“No, Master. I’m a model sub.” She could see he was fighting to keep his composure, and finally he lost the battle as a laugh rumbled up through his chest.
“You are definitely trying my patience tonight, Harper. You might get more than you are bargaining for. Be careful.”
* * * *
Morgan gathered supplies from the cabinet near the door while he kept an eye on Harper. She was going to be difficult tonight. He could see it in the set of her shoulders. While she was maintaining the slave position, her body language told him she was set on fighting him all the way. He could see the defiance in her eyes. He had expected no less. Rather than discipline her with pain, he decided to surprise her and discipline her with pleasure.
“Remove your shoes, and put on the wrist and ankle cuffs.” When she had complied, he checked them for fit. “Now stand under the chains.” When he had her wrist cuffs hooked to the chains and her legs spread and ankle cuffs hooked to the bolts in the floor, he adjusted the chain length. She was stretched to the limit without putting too much strain on her arms and legs. He planned to keep her there for a while and didn’t want it to get too uncomfortable. He gave her butt a friendly pat. She gave him a defiant look, and he gave her a slightly harder smack. “Keep it up, subbie.”
“Okay, I will.”
“You are determined to push me to the limit, aren’t you? You may wish you hadn’t before we’re done.” He stepped up until the buttons on his vest were pressed into her naked breasts. He looked steadily into blue eyes like ice on fire. He ran his hand down her chest, past her abdomen, and down until his fingers grazed her mons. He tested her for readiness and found her wet before he plunged two fingers into her weeping channel. She groaned. “Ah, I see your pussy is already wet for me. I think I’ll play for a while.” He continued to stroke her slick lips as he grazed his thumb over her clit. She jerked in the chains but said nothing more. While it seemed that electric shocks continued to pulse from her clit through her body, he pulled out a set of nipple clamps and again stood in front of her. He captured her gaze as he applied the clamps, tightening them just enough to make her whimper. He didn’t want to cause her pain. He wanted to cause her unbearable pleasure. As her breasts adjusted to the uncomfortable pressure, he stood back and watched her eyes. He thought she was getting the picture, and he could see that she was starting to tremble with anticipation.
He returned to stroking the heated flesh between her legs, and moisture continued to flood her sex. The pleasurable pain was starting to overwhelm her. The look in her eyes was still defiant, but he could see the doubt begin to surface. Without saying a word, he reached down and flicked each of her supersensitive nipples with his rough tongue. They were as pretty as a picture sporting their little gold nipple clamps, rock hard and begging for his attention. “I can keep this up for hours. Can you?”
She said nothing, just looked into his eyes. The remnants of her disobedience were still apparent, but he could see she was starting to doubt her ability to withstand the pleasurable torture. His object was not to break her spirit. It was to gain her compliance and obedience, and her acknowledgment of him as her Master in the sexual sense. He didn’t want to control every aspect of her life. He enjoyed her independent nature and brilliant intelligence too much for that. He wanted a partner, not a slave. He wanted her to turn over her emotional pain to him and, with it, the childish guilt she continued to cling to. He wanted to free her spirit, not imprison it.
He fell to his knees in front of her. His mouth was just at pussy height. He glanced up until he captured her gaze, and then he put his mouth over her clit and began to suck. The pressure was bringing her closer to the edge, so he backed off. He repeatedly flicked her clit with his tongue, and her arousal started to ramp up again. Again he backed off.
“Who is your Master?” She stubbornly refused to say anything. “Well, we can play this game all night.” He rose to his feet again. He put his mouth on hers and gently kissed her, allowing her to taste her essence on his tongue. He refused to strengthen the kiss. He just continued to play with her lips, taking his time and kissing her cheekbones and eyelids and along her jaw to the place below her ear, then grazing down to the hollow of her throat where he sucked and licked. She whimpered. Ah, that is a truly satisfying sound. He ran his hands up and down her back, massaging and soothing the ache in the muscles that had to be getting a little sore from the strain they were under. His hands slipped down over her bottom and around to graze her pussy again, never giving a strong enough touch to bring her over the edge. She seemed to teeter on the precipice of a monumental orgasm, but he wouldn’t let her tip over.
