MasterofVelvet (9 page)

“Excellent. You’re learning. Now I want you to lift your
legs up and hook them over mine—that’s it.”

The shift in position tilted her pelvis up, opening her wide
for him while her weight rested fully on his broad chest. The heat of him
flooded her body. The arm that had been around her waist moved and then she
felt his hand between her legs. God, she so wanted to close her legs against
the invasion. It was too, too much—but she could do nothing. In this room she
was his possession.

He was massaging her pussy with deep, slow, sensual strokes.
She was already wet before he even came out of the bathroom, just thinking
about what might happen. But now—and he hadn’t even touched her clit yet—she
swore she could feel moisture trickling between the cheeks of her bottom.

A stroke went deeper, separating her labia and allowing his
middle finger to dip inside her—and on the upward stroke he pressed that finger
to her swollen clit. She couldn’t help but cry out as her back arched in
reaction. She tried to push his hand away but he would have none of it.

“Beth, in here you will deny me nothing, unless you use your
safewords,” he reminded her, his touch picking up pace and pressure. “You may
speak now. What do you want?”

“Please, Adam!” She writhed in his embrace, desperate for a
release from the mounting need in every atom of her being.

“What, Beth?” he asked, his voice calm and controlled. “Tell
me exactly what you want.”

“Please…please let me come, Adam!” Overwhelmed by need and
desperately embarrassed, she could barely get the words out.

“Not yet, my love. I know you need to come but I forbid it.
You need to learn self-control and I am going to teach you.”

The hand between her legs, the finger dipping into her pussy—it
was like being in the path of a sensual tsunami. It was rushing toward her and
she could do nothing to save herself from it. She couldn’t pull herself away
from that hand. She couldn’t push it away. She felt like she was going to
explode. “Please, Adam—please!” she whimpered.

“Self-control, Beth.” His voice was intractable, compelling,
almost totally devoid of emotion. “Remember—you’re stronger than this.”

She was crying now, the pleasure becoming unbearable as it
boiled through her veins. She wanted it to stop, she needed it to stop—but it
was just going on relentlessly, endlessly, the hand between her thighs
ceaselessly working her clit to drive her out of her mind, going on and on…

“Please!” she sobbed. “Please, Adam, I need to come. May I
come?”

Silently she begged for release, pleading with Adam in her
mind to let her give in to the sensations he was creating in her treacherous
body but all that happened was that he increased the pressure and the rhythm
yet again until finally he allowed her what she craved.

“You may come, Beth.”

Adam wrapped his arms around his woman as her body shook
under the force of her orgasm, his belief that under that cool exterior there
was a torrent of passion proven beyond a doubt. His voice was a low murmur as
he calmed her, stroking her skin, kissing the nape of her neck and her
shoulder. Finally her breathing settled as her senses returned—and so did her
embarrassment. It was in every line of her beautiful body.

“Beth, listen to me. What you’ve just experienced is nothing
to be ashamed of. It’s the most natural thing in the world. I want to teach you
how to lose yourself in all the pleasures your body can give you. And there is
even more gratification to be had in holding off from giving in—that was your
lesson for today.”

He looked across at the mirror through which he’d watched
her as he pleasured her. She was limp in his arms, her head bowed, her glossy
hair a cascade of waves. With an effort she sat up straight and it was then
that he saw her face—her expression was softer and more feminine than he’d ever
seen before.

And he wanted nothing more than to bury himself forever in
her glorious gentleness.

“Beth?”

“Yes, Adam?”

“Go and clean yourself up. Leave the bathroom door open.
When you’re done come back here and get dressed. I’ll get some clothes ready
for you.”

He watched her walk to the bathroom, unaware that he was
holding his breath, waiting to see if she would look around at him. Just as he
was resigned to losing the bet, Beth paused and turned. He nodded, acknowledging
how well she’d done, and let his breath out on a long, silent sigh.

