One to Keep

Chapter Eleven

The sick feeling in the pit of Alexei’s stomach wouldn’t go away.

Though the day was cold, he couldn’t feel it. He couldn’t seem to sense anything but the hollow feeling that permeated his center.

“You want some food? You haven’t had anything all day?” Ivan asked.

Because he kept seeing that girl with the unseeing eyes, her throat split like an unhappy smile. He’d gone through her wallet. Cindy Pope. Aged twenty-one. She had a student identification card as well as her driver’s license and some card that gave her permission to be horny. Ivan had laughed at that, saying something about sluts needing licenses in America, but Alexei knew what it was. It was a joke some friend had given her. Cindy would probably pull it out from time to time and laugh and remember the good time she’d had.

Cindy had no more time. Her last moments of life had been filled with pain and fear, and more than likely gratitude when it was all over. Snuffed out by a monster doing his job.

This was what he’d become. He’d given up who he was and what he’d believed in to get revenge for his brother’s death, but it struck him as he was helping Ivan dump that young woman’s body that it was he, himself, who had truly betrayed Mikhail.

“One,” Ivan said, switching to English as they reached the front of the line.

“Yes, sir,” a friendly-looking man said, turning to the woman operating the fryer.

“Alexei,” Ivan said, slapping him on the chest. “Alexei, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Probably not since all he could see was cold limbs and vacant eyes. He forced himself to focus. He let his eyes wander to the place where Ivan was gesturing. There were three women standing together talking. One was painfully pregnant, a large dog at her side. The other was a cute woman with dark hair and glasses, and the third…

Alexei was glad he hadn’t forced food into his stomach because it would surely have come up as he looked at the tall brunette with the slender frame. She was hauntingly familiar. He’d stolen her picture from her home, and it was still in his pocket. She was smiling like she had the night before in the tavern.

“It’s her,” Ivan said, satisfaction dripping from his tone. He had switched back to Russian.

“I don’t know.” Alexei was sure it was her, but he had to try. He had to stall Ivan. His head was spinning. He didn’t have a plan, but he knew he had to do something.

Was he really considering it? Was he really thinking about giving up his revenge? A cold, hard knot formed in his chest. No. He couldn’t. Perhaps he was a bad man for it, but he couldn’t let Pushkin go. Mikhail would forgive him one day, but he was the man Pushkin had made him.

Still, he hesitated at the thought of the artist in Ivan’s tender care.

She could give up the painting, but Ivan wouldn’t let her live. He couldn’t.

“It’s her.”

“You can’t be sure,” Alexei murmured. “You were wrong last night.”

Ivan’s shoulders shrugged. “Bah, these American girls all look alike. Maybe we should just start asking. These people seem dim enough. We will say we know her, but can’t find her.” Alexei knew how to counter that. Ivan had gotten into plenty of trouble for bringing attention to himself. “Better not. When the girl turns up dead, they will remember.”

“And we’ll be halfway to Moscow.”

“And the next time Pushkin needs something done in the States, he’ll look to someone else.”

Ivan growled. He liked moving up in the organization. Traveling and talking to other syndicates was a sign that a man was moving up.

He wouldn’t jeopardize that.

“We have to be patient,” Alexei advised. “It’s a big festival. We just need to get close. Someone will say her name, and then we will know.”

“Jennifer!”

Alexei was startled at the shout. He turned, and a tall cowboy strode past him, his every muscle giving off the signals of one angry man. He walked quickly, but Alexei was almost certain it was the same man from last night. All around him people whispered as he moved through the crowds.

“Or we could get lucky,” Ivan said with a smirk on his weasel-like face. He took the fried bread the stall owner passed to him and began to eat with singular satisfaction.

The cowboy, who had inadvertently given away young Jennifer, took her by the elbow. The artist’s eyes rolled, but she followed along. Her friends did not seem alarmed by the man’s actions. They simply shook their heads and went back to talking.

“Smile, Alexei, we’ll be on our way home tonight. Stick with me.

I’m lucky, my friend. I’m going places.” Yes, Alexei thought, Ivan was going straight to hell, and damn if he wouldn’t be there with him.

“Is there any point in letting you know you’re hurting my arm?” Jen asked, fearing she knew the answer to the question.

Stef was in full-on Dom mode. His gorgeous face was set in stubborn lines as he led her into the warmth of the town hall. He passed the long lines of people waiting to sign up for activities and completely ignored Nell when she tried to get him to sign up for her

“Vegans Do It Humanely” newsletter.

