Master Of Games

by Sienna Snow

“I’m still drunk.”

  “I know, baby. Stay here. I’m going to get you something so you don’t have a hangover in the morning.”

  “Okay. The mirror is very comfy.”

  I shook my head and quickly went to my kitchen, finding the hair-of-the-dog concoction Zack swore by and bringing it back to Amelia.

  She hadn’t moved a muscle since I’d left.

  “Scoot down and drink this.”

  She wrinkled her nose as she got a whiff of the drink. “Do I have to? It smells awful.”

  “Yes, it works.”

  She swallowed the contents, having to breathe through the foul taste. I handed her a glass of water to clean out her mouth.

  “If this is what I have in store for me after a night out, I’m never drinking again.”

  “Good. Now, I want to take this thing you call a dress off you.”

  I helped her to standing and unzipped her dress as she dropped her forehead to my chest.

  When it fell to the floor, I clenched my teeth. All she’d had under her skimpy outfit was a barely there thong. My cock jumped, wanting nothing more than to turn her around and drive deep inside her pussy.

  I released a breath and slid my fingers into her hair, holding her to me.

  “Why are you so calm?” she whispered.

  If she only knew how far from calm I really was.

  “What else would I be?”

  “I saw the look in your eyes when I was in the cage. I wasn’t sure whether you wanted to discipline me or fuck me.”

  My cock went from jumping to full salute. The idea of whipping her and then denying her release was a distinct possibility for the future.

  “Let’s not talk about that now. You need to sleep off the shots.”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “Yes. You ditched your security.”

  “No, I didn’t. Penny ditched hers—well, the ones Hagen assigned. Mine are always around. Most of the time no one sees them.”

  “What do you mean they’re always around?”

  “Stavros has had a team with me since we got married. They’re agents from various ops organizations. Whenever they’re not on assignment they rotate out to protect me. I’m friends with most of them. A few of them even protect Penny. Do you think I’d let her go into the jungles of Asia looking for her stupid wild elderflowers without security?”

  How much shit was this woman dealing with? First I found out she ran an organization worth over one hundred billion while dealing with misogyny and trying to live a super restrictive life where she rarely if ever drank, and now I find out she had a team of black ops specialists as her secret security detail.

  “Why haven’t you said anything about them?” I walked her toward my bed.

  “Because they’re supposed to be like ghosts. Most of the time I don’t even notice they’re there.”

  “Is there a time when they aren’t with you?”

  “Only when we’re alone. They know you have your own protection.”

  Thank God for small favors. What Amelia and I did was for us only.

  “Pierce, did you know Penny said I talk a lot when I’m drunk?”

  That made me smile. She was a quiet person by nature, and hearing her reveal so much without prompting was interesting and refreshing.

  “I’m beginning to see this.”

  I opened the covers and guided her onto the sheets, sliding in fully clothed behind her.

  She adjusted her pillow and yawned.

  “Rest, love.”

  “Pierce,” she mumbled as she drifted off, “will you hate me if I can’t give you a baby?”

  I studied her. Why was she thinking about a baby now?

  “I could never hate you. Even when I wanted to, I couldn’t do it.”

  “So Christopher is enough, even if you can’t claim him?”

  It killed me to know I couldn’t let anyone outside of my small circle know the truth. And if I was honest with myself, the contingency of another child was just a way to tie her to me.

  “Yes.”

  She cupped my cheek. “Why?”

  “Because this is all about you. I never stopped lov…” I trailed off as her eyes drifted closed and she inhaled deep, falling into a drunken sleep.

  Amelia

  * * *

  My phone vibrated near my head, and all I wanted to do was die.

  Who the fuck was calling me?

  I searched around for the God-awful device and answered, “Someone better be dead or dying.”

  “Amelia, Astros is going to be a problem,” were the Greek words I heard in response.

  “Lucas?” I tried to clear the fog from my brain.

  How much had I drunk last night? My body ached, and my stomach wasn’t happy either. Hell, the way everything was still fuzzy, I was probably still drunk.

  “Yes, Amelia. I know it is only four your time, but we must talk.”

  “We have a call set for ten to discuss the board meeting. Call me then. I need sleep.”

  “Amelia! Wake up. We have to talk now.”

  The urgency in his voice snapped me out of my stupor. I wiped my face with my hand and adjusted the phone with the other.

  “Okay, give me a second for my brain to fire.”

  That was when I felt a hand slip over my stomach, making me freeze.

  “Who are you talking to?” Pierce asked and looked at me through sleepy blue eyes.

  Fuck. I forgot I’d given Pierce a key. He had to have come in after I’d gone to bed. Wait a second, I wasn’t in my own bed.

  I glanced around the dimly lit room and realized I was in Pierce’s penthouse. That was when I remembered the night before and my case of verbal diarrhea.

  I’d have to deal with that later.

  I pulled the phone from my ear, covering the receiver end, and said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I’ll go in the next room. Go back to sleep.”

  I slipped from the bed, and then groaned as a wave of dizziness hit me.

  Fucking Firewater shots.

  After a few seconds to calm my head, I made my way into the hallway, closing the door behind me. I slowly walked toward the giant living room lit by the glow of Vegas below and toward the oversized couch positioned by the fireplace.