Adam continued to watch her for a few moments as she washed
the copious moisture from her pussy. During their conversation, he’d let her
know in no uncertain terms that as his sub in the bedroom she would hand over
control of everything. He abandoned his plans to lay out her outfit—he already
knew what he was going to have her wear anyway—then went join her in the
spacious shower.

“Give that to me.” He took the handheld showerhead from her
and began to play the warm water on her pussy. “Spread your legs. Hold on to me
if you need help with your balance.”

He crouched so that he could ensure that she was clean. His
fingers flirting with the curls at the top of her thighs, he made a mental note
to put depilatory cream at the top of the shopping list. Beth would look even
more gorgeous with a smooth mound—when she was ready he would introduce her to
the delights of a Hollywood wax. The result would be delightful at any rate,
even if the procedure wasn’t. He would have to ensure that he spoiled her
rotten afterward.

He felt her hand rest tentatively on his shoulder.

“Adam?”

“Yes, love?”

“Did I really please you?”

She sounded so uncertain. “You did, Beth,” he confirmed, his
tone warm and reassuring. It wasn’t a lie. For someone so new to the scene, she
had done very well. He straightened up. “All done now. Dry off and then we’ll
get dressed.”

He made her wait while he dressed. He enjoyed looking at her
nude body. Her shoulders were set with the same quiet determination with which
she’d taken on everything that he’d thrown at her in the office over the last
three years. Her dedication had not gone unnoticed then—it did not go unnoticed
now.

Once attired in faded jeans and a navy rugby shirt, he gave
Beth the clothes he wanted her to wear—smart black trousers and a violet-colored
turtleneck sweater. When she looked up at him he saw the question in her eyes.

“No underwear, remember?” His tone wasn’t unkind.

Her beautiful eyes widened and then she smiled. In that
smile was complete acceptance of his instruction.

The unseasonal sunshine had brought a lot of people to the
park. As Adam strolled along with Beth at his side, it felt entirely natural to
take her hand in his. So far she appeared to be coping reasonably well with the
changing dynamic of their relationship, although he could still detect a trace
of tension in the way she gripped his hand.

At the first available park bench, he had her sit down,
making himself comfortable beside her. “How’s your ankle holding up? I haven’t
dragged you too far, have I?”

She shook her head. “It just needs a rest for a few
minutes.”

Adam looked at her for a few moments. “Beth, tell me what
you’re thinking about right now.”

Her teeth worried her lower lip for a second or two. “I feel
like the way I fit into the world has changed, Adam.”

He took a deep breath as he clasped her hand in his, twining
their fingers together. “Beth, don’t be afraid. You’ve taken two enormous steps
out of your comfort zone—it’s only natural that your perception of yourself has
changed. You’re not alone any longer—that’s a huge change in itself.” He lifted
her hand to kiss her fingers. “And you also have a Dom who adores you.”

Transferring her right hand to his right hand, he put his
free arm around her, drawing her into his side, so that he could kiss her
temple. Her hair smelled fresh and clean and delighted his senses.

“Beth, you’re not doing this alone. I’m here for you, always
remember that. I’ve been around the scene for years, I trained in the U.S. with
the best—”

“You trained?” Her surprised expression spoke volumes.

He returned her look of astonishment with an amused smile.
“Of course. Didn’t you realize that any Dom worth the title will have been
trained to take his responsibility for his sub seriously—he needs to recognize
all the implications of what he’s doing? Yes, we do have certain natural traits
that make us what we are but those traits have to be developed and guided. A
Dom needs to know how to create a safe environment for a sub—there’s a lot more
to it than deciding on your safewords. I need to know what you need before you
know it yourself, I need to be able to recognize that you’re in trouble before
you even realize it. I need to know how to discipline you without harming you—not
just physically but psychologically, too—what to look for if your ability to
communicate is restricted. I wasn’t born knowing these things nor was any other
Dom. I had to learn them and I learned from the best in the business.”