“Not really,” he said shortly, though she noticed his hold loosened.

“You’re mad.”

“I am not mad, love.”

Yep, he was mad. He’d stopped using contractions. He got clipped and formal when he was mad.

“I am merely irritated by your obvious lack of understanding,” he continued as he turned down a hall that led to the city offices. It was quieter in this part of the building. “I was under the assumption that we began a relationship earlier today, one in which I called the shots.”

“In the bedroom,” Jen replied.

He stopped in the middle of the hall. “I asked you to do one thing, Jennifer. I asked you to wait for me. You were to wait at home while I helped Max and Rye, and then I was going to come and get you. Was that such an unreasonable request?”

“It seemed like it at the time.” At the time, she’d been a bit miffed.

“You have never driven in the winter in the mountains. The whole time you lived here, you never had a car.” She growled inwardly. That request was seeming more and more reasonable all the time. “Your dad drove me.”

“It has been a long time since he drove himself anywhere. He has a limo. I asked him to stay at home, too.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t happy about that. Stef, you have to talk to him.

He came all this way.”

His eyes hardened. “I have been here for almost twenty-five years waiting for him. He can stand an afternoon.”

“Babe, he’s been sick,” Jen said.

Something dark passed over his eyes, and for a second, Jen wished she could take it back. His shoulders squared again, and the brief flare of pain she’d seen was covered up in bravado.

“Are you going to obey me, or do we quit here?” It was so much easier to not fight him now that she saw his arrogance for what it was. King Stefan tried to keep everyone at arm’s length because he needed the control. He needed to be needed. He needed to have a place here, and the only way he was sure of that place was to be the generous benefactor, to be useful to everyone around him. But what did Stef need?

He needed her. She felt it deep in her bones.

“I’m not quitting, babe. I told Rachel, I’m making my stand.” His stance relaxed slightly. “Well, love, make your stand in here.” He used a key to open the door to an office in the hallway. Jen briefly saw the nameplate. County Engineer.

“Nice, I didn’t even know we had one of those,” Jen said as he hustled her in. He flicked the lights on, and Jen glanced around the room. “Oh, it’s you.”

It had to be. No one else would have hooks in the ceiling. Oh, sure, to the untrained eye it probably looked like he was a man who liked really heavy hanging plants, but Jen knew the difference. Stef just liked to be perverse in a lot of different places.

There was a click as he locked the door. “I like to do my part to help the community. I almost never use this office, but it’s here if I need to take a meeting with someone from out of town. Most of the people in town prefer to hold meetings at Stella’s. The coffee is better. I’m mostly in charge of planning and beautification. Now strip.”

He stared at her, one brow arched, his back against the door.

It looked like she would make her stand without any clothes on.

Jen shrugged out of her coat and kicked off her boots.

“Fold them, please,” Stef said. His voice was deep and steady, but she could see that his eyes were heating up. They were a glorious slate color as he watched her.

At least he’d said please. Jen carefully folded the clothes as she took them off. She shivered a little despite the heat being on. It was still chilly. Her nipples were hard nubs pointing in Stef’s direction. It had nothing to do with the cold. They always pointed Stef’s direction.

A little quiver started in her belly. She was alone with Stef, and all of that intensity of his was focused on her.

“I’m going to teach you some things, love.” His sensual lips moved, but his eyes never left her body. “Your training begins now.

Do you understand why I intend to punish you?” She swallowed. Punishment. He made the word sound like dirty, sick pleasure. “Because I disobeyed you.”

“Yes,” Stef agreed. He slid his hands into the inside pocket of his coat and came out with a plastic bag. “You disobeyed a direct order given for your safety and my peace of mind. I didn’t ask you to stay home. I told you to. I understand that might upset you, but from time to time I will have things I won’t move on. This isn’t a one-way street, Jennifer. It might seem harsh to you, but I assume there are some things you will be unmoving on.” While he spoke, he set the bag on his desk and then slid his coat off his shoulders. He hung it up, along with his hat, and went around to the front of his desk.

