Desert Surrender (19 page)

One, two, three measured strokes, and then he increased the tempo, just enough for her to wonder if she would be able to follow his instructions and not peak without permission.

He smacked her ass, the sound echoing in the room. “Did I give you permission to stop playing with your clit?”

“No, Master.” Another sharp slap made her groan. She found her clit, rubbed it as gently as possible to keep from climaxing.

“Better.” He smacked her ass again, his hips moving faster.

“Master?” Her waiting orgasm made her nerve endings tingle.

“Almost. You"re doing so good.” The thrusts were hard now, his cock slamming against her walls. When she heard his breath catch and a strangled “now,” escape his Desert Surrender

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lips, she came, screaming louder than she thought she ever had before as Maddox pounded into her, one arm wrapped around her waist as his free hand went to her pussy, his fingers pushing hers aside and clasping her clit, pinching hard.

Clarissa screamed as her pleasure increased, the orgasm unlike anything she"d ever felt before, the intensity of it making her feel as if she were outside her body, as if somehow she were floating on air, when she was actually still tethered to the rack.

When the feelings subsided, he stroked her back, smacking her ass every few seconds, his cock still buried deep inside her.

It was a fantasy come true, and it was better than she"d ever expected it to be.

“Good girl.” He pulled her against him as he slid out from her pussy. Maddox held her close and kissed her shoulder, then nibbled on her ear. “I think a soak in the hot tub will help soothe your muscles, don"t you?”

“A perfect idea, as always,” she whispered. “Just lead the way.”

* * * * *

It was full dark outside when they emerged from the tub. Maddox pronounced he was hungry and went to the kitchen. Clarissa went to her purse, then checked the call log on her phone.

“I have lots of missed calls. My father called three times, Henry once, and Anna twice. It"s not like Anna to call more than once if she"s left a message.” She plugged into voice mail, deleted both her father"s messages when they first started, then listened to both of Anna"s.

“She wants to me to call her, ASAP.”

“Then you better do it.”

It took Anna no time at all to answer the phone, her voice full of concern when she said Clarissa"s name. Then she launched into a conversation before Clarissa could mutter a word.

“Slow down, Anna, I can"t understand you. And I"m going to put you on speaker so Maddox can hear too.”

Clarissa put her hand over the mouthpiece. “It"s something to do with Henry, so I wanted you to hear too.”

He relit his unfinished cigar from earlier in the evening. Cigar smoke wound around his head as he nodded.

“Okay, Anna, go.”

“Hey, Maddox. Listen, sweetie, I had lunch with Daphne Brooks and a few other ladies today, and you know what a gossip she is. She told me her husband told her about something Henry said at the tennis club last week. Seems he was bragging about how much money he would have once he reeled you in.”

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“Fat chance of that happening. For one, I"m not marrying him, and for two, I"d make him sign a prenup. He wouldn"t get his hands on a cent of my money.”

Anna cleared her throat. “Daphne said he indicated this wasn"t your money. This was something else altogether.”

Clarissa"s blood grew cold. “You mean like my father is paying him to marry me?”

“I don"t know, sweets. All I know is they were all laughing about it, and it really pissed me off.”

“Knowing you like I do, I"m sure you didn"t keep that emotion to yourself.”

“Damn straight. And that"s when they told me Henry had gone to Las Vegas to bring you back. Why didn"t you tell me he was there? I had to see it on the Internet after hearing it from them. Nice aim, by the way.”

Maddox"s chuckle made Clarissa smile. “It was rather nice to see,” he put in. “I should have let her get the other one off too. She had one more missile to launch, and I stopped her. Now I wish I hadn"t.”

Her friend giggled in pure Anna fashion, and Clarissa joined in the laughter.

“Take care, and be careful.”

“Don"t worry, I"ll take care of her.” Maddox"s voice had a gruff tone that warmed Clarissa"s heart.

“Yes, I can see that. See ya.”

They said good-bye, and Clarissa clicked the phone shut.