He roamed over her body, never giving enough attention to any one area to satisfy her, until she was wild with want. She moaned, and her eyes were beginning to become glassy. She had held out longer than he had thought she would. He was beginning to get a little worried himself. What if he couldn’t get her to submit? He put his hand down between her legs again and pinched her clit. When she jumped, he put two fingers into her cunt, pumped them a few times, and pulled them out again. He made the rounds of all her erogenous zones once more, holding back her satisfaction by a thread. I’m not going to let you come until you acknowledge that I’m your Master.”
Finally, she broke her silence. “That’s not fair.”
“Who are you addressing?”
“That’s not fair, Sir.”
“Master.”
“That’s not fair, Master.”
“Am I your Master, or are you just saying the words? You have to mean them, Harper. I want to hold everything you are in my hands and my heart.”
“Yes, yes. You’re my Master. I love you, and I’ll give you everything.”
That was what he wanted to hear. “That’s good, baby. Come for your Master.” He knelt down and thrust his tongue over her clit, through her pussy lips, and into her hot core. She broke around him, and the thunder of her climax rolled through her body. Finally she slumped in the chains. He stood and caught her body against his chest as she continued to shudder in his arms. When she was finally still, he removed the nipple clamps, released her cuffs, and picked her up. He deposited her on the red satin coverlet and lay down beside her on the bed. He pulled her into his arms and just held her as he nuzzled her neck and ear. He couldn’t get close enough to this precious woman who had just given him everything.
* * * *
Harper lay in a deep, sexually drugged half-conscious state held securely against Morgan’s body. She thought she was probably in subspace. She felt safe and loved here like she had felt in no other place in her life. All she had had to do was give in and let herself feel. It was really pretty amazing. She didn’t know what came next, but she knew she could safely rest in the circle of Morgan’s strong arms, listening to the beat of his heart, his solid warmth wrapped around her. He would take care of her when she didn’t feel capable to taking care of herself. She knew she would recover her strength, and he would let her fly. He wasn’t the type of man to try to clip her wings. He wouldn’t hold her back. And then she would be there when he needed her strength. The give-and-take was a beautiful thing.
After they had rested for a while, she felt his erection bumping against her bottom. She knew it was an automatic reaction and that he would wait for his own satisfaction until she was ready. She rolled in his arms until they were face-to-face. She looked into his sparkling black eyes and felt like she was drowning in that deep pool of darkness. “I love you.”
“Oh, baby, I’ve been waiting to hear that for some time and to know you mean it deep down. I love you, too. How are you feeling?”
“I’m good. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this free. I can’t guarantee that there won’t be any setbacks, but right now I feel as though I could climb mountains.”
“Do you think you would want to start seeing a therapist to continue expanding on the progress we’ve made? I don’t claim to be a professional. I just wanted to get you moving in the right directi
on.”
“That would probably be a good idea. Right now, I just really want to make love with you.”
She kissed his neck and ran her tongue down his chest until she latched onto one of the flat brown nipples gracing his muscular chest. She felt the ripple of desire move through his muscles as she licked and sucked the little masculine nub. Before he could take control of the situation, she rolled over on top of him.
Looking down into his beautiful face, she lifted her body until she was poised above his rock-solid cock. “May I, Master?”
“Oh, baby, don’t keep me waiting.” He smiled at her, and she slowly lowered herself until she was impaled. Then she began to move on him. Her clit pulsed. She rocked him against her G-spot and reveled in the feeling of freedom she felt as she rode him. She could swear she felt the wind of freedom blowing through her hair. Her pussy fit him like hot, wet silk. She felt the quickening of his pulse. She knew he had been balancing on the thin edge of an orgasm for hours, and it wouldn’t take long for him to blast over that edge. She wanted to make this last as long as she could, so she took a page from his book and slowed her strokes down to the bare minimum of movement. He grinned up at her. “You’re a quick learner, subbie.” She fell into the heat of his gaze as he grabbed her hair in his fists and pushed up into her with his own powerful thrusts as his eyes locked with hers.