Jen stood still, waiting for his orders. It might not be the bedroom, but it certainly felt intimate. She’d agreed to play his submissive. “I didn’t know I had that power over you, Stef.” He turned his face to her, a slight smile on his mouth. “Really? So I’m allowed to fuck other girls, am I?” She felt herself flush. “I will cut your balls off.” She immediately regretted her words, but the image of him with another woman made her want to rage. She’d had to handle it when they weren’t together. It might only be a D/s relationship, but she simply couldn’t watch him with someone else. She waited for him to put her in her place.

He simply chuckled lightly as he pulled out office supplies. “I rather thought so, love. As I prefer my balls attached to my body, I think I’ll forgo the other women. See, you have unmoving edicts, and so do I. One of my unmoving edicts is that you remain alive and in one piece.”

“Well, if you put it that way,” Jen grumbled. He was making her crazy. She was standing there naked, and he was playing with paper clips. He pulled at one and then another.

“I didn’t realize I had to put it a particular way,” he said as he twisted the metal clip over his forefinger. “Perfect.” He laid the first one down and went to work on the second. “As far as unmoving edicts go, let me give you a second. I realize that sharing seems to be all the rage amongst the women of Bliss, but you should know that I will not be jumping on that particular bandwagon. Don’t go looking for a third.”

That was the furthest thing from her mind. She could barely handle Stef, much less a friend of his. “You’re safe, babe. I know Callie and Rachel go on and on about how hot the sex is, but they have to do the laundry, too. Other women see hot double penetration, and all I see is double the underwear to clean. And I bet they eat a lot, too.”

Stef laughed, the first time today he’d laughed for her. “I don’t think you’ll have to do much laundry at the estate. However, you deeply underestimate my creativity if you think I can’t find a way to fill every hot hole you have, love. On your knees, Jennifer. I’m going to teach you the slave position.”

She sank to her knees, grateful he’d had a plush carpet installed instead of the stained concrete that covered the rest of town hall. She settled into a sitting position, the carpet soft under her legs. Of course, Stef would have his comforts. She threaded her fingers together behind her back, thrusting her breasts out. She breathed deeply and straightened her spine. Her knees were splayed wide so her pussy was on display for him. She lowered her head submissively. It wasn’t more than a few seconds before his boots came into view.

“Very nice, love. Tell me, and think carefully about the answer, where did you learn this? You have perfect form.”

The jealousy dripped from his every word. She was glad her head was lowered and her hair covered her face, because she couldn’t help but smile. He thought she’d had a previous Dom. “I learned it from books. You would be surprised what you can find on Amazon these days. And the Internet. I wanted to know what you liked, Sir.” His hand lifted her chin up. “Not Sir, Jennifer, and not Master. My name is Stefan.”

“But, I thought your subs called you one or the other.”

“They weren’t mine,” Stef explained. “They were women I trained for brief periods of time.”

“I thought that’s what I was.” She pointed out his faulty logic gently.

“I would prefer Stefan.” He stepped back.

She kept her gaze on him. He might not recognize it, but he was starting to bend.

“Stay in position. I need to decorate these lovely breasts,” he said, holding the clips in his hand.

“Those are paper clips.” Jen watched as he got on his knees in front of her. His hands came out to cup her breasts. Her skin quivered under his touch.

“Are they? I think I can make them into something much more interesting. Don’t move. Stay in your position. These lovely breasts of yours are my playthings.”

His fingers were callused from holding a brush for long hours. It wasn’t just from painting though. Stef worked with his hands all the time. He worked the horses at the Harper Stables. He helped build with his neighbors. He was always using those hands to create. Now his strong fingers pinched at her nipples, creating a deep ache in her pussy. He plucked at a nipple, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Her pussy was already wet, and she could feel her body begin to hum.

“I love the color of your nipples, perfect innocent circles of rose and brown.” He leaned over, his husky words sliding over her flesh like a warm blanket. He lowered his head, and his tongue came out.

The sight of his tongue curling around her nipple caused her to moan.

He sucked the tip into his mouth, sending sparks shooting from her breast to her cunt.

“This isn’t torture, Stef,” she heard herself say. It felt like heaven.

He came back to his knees, a slightly sinister look on his face. He winked at her and held up the paper clip. “Oh, it will definitely be torture, love.”

He pinched her nipple with one hand and then slid the clip on.

Jen gasped as her nipple was caught in the clip. It didn’t hurt exactly. He’d stretched it out so it didn’t bite, but it held the flesh in a little vise. Already she could feel the pull of the discomfort. It reminded her that he was in control. She was a plaything, clamped and ready for his pleasure.

