Mastered 2: Ten Tales of Sensual Surrender (27 page)

“Maybe someone who literally just wants to do some pick-up play every now and then? And, of course, you have me all the rest of the time, and I have you…sort of,” Mac suggested with a bit of snark in those last six words. Landon smacked her bare ass and she grinned. They both knew that the last thing Landon was going to do was take a flogging from anyone, including her. But fuck her silly? Yeah, he could do that. All day long. Actually, all night, too.

“So, who?” Mac wondered aloud.

“Well,” Landon said as he knuckled a particularly tense spot beneath her scapula, “there’s Jay. You’ve always been half in love with him.” When she started to protest, Landon cut her off. “There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to him, Mac. It would have never worked between you in the first place if you hadn’t liked the guy. Besides, what if he’s that missing bit that we’ve been looking for? It would be remiss if we didn’t at least think on it, and if we agree, talk to him about it. Besides, I don’t think it’s a total coincidence that he happens to be in town at the same time Yazmin popped up.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mac, think about it. We’ve got the epitome of nutball who pops up at the same time as the one man who always treated you with respect and care. And he’s the one who didn’t show up with the intent to wrest you away from me. I respect him for that. We’ve had perfect examples of the good, the bad and the ugly all within a matter of days.”

She remained quiet, but he could tell she was mulling it over. After a few moments of silence, Landon asked,” So tell me what you think?”

Mac thought of the man who’d just popped back into her life. Her lips spread into a huge grin. Just couldn’t help it. Jay might be easy going and quiet, but he was a still-waters-run-deep kind of guy with a spine of steel and a sense of humor that never ceased to cause her to double over.

If she were honest, she’d always had a soft spot in her heart for Jay, and had always been honest in regard to her attraction to him. Time away from the man had done nothing to dim the little flame that always flickered with life and passion when in his presence. Did she prefer him instead of her husband? Not at all. They were so very different...but each brought something different to the table. And damn did she love that particular feast.

Landon kneaded the tense muscles around the edges of Mac’s trapezius muscles. The action pulled a moan of pleasure from deep in her chest.

“Mmm, that feels wonderful. You’re good with your hands, but just be aware that part of that moan is because your big cock is getting hard right in the crease of my ass.”

He chose that moment to flex said cock. Mac squealed. Landon chuckled.

“Big tease,” she accused, but knew he would deliver. Always had. Always would.

Chapter Five

Mac considered procrastinating about calling Jay, but changed her mind.

Jay picked up immediately and for the next twenty minutes, she was sure she’d successfully flipped his right-side up as she shared the conversation between Landon and herself about finding a third—specifically a
not-female
third. A thrilled, yet cautious, Jay agreed to a dinner at the one place he’d been longing to re-visit.

Not ten minutes after disconnecting the call with Jay, she’d received another phone call. Now, Mac sat at her desk, stunned/

“This must be the result of some seriously good karma,” she said to herself, still unable to close her mouth that had fallen open.

Madison Lee had just rocked her world. Harrison, the director of the movie crew that had come to Twilight for the rope demo, had called Madison Lee. It had started out as a simple apology for the ridiculous situation they’d found themselves in through Yazmin’s underhanded bullshit. But the conversation turned into a friendly, more comfortable exchange with Harrison finally asking, “What can I do for you, Madison Lee?”

Maddy’s response had been instantaneous and before that phone call was done, she’d negotiated a special short film, featuring Landon and his rope. Harrison had even agreed that if Landon preferred to have his rope bunny be a man instead of a woman, he had no issues with that.

In Mac’s eye, she saw a fit, gorgeous and gloriously naked Jay as the base for a beautiful design done in nothing but rope. It would remove the ‘female’ issue for Landon so he could simply be creative with his bondage, minus any worry about crazy bitches. And it would give Mac an outlet for her own needs while giving Jay something he needed equally as much.

A win-win-win if there ever was one.

But would Jay agree?

