Crime and Punishment 4: Burning Submission (16 page)

Jennifer giggled, trying to imagine Josh with a dad. “Is he like you?”

“People say we’re alike. I’m in denial.”

Jennifer laughed. “What about your mom?”

“She died a while ago.”

Her smile faded. “I’m so sorry.”

He gave a shrug and tried to hide the sadness in his eyes by looking down. “It happens. Life goes on.”

When he glanced back up at her, the sadness was gone, but Jennifer couldn’t help but wonder if he missed his mother as much as she missed her own. It seemed she and Josh had more in common than she realized.

She shifted to her hands and knees and very slowly crawled toward him. Josh didn’t say anything, didn’t even move. He just watched her with interest and a spark of lust that made her stomach tingle. Once at his side, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. The rough stubble that covered his jaw tickled her lips. She imagined what that would feel like rubbing across her breasts, and her nipples tightened.

She moved back and gazed up at his sparkling eyes. “I’m sorry you lost her.”

“So am I,” he whispered. One side of his lips tilted up as he chucked her gently under the chin. “But you do realize that you’ve just broken a cardinal rule.”

She frowned. “A what?”

“A sub never approaches a Dom.”

She shook her head, confused. “But we’re not—”

A wicked light shone in his eyes that sent a shiver of apprehension down her spine. “We are if I say we are.”

“But that’s not fair. I was just offering comfort, not playing out a sexual advance.”

“I took it as such,” he replied.

Jennifer scowled at him. “You don’t play fair, do you?”

He shook his head and grinned. “Never. Now…what shall I do as punishment?”

JOSH WATCHED JENNIFER’S expression go from shock to excitement to trepidation. Yeah, he’d just fed her a line of bullshit, taking advantage of her innocence about how Doms and subs interacted, but he couldn’t help himself.

Some Doms would prefer subs didn’t make the first move, but Josh didn’t mind. He sometimes even encouraged it, ordering them to seduce or strip him, using their mouths, of course. It made for quite a show at the clubs.

Jennifer sat back on her knees. “You’re seriously going to punish me for kissing you on the cheek? See if I ever offer you comfort again.”

Josh laughed. “I love to make it hard for you, to keep you on your toes. I look for any reason to punish. It keeps you guessing.”

She tilted her head and studied him. “Aren’t you afraid that if you constantly punish me, I’ll be terrified of you?”

“Are you terrified of me now?” he asked.

“No.”

“What makes you think you would be six months from now?”

“I haven’t even scratched the surface of Josh. I have a feeling you’ve been rather tame so far.”

He grinned. “I have.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jennifer’s lips twitched. She didn’t doubt he’d been tame, but she had also come to know that Josh liked to say things that would get a reaction out of her—good or bad. She had a feeling he didn’t care which. He just enjoyed the game. He enjoyed teasing her and shocking her. If she was honest with herself, she would admit she enjoyed it too. She never knew what would come out of his mouth next or what he might do. He was unpredictable, and she liked it.

Probably too much.

She glanced away and noticed the dishes on the coffee table. “I should clean up before bed.”

“I’ll help you,” Josh said as he climbed to his feet.

“But you cooked,” she said as she followed him into the kitchen.

He grinned over his shoulder, and her stomach did a little flip. “I don’t mind, Jenn. I clean up after myself all the time.”

He set the dishes in the sink as Jennifer went to put the leftover spaghetti in a covered bowl. They could have that for lunch tomorrow.

They cleaned in relative silence—a comfortable silence. They worked together as though they’d been doing it for months instead of days. It was nice having him here.

There she went again, thinking about him staying here. He would eventually go back to work and get back to his life. He’d told her he didn’t do relationships, and she desperately needed to remember that.

She reached up to place the last bowl in the cabinet when a harsh sting landed across the back of her thigh. She squealed and grabbed her leg. “Josh! What the hell?”

She glanced over her shoulder and saw him rolling up the hand towel, preparing to flick it again. Scowling, she turned to face him. “Don’t you dare.”

He raised an eyebrow and then flicked his wrist. Jennifer yelped and dodged, moving just in time to avoid the edge of the towel as it popped.

