Taming Emma (4 page)

“Oh.”

“Your hair looks better this way. Natural.”

“Thanks,” she said, embarrassed by the compliment.

“Tell me about Damien. What the hell attracts someone like you to a boy like him?”

“He’s not a boy,” she defended, although in comparison to Luke, he was a toddler. “In actual age, that is.”

“Please,” he said. “I want to know if you were looking for a Dominant, how does
he
appeal?” he continued, serving their eggs and passing her a plate.

“I don’t know. I…he was the first person I met who wasn’t totally…vanilla. It’s not like I’ve had a ton of experience in this field, not like you, I imagine.”

“That’s a good thing. Eat before your eggs get cold.”

She took a bite and a big sip of beer. “Did you mean what you said earlier?”

“What was that?”

Oh, he knew perfectly well, but he was going to make her say it, wasn’t he? Fine, she could do that. “That you would teach me?” Heat flushed her neck and cheeks. Maybe she wasn’t so brave after all.

He smiled. “I quite like it when you’re embarrassed,” he said.

She waited.

His face grew more serious. “You’re Nate’s little sister, Emma,” he said. “And you’re a kid.”

“I’ll just find someone else if you don’t do it. And besides, I’m not a kid anymore,” she said, adding, “Sir.”

“Nate would kill me.”

“I wouldn’t tell him. We hardly talk anymore.”

“Why not?”

She shook her head and moved the last of her eggs around the plate. “I’ll bore you with details another time.” She wasn’t interested in continuing that particular conversation.

“We’ll revisit later then,” he said, his eyes scanning her face, reading her, as if trying to understand the meaning behind the words. “Are you sure you know what you’re asking?” he asked, coming around to her side of the counter and taking her hands, raising her to her feet. He stood close, towering over her slight frame with his 6’2”. His body was lean, mean, and hard. “Are you sure you want to deliver yourself into my hands, Emma?” he asked, his hand caressing her arm as he moved even closer. “You aren’t afraid of me?” he asked, his voice quieter.

She nodded, but her answer was a quiet “no.”

He waited.

“No, Sir. I’m not afraid of you.”

But her body shivered when he lifted her hair off her shoulder and brought his mouth first to brush against her neck, then to whisper in her ear. “You say you’re not afraid of me, but your body is telling me something very different. I won’t go easy on you, you realize that?”

“Who said I wanted you to?” She tried to sound brave, but her voice broke in anticipation of submitting to him.

“Quite the courageous little girl,” he said, taking her earlobe between his lips.

She closed her eyes, holding her breath as her fingertips touched his chest.

“Let’s see how brave you’ll be when I take you over my knee the first time,” he said; this time his mouth found hers. Her body shuddered and she opened to him while he kissed her lips. Although his tongue never entered, it was the most erotic kiss she’d ever experienced.

He broke the kiss and stood back. The only thing that gave her some comfort was that he looked as aroused as she felt. “All right,” he began. “You clean up, I’ll go get you something more comfortable to wear. Then we can talk.”

“So you’ll do it?” she asked, both elated and terrified. Her attraction to him was something else entirely.

“I didn’t say that.”

Chapter Four

Luke walked upstairs, leaving her in the kitchen. He grinned at her reaction to him, her mouth’s easy submission. She’d softened as soon as he’d touched her. She trusted him, but she must have trusted Damien at one point too. Her judgment left something to be desired.

That aside, what was he thinking? He should take her home. If he were smart, he’d do just that, call Nate and be done with it. But he wasn’t smart, not when it came to Emma Lawson. He never had been. He’d met Nate some years back and the two had become good friends. Luke didn’t have a lot of friends. In fact, he had a hard time maintaining any sort of relationship for any extended period, with the exception of his stepbrothers Jake and Alec. When Nate had introduced his girlfriend (and later fiancée) to Luke, he’d kept his distance. Luke was well aware what he was capable of and he was determined not to damage his relationship with Nate. She was his best friend’s woman and he needed to respect that. And he had, for some time. Until that one stupid night. It was a mistake that had cost him and although Nate had since forgiven him, their relationship had never been the same. Not that Luke could blame him. Nothing to build on without a firm foundation of trust.

