Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries Book 11) (41 page)

He rushed into the bedroom and then stopped at the sight that greeted him.

Mia was naked, her body laid out on his bed. Laid out wasn’t exactly right. She was trussed up like the sweetest gift he’d ever been given. Rope wrapped around her torso, holding her tight. Her hands were bound as well, tied behind her. Mia lay on her side, her legs free and a perfectly atrocious pair of underwear covering her pussy and her ass. He would always think any underwear was bad, but this one was cotton and reached up to her waist. There was no lace or silk. Just a bunch of martini glasses and the words “It’s always happy hour somewhere.”

“What the hell is that?”

She bit her bottom lip, her face going a nice shade of pink. “I was trying to surprise you. I think I probably should have called. I’m so sorry. If you could get Kori back, I’ll get dressed again.”

Oh, that was so not happening. She was here. She was half naked and tied up on his bed, and that meant she was forgiving him. At one point in time he might have wondered if this was a little revenge on her part, but now he understood his insecurities were his problem and not Mia’s. Mia wouldn’t do that to him. Mia would come here for one reason and one reason only.

Mia wanted to try again.

But she had some insecurities of her own and they did have something to do with him. He’d let her go. He’d let her walk away because he’d been so angry with her. He’d let his anger overwhelm his love. That was his mistake, and it had hurt her so very badly.

He stared down at her, enjoying seeing her again. “How can you be even more beautiful than I remember?”

“I thought you were upset to see me.”

“I was surprised to see you. I was upset to see that you’ve chosen to wear…” He couldn’t even call those panties. They were horrific.

A little smile began to curl up her mouth. “This is about the undies? You’re mad I’m covering my pussy. Well, Case, I wasn’t sure if Boomer was going to walk in, and I thought I should leave a little mystery between us. As for these particular undies, I didn’t have time to do a bunch of laundry. I kind of got home, found out I had a crazy-hot stalker leaving me messages, and then I flew here so I wouldn’t miss you.”

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He might never take his eyes off her again. His cock jumped back to life. Months had passed. Months where he’d been hit on by several lovely women and not a one of them moved him. No one touched his soul the way Mia did, and Case had rapidly discovered that his cock definitely followed where his soul went. No pretty face or hot body could compare to Mia. Those other women didn’t glow the way she did, didn’t light up a room or make his heart do weird, fluttery things that he was never going to admit to. Never. Except maybe to his brother when he’d had too much Scotch.

Ian had told him to suck it up on the girly love stuff, poured him another drink, and then very quietly admitted he felt the same way about Charlotte and if Case ever said a damn thing to her, Ian would beat the shit out of him.

Then they’d talked about the Cowboys.

That was the Taggart way.

And so was this. He reached out and hauled her up. She was easy to move, all trussed up. A gorgeous, sexy piece of baggage. Mia had chosen to offer herself up like this. He would take it. They could work through their issues while finding the connection that had been missing for months. He’d missed touching her, missed tasting and loving her. And he’d definitely missed spanking her.

She gasped a little as he twisted her and managed to maneuver her so she was over his lap, the offensive panties in his line of sight. Those had to go.

He reached out and touched the curve of her hip, sighing at the contact. Finally he could touch her, feel the warmth of her skin under his. “I’ve been leaving you messages for months. Why today?”

Was it because of Theo? He would be all right with that. She loved adventure and she’d been a part of finding him the first time. Hell, she was why they’d found him the first time. She could come along but she needed to understand this relationship wasn’t ending the minute the op did. None of that fucking-until-the-op-was-over bullshit for him. This was forever.

Mia wiggled on his lap, but she didn’t complain. “I might have been stubborn and might have switched phones and not listened to any of your messages until today. The minute I did, I was here. Case, I’m so sorry I got rid of that phone because I didn’t want you to be able to reach me. I knew the minute I heard your voice that I would come back to you. Please touch me, Sir.”