“I mean it, Josh,” she yelled but doubted he took her seriously when her voice quivered with laughter.

He flicked the towel again, this time catching her sweats.

“Missed me,” she taunted.

When he flicked again, she jumped back, causing him to miss her completely.

“Strip,” he ordered.

Jennifer froze. “What?”

The flick of the towel caught her off guard, hitting the side of her hip. She jerked and hissed before raising her hand to rub at the stinging piece of flesh.

“Hey,” she snapped. “That hurt.”

“Do as I say. I said strip.”

Jennifer’s mouth fell open, but this time she was observant enough to miss the towel as it popped through empty air just inches away from her thigh. He watched her through dark, narrow slits that sent a shiver of trepidation down her spine, followed by a warmth that caused goose bumps to rise all along her flesh.

High-handed? Yes. Demanding? Yes. Sexy? Oh, yes.

Part of her wanted to tell him to take a hike for being such an overbearing ass. Another part of her wanted to do exactly as he commanded. How did she walk that line? Which part did she follow?

“Jennifer,” he growled.

She reached for the hem of her shirt and then stopped. “What if I don’t want to?”

He eyed her speculatively. “If it gets to be too much and you need me to slow down, say ‘yellow.’”

She gave a nod. “Okay.”

“If you need me to stop, say ‘red.’”

“Red.”

Josh raised an eyebrow.

She swallowed and said, “No, I didn’t mean to stop. I was just…repeating what you said.”

“Good,” he replied. “Now start stripping.”

With fingers that trembled almost enough to be a hindrance, she lifted the hem of her sweatshirt over her head. She started to lay it on the table but quickly changed her mind and dropped it to the floor instead. Josh’s gaze lowered to her breasts and the white lace bra she wore.

“That’s very pretty,” he murmured. “Do the panties match?”

“They always match. I’m sort of anal about it.”

Josh brought his gaze back to her face, and the wicked amusement she could see sparkling in the depths of his eyes made her shiver.

“Let me see,” he commanded.

Jennifer lowered her sweatpants and kicked them aside. She now stood before him in nothing but her underwear, feeling exposed and strangely aroused. She watched as he walked around her slowly, looking her body up and down as though searching for something.

He ran his palm down her spine and over the rise of her hip, making her breath catch. “Very nice,” he purred. “Now finish.”

Jennifer licked her lips and removed her bra but saved her panties for last. She put her hands at the waistband, preparing to push them down, when Josh stopped her.

She stared up at him in question. He grinned and twirled his finger in the air. “Turn around and put your back to me.” She frowned but did as he requested. “Now remove them.”

Jennifer’s lips quirked slightly as she pushed the lace down her thighs. When she reached her knees, she bent, allowing him to see her ass and pussy, which she had no doubt was wet. She tossed her panties aside before standing straight again, very slowly.

Her entire body burned and tingled. She had gotten a little more used to it. Had Josh? Could he feel them too? The lights flickered, and she glanced up.

Josh walked around her and pulled a couple of scented candles from the drawer next to the sink. He grabbed a box of matches and turned to face her. “Walk to the living room.”

Jennifer did as he commanded. It felt strange walking naked, knowing he was right behind her, watching her. At the same time, though, it felt incredibly sexy. She turned into the dark living room. The low embers from the fire cast a warm glow around the room.

She came to a stop by the wingback chair close to the window and waited. Josh lit the candles and set them at opposite ends of the room before coming back to her. He wrapped the dish towel he had in his hand around her nape and used it to tilt her head back. Jennifer hardly had time to catch her breath before he lowered his mouth to hers and devoured her.

He swept his tongue inside, laying claim to her mouth. He kept one hand fisted around the towel; the other he moved to her lower back, pulling her flush against his hard body.

The towel around her neck should’ve scared her, but it didn’t. It wasn’t tight enough. The way he had her imprisoned, forcing her to take what he gave, sent her senses into overdrive. Even through her closed lids, she could see the flickering of the fire increase.

Josh broke the kiss and looked toward the fireplace. The embers had begun to die back down, but Jennifer still felt the flames of desire burning her skin.

