Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (1001 Dark Nights) (12 page)

Things were changing and he didn’t like it. The best course of action would be to leave her for an hour or two and get his distance. Then he could return and they would discuss the infraction.

She hopped off the table and stepped up to him. “Mitch, I’m asking you to change that punishment. You’re right. I didn’t read it as thoroughly as I should have because I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from signing, but I can’t do this. I can handle a spanking. I can’t handle you withholding affection as punishment. You asked me to never ignore your calls because you wouldn’t ignore mine. Well, don’t play with my heart this way because I won’t ever do that to you. This makes me feel very small.”

His former subs would have pouted and sulked, and now he realized why he’d chosen the women he had. To those submissives, everything was a game. He’d been careful to pick women who enjoyed the manipulative aspects, who would give him reasons to punish them because they enjoyed the game.

This wasn’t a game for Laurel.

He nodded and forced some unnamed emotion down as he reached for her and drew her close. “I don’t want you to feel small, baby. You’re not small to me. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”

“And I didn’t mean to make you feel out of control.” She kissed his jaw and then settled herself against him. She didn’t seem to be self-conscious in any way. She was like a happy kitten rubbing against him. “I can handle a lot of things, but I can’t handle you being cold to me.”

He’d been cold for so long. It was all he knew how to be, but he found himself holding her close and then his mouth found hers. How long had it been since he tossed out his rituals and routines and simply let the sex happen? Well, besides what had happened in his office a few weeks before. Tonight wasn’t going to end the same way. Tonight he would end up in bed with her, wrapped up with her.

He kissed her, his tongue finding hers and playing. His hands moved across her skin, exploring. She was his for the time being and she was different from the other subs he’d kept. She wasn’t after his money or his connections. She wasn’t looking for a free ride.

She was carrying his child.

He hated change, but it was here and he was trapped.

He was surprised to find that didn’t scare him the way it should have.

Before he really knew what he was doing, he was pressing her back, taking her down to the couch. He kissed her as his hands fumbled at his belt and then the fly of his slacks. His cock sprang free and he wasn’t thinking about anything but getting inside her. He shoved his slacks down and made a place for himself at her core.

Her hands tore at his shirt as though she couldn’t stand the clothes between them. He ripped the damn thing off himself, hearing the sound of the buttons pinging on the hardwoods as he tossed it away. It didn’t matter. He had twenty exactly like it and he wanted to feel her hands on him.

She sighed as she looked up at him. “You’re so beautiful.”

She was the beautiful one. “Wrap your legs around my waist. The good news is I don’t have to fumble around for a condom. That ship sailed.”

The smile on her face would have brought him to his knees if he hadn’t already been there. “That ship has definitely sailed and there’s no getting off it.”

But she was smiling. She was stuck with him and she was still smiling. God, he would do a lot to keep that smile on her face.

He slowed down. He was always in a rush to have her. She pushed him past all control, but that smile gave some of it back. He lowered himself down, giving her his weight. Her legs circled his waist and he kissed her, his cock nudging at her.

He groaned as he thrust inside. So tight. God, she had the tightest, hottest pussy. It fit him like a damn glove, like she’d been made to take his cock.

He buried his face in her neck, breathing her in as he slowly forced his way inside her. She was wet, but it was still a deliciously tight fit.

“That feels so good.” Her nails ran over his back.

He kissed her neck and let the heat of her body warm his own. “One of these days, I swear I’m going to get out of my clothes, baby.”

He pushed in until there was nowhere else to go, until she’d taken every inch of him and he could feel her squeeze him tight. He flexed inside her and was rewarded with a sexy gasp from her.

He thrust in and dragged back out, feeling her all around him. Her legs tightened, arms circling and nails scoring him lightly.

He didn’t have sex like this. Somewhere in the back of his head alarm bells were going off. He controlled the sex. He preferred to have his sexual partner tied up or ordered to remain still, to give her body over to him and he would see to their pleasure. But he couldn’t do it with Laurel. He gave over to the primal instinct to mate. He couldn’t call it sex. Sex was something he could take or leave, but he wasn’t sure he could ever leave this woman, and that was precisely why he’d stayed away from her in the first place.