Hearing her call him Sir made him long for more. He knew he likely didn’t deserve it, but one day she would call him Master and more than that, she would call him husband. He let his hand trace over the curves of her ass. So round and perfect, and made for his hand and his cock. This was exactly what he needed. He needed to be her Dom again, needed his strong, gorgeous sub here in his arms. She could knock him on his ass outside the bedroom. It was her job when he was a dumbass. She was going to be his woman, his better half. But here in the bedroom, he needed her sweet submission. He let his hand slide under the seam of those awful undies. “It’s all right. I needed the time to sort a few things through. I needed to be better for you. But Mia, just because I’m working on my temper doesn’t mean I can’t lose it again.”

She held on to him. “I wasn’t angry that you lost your temper. I knew you would be mad at me for what I did. It was how cold you got.”

He didn’t remember feeling cold at all. Never about her. He definitely wasn’t feeling a chill now. He began to draw the panties over her hips, exposing her gorgeous skin. “I was never cold. Not about you. I made a massive mistake, but you’re the one who walked away. I never intended for those to be the last words we said to each other. Not once. Even when I was angry as hell at you, I knew I wouldn’t let you go.”

“I didn’t see how you could possibly love me when you thought those things about me,” she said quietly.

“And I didn’t think you could possibly love me at all. I was angry. With you. With me. With Theo. With Ian for letting Theo go. I was angry about everything. But I wasn’t stupid. I wouldn’t have let you go. My every intention was to send you home so you could think about what you’d done. I was treating you like a child instead of letting you be my partner. I need to know if you can forgive me, Mia.” If she couldn’t, he would keep on trying until he changed her mind. Nothing was more important than winning her back, than being the man she needed him to be.

“Only if you’ll forgive me for walking away,” she replied.

That’s what he’d needed to hear. They spent so much time fighting or fucking that they’d forgotten how to look at each other and be real. “I do, but never again, princess. Even if I fuck up, I need to know you’ll stay and knock some sense into my thick skull. I suspect my sisters-in-law will help you learn how to be a Taggart wife. It’s not always easy.”

“Wife?”

Shit. Maybe that had been too fast. Still. He wasn’t backing down. “I want to marry you. I’m not going to pretend like I don’t. And honestly, I’ve got you tied up. If you say no, I could just leave you like this until you say yes.”

“Don’t you dare. You’ve got maybe fifteen minutes tops before I start complaining. And yes. But you had better spank me now. It’s been so long. I need it, Case. I need to cry and I need to feel close to you so spank me.”

Yes? She’d said yes? “Are you sure? Because I don’t want you to think I’m punishing you. We need to make that clear. This is for fun and to give you what you need.”

“Please. And make it dirty. I’ve missed this so much. And maybe you should punish me,” she said in that voice that let him know she would get what she wanted one way or another. It was that sexy, taunting, sultry voice she used on him when she wanted to push him, wanted him to push her. “After all, I punished you for months. I knew you were working for my brothers. I knew you would come with us to New York, but I wouldn’t see you. I wasn’t going to give you the satisfaction of seeing me.”

Yes, she seemed determined to push him. “Are you sure? I could untie you and make love to you and we could be gentle with each other.”

“That’s not who we are, Case. I realize that now. I should have stayed and fought it out with you. I can do that. I can take everything you have to give me, even the anger, if I know you love me. I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment you walked in the room and my world shifted because I’d finally found a man I didn’t have to hold back with. I want everything. I want your passion and your love, and I definitely want your dominance.”

He could give it to her. His cock was so hard it was painful, but it could wait. His sexuality had become tied to play and he needed it more than he needed to be inside her. He needed to give her what she required to be happy, what only he could give her.

He left her panties tangled in her legs, holding her thighs together. “You thought you could keep me away from this? Away from your body? It belongs to me, Mia. Only to me. I’ll teach you never to think to keep us apart again.”

The words were for play, to heighten the sensation, but the underlying meaning was there.

I need you. I can’t be whole without you. Don’t ever leave me again.

He brought his hand down, smacking her ass hard once, twice, and then again. He got to five, her flesh already pink, before he stopped to let her breathe.

Mia squirmed, though it was obvious she wasn’t trying to get away. Her fingers had laced together, squeezing tight. “I was so mad at you, so hurt. I couldn’t see past it, Sir. I’m so sorry. I wasted so much time.”