Abruptly Adam stopped talking, his brow furrowed, dark eyes
scanning their surroundings for any sign of a threat. He couldn’t put his
finger on it but something was making his skin prickle in a way he hadn’t
experienced since he’d stopped taking assignments in the security business in
which he’d been a partner with Dan Chesterfield.

It was a feeling that always used to precede trouble and
right now that feeling had the characteristics of an iron-clad guarantee. It
had never been wrong yet. He wondered if Dan’s investigations were starting to
stir things up—if they were and someone was following him… He needed to talk to
Dan as a matter of some urgency. He couldn’t put Beth at risk from whatever was
going on.

With an effort he turned his concentration back to the
conversation.

“This will be a learning experience for both of us, love.”

“It will?”

She seemed surprised by that but Adam wasn’t going to tell
her why—that for the first time in his life, he was embarking on an intimate
physical relationship with a sub who would wear his collar. Or that he knew it
would be the only time. That was the kind of disclosure that could overwhelm
her and send her into hiding at this stage of their relationship.

He pressed a brief kiss to her lips. “Your nose is turning a
delightful shade of pink and it’s getting to the time when we should be
thinking of lunch. There’s a pub I know not far from here by the river where
they do a great Sunday roast. It’s just a pity it’s too cold to sit outside,
overlooking the river, but I promise I’ll take you there next summer.”

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Beth was sitting opposite Adam, a glass
of orange juice in front of her and a roast chicken lunch—not chosen for her by
her companion—on order.

The hidden depths of the man amazed her. He’d given her so
much to think about, not least of which was his comment about bringing her here
in the summer. A slip of the tongue—or a pointer to how he viewed the
development of their relationship?

Their relationship
. It was still a strange thought.
She was sitting opposite the man she worked for yet in the space of forty-eight
hours he had become so much more—her lover and her Dom. She wondered a little
frivolously if she could find the bag thief to thank him for changing her life
beyond all imagination.

She thought of what Adam had said to her—about telling him
everything and sharing her worries with him. Oddly, that was going to be one of
the more difficult aspects of this relationship. She was so used to dealing
with things for herself.

And then she remembered his arms around her in the night—his
body next to hers, the strength and heat of him. Her eyes lifted, stealing a
look at him as he gazed out the window, across the deck and the river beyond,
almost as if he were searching for something.

She’d been struck by his outrageously good looks from the
start but now she saw more of the man beneath. How could a woman not love him?
She’d stood no chance. Beth smiled to herself.

“Something amusing you, love?” the man in question asked,
setting his glass of wine back in its place on the table.

She shook her head, hoping he wouldn’t ask her to explain
why she was smiling because she wasn’t quite sure that she could. Or should.

“That’s okay.” His manner was deceptively easygoing. “I
suppose you won’t mind a good spanking when I take you to bed when we get back
home then.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks as her stomach turned gold-medal-standard
somersaults. With Adam, she knew—down to the last cell in her body—that it was
no idle threat. She closed her eyes against the vision of him stripping her of
her clothes and putting her over his knee to spank her naked bottom but when
she opened them again her face was lightly flushed and her eyes held a new
sparkle.

“Hmm, maybe that wouldn’t be such a good idea after all,” he
observed thoughtfully. “I think you might enjoy it just a little too much and
we can’t have that.”

“You said you’d only do things like that in the bedroom
anyway,” she reminded him. “We’re not in the bedroom now.”

“True—we will only do things like that in the bedroom and
the playroom I mentioned but I didn’t say we wouldn’t discuss these things
elsewhere.”

She risked a quick glance at his face and saw that he was
smiling that smile that had scored a direct hit on her knees more times than
she wanted to think about right now. It was reflected in his eyes and if she
had to put a label on that look, it would be mischievous. The damn man was enjoying
himself!

Far from being outraged Beth just about managed to contain
her desire to join in with laughter of her own. The situation was verging on
the surreal. Just a few short hours ago, she’d been shaking with nerves, yet
now, she was relaxed and…happy.