“Rissa, come and sit with me.” She moved toward him, intent on sitting on the pillow at his feet. “No, on my lap. I want to talk to you about something.”

“If your leg goes numb, let me know.” She flashed him a smile when he lifted both eyebrows at her.

“You"ll pay for that remark. I like you just as you are.” Warmth suffused her as he stroked her arm. “Tell me how much you know about your finances.”

“You mean how much money I have? I don"t know an exact number. I might have lost some in the stock market, but I"m not going broke anytime soon.”

Maddox continued to stroke her arm. “That"s not what I meant. I"m talking about different accounts. For instance, you have your trust fund and a checking account and savings account, right?”

“Yes.”

“Plus a portfolio.”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything else?”

She shook her head in confusion. “I have no idea. I have an accountant that takes care of my bills, and my credit card always works when I want it to, so I know she"s doing her job.”

He pulled her closer. “Have you ever signed any papers you didn"t read first?”

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The cold she"d felt when Anna told her story about Henry returned. “Yes, but it"s been a while.”

“Oh, Rissa.” He shook his head in disbelief. “How could you?”

“They were from my father. He said, sign this, and I did. I was a kid intent on partying, not reading legal papers.” She flipped her phone back open. “I"m calling my accountant.”

“It"s getting late back there. Some people go to bed early.”

“Like I give a shit.” She punched buttons quickly, found the right number. “With the amount of money she makes off me, she can answer the phone at midnight. Jane?

It"s Clarissa Alexander. I want to check my account. How much money is in there? Yes, now. Yes, I"ll hold.” There was a pause, and Clarissa tried not to scream out in frustration. “Okay. Thanks. No, nothing"s wrong. I was just a little paranoid after watching the news.”

Maddox tapped her arm. “Ask her who has access to your trust fund.”

She relayed the question and waited. “Only me? Okay, thanks again. No, I"m not in New York. I"m sorry if I woke you.”

Clarissa tossed the phone onto the coffee table. “How many times did you sign papers without reading them?”

“I don"t know, three, four, more? I never thought anything about it.” Tears swam in her eyes. “He"s my father. He might piss me off, but I don"t think he"d…steal from me.”

Maddox was silent for a few minutes. “Listen, I have a lawyer in Vegas who knows a good computer hacker. He"s discreet, and he"s trustworthy. I"ve used him myself a few times to deal with less-than-scrupulous gamblers. Let me call him, see what he can find out by fishing in records he has no business fishing in.”

“Do it.” She reached for the phone.

He took his own from his pocket. “He"ll recognize my number. This will be expensive.”

“Well, from what Jane just told me, I can afford it. I"ll sign whatever papers he wants me to. This time I"ll make sure I read them first.”

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Chapter Twelve

“I"m sorry I ruined your plans for the day.” Clarissa glanced over at Maddox, who watched the road intently despite the light traffic.

“You didn"t ruin anything, missy. We"ll still play; we"ll just change the rules around a little.”

“Thanks.” She took a sip from a water bottle.

“You"re welcome.” He put his hand on her knee, slid it under her dress. “So soft. I like it.”

“I"m glad.” Very glad, she thought. After he"d gotten off the phone with his lawyer last night, they"d sat and watched movies. He"d attached the leash to her collar and held it while she sat on the cushion at his feet. It made her feel warm and cared for, which surprised her. If someone had said, even just a month ago, she"d be wearing a collar and sitting at some guy"s feet, she would have told them they were out of their mind. She"d done it. And done it very eagerly too.

Maddox Perry was a man she could see herself staying with forever. Waking up next to him, playing games with him, serving him, making love with him, would be the perfect way to spend the rest of her life.

She knew some people would say it was a bit early to think something like that, but she knew it wasn"t. It was a feeling she had deep inside her. And she also knew, just from the way he looked at her, that he felt the same way, although neither of them had voiced that option.

If he did happen to mention it, she would say,
Yes, take me, make me yours forever.

“Well, did you?”

“What?”

“You weren"t even listening to me. At least tell me you were daydreaming about my dick.”