He was not the man who got lost in freaking passion.

He fucked her hard, not caring to listen to alarm bells or reason. It felt too good to have her around him, to be in the center of her touch, her smell, her heat. He forgot about all the reasons why he shouldn’t and let his cock take over. His cock knew exactly what he wanted and he wanted to mark Laurel as his.

Over and over he thrust inside, taking them higher and higher. When she tensed around him and called out his name, he knew this fight was over. The silky muscles of her pussy clamped down and milked his cock. His spine sizzled as he gave up and held himself hard against her, pouring himself into her.

He finally rested, completely spent. Her hands smoothed over his back and there was nothing but the peaceful sound of her breathing, her heart beating as he laid his head on her chest.

He was in deep and he was fairly certain that this time he would drown.

Chapter Six

Laurel looked around the new Sanctum with a sense of wonder. It was big. Three levels. There was a bar, lounge, and gorgeous locker rooms on the first floor. She’d been surprised to discover she’d been given her own locker complete with a nameplate. When she’d opened it, she’d found her favorite toiletries had already been stocked and there were clothes Mitch had picked out for her hanging there.

He was a thoughtful Master. She’d traded the delicate gold chain she wore during the day for a heavier collar. This one was made of leather, but he’d had it custom detailed with green, glossy leaves.

For a Laurel tree.

The second level was the dungeon. She stood there, looking out over Ian Taggart’s own version of heaven, and hoped Mitch didn’t have a thing for the human hamster wheel. It was a massive thing and someone had lined it with twinkle lights. Serena and Bridget were giggling as they watched a male sub jogging his ass off in the hamster wheel while a big Dom stood watching, threatening to whip his ass if he slowed down.

“Is that Chris?” Chris was her sister-in-law’s best friend. Along with Serena, Bridget and Chris were a trio to be reckoned with at Sanctum. Everyone knew that if you gave them a juicy story it would end up in one of their books.

Bridget gave her a spectacular smile. “Yeah, he told Jeremy he needed help getting fit. He kind of threw a hissy fit because Jeremy can eat whatever he wants and still stay gorgeous. Chris got a little bratty and hence the new sub workout.”

Chris’s legs pumped harder and faster and the twinkle lights changed from white to green.

“That’s right. Get it up to green, sub. Five more minutes or I’ll have you on a St. Andrew’s Cross and you won’t be able to sit down for a week. How many calories will that burn, love? Yeah, don’t try to talk. Just run.” Jeremy winked at her. “That’s the last time he tells me I’m a shitty trainer.”

“Tag set it up so the lights change the faster you go,” Serena explained. “It’s kind of the symbol for the new Sanctum. Pretty and functionally torturous. I can’t wait to start writing about it.”

Bridget pulled Laurel in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. I see Mitch was kind with the clothes.”

She was wearing a crop top and tiny miniskirt. No shoes for her. He’d explained that while he liked her heels, he was afraid she would trip in them. She hadn’t stopped wearing them to work, but he ruled here at Sanctum. “He’s afraid a corset would be confining for the baby. I did not even point out that women wore them for many years and they’re adjustable. I’ve found on some things, it’s easier to give in. And I really hope we got all the hideously embarrassing questions out of the way with the first doctor’s visit.”

Mitch had driven her to Dr. Bates’s office and waited with her. He’d helped her change into her gown and listened intently while the doctor had searched for the heartbeat. While she’d gotten teary at the sound, he’d been stoic. He’d simply nodded and squeezed her hand as though he’d read somewhere that was what the expectant father did when the expectant mother cried. He’d shown no real emotion, but boy had he had some questions for the doc.

Bridget laughed. “How bad was it? I happen to know your OB. She’s very cool and understands the lifestyle, so I’m sure it’s nothing she hasn’t heard before.”

“He asked if anal sex was okay for the baby. I’m not kidding you.” It had been horrifying. He’d had a list of questions for Dr. Bates, most of them about sexual things she never thought she would talk to a doctor about.

“What did she say?” Serena asked. “Because when Jake asked she told us as long as it was my ass he was very gently fucking it would likely be all right, but otherwise he might be in trouble.”