He wasn’t sure it had been wasted. They’d worked through some things they’d needed to work through. She’d written and found her footing back in that world again and he’d been forced to face what life without her would truly be like.

Did Ian love Charlotte more because he’d lost her? Had that made finding her again all the sweeter? Did Sean understand the depths of his love for Grace because she’d nearly died once?

Losing Theo had made Erin understand how hollow the world was without him.

He spanked her again because Mia was never satisfied with a couple of smacks. She needed more. He let himself go. Six through ten were quick, but he slowed and took his time getting to twenty, letting his hand hold the heat against her skin. “Nothing was wasted. What did you call it? This is our story and it played out the way it needed to. You needed to be free for a while longer. I needed to miss you. I needed to figure out you’re not someone I play with and then put up so you can’t get broken.” Another smack, this one on her left cheek. “You’re my partner. I need you in my life. I need you by my side. Even when it gets dangerous.”

She was precious to him, but keeping her in a box would kill her. He wanted Mia just the way she was.

Another set of smacks and he could hear her. She was crying, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Hell, he was starting to think he might cry, too. Mia wasn’t crying because she was sad. She cried because she felt so fucking much and couldn’t let it out until it was safe. He gave her a place to release that storm of emotion.

He was her safety and he would never let her down again. He kept it up, but more to keep their connection going now. He smacked her pretty ass, held his hand against her and told her over and over again how much he’d missed her. How much he loved her. How nothing had been real without her.

Gradually her body stilled and she seemed to relax against him. “Thank you. It’s been so long. I haven’t…”

He breathed in the sweet smell of her arousal. The spanking had done more than allow her to cry. It had brought out all of Mia’s deep emotions. Her love and her lust. He craved them both. He tugged the panties all the way down and gently parted her legs so he could brush her core, feel the arousal there. “Haven’t what, princess? Haven’t cried? Haven’t come?”

Her body tensed slightly and then her hips tilted up, giving him access. “Haven’t cried. I didn’t even cry when I left. I couldn’t. If I’d started I wouldn’t have been able to stop.”

Such a beautiful ass. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. Her cheeks were a deep pink. He shifted her so he could see her pussy peeking from between her legs. Her pussy was a deep coral, glistening with arousal. He knew just what he wanted to do with all that cream. “I think the rest of this conversation is best done on the bed.”

She shuddered and sighed. “I agree. I want to hold you, Case.”

He was sure she did. The trouble was, he’d caught the part of his question she hadn’t answered. “Eventually. For now I’m going to play because I haven’t played with anyone in six months, but I don’t think you can say the same. Can you?”

She hadn’t replied about not coming.

He easily lifted her and tossed her on his bed. Where she fucking belonged. Her eyes had gone wide, as though she’d just realized the precarious nature of her situation.

“I didn’t sleep with anyone.”

He hadn’t thought she had. “I know that. How about masturbation?”

Now those pretty eyes rolled. “Of course. I went out the day after we broke up and bought a big old Hitachi wand and named it Ike. That sucker is so powerful it requires a plug. But I thought about you every time I used it.”

That’s what he suspected. Mia liked her toys. Unfortunately, he’d banned her from using them. “I think you require a plug.”

Her face went as pink as her backside. “Case, you can’t punish me for masturbating. It’s not like you didn’t…please tell me you did.”

“Not even once, even though I was desperate to. I told you. I belong to you so that rule applied to me, too.” It hadn’t hurt that he’d been so tired most days from training her brothers and then sitting up with a newborn that he couldn’t have worked up the will to yank his own dick, but he wasn’t going to point it out to her. She’d been wandering the globe in first class with a giant vibrating wand and he’d been mourning her, taking her brothers’ shit and getting covered in baby spit up. And when he could have pleasured himself all he could think about was Mia and the fact that sex was now meaningless without her. She hadn’t felt the same way. He could totally forgive her, but he was going to have fun tonight. “Flip over and put that pretty ass in the air because you’re getting plugged tonight.”