He quickly clamped the other breast and looked at his handiwork.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, love.” His cock was straining at the fly of his jeans. His dark hair fell over his forehead. “I know those are improvised clamps, but they still hold you well. All the blood is pooling in those pretty nipples.”

He flicked one with his forefinger. Jen gasped at the touch. She was so sensitive. One little flick of his fingers had her panting and ready to do anything he asked.

“See what I mean? You should know, Jennifer, that I like toys. I like expensive, perverted, twisted toys, but I can torture you without them. Anywhere, anytime. I’ll find the tools I need. I’ll make sure to discipline you whenever it’s required.” Yep, she wouldn’t be able to walk through an office supply store again without wondering exactly what dirty things Stef could do to her.

His hand went between her legs. He slid his fingers over her mound and into the slick folds of her labia. It was all Jen could do to keep her position.

“And, love, if you ever disobey a direct order given to keep you safe and whole again, I will clamp this little gem.” He rubbed the pad of his finger over her desperate clitoris. It was a fleeting touch that tantalized and tormented. “I will clamp it, and I will torture it. I’ll bring you to the edge a hundred times, and a hundred times I’ll step back. You’ll beg, and you’ll plead, and you’ll think I’ll give in, but I won’t, because a bratty little submissive will not get pleasure from me. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” She would agree to anything to get him to touch her again.

He was ramping her up. She’d never been so hot. Before, their encounters had been quick and furious, but this slow tease was building to something explosive.

“What did you say?” Menace glittered from his hard tone.

“Stefan.” She quickly corrected herself. “Yes, I understand, Stefan.”

“Excellent. Let’s move on to the next phase of your punishment.

Surely you didn’t think a couple of clamps could make up for what you did? What does a disobedient sub deserve?” Hopefully a mercy orgasm. “Whatever her Dom deems fit, Stefan.”

“Good answer. I think a disobedient little sub should learn to take a plug.”

Her ass clenched at the thought. He was going to shove a plug up her ass. Her breath caught. She’d known he would want it, but she’d been worried it would turn her off. Now, the thought of presenting her ass to him had her heart speeding up. Subspace, she thought, looking for the word. Pleasing Stefan suddenly seemed like pleasure in and of itself. This was what the books had talked about.

“You said you’ve read up on BDSM,” Stef said, getting to his feet. “Show me. Present yourself to me.” He held a hand out to help her up.

Jen got to her feet. She could feel the clamps moving as her breasts swayed. This was why he’d done it, so she would be aware of her nipples at all times. She felt wobbly, but she managed to stand and walk to the big mahogany desk that dominated the office. She placed her hands flat on the desk, kept her spine straight, and shoved her ass in the air. She looked across the desk. Now she could see what was in the bag Stef had taken out of his coat. The clear plastic plug and tube of lubricant were unmistakable.

“You came prepared.” At least he wasn’t going to use a highlighter or a glue stick.

“Always,” he said. Jen felt him reach for the bag. “Keep your eyes front.”

She gritted her teeth. Not being able to see what he was doing was going to be torture in and of itself.

“Your skin is beautiful, Jennifer.”

He placed his palms on her shoulder blades. She relaxed at the contact. Somehow she didn’t feel as off kilter when he touched her.

When he touched her with those hands of his, she felt like a work in progress, like a sculpture he was molding lovingly. She felt like she was being brought to life.

His hands caressed her as though studying and memorizing her every curve and angle. He skimmed her back and molded her hips.

She felt his lips on the nape of her neck. He traced her spine with his lips, awakening every inch of her flesh. She felt his mouth on the small of her back and then his hands on her cheeks. She went onto her toes as he spread her wide.

“Look at the pretty asshole.” His voice had gone deep and husky.

“What a pretty little hole. It looks lonely, love. It looks like it needs to be filled.”

She braced herself as she felt the cool lube hit her anus. She held on to the desk as his finger rimmed her asshole. He massaged the lube into her ass, his finger pressing in and circling her hole. She shivered at the dark sensation of his finger working her over.

“You’re very tight, love.” He placed one hand on the small of her back, holding her down as he pushed his finger deep inside her. “It’s going to be hard for you to take this plug, and even harder for you to take my cock, but you’ll do it. You’ll take everything I give you, and you’ll thank me for it.”

She wasn’t sure about the part where she thanked him. The sensation was strange. It didn’t hurt, but she wasn’t sure it was pleasure either. It was unnerving, and she felt a bit on edge as he pressed into her.