Dr. Bates seemed to have come from the Big Tag school of bedside manner. “Yes, that seems to be her patent response. Did Mitchell have to go through an entire list of sexual positions and acts?”

“This is a guy’s way of caring. He’s nervous about it so he has to find some way of taking control,” Serena explained. “Pregnancy can be very difficult for the man. Especially a Dom. He can’t control it so you have to find ways to make him more comfortable with the situation. Let him pamper you even when it’s annoying. Seriously, a foot rub can get boring after three hours, but it soothed Jake to do it. Adam was definitely calmer until we hit the delivery room. That first blood freaked him out. He wasn’t prepared for it to be so bloody and painful.”

“Hey, ixnay on the ainpay.” Bridget frowned Serena’s way.

“Oh, because I should tell her that childbirth is a lovely, pain-free, and completely comfortable experience.”

“I’m going to take all the drugs,” Laurel admitted. “Every one of them. I’m not a Viking woman.”

The pain part scared the crap out of her. So did all the things that could happen. Mitch didn’t want her to read the childbirth books. He’d told her they would only scare her, but she’d put a couple on her Kindle anyway. One of them had to be ready. He’d asked the doctor a million questions about their sex lives and not one about the actual pregnancy.

Sometimes she wondered if he’d changed his mind about the baby again. Or was it all about his duty to her and responsibility for the child?

She’d noticed that after their first night together, they hadn’t spoken of marriage again. She told herself it was good because she didn’t want to have that fight, but she had to wonder if she really wanted to be a single mom.

“Do you absolutely have to play tonight? It’s hard walking around without looking at things. I’m going to crash into someone’s scene,” a familiar voice said.

She turned and there was her brother coming up the stairs with Mitchell and Kai. Will’s eyes were firmly planted on the ground.

Kai gave her a smile. “He’s trying to avoid seeing you half naked.”

“She’s actually quite covered,” Mitch admitted.

He looked utterly delicious. No matter what kind of problems they might have, there was no denying the fact that this man got her motor running like no other. Sanctum was filled with gorgeous men, but Mitch seemed to stand above the rest. He was so masculine, with his broad shoulders and cut chest on display. She loved how petite she felt when he held her. He seemed to like to show off how strong he was by carrying her around.

Will brought his head up, his eyes opening cautiously. He seemed to relax. “All right. I suppose I can handle that. What kind of scene are you two doing tonight?”

Mitch moved to her side, his eyes going to the collar around her neck. She could practically feel the satisfaction pouring off him in waves. He might not want her as a wife, but she could tell he was enjoying keeping a submissive. “I’m doing a ropes demonstration, and no, you will not want to watch. We’re up very soon, so you and Bridget should stay on the east side of the dungeon. I hear Weston and his wife are doing an impact play scene.”

“I’m going to find a pretty little pain slut and get my freak on,” Kai promised. He looked nothing like his normal self. Kai was usually very intellectual looking. Like the professor at college every girl wanted to date. But with his hair down around his shoulders and dressed in leathers and motorcycle boots, the good psychologist looked dangerous. And definitely ready for some fun. Of course, his idea of fun had to do with pain.

“When are you going to play with Kori?” Mitch nodded to a girl across the room.

Kori was standing with her friend, Sarah. The two were pretty women. With curves for days, they looked ready for play in their corsets and teeny tiny thongs.

Kai frowned. “I’m not and I’ve made that clear. She works for me. I’m not going to play with my employee. I’ve so recently seen where that leads.” He patted Mitch on the shoulder. “I’m going to find a compatible woman and work very hard to not get her pregnant. You look lovely, Laurel.”

“I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

Kai took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gallantly. “It was meant to be. I wish you all the best. And know that my door is always open.”

Kai strode away.

“If I didn’t know he was offering you a counseling session, I might go kick his ass. I think I want to amend our contract. No one gets to kiss you except me. Not any part of you. I didn’t like him kissing your hand.” Mitch could get the tiniest bit jealous, but he looked so cute standing there staring after his friend like he wasn’t sure what to do.