Now here was Emma, Nate’s little sister. What the hell had she been thinking, signing a contract like that with Damien? Essentially selling her body? He’d have to ask her how much she’d gotten paid because he was sure it was a small percentage of the twenty-five grand he’d just spent to rescue her. Rescue her. He liked the sound of that. He couldn’t imagine she needed the money. The trust after her parents had died would have left her very well off. He imagined that was a part of the reason she wasn’t talking to Nate. He likely had control over the money for the time being.

The last time he’d seen Emma, she’d been eighteen years old and, as Nate’s little sister, off limits. He’d always been attracted to her and she’d never made a secret of her affections for him. But what she was asking for now was a whole other animal. She was searching for something; that was obvious. The world of dominance and submission attracted her, that too was clear or she would never have been in a position to be at that party tonight. She now wanted him to take her as his submissive, to teach her, at least for the weekend during the term of her contract. If she hadn’t been there tonight, he would likely have bid on another woman and been fucking her senseless right now. But he had to admit that at this moment, he couldn’t imagine being with anyone but Emma. And besides, wouldn’t it be better for him to be her teacher, someone who cared about her, rather than a stranger who might not?

Excuse and you know it, Roark.

He shook off that voice.

Grabbing a pair of drawstring shorts and the softest cashmere sweater he had, he headed downstairs.

* * *

Emma had settled herself on the couch, her feet up on the coffee table, flipping through a magazine, when he walked into the living room. Without a word he tossed the clothes at her and kicked her feet off the table.

“Hey!” she said.

“That’ll be the last ‘hey’ out of your mouth. Respect for me and for my things, Emma.”

“Ok, ok. Geez,” she said. “Dad.”

“Sir, not Dad.”

She looked at him and he held her gaze. He was trying to get her off balance, she knew it.

“Change into those things; they won’t fit, but it’s the best I can do. When you come back, we’ll talk, work out some details. Bathroom’s down the hall,” he said.

“I have a question first,” she began.

When he didn’t react, she added, “Sir.”

“Yes?”

She hesitated. “Um, actually, never mind,” she said. “It can wait.” With that she went quickly down the hall. Stepping into the bathroom, she switched on the light and put her hands on the sink, taking deep, calming breaths. She’d been about to ask him if they’d be having sex. What was she thinking? Sex with Luke Roark? It was something she’d dreamt of and masturbated to for many, many years, but the reality of it still sent her heart racing. She looked at herself in the mirror.

“Oh my god,” she said. Black rimmed her eyes and her hair looked like the morning after a very heavy night of partying. Possibly two. He’d been looking at her like this for the last couple of hours. Turning on the tap, she scrubbed her face until it was clean. Her hair was another story. Without conditioner, she was out of luck there. She stripped off the wrap, her stockings and her shoes and slipped on his shorts. She cinched them as best she could then folded them over twice so they would at least stay up. She then pulled the sweater over her head, inhaling the lingering scent of him as she did. She liked Luke Roark. And it was about more than her intense attraction to him.

It was now time to face him. Collecting her clothes and her courage, she opened the door.

The lights he’d turned on were dimmed and music played in the living room. She recognized the band: Mumford and Sons. It was their first album,
Sigh No More
, her favorite. Luke sat on the sofa. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t hear her come inside. She studied him as she tiptoed closer. He turned his head and ran a hand through his thick hair. His eyes looked shadowed, as if he were in a darker place.

“Luke?” she asked, hesitant. For a moment, it was as if he didn’t see her at all.

He blinked, his eyes slowly focusing on her. “Emma,” he said, his gaze traveling the length of her body. “You’re beautiful.”

“Yeah, right. The clothes are great, my hair looks like a bad night out and I’m wearing no makeup.”

“You’re beautiful,” he repeated, sitting back. “Come here,” he said, motioning to the space between his legs. “Kneel.”

That word sent heat straight to her clit and she swallowed. It was starting. Setting her clothes on the edge of the sofa, she moved to stand between his legs. Goose bumps covered her body and her nipples tightened into pebbles as she slowly began her descent. When she set her hands on his knees to steady herself, her heart fell to her stomach. He kept his gaze steady on her wide eyes as she settled on her heels.