“Not sure, yet? You will be. I’ll make sure you’re ready for me. I can’t wait to fuck this tight asshole. I’m going to ram my cock into you. You’ll whimper a little, but by the time I’m done, you’ll writhe under me. You’ll cry out and beg me to fuck your ass.” His finger disappeared, and then she felt something stiff tickling at her anus. She couldn’t help it. She clenched her muscles, instinctively trying to keep the foreign object out.

A crack whipped through the room as Stef’s hand came down on her ass. Heat and a sharp pain singed her.

“Don’t you try to keep me out. This belongs to me. You belong to me. Now relax and open up.” He pressed the plug against her again.

His voice became softer and more cajoling. “Let me in, Jennifer. I want to come in. I promise you won’t regret it.” The hand on her back soothed her as he pressed the plug to her anus.

“Breathe out, love. Breathe out, and flatten your back.” Jen tried to relax. She filled her lungs and let the breath go while she pressed back against Stef’s hand. She groaned a little as the plug breached her hole.

“Now that is a beautiful sight. You’re doing so well.” Jen forced her ass back and felt the plug slide home. Jen’s hands shook at the almost unbearable fullness in her ass. Stef kept her cheeks open.

“Do you have any idea what this does to me? I want to know you’re walking around with this little piece of plastic shoved up your rectum because you’re preparing yourself for me. You’re getting ready to take my cock.”

Without warning, his fingers slid into her pussy.

Jen bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“See, the plug makes your already tight cunt even tighter. I don’t have to share you with some other man to fill you up.” He pressed a single finger deep inside her. “You are so wet for me, Jennifer.

Someone liked having her ass plugged. Someone likes being a nasty girl.”

She liked being his nasty girl. Somehow Stef made all the dirty stuff seem loving. His hands caressed her sweetly even as he whispered filth into her ear. He worshipped her even as he played the big, bad Dom.

“How are you going to take care of your Master, little sub? You put him through hell today. He deserves a little stress relief. Can you think of any way to make it up to him?” She felt the heat of his body as he pressed against her. His fingers teased her soaking flesh as he nudged her insistently with his hard cock. Oh, she wanted him to take out that big dick and thrust it into her. Nothing else could possibly satisfy her, but more than that, she wanted to please him. This was what it meant to play with Stef, and she wanted to play her part.

“Let me please you, Stefan.”

He chuckled and ran his free hand through her hair. “How are you going to do that, love?”

Stef liked dirty talk, so she searched her brain for the right words.

“Let me suck you. Let me lick you. Give me your cum, Stefan. I want to taste you so badly.”

His cock seemed to swell against her, and he pulled his hand out of her hair. Before she could move, he was hauling her up. He turned her around, and his face was ferocious with desire. His breath came out in short pants. “Yes. That will do. I’m going to teach you how to suck my cock, sub. I’m going to teach you how to please your Master.”

He pressed his lips against hers in an oddly innocent kiss. He brushed her mouth, barely a touch, but she felt it deep inside her body. He released her and sat down in his big-backed chair, slouching down slightly so his cock was up and easily accessible. “Get on your knees, but hold those cheeks together. Don’t lose the plug. Hold your knees wide, as wide as you can, and clench that rosy little ass.” Jen did as he asked. It was hard, but she held the plug tight as she gingerly dropped to her knees in front of him.

“Open my jeans.”

Jen put her shaky hands on the fly of his jeans. She’d dreamed about this. She’d fantasized about the moment when she would hold him in her hands and blow his mind, but it was different. Her fantasies had been about proving to him that she was his match. Now, as she slid her hands into his jeans, all she could think about was how much she wanted to taste him. She wanted to run her tongue all over him and listen to him moan, and beyond anything, she wanted that moment when they connected, when he flowed into her. Before, she’d wanted power over him. Now, she simply wanted to be with him.

“I’m crazy about you.” Stef’s voice was quiet in the room, but there was no way she could miss his husky declaration.

Her heart filled as he looked down at her. She was crazy about him, too. She loved him. She wouldn’t ever love anyone the way she loved Stefan Talbot. Saying he was crazy about her wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but she was closer than she had been.

“Kiss my cock, love.”

She leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the silky head of his dick. His cock was truly a thing of beauty. Thick and long, Stef’s cock rose from between his powerfully muscled legs. The head was a deep, rich plum. She kissed the lovely V on his dick, letting her tongue come out to trace the edges. A drop of pearly fluid pulsed out.

She licked it up, his taste a salty intoxication.

“That’s right,” he encouraged her. His hand came out to cup her hair. “That feels perfect. Suck me in, just a little at a time.” She would have to take him a bit at a time. He was large, and he would fill her mouth in no time. She gently sucked the head into her mouth, her tongue swirling around, gathering his cream. She groaned as she took him in, inch by inch by inch. All the while, as she sucked and loved him with a worshipping tongue, she imagined the big cock in her mouth plundering her pussy. She never felt closer to another human being than she did when Stef slid in and out of her body.

“I don’t have to tell you anything, do I, love? You know what I need. Make me come.”

He threaded his hands in her hair and thrust his cock up. She opened her jaw wide, taking in more and more of him. She was patient, licking gently on the way down and sucking with strength as she made her way back up. She let her hand run down to cup his heavy balls.

Stef groaned. His breath was ragged, rattling out of his chest.

“Yes, love. Harder. Suck me hard. Pull the cum out of my balls.” Jen gave up on subtleties. She sucked, drawing the cock into her mouth all the way to the back of her throat. She drew on him over and over, all the while aware of how he surrounded her. She could taste the masculine salt of his cum, smell his clean, musky scent. Though he was only touching her hair, she felt him everywhere. She felt the clamps on her breasts, and the plug in her ass, all signs of his possession. Her body felt hot, as though she was the one about to come. His cock swelled in her mouth. He whispered her name over and over, like a mantra. Jen took him as far as she could and swallowed around him as he came.

Hot, salty spurts coated her tongue. Jen groaned as she licked it all up.

When she looked at him, Stef’s head was thrown back. His hands stroked her hair, but his eyes were closed as he caught his breath. His cock was still big even after he’d given her all the cum he’d had.

Relaxed, he was still an impressive specimen. Jen couldn’t help but kiss him again, her mouth playing over the head. His cock twitched and seemed to come back to life.

It was perfect, because Jen needed to play. The ache in her body was becoming unbearable. She needed him so badly. A deliciously wicked feeling came over her. She would suck him back to life, and then he would fuck her hard until she screamed out his name.

Being Stef’s sub was going to be heaven.

“Very good, love,” he said, pushing the chair back. “You may stand.”

All of the warmth had left his voice. She looked up, and there was a hardness to his eyes that had been absent even when he’d placed the clips on her breasts.

Jen struggled to her feet, the plug in her butt an annoyance now.

She clenched her cheeks to keep it in. For the first time since they’d begun to play, she felt the chill in the air.

Stef quickly tucked his stiffening cock into his jeans and buttoned his fly. He took a deep breath and stood. He towered over her, his jaw set like granite as he stared down at her.

“You did well for a novice. No swats today, though if you disobey again you’ll spend some time on my whipping bench. You’ll wear the plug for the rest of the afternoon. I’ll take it out when we get home. If I find out you’ve removed it yourself, it’s twenty swats and I won’t take you with me tomorrow. Is that understood?” A sick feeling began in the pit of her stomach. She’d thought they were playing, but this felt like something else. She’d read about BDSM and the importance of punishment and reward, but she’d never realized how it would feel. As connected as she’d felt to him before, she felt alone now. Alone and naked and wanting.

A little smirk played at his mouth. “Oh, love, did you think I would take care of you? You disobeyed. Disobedient little subs don’t deserve their Master’s cock. This is what it means to be my sub. This is what it means to be with me. Changing your mind?”

She said nothing, very aware that the Jen of months ago would have told him to go to hell and walked out. Now, she just felt an aching sadness. They could be more than this, but he either didn’t see it or didn’t want it. Was she willing to give up? She stood there naked with signs of his possession biting into her and thought about what she’d said to Rachel. Whatever she decided, she couldn’t do it now.

Her pain was fresh. To walk out spewing expletives would simply start their cycle again. For the first time, Jen really understood that this was their last shot. She would be with him, or give him up.

Tears pooled in her eyes. She really needed to be alone for a while, to calm down, to think.

“Can I tell you later?” Her voice was soft in the quiet of the room.