God, she hoped so because just the thought of what she, Landon and Jay could be together literally had her heart racing and a grin spreading across her lips. She put a little skip to her step as she rose from her desk and headed home to get ready for a dinner date that she was sure would change their lives from this very night, into the foreseeable future.

Chapter Six

Just off the main dining area was a lavish room reserved for the head chef, the owners and executives of Twilight Teahouse and special guests.

Jay was running late and Landon was in charge of the kitchen for another hour. Even still, dinner was a lovely affair.

With walls of cream silk, and sconces shaped like Japanese lanterns, the room was awash in a muted, inviting hue. In the middle of the tatami floor was a low polished wooden table surrounded by big fluffy cushions.

Tonight, her husband had personally served her, rather than have one of the attendants wait on her. Each time he’d stepped into the room, she fell just a little bit more in love with him, if that were possible.

He’d created and delivered all of her favorite nom noms—fresh maguro tuna sashimi, such a deep red it made her think of the candy on candied apples. Creamy-fleshed salmon topped with minced chives, sweet Hawaiian ono with some kind of miso sauce, and fresh greens with ginger dressing finished her off.

After practically inhaling the delicious fare, along with a pot of aromatic jasmine tea, Mac could only nod and rub her belly when Landon reminded her to leave room for dessert. Surely she was waddling as she headed into the club to find Solie and Burton.

Spotting them in the dessert room, Mac plopped down on the loveseat directly in front of them with the world’s biggest grin spread across her lips. Tonight she would play mediator and help them negotiate their new D/s relationship. They’d all been friends for years, but until recently, both Solie and Burton had been in relationships with other people.

Solie had gone through hell with a douche-canoe sociopath named Marcais, who’d left her psychologically broken and torn. Burton believed wholeheartedly in caring for those he considered his. He put a lot of time and energy into his relationships, whether they were of a sexual nature or not. As such, he was very selective about who he gave all that energy to. He didn’t believe in casual anything. With Solie, Mac and very few others, Burton cared in action, not just word. The man had stepped in to help Solie heal by simply being the good friend to her that he always was. And along the way, the two had fallen in love.

Tonight was the official beginning of their relationship. Mac couldn’t be more thrilled. Solie was, like herself, the alpha bitch submissive of the Universe. Burton was the yin to that woman’s yang, dominant through and through, and as gorgeous as the day was long.

The two knew each other so well, the negotiations went smooth as ice as they both laid out what they would and wouldn’t tolerate in this new facet of an old friendship. As soon as limits were set, Landon walked over to their table with a smiling Jay in tow.

“Look who I found,” Landon said, nodding his head towards Jay while carrying the biggest cake Mac had ever seen.

Jay leaned over and gave Mac a peck on the cheek, then shook hands with everyone else at the table. Both Solie and Burt remembered him and voiced their genuine pleasure at seeing him again.

Mac’s heart leapt up into her throat as it began to sink in that Solie and Burt might not be the only ones beginning a new “thing”. She was beyond nervous. And it was totally a good thing!

The whole crew offered congratulations to Solie as an oversized piece of seven layer chocolate decadence was placed in front of her, along with a steaming pot of lightly minted tea to wash it down.

After a few bites of sinful deliciousness, Mac sat down her fork and looked at her best friend. “So what’s your poison tonight, Sols?”

With a tired sigh, Solie simply replied, “Nothing.”

It was not the answer Mac wanted to hear. It had been a
loooong
while since Solie indulged her love of impact play and it was time to step out into the deep. Mac took both her hands while Burton sat back and let the moment happen.

“Solie, listen, you can’t be so hard on yourself. There’s no way you could have known what Marcais was. Sociopaths are experts at concealing the truth. Pros at charming people out of anything and everything. For them there’s no empathy. It’s about winning.”

But when Solie explained all of the different red flags that Marcais had waved in her face, she couldn’t help but empathize with the other woman. Sociopaths moved in fast. Pushed the relationships quickly for a reason—while Marcais had laid on the charm and manipulated Solie, he’d gotten her addicted to his special kind of attention.