“Good girl,” he said, caressing her face. “When I ask you to kneel, you’re to sit on your heels, back straight, hands on your thighs, palms up. Unless I ask you to look at me, you’re to cast your eyes down. If ever you’re not sure what to do, kneel by my feet, do you understand?” he asked.

She nodded, dropping her gaze.

“For now, keep your eyes on me while we discuss the terms of our…relationship. And Emma, I don’t want to repeat this one again. When I ask you a question, you answer with words, not with a nod or a shake of the head. And after we have the following conversation, when we play, you’ll refer to me as Sir or Master. If you don’t use one of those references, you will be punished. Am I crystal clear?”

Punished. She should be terrified, shouldn’t she? “Yes, Sir. I understand.”

He smiled.

“Ok, you know that I don’t care about your contract. Whenever you want out, you just use your safe word and the scene’s over. I can take you home whenever you want me to and that isn’t a punishment. Is that clear?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Speaking of safe words, what are yours?”

Oh, here we go. He was going to get a kick out of this, she was sure. “Pickle for close to too much and hamburger for stop.” She watched his expression change as he tried to contain himself, but couldn’t.

He broke out in a full-out laugh.

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Jesus…” He held up a hand when she rose up and shoved at his shoulders. “Ok, ok. Calm down.” Tears filled his eyes, he was laughing so hard.

She settled between his legs again, this time crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a look that could kill.

“I’m sorry. Were you hungry…” he started again. “Ok, ok. Do you want to keep them, then? Pickle for close to too much and hamburger for stop.”

“Not if you’re going to laugh every time I use them.”

“Hopefully you won’t ever have to use them,” he said, clearing his throat, serious again. “It’s my responsibility to take you to your edge but not beyond. But there’s always the possibility you feel something other than what I interpret.”

“I want to keep them,” she said, setting her jaw in a stubborn line. “I don’t care if you don’t like them.”

“Doesn’t matter what I think, Emma. At least I’ll remember them.”

“If you laugh again, I swear…”

“No, I apologize. It’s over, I promise,” he said, his lip twitching as he struggled to keep a straight face. “Ok, limits. How much do you know about a relationship like this? I want to understand your hard limits, anything you absolutely won’t do.”

“Oh,” she glanced away, thinking. “Damien…” she chanced a look at him and he did not seem pleased at the mention. “He’s my only point of reference.”

“Go on.”

“He only spanked me a handful of times and that hardly hurt at all. He wanted to tie me up, but I wouldn’t let him…”

“You didn’t trust him.”

“No, I guess I didn’t.”

“Do you trust me? Will you allow me to bind you?”

With the look he gave her, she’d let him do anything he wanted to. But there was more. She trusted him absolutely never to give her more than she could handle, but to push the envelope just enough. She had no doubt he would take her right up to those edges, as sharp and uncomfortable as they may be.

“Yes,” she said.

He smiled.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know what else to tell you about limits,” she said.

“That’s ok. If ever I do something that you don’t feel wholly comfortable with, I will trust you to tell me. That’s your responsibility, Emma. Don’t go through with something because you think I want you to do it. And that goes for anyone or anything ever in your life, actually.” He looked down at her. “Do you promise to tell me?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. Are you ready to start?”

“I think so, Sir.”

“Stand up and take off your clothes,” he said.

“Now?” Her heart raced.

He nodded once.

She inhaled a deep breath.
I can do this.

He helped her rise to her feet then leaned back against the sofa.

“Eyes on me and go slow.”

“But you’ve already seen everything,” she said, buying time.

“I couldn’t enjoy it knowing all those men were looking at you.”

It wouldn’t be a long show, given the fact she wore a sweater and a pair of his shorts. She reached for the hem of the top and pulled it off, cold at the loss of his sweater no longer wrapping her in warmth and safety.

“Eyes on me,” he repeated when she dropped her gaze. Her face flushed pink when she did as he said. She took her shorts down and stepped out of them. She was tempted to fold her arms across her chest but didn’t, holding them at her sides instead, wishing he’d tell her to kneel or to cast her eyes down or something.