  After turning on the side-table lamp, I settled under a plush blanket, dropping my head back. I felt like hell and now Lucas wanted to talk.

  I loved Stavros’s nephew and never regretted leaving him as the CEO of Thanos International. He knew the business better than I ever would, having grown up in it and getting his first job there when he was fourteen as a mail boy. The fact we were the same age and I was his aunt always made me laugh.

  Stavros had essentially raised Lucas with Sylvia. Stavros’s brother hated the idea of parenting his child and decided Stavros and Sara should raise his son. Then when Sara passed away, Sylvia had taken on the role.

  “Okay. We can talk now. I’m putting you on speaker. I’m too tired to hold the phone.”

  “Was that a man in your bed or was that deep voice something you’re practicing as a possible act if the promoter thing doesn’t work?” There was a hint of amusement in Lucas’s voice.

  “I went out with Penny last night, and I wasn’t the proper Thanos wife. Now I’m suffering the consequences and not feeling friendly.”

  That was when I realized Lucas had mentioned Astros.

  “Did you say something about Astros?”

  “Yes. The board was split down the middle, as you predicted. When I unsealed your vote and read that you were against the ship port sale, Astros erupted. Saying it was forged and that you had to be present to break a tie.”

  “That’s bullshit. I followed proper procedure detailed in the company bylaws.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

  “That is what saved you. You were so meticulous about following procedure that Astros couldn’t truly challenge the validity of your vote.”

  “It’s not like I voted to throw him off the board.”
A position he got because of his friendship with Stavros, not because he brought any value to the company.

  “He then decided to tell the board you are tarnishing Stavros’s memory by whoring yourself to your former lover.”

  “That bastard. I’m beginning to hate him, Lucas. I’m not the one with a reputation as a philanderer.”

  “I know this, Cara. But you and Sylvia are the only women who have ever led the company. They hold you to a different standard than…” He trailed off.

  “Than a man. I am so fucking sick of this. So, they expect me to mourn Stavros by staying single and living alone for the rest of my life?”

  “Is it serious with Lykaios?”

  I hesitated to answer, then said, “Yes.”

  “They are going to make you choose, and Astros is going to lead the charge.”

  “So in other words, I have to prove my loyalty to Stavros and his legacy. Prove I’m worthy of being a Thanos.”

  “This isn’t how my uncle would want you to live. There isn’t any shame in telling them to fuck off. It’s not like they can unseat you. Sylvia is the only one who can do that, and she loves you.”

  Thinking of my grandmother-in-law made me smile. She’d held her family together after her husband died. I would never want to do anything to shame her.

  “Let’s see what steps Astros takes before we start expecting the worst.”

  “Cara, it is the worst. Some of the things he said about you, I won’t repeat. He is using the bias the older members of the board have about women against you.”

  “I can handle it. The only thing you need to do is handle the tasks I have given you.”

  Lucas sighed. “Will do. Is it truly so important to keep Stavros’s legacy so pure? He wasn’t perfect. He had a reputation of his own.”

  “He was good to me.”

  “Cara. You can’t make a decision about your future based on Stavros. If you had to choose between your relationship with Lykaios and the company, what would you choose?”

  “No matter how much I would want to make a different choice, I’d pick Stavros’s legacy.”

  “I figured you would say that. Before I let you go, I thought I’d tell you that starting next week you won’t be the only woman with access to the all-male halls of headquarters.”

  I smiled. “Olivia accepted the job. I’m so happy.”

  Olivia was the daughter of Stavros’s cousin. She was fun, smart, and ambitious. Plus, she was the first female born into the Thanos family in sixty years, diluting the all-male rule of the clan.

  A yawn escaped my lips. “Lucas, I have to get some sleep. Call me if anything changes.”

  “Will do.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Amelia

  * * *

  “Time to wake up, Ame.”

  “No, five more minutes.” I stirred from a deep sleep.

  “It’s past ten. I can’t watch you sleep any longer.”

  I tried to shift and realized I couldn’t move. My eyes flashed open, and there was Pierce, sitting between my splayed legs holding a cat o’ nine tails in his hand.

  He was naked, his cock hard and thick, curving toward his bellybutton, and there was an almost feral gleam on his face that had my pussy clenching.

  I jerked my arms, only to have the bite of metal abrade my wrist. He’d tethered me to the four corners of the bed. I was spread wide open for whatever it was he’d planned.

  I felt heat creep up my face, then the knowledge that I was about to receive the consequences of last night’s antics.

  I felt my cleft grow slick.

  The fact I was anticipating the discipline more than dreading it wasn’t lost on me.

  “Am I in trouble?”

  He lifted the cat, running the tails of the whip up and down my legs. The knots on the end sent goosebumps over my flesh. I could almost feel the sting to come.

  “Why would you be in trouble?”

  “The dress.”

  “That could be it.”

  The leather tails glided up my abdomen, circled one breast, and then the other.

  My breath reacted to the touch, coming out in short pants.

  “Getting in the cage with Penny? My security was there, so nothing would have happened to us.”