“Be careful of that, sweetheart.” He smiled down at her. “We don’t want to burn the house down.”

Then perhaps you shouldn’t kiss me like that.

She should’ve said it out loud, but she didn’t. She wasn’t sure she could say anything at all.

He unwrapped the towel from around her neck and stepped back. Jennifer had to grab the back of the chair to keep from falling toward him.

“Face the back of the chair and hold on to it,” he said as he moved to stand behind her.

He smoothed his hand over her hip, and she arched slightly, anxious for more. “I just love this ass,” he murmured. “I can’t wait to see what it looks like striped with little pink lines.”

Jennifer glanced at him over her shoulder. He slapped her hard on the right ass cheek. “Face forward. I didn’t tell you to turn around.”

She faced the fireplace and bit her lip while Josh continued his sensual assault.

“Spread your legs,” he commanded.

Jennifer put her feet just a little past shoulder width. Josh cupped her mound from behind, and she moaned at the feel of his fingers sliding through the cream.

“Nice and wet,” he whispered in her ear, sending shivers of delight down her back.

He thrust two fingers into her pussy, pushing her to her toes. Jennifer gasped before letting out a long moan of pleasure.

“If I had you in this position at the club,” Josh began, his voice low and dark in her ear, “I would insert a small vibrating toy into your ass.”

Jennifer shuddered. She’d never had anyone do anything to her ass, but the thought of Josh sliding something inside it had her pussy clamping down on his fingers.

“Would you like that, sweetheart?” he asked.

“I think so,” she whispered as he gently fucked her with his fingers.

He reached around with his free hand and pinched one of her nipples. She cried out at the sharp bite of pain that sent currents of hot need to her womb.

“Once I was finished with your ass, I would attach clamps to these hard little buds.” He pinched it again, and she hissed. He slid his hand down her stomach. Her breath caught in anticipation. “They would have a chain attached with another clip on the end that I would place…here.”

He pinched her clit, and she nearly came. He pulled both hands away and slapped her left hip. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jennifer dug her nails into the back of the chair, fighting both her desire to come and the need to scream at him to fuck her. God, how did he get her so turned on so fast? And the way he talked. Dear Lord, she could come from his words alone.

Not letting her come was mean. It was also…hot. She wanted him so badly her entire body felt like it was on fire.

“Deep breaths,” Josh whispered in her ear as he smoothed his hand over her right hip, as though talking her down. “Good girl.”

He stepped back, and the loss of his heat was like a dousing of cold water. She glanced back and felt the sting of the towel as it popped against the side of her thigh. It hurt but not too terribly bad. In fact, the sting actually intensified the need now pounding through her veins.

“Face forward,” he commanded.

Jennifer quickly turned her face away and waited with shallow breaths for what he would do next. Another
pop
…this one landing across her left hip. She jerked and bit down on her lip to keep from yelling.

Each flick hit her somewhere different; each flick sent her closer to that edge of release. She never imagined a sting could be so much of a turn-on.

The contact went from soft to hard, then soft again. As the intensity lessened, she found she wanted more. She wanted it harder.

“Josh,” she mewled and arched her back as a particularly harsh one made the channel of her pussy quiver and clench.

“You make a pretty picture,” Josh murmured, then said in a stern voice, “But I didn’t tell you to come yet.”

Jennifer immediately straightened and tried to think of something that would take her mind off the rising tide of lust that had her body ready to jump out of its skin.

“Josh, this isn’t—”

“Shh,” Josh cooed as he led her toward the fireplace. “Wait here.”

Jennifer watched as he turned to grab a blanket off the back of the couch. He tossed it onto the floor along with a throw pillow. “Lie down,” he commanded.

She moved to her back and stared up at Josh. He took off his shirt, and the firelight flickered over his chest and abs. As he removed his jeans, her gaze moved to his engorged cock. Just looking at his thick length and purple head glistening with moisture made her pussy clench in denied need.

She thought he would take her now as she watched him roll on a condom, and her breathing increased with excitement. She was anxious to feel him inside her, stretching her, filling her.