She was trying to hold back. She really was. But suddenly an orgasm ripped through her system and exploded outward in waves of excruciating pleasure, and she was flying. She saw a flash of bright light behind her eyelids before he plunged hard and deep one final time. She felt him rocket over the edge with her. She collapsed on his chest, his hard cock still buried in her pussy, as she continued to clench and spasm while golden light radiated through her body.
“I thought you told me you weren’t very good at this.” His handsome face was radiating satisfaction. He was so damn proud of himself, so she bit him.
“What was that for?”
“You know what it was for.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The following week flew by for Harper. Between meetings with the federal prosecutor’s office to wrap up the criminal charges against Stanley Phillips and Preston Brewster, and the round of talk show appearances and interviews necessitated by the announcement of the sabotage of Court Industries’ Maxprotem clinical trials, she barely had time to come up for air. She wasn’t unhappy that the kid, Steve Costa, had been able to plea bargain down to five years of probation for his testimony against Preston Brewster.
Morgan and Joe Levine were busy getting the Maxprotem trials back on track, and Morgan was as successful as ever at avoiding the spotlight. He was amazing. He was as slippery as an eel and as invisible as a ghost.
Harper had quit her job and was temporarily occupying several unused offices in Morgan’s building as she hustled to start her own law firm. She had taken her assistant, her paralegal, and one associate from her old firm, as well as a raft of loyal clients who all needed her attention. She was reveling in the challenge, knowing she had Morgan Court backing her up. He let her do her own thing without interference, but she knew he was there when she needed an ear or some advice.
On Thursday Harper and Morgan joined the Stephens family at their beautiful home on Long Island for Thanksgiving. Despite the gentle grilling by Melanie about her plans for the future, the holiday was a pleasant and relaxed day spent eating, drinking, sleeping, and watching football like the rest of America. After taking her on a tour of their American Girl doll and Breyer model horse collections, Allie and Addie had decided that they really liked Harper. “Uncle Morgan, we need an auntie, and we think you should marry Harper. She’s cool, and we want to keep her.”
Melanie took pity on her and said, “Girls, we can’t just keep people we like. We have to let them make up their own minds about what they want to do. Uncle Morgan and Harper will let us know when they decide what that is.” She smiled benevolently at her precocious twins. “Uncle Morgan knows what he has to do.” She grinned at her baby brother, and Harper could see the word “mine” glistening in her eyes. But then she smiled the beautiful, dimpled Court smile at Harper, and the word glistening in her eyes changed to “ours.” Harper could see that Melanie would be a fast and loyal friend, as long as she treated her precious baby brother right.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Morgan Court’s Office at Court Industries, New York City, Friday, December 5, 2013, 12:30 p.m.
On Friday afternoon, Morgan was at his desk answering e-mails when his assistant buzzed him. “You have a visitor. He doesn’t have an appointment, but he says you’ll see him. His name is Jamie Devereau.” Morgan could hear the awe in his assistant’s voice. Jamie had that effect on women of all ages, backgrounds, and political persuasions. He was a bona fide bad-boy chick magnet, although now a happily married one.
“Send him in.” Morgan stood up, and the old friends greeted each other with back pounding and hand shaking. Jamie was dressed to kill. The investment banker and hedge fund manager looked dangerous despite his gray silk three-piece suit set off with a red striped tie. His five o’clock shadow was just starting to make an appearance and highlighted his chiseled features.
“I had some business in the city, so I thought I’d drop in. How’s it going?”
