AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She swallowed, and her hands trembled at his soft tone, the need in his face. "Just the leg. "
She drew in an unsteady breath as his lips caught the bead just above the back of her knee. His hand balanced him on her thigh, his light touch eliciting a scream from her body for more, a scream that got more insistent as his firm lips traveled upward, following the bead's path. He took his time, sucking her dew off her heated flesh with the leisure thoroughness of a lion cleaning his mate's pelt.
When he reached the upper part of her thigh, his tongue carefully licking just below her crotch, the curve of his skull brushed across her mound with every stroke. Lauren's body quivered despite her attempt at control. A soft whimper came from her lips.
His fingers tightened on her knee, even as his raised gaze communicated understanding. He comprehended, as she did, the desperate need that lay beneath the surface of this game. That was the niggling worry that kept her stepping so carefully. They had no way of knowing if they were lost souls drawn together by desolation or destiny. She was terrified of the answer, but the only way to find out was to let go of fear and take the risk.
He shifted his angle. Just a graze of teeth and lips over her quivering clit, his hands sliding up both her thighs. He was showing her what pleasure could be had, the little boy only being a little bit bad. . .
She bit down on a groan and slid her hand down over his hair as his tongue gave her a stronger, more insistent lick through the fabric, the friction rubbing her aroused pussy. Her fingers dug in, held him still.
He gazed up at her, playfulness warring with dangerous mutiny in his stormy eyes.
If she had only seen desire there, she might have given in at this moment. But she saw the fear. He was scared shitless, just like she was, and he thought he could use her body's needs to shove her away from the shadows that lurked within him.
At heart, people were animals, burrowing in holes with their hurts, never realizing they would die in those holes if they did not summon the courage to drag themselves out and let themselves be healed. A rue
ful smile curled her lip. Physician, heal thyself.
"Back off," she murmured, shifting the smile into an amused disinterest as he obeyed with a reluctance that was echoed in every raging cell of her body.
Lauren eased off the horse. Her knees were trembling. Josh reached up from his kneeling position, steadied her. His hand slid down her waist, over her hip, to her thigh, lingering. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss there. His expression was reverent, passionate, eager, fierce, and she had to stifle a groan of need. Did a Dom just know instinctively when the time was right? She hoped so; otherwise she was going to kill them both.
"Stay there, on your knees," she ordered, and she put some space between them, gathering her composure. She was too good a Mistress to give away her state of mind, however, so her walk around the room to get a breather was a calculated saunter. She lingered by each sexual device, examined them, ran her hands over soft cuffs, the cold metal of steel bars, the polished wood of a bench. Marcus was watching her, too, his face impassive, but she needed no clues from him at the moment and did not look in his direction.
It was a few moments before her body settled enough that she really began to see what was before her, and then she began watching Josh out of the corner of her eye. His gaze was following her, but she noted the tension in those fine shoulders grew more pronounced whenever she lingered at any type of restraint system, anything that would leave the sub helpless to defense against the Dom. A smile curved her lips.
Of course. She stopped.
"I want you here," she said.
It was the dominant piece in the room, a device like a St. Andrew's cross, only modified into an H
design. The shape allowed the captor full front and back access to the captive, with the exception of a couple wide cross pieces that could be adjusted up or down, wherever the captor chose to position them. She turned to face the kneeling man, and her heart broke a little as she saw the uncertainty, the desperation and fear, in his eyes.
"Will you trust me, Josh?" she said softly. "Trust me to know when to be kind, and when to be not so kind?"
Would he let her hold the cards until the game was over?
She was upping the stakes, and they all knew it. She had crossed the line that was safe for both of their hearts. She was going to challenge him, push him, see how far he would submit to her. She couldn't look to Marcus for approval or disapproval this time. It was between the two of them.
"I trust you," he said at last, his eyes on the ground, as if he was not brave enough to agree while looking at her. His voice was hoarse. "I don't know why. I hardly know you. But I do. Completely. "
Then, as if he had given himself a mental slap for cowardice, he jerked his head up, and looked at her.
"I will serve my Mistress's pleasure," he said.
Lauren swallowed a fist size lump of jagged glass, almost crying out at the pain, but an amazing thing happened to it once it cleared her throat. It lodged in her heart, where it was warmed by the simple sincerity in his eyes, the devotion in his voice, and every line of his body. The jagged edges melted, and she felt a complete, tender fulfillment. Someone who trusted her, believed in her, willingly gave himself to her to be cherished and who would cherish her in return. It was the Whole she had wanted to give to Jonathan, but the foundation for it had never been there. The rest of it was always hard work, but the underlying current to give it a chance had to be there. Josh and she had had it instantly. Now they just had to wade through the baggage to keep from fucking it up.
"Then you should cast your eyes down," she reproved, and came forward. She kissed him on the top of his bowed head, nuzzling his hair. His fingers clutched her calves for a moment, hard.
She clucked at him, correcting him, and he removed his hands, bracing them into tense fists on the floor on either side of her feet. "You need to remember manners," she reminded him, and turned, though her heart had tilted at the sheer desperation of his grasp.
"And what is the lady's wish, now that she has her slave's compliance?" Marcus arched a brow at her, rising from his chair.
Lauren paused, and glanced back at Josh, taking him in from head to toe. The bare back, the tight ass, the pink undersides of his bare feet.
"Put him there," she nodded to the St. Andrew's Cross. "I want him spread and cuffed, face forward.