Stef’s mouth opened and then closed. He seemed briefly out of sorts before he found that Dom stance of his again. “Of course. Take the time you need. I would prefer you keep the plug in, in case you decide to stay. It would be rough on you to have to start over again.” The damn plug was the least rough thing about this. Her anus might be stretched, but her heart was getting battered. She might have to accept that her love was no match for Stef’s childhood. She nodded. If she spoke she would cry, and that wasn’t what either of them wanted.

His hands moved to her breasts. She took a step back.

“Don’t,” he growled at her. “I’m trying to unclamp you. It’s going to hurt.”

He slid the first clip off her nipple. The blood rushed back in, stinging and burning. She gasped as he quickly slid the other off.

“It will only hurt for a minute,” he muttered, stepping back. “You should get dressed.”

Jen covered her breasts with her hands and nodded. “I will. Could I have a minute to myself?”

“Why?”

Trust and honesty. That was what a Dom required. Well, she’d given him everything else. He’d stripped her bare and left her wanting. Maybe he should have this, too. The truth was she was far too tired and aching to prevaricate. “So I can cry for a while.” His eyes flared. “Because I didn’t fuck you?” If he didn’t leave soon, she was going to lose it. “Because it was less than I thought it would be.”

He laughed, but there was bitterness in the sound. “You thought I would fall at your feet. You thought you could give me a blow job and I would just fall all over myself. It doesn’t work that way, Jennifer.”

“I didn’t think you would fall at my feet, Stef,” she said wearily.

He would perpetually think of her as a selfish child. “I just thought we would be together. I felt so connected to you. It was like I was a part of something special—something just for us—but you can’t have felt that. You wouldn’t be able to walk away if you felt the way I did. It hurts to be alone when I thought, just for a minute, that I wasn’t anymore.”

He didn’t seem to have a Dom homily to give her for that. He stared for a moment and then turned to go. Seeing his back to her made her heart clench. She had to turn away. He was forever walking away from her. Why couldn’t she do the same? Even when she’d run from him, she’d seen him in her dreams every night. He’d come between her and the men she’d thought about dating. She’d been like a nun because he was always in her mind, in her work, in her heart.

She heard the door close behind him and couldn’t help the sob that came out of her throat. It was time to get dressed. She needed to compose herself. She couldn’t walk around the festival like this.

Maybe she could find a ride home. She wanted to sink to the floor and sob, but then she might lose that goddamn plug. Her breath hitched.

She felt so stupid.

“Don’t.”

She turned suddenly, crossing her arms over her breasts. Stef stood there, his face as open as she’d ever seen it. There was no Dom to him, simply a man who looked like he was on the verge of heartbreak.

“Stef?”

He shook his head. “I can’t.”

It sounded like an apology to her, something final. She didn’t try to stop the tears that flowed. She felt them fall down her cheeks, hitting her naked chest. She wished she had gotten dressed. Hearing him say he couldn’t even try to love her would have been a slight bit easier if she weren’t so naked.

“It’s okay, Stef.” He looked utterly miserable, his composure gone. She hadn’t meant to bring him to that. He needed his control.

She wouldn’t take it from him. She should have stayed in Dallas. She would never have come back if she’d known it could hurt him this way.

“It’s not. It’s never going to be okay.” Stef’s hands clenched at his side.

It would be once she stopped pushing him. He’d been all right before she came around. He’d been all right before she forced her way in. She wouldn’t leave Bliss, but she would respect his needs from here on out. “It will be okay. You’ll see. Give it time.”

“I’ll never be okay when you cry, love.” He moved forward, but it was jerky, as though he’d lost all grace. His hands came out and hauled her into his arms. “I can’t leave you like this. I don’t even want to. Forgive me.”

He pulled her close, pressing her against his chest so she was surrounded with him again. This time, though, she could hear his heartbeat, feel the uncertainty in his breath. This time he was here with her in spirit as well as body, utterly and completely.

Jen turned her face up, a deep relief in her soul. “I love you.” His eyes closed for a brief moment as though the words had a physical impact on him. “That means the world to me, love. I want so much more for you, though. You deserve to have so much more.”

“But I just want you.” It wasn’t true. She wanted more. She wanted a life here with him, and she wanted kids someday in the not-too-distant future. She wanted what she’d never had—roots. It all started with him. He was her foundation. His strong, giving heart was everything she’d ever wanted in a man.

“I know you think you do.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Can we not fight about this now? I want very much to erase the last couple of minutes. I want to take care of you.” His hands trailed down to the globes of her ass, cupping her, pressing her against his core where his cock was stiff and full again. “Let me take care of you.”