“Good now that the Maxprotem trials are back on track. That was hairy, to say the least. You probably have seen Harper on the Today Show, et cetera. Oh, and please thank the Golden Dolphin crew for packing our belongings and having them delivered. Harper and I greatly appreciated it. I’ll send a basket of fruit and a more tangible thank you to the wharf if they’re still docked.”
“No problem. They’re still at the dock. They were happy to do it. I need to thank Harper for her invaluable assistance when the Burke problem broke. And yes, I’ve seen Harper on the news. She’s a beauty, you dog, you. And as usual, you were conspicuously absent. I have to admit you’re good.”
“It’s a skill. So what’s up?”
“I made a little acquisition and thought I would come up and see to it myself. You know that little rag paper Burke worked for, the World Tipster—that name’s gotta go. I decided I didn’t want any more problems with the ‘press,’ so I bought it.”
“You didn’t. I can’t believe it. I told Harper you had a Saint Michael the Archangel complex, and I was right. Are you nuts? You need that crappy newspaper like you need a case of…”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I just didn’t want any loose ends hanging out there. I’ll let it get on its feet and then do something with it. In the meantime I fired the editor, Maurie Cullen. He’s probably still sputtering with outrage and yammering on about the freedom of the press. I put the fear of God and the mafia into him. I don’t know where he got the idea that I’m ‘connected,’ but I didn’t disabuse him of the notion.”
“That was a good move. I think I know. I believe Harper might have intimated that you had a ‘bent nose,’ or something like that. I think she really only meant that your nose is big and that you’re completely ugly and repulsive.”
Jamie laughed. “Is that so? That’s a good one. I also hired your good buddy, Harmon Burke, to be the editor-in-chief, with the proviso that the paper is now going to be a community voice heavily into local advertising and coupons. I don’t think he was too happy about that part, but he was glad to have a job and to finally be the man in charge. I told him to redecorate his office and to get the rag in order and making money. If he can do that, I’ll work something out for him.”
“How is Anne? How’s married life treating you?”
“She’s great. I love it. You should give it a try.”
Morgan smiled a wide grin. “That’s the plan. Let me show you something.” He opened his desk drawer and took out a small black velvet box. He opened it and showed the contents to Jamie.
“Geez, Court. Shut that thing. You’re blinding me. No, really. Congratulations, man.”
“Not yet. I still have to co
nvince Harper. I think she’s a little gun-shy, but I’m working on it. So what’s the next cruise for the Golden Dolphin?”
“Miami to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Carnaval in February and then possibly Alaska in the spring. Want to go? I’m taking Anne to Rio, and I believe my brother and his wife are planning to go and maybe some of the Ocala crew.”
“I’d love it. Let me see what I can work out. I guess the master suite won’t be available.”
“Sorry, no. I’ll be using it myself. But we’ve got fifteen others to choose from.”
Epilogue
Morgan Court’s Beach House, East Hampton, New York, Wednesday, Christmas Morning, December 25, 2013
The light dusting of snow that covered the ground had been an unexpected gift since the weatherman had predicted clear skies and no precipitation. The family was gathered around the enormous Christmas tree in the great room of Morgan’s beach house. Allie and Addie were all but buried in mounds of crinkled wrapping paper and bows. It seemed that, despite their worries to the contrary, Santa had found them in East Hampton. When they had plowed through all of Santa’s contributions, as well as the pile of presents from their parents, Morgan smiled at them and said, “There are three more packages for you guys behind the tree. They’re from Harper and me.”
Allie and Addie quickly scrambled under the bows of the heavily ornament-laden tree and pulled out the gaily wrapped packages. There were two long boxes, one tagged for Allie and one tagged for Addie. There was also one big box tagged with both their names. They tore into the individual packages first and found twin American Girl dolls that Harper had custom designed to look just like Allie and Addie. The packages included a collection of matching outfits and the accessories that every self-respecting doll had to have, including riding outfits. He knew the girls would be thrilled to add the new dolls to their collections. Morgan was amazed at how much the dolls actually did resemble the girls.
Harper's Submission [Golden Dolphin 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 19
