Brie heard Marquis command his sub, “Hold her hands.”

She felt Celestia lean against the opposite side of the ottoman and take Brie’s cold hands in her warm ones. The connection was instantly comforting.

Marquis spoke to Brie in a soothing voice. “You will listen to the music as you embrace the caress of the flogger. Let it remind you of your power. Be confident and
know
that circumstances cannot diminish your strength. Nothing can.”

Brie nodded.

“Are you ready, pearl?”

“Yes, Master.”

Mozart filled the room as he warmed up her skin with light hits from the flogger. It took several minutes for her to relax but as soon as she did, he leaned in and asked her color.

“Green.”

He shifted his stance and brought more strength to each swing. Brie moaned as the endorphins flowed and her limbs began to tingle, but she begged him to increase the strength of his hits.

“I am not your pain addiction,” he reprimanded. “You take what I give you.”

She felt ashamed, knowing he’d rightly perceived her desire to escape through pain.

“I will leave no marks for your Master, pearl. Fully appreciate each contact against your skin and you will not need it stronger,” he instructed. “I give this to you as empowerment, not escape.”

Celestia squeezed her hands in encouragement. Brie took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders before straightening her back for more. She received the next stroke with a different mindset. It sent shivers of electricity through her. She harnessed it.

Each successive stroke increased her resolve.
I am powerful. I choose my submission… I choose whom I will serve.

She wanted to protest when he stopped, but realized their time was running short. The music ended and he removed the blindfold. “Better?”

Brie nodded. “Yes. Thank you, Master.”

He took her hand and helped her up. He nodded to Celestia, who moved gracefully to the bed in the corner of the room and lay down. Marquis Gray guided Brie to it and commanded her to lie beside his sub. He joined them on the bed, sandwiching Brie between them. It was comforting on a level she hadn’t experienced before.

“Remember that I told you not to settle for the status quo.”

She shivered unwillingly and felt both bodies press against her. Brie whispered, “I will miss you, Marquis Gray.”

“You have been an experience, pearl.”

Celestia spoke up, her voice pure, like spring rain. “I’ve been interested in your progress ever since I heard about your near-dismissal, Miss Bennett.”

Brie remembered that night clearly. The panel had suggested Sir step down as headmaster and she had almost been kicked out of the submissive program altogether.

Marquis’ laugh was low and heartfelt. “I saw your strength even then. I knew you would survive the taint of Thane’s interference.”

“Taint?” Brie questioned.

“Admit that you have been influenced by that one private encounter.”

Brie shook her head. “I was influenced the day Sir came into the tobacco shop.”

Marquis Gray snorted. “Still, he used his position to take something that was not his to possess.”

“Marquis Gray, I wanted no other.”

He shook his head angrily. “You were his student. It was unconscionable.”

“Still…I do not regret it.”

“Your defense of the act does not negate the transgression. Coen wanted both of you out. If it hadn’t been for Gallant’s unwavering belief in you, you would not be here.”

“I never understood Master Coen’s aversion to me.”

Marquis corrected her. “Coen would do anything to protect the sanctity of the program. The fact you eventually earned his respect speaks volumes.”

Brie braved a question she had been wanting to ask. “Why does Ms. Clark hate me?”

“Hate is a strong word.”

Celestia answered her. “You act as a whetting stone for Mistress Clark.”

Marquis reached over Brie and stroked his submissive’s cheek. “True enough, love.”

Brie’s heart warmed at the term of endearment coming from the fierce trainer’s lips. Their relationship was exactly what she desired for herself.

“You unbalance our normally controlled Dominatrix. Although it was entertaining to watch, Coen was right to be concerned and we set things in place to limit your exposure to each other. Every trainer comes across a student they cannot instruct. It happens.”

“Then why was I partnered with her this last time?”

“Thane did not want you to leave the school with a negative impression of Dommes. He asked Clark to repair any damage she had done. You should know she willingly agreed.”

“Well, I was almost convinced her feelings towards me had changed.”

“Do not dwell on it.”

Brie looked around the room and said wistfully, “I will really miss this place.”

“The Center is only a stepping stone, pearl. Your true destiny lies beyond. Don’t look back.”

She frowned when she thought of Faelan next door and Tono off somewhere, talking to his father.

Marquis grabbed her chin, focusing her attention back on him. “You seem confused by the unexpected turn of events tonight, but your decision remains the same.”

She looked into his dark eyes and disagreed. “That’s not true. I don’t know what to do now.”

He shook his head, but was slow to elaborate. “You have already decided. I saw it in your eyes earlier. You simply haven’t accepted it yet.”

He sounded so confident that Brie believed him. “How is it you understand me better than I do myself? You always have.”

“Men are driven by sex to understand the feminine mind. Not by money, career or recognition.”

His words were profound and resonated through her. She finally understood her attraction to D/s. The unique sexual relationship was conducive to a deeper connection between a man and woman. A connection not found elsewhere.

The bell rang with its ten minute warning. Marquis had her stand as Celestia covered her back in soothing lotion before placing her corset back on and tying it tightly. Brie realized he had been gentle in his flogging so that it did not hurt overly much. He’d thought of everything—he always had.

Celestia brushed out her hair and touched up her makeup in the few remaining minutes. “I want you to be perfect for your Master,” she said, smiling like a proud mother.

My Master…

Marquis guided the two of them out of the room and Brie ran smack into Mary. Faelan was nowhere to be seen.

“What the hell, Mary?” Brie hissed.

“You’re the one who taught me to follow my heart,” she answered defensively. “Besides, if I don’t look out for myself, who will?”

“But
Faelan
?” Brie growled.