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“Most definitely.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Shall I demonstrate?”

“Tempting but…”

“Indecency in public not allowed for fear of losing gaming license. Got it.” She put her hand to her neck. It felt strange there was no collar there. In less than twenty-four hours, she had grown used to wearing it, feeling it around her neck, binding her to him.

“Don"t worry, I"ve got a plan for that too.” He glanced at her hand, and she nodded.

“I like that idea. Wanna share all the plans for today?”

“Nope. You had your chance. I was asking questions, and you were thinking about my dick instead of paying attention, so now you have to wait.”

She pouted, and he laughed evilly.

“Andrew is bringing the papers you need to sign to have the lawyer start the search, and after that we"re back on our time.”

“Is Andrew a Dom?”

“Yes, he is.” He took a right off the highway. “He has a submissive down here that he sees sometimes. If this deal goes through and we get approval for the new casino, he"ll run this branch and that will bring them closer together. I think it will be very good for him.”

“Why doesn"t she move to Vegas? This place seems pretty remote to me.”

“It is, and they both like it that way. I"m thinking of selling him the house if he moves here.”

Her heart beat just a little faster. “I thought this was where you came to get away from everything.”

“It is. Still, I thought between the sale from this and the house in Henderson, we could find a different place. One that has no memories to make my new sub jealous.”

He glanced over at her for a second before turning his gaze back to the road. “Don"t act so surprised. You and I both know I don"t want you to leave here.”

“Well, I don"t know. I lead a pretty exciting life in New York. What can you offer me here?”

“I can promise to cherish you, to respect you, and not keep you in a box. Unless it"s part of a scene. And I promise to care for you and see to your needs.”

“Thank God you didn"t mention love.”

He pulled into a casino parking lot and put the car in park. “Most women would want to hear the word love in that sentence.”

“It"s way too soon for that, Maddox. I like you, a great deal. What I feel for you is more than I"ve ever felt for a person, and it scares me. I admit it. It could head in the love direction very easily, except I"ve never been very good with that word. I think it"s because my parents were terrible with it.”

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His touch against her hand was gentle, his fingers warm as they grasped hers.

“We"ll take the journey together. Just know if you waver and talk about leaving, I"m going to fight for you to stay. That"s a promise.”

“How are you going to do that? Wrap a collar and leash around my neck while I"m on the airplane?”

“If need be, yes.”

“I"m sure the air marshal would love that.” She gasped softly. “Oh look, there"s the
L
word. I guess I"m getting better at using it already.”

* * * * *

“Is this the casino you"re buying?” Clarissa toyed with the straw in her glass, glancing around. “I have to say it"s not as sleek as Moonglow. Will you change it up?”

“This isn"t it,” Maddox replied. “We"re considering empty space that"s a little ways down the river. We just thought we"d meet here so there"s a table to sign papers, after…”

“I read them. I know.”

“Good for you.”

“So, will this new place be the Moonglow II?”

“No, just Moonglow in Laughlin.”

She put her hand near his on the table. “How did you come up with the name?”

His smile jabbed at her heart. Yes, the
L
word could definitely come into play with this man. “You know my father is an archaeologist. He took me to digs with him, and we spent lots of time outdoors, camping and the like. He would always tell me that nothing was impossible. „Reach for the moon," he"d say. So I did. Turned out to be a pretty good deal.”

“Sorry I"m late.” Clarissa pulled her gaze away from Maddox to greet Andrew.

“There was some traffic, plus I had a run-in with a friend of yours, Clarissa.”

“Henry.”

“Yup, he insisted on knowing where you were. He"s outside, or maybe he came in with me and is afraid to come near Clarissa when there are drinks nearby.” He winked at her. “He"s not very good at being secretive. I had to slow down a few times in the city so I didn"t lose him.”

Clarissa turned to Maddox. “You knew?”

“Yes. Andrew called me earlier to say Henry started to tail him when he left the hotel. I thought it would be nice if we could have a chat, convince him to go back to New York like a good boy.”