“Yes.” She wanted him so badly. The weary sadness that had taken her over was shoved aside by rampaging desire. She needed him.

He took her mouth, plunging his tongue in and dominating her with a singular purpose. His tongue glided against hers in a silky imitation of what she wanted his cock to do. He rubbed his body against hers as though he could imprint himself on her.

“This is so wrong,” he said.

“It’s not,” she tried to plead.

“Not the sex, love.” He chuckled, an open grin on his face as he pulled at the buttons of his shirt, revealing his rock-hard chest. “I’m talking about the fact that my club is going to request that I turn in my leathers. I’m being a terrible Dom.”

He kicked off his boots hastily and shoved his jeans off. He dropped them and left them on the floor in his hurry to get back against her. His cock stood straight out, and then it was pressed between them as he hugged her to him.

“I won’t tell,” she assured him. She let her hands roam for the first time. His skin was soft over the hard pack of his muscled frame. Only his hands were rough and callused from work. Those hands thrilled her as he explored her body.

“Yes, you will, love,” he commanded, and he kissed her neck.

“You’ll tell everyone what a big, nasty Dom you have.”

She hissed as he bent his head and kissed her nipples. He was painstakingly gentle with them. “I will. I’ll tell them how you torment me.”

He licked at her nipples, sucking on them softly, lighting a fire in her cunt. “I’m wicked with you. I don’t let you get out of line. When you get out of line, I torture you.”

He was doing just that. His fingers split her labia, sinking in and drawing out her juices. He bent over, and his tongue found her clit.

“Oh, god, yes, you do. You’re cruel, Stef. You bring me to the edge again and again. You fill my ass and clamp my breasts and make me pleasure you.”

He sucked her clit into his mouth as he pressed two fingers high into her cunt. “I make you see to my needs and fill none of yours when you’re a bad sub. I fuck your mouth and spank that ass of yours until it’s a hot pink and you can feel the imprint of my hand on your skin. I tie you up, shove a vibrator up your cunt, and alternate between teasing your G-spot and using a flogger on your pretty backside. You never disobey me again.”

“Never again.”

Stef got up and moved to the chair. He sat down and held out his hand. “Come on, love. Come ride me.”

Jen caught her breath at the sight of him. He was decadence personified. She took his hand and straddled him, her knees sinking into the plush leather of the big chair. Stef reached between their bodies, lining his cock up to her pussy.

“I want to watch.” His head was down. His eyes were fully focused on the place where their bodies met.

There was her pervy boy. Jen leaned back slightly so he couldn’t miss the sight of his huge dick invading her pussy. He gripped her cheeks, pulling her down inch by inch. Every centimeter was pure pleasure. He stretched her, filling her with his hard flesh, making himself a part of her.

“You’re so fucking tight like this.” He ground the words out as she felt his hands split her ass cheeks. His fingers touched the plug, making her shiver. She sank her fingers into his shoulders as he gently eased the plug a little ways out. Nerves she’d never felt before sprang to vivid life.

“Oh, Stef, that’s amazing.” She breathed out as he fucked the plug back in.

His voice was low, guttural. “I can handle you, love. We don’t need a third. I can fuck you the way you need it.” He pulled on the plug as he thrust his dick up, proving his point.

Jen was filled with him. She’d never been so full. She sank onto his cock and forced herself back up, riding him like the stud he was. She found a perfect rhythm that had the plug and his cock in exquisite parallel. When she lowered herself on his cock, he pulled the plug out to almost the rim of her anus, firing off every nerve in her rectum. He pushed it back in when she rose, the feeling of fullness unrelenting.

Every movement brought her closer to that magic place only Stef had ever taken her to. She fucked him with abandon, seeking her pleasure with every bit as much passion as she’d given him his.

“That’s right, love,” Stef said, his motions becoming wickedly wild. “Come for me. Come all over my cock. Make me feel it.” She felt the command in her clit. He pushed up with his pelvis, grinding against her, and she went flying. The orgasm rushed over her like a wildfire sweeping through her veins. She cried out as she fought for every second of pleasure she could get.

Stef’s body stiffened under her hands. He shook as he came, his gorgeous face contorting with pleasure.

Jen fell forward into the circle of his arms. Without hesitation, he held her close, their breaths, bodies, and heartbeats one.