  Hell, they were always around. I couldn’t fart without them knowing. Shit, had I told Pierce about them? Maybe he was upset about that.

  “That could be a possible reason. You did let others get a view of what belongs to me.”

  “Then what?”

  Instead of answering, he flicked his wrist, and the cat landed on the swell of my left breast.

  “Oh God,” I cried out as my breath left my chest and I jerked against the restraints holding my body down. Slowly, the sting seeped into my skin before dulling to a delicious tingle.

  Before I was prepared, he smacked the right breast, grazing my nipple. Stars flashed in the backs of my eyes, and a needy groan escaped my lips.

  My core began to quicken, and my mind filled with a sense of euphoria.

  His lips and tongue laved the inflamed skin, adding to my heightened senses.

  “Do you want more?” he asked against my nipple, sucking in the tip until it was straining, hard and achy.

  I nodded, unable to voice my need.

  He took the handle of the whip and slid it through the arousal seeping from my swollen pussy and moved his attention to my other nipple.

  “I can’t hear you.”

  “Please, I need more,” I managed to gasp out.

  “I’m glad. Because more is exactly what you’ll get.”

  He reached to his side, grabbing something I couldn’t see.

  “Do you know what these are?”

  Two blue and red stone-adorned clips were clasped between his fingers. They were connected by a silver chain and had a charm dangling from the center that said owned.

  Nipple clamps.

  They looked as if they were real jewels. Real sapphires and rubies.

  “Yes.”

  “I had them made for you with our birthstones.”

  I studied him, not sure what to say. This wasn’t something he enjoyed in private. It was a lifestyle. One I would have shared had I not left.

  He glided the jewelry between the valley of my breasts—the cool metal a sharp contrast to my heated skin.

  With one hand, he pinched one of my nipples in an almost too-painful hold. He released it quickly and attached a clamp, screwing it so I would feel the ache but not lose feeling. He repeated the process on the other breast.

  The heady mix of pain and arousal had my mind clouding.

  “Beautiful.”

  His hum of delight sent a tingle up my spine.

  “Your body needs one more thing before we begin.”

  I exhaled sharply. “What have we been doing until now?”

  “Foreplay.”

  I was about to give him a smart retort when he lifted a dark brow.

  That was his sign I’d have consequences if I said another word. Something I was positive would involve orgasm denial. It had been his favorite to tell me he was pissed in the past.

  “Now, one more thing to get you ready.”

  He pushed two lubricated fingers into my pussy. “God you’re so wet, I probably didn’t need to do this.”

  He pulled out and immediately replaced his fingers with a firm, smooth object.

  The dildo clicked on the second it was in place.

  “Oh.” I moaned, shifting my hips.

  The vibration was at a low setting, one designed to arouse, to torture, but not strong enough to send me over.

  He lifted up, moving to the side of the bed. His beautiful naked body was on display. He caught me watching him and gave me a heated grin.

  “Let’s get started.”

  He picked up the cat, and before I could focus on anything he struck.

  SMACK, SMACK, SMACK.

  Fuck, that hurt. Tears streamed out of my eyes as fire poured over my
abdomen and thighs, filling my body with heated desire.

  “More,” I begged. “Pierce, I need more.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Please don’t stop. It’s been so long.”

  “So be it.”

  Over the next few minutes, the leather grazed, bit, and marked every centimeter of the skin on the front of my body. No part of me was spared, including my bare mound. Whenever he grazed my pussy, he shifted the vibrator, sending me closer to the edge.

  My body screamed in wicked pain and pleasure. It felt as if I was on fire, and I wanted, needed more. My nipples ached, my pussy throbbed, my whole being ached for release.

  “I need to come. Please let me come.”

  SMACK, SMACK, SMACK.

  I thrashed against the cuffs, and I had no doubt my arousal soaked the sheet under me. My pussy clamped down on the pulsating cock inside me, but no matter how I ground myself against it I couldn’t go over.

  Just when I thought I’d go delirious, he dropped the whip to the floor and crawled over me on all fours. His weeping cock bounced between us. His hypnotic blue gaze held mine as he lifted a hand to cup my face.

  “Who do you belong to, Amelia?”

  My breath began to come out in shallow pants. If he didn’t hold me or fuck me, I’d lose my mind.

  My safeword sat on the tip of my tongue.

  He leaned down, biting my lower lip. “Tell me who owns you.”

  “Right now, you,” I gasped out.

  I knew it was the wrong answer, but I said it anyway. I would have to go back to Greece, and this was the only way to keep from losing myself entirely in him again. His touch intoxicated me, made me want so much more, and I couldn’t give either of us hope for more, especially after the call with Lucas.

  Anger and hurt filled his gaze. “Not just now, forever. I am your addiction. I will haunt you. Make you crazy with wanting me. Leaving isn’t an option for either of us.”

  “Pierce, don’t…”

  I never finished my words as he pulled off the first clamp, and I screamed as feeling rushed to my nipple. At the same time, my pussy clamped down harder on the dildo.

  A haze filled my mind and intensified when the second clamp released as I rocked over the crest. I bucked and cried and thrashed, unable to focus on any one sensation or the orgasm I couldn’t control.