She’d been hip deep into him before she knew what hit her. In the end, she’d come to her senses and left the bastard...but not before he’d infected her, broken her heart, and put her in a position where woman after woman had been contacting Solie about his particular assholery.

“I see what you mean about the red flags, but knowing it wasn’t personal should make that particular pill a bit easier to swallow, right?” Landon asked as Mac and Jay both nodded in agreement.

“True, but it’s still a bitter pill, you guys. Cod liver oil mixed with crushed aspirin bitter. I mean, dayum.”

Burton rose to his imposing height and held out his hand to her. “Well, if you’d like some medicine that’s a tad bit sweeter, come on up to the third floor. I think I have something you might appreciate.”

“Should I be scared?” Solie asked.

“It’s me we’re talking about here, Solie,” Burton said in mock outrage.

“Yep, scared. Definitely scared,” she said, voice deadpan with mock fear.

Mac glanced over at Burt and winked, knowing what he had in store. When Solie asked what the two of them were up to, Mac simply waved and blew a kiss as Burton gave Solie some instructions and then headed out of the room.

Once they were gone, Landon said, “The Ice Palace, eh? I must admit I love that particular themed floor.” He then turned to Jay. “Ever been up there?”

“I don’t think so. Last time I played here, Mac and I were in the Caribbean. It was…pretty hot.” He winked.

Mac blushed. But not because her husband and former dude were talking about bondage-themed play spaces together. It was because of the wicked looks both men gave her.

* * *

She had a good idea of how this was going to go down, but rather than setting expectations in her head, Mac decided to expect absolutely nothing, one way or the other.

“After I act as protector for Solie during her scene with Burton, where would you like to meet up?” Mac asked her husband.

“I reserved the Bamboo Room for us. Work for you?”

“It certainly does,” Mac said as she leaned down to give Landon a sweet peck on the lips. “I may be awhile.”

“That’s fine. It’ll give Jay and me a chance to talk alone.”

Jay nodded his agreement. The energy rolling off of the man was almost palpable in its intensity. He was a jumbled mix of high vibration that made Mac suck in a breath when his gaze landed on her.

Arms crossed over her chest as she settled her weight on one hip, Mac glared at the two men grinning like lunatics.

“I’m not sure I want you two to talk alone. You’ll conspire on how to manage me and I call bullshit before you even get started down that path, Landon Cleary Ivers.”

“Did she just use your whole name, man?” Jay asked, eyes wide. But the laughter in his eyes told her that these two were going to be trouble with a capital “T”.

Her hands were now on her hips, eyes shot daggers and left toe tap-tap-tapped an irritated cadence on the glossy wood floor.

Without looking away from Mac, Landon replied, “Yep. She sure did. But that doesna change a thing. Off you go, Mac. You don’t want tae be late, now do ye?”

“Interesting,” Jay said, glancing at Landon with a newfound curiosity reflected in his beautiful jades. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard your accent so thick.”

“Seems tae happen when a certain female riles me up, or makes me horny.”

Jay nodded, lifted his glass of steaming jasmine tea and sipped. He didn’t say another word.

Mac, on the other hand, had plenty to say. In fact, she opened her mouth to tell her husband exactly what she thought of his “riles me up” statement when Landon said, “Ye need a bit o’ punishment this evenin’, Mrs. Ivers?”

Nostrils flared with her irritation, but she clamped her lips shut and grumbled that she was going to be late for Solie’s scene.

Screw them anyway. Who needed to hear what they had to say to one another? In the end, she would have her say or there were going to be two very unhappy men leaving Twilight Teahouse tonight, damn it.

Damn men. Always trying to run things.

One side of her mouth tilted up into a saucy grin as she turned on a sharp heel. Whistling a raunchy tune she’d learned from her husband, she swiped her access card and hopped into the elevator on the way to the Ice Palace.