by Joey W. Hill
She moved her hand from his knee to his arm, threading her hand through the crook of his elbow and curling her fingers around his biceps. “I’m not single-minded, though,” she added. “I love her enough to eviscerate you with a butter knife if you treat her badly.”
“And I’d deserve it,” he said tightly.
She lifted a shoulder. “But you deserve good things, too, Ben. You may even deserve the gift of her heart. But deserving and earning are two different things. Like Dana. She deserves to have a baby, but she will spend her life earning the love of that child, with her devotion to his or her wellbeing, teaching him or her how to grow up and be an adult who can stand on his or her own and create their own wonderful achievements.
“When you decide to stand at the altar with her, you’ll deserve Marcie. But after that, you’ll spend every day earning the gift of one another and that love. It’s hard work, but it’s also brilliant, amazing…a spiritual experience, because everything involving love is. It’s something I never forget with Lucas, and I hope your demons won’t make you ever forget it, either.”
Ben couldn’t deny it sounded like truth. Probably because it was delivered with a calm reassurance that only an experienced mother could offer, underscoring what she’d said about herself. It was a big part of who she was. But not the only part.
She was a remarkable woman. As remarkable as her stubborn, irresistible younger sister.
They both looked at the painting for another few moments. Cass was stroking his arm as she did, and then she laid her head on his shoulder. He could feel her lips quirk and tilted his head, brushing it against her crown. “What?”
“You’re such a confusing mix. You can bring out my maternal wolf instincts, but there’s that other side to you. The Master side vibrates off you, this constant energy. It’s distracting, but also reassuring. I know you’re going to take care of her, Ben. Because there’s something deep down inside of you, under, over and above everything else, that refuses to do anything less. I know it.”
When she lifted her head and met his gaze, he saw those words had come from the sharp negotiator, the one who knew the thoughts of every player in the room and worked them all toward the goal that would satisfy everyone enough to feel they’d walked away a winner. “Do you use that look on Lucas to get him worked up?” he asked.
She smiled, and elbowed him in the ribs. “It works on all of you. Nothing a predator enjoys more than the chase and the challenge.”
“True.” He pressed a kiss to her temple and held there, enjoying the scent of her, soft feminine flesh pressed against his arm. Like her sister, she had gorgeous breasts. “But what happens after the chase and the challenge have been met eclipses them both.”
She chuckled. “Well said.” Quieting again, she turned her head to look at the wall. “Thank you again for the painting. It will mean a lot of things to me when I look at it. A lot of memories. Including this one.”
“How are you getting home?” he asked.
“I thought I’d hitchhike.” She smiled at his look. “I was supposed to text Lucas when I’m ready to go. He’s waiting at the restaurant down the street. We were going to get a bite to eat. Want to join us?”
“Not today. But I’ll walk you there and save him the trip. Maybe give you a hot kiss with tongue in front of the window to piss him off.”
She tossed her hair back as she straightened and swatted his shoulder. “Always the troublemaker. Just don’t forget to grab my ass.”
“Like I’d ever forget to do that.”
She chuckled again. He texted Lucas for her, then pocketed the phone and rose, offering her his hand. But before he could guide her toward the door, she touched his arm, stopping him. “Ben, I know you’ll always protect her physically, make sure her every basic need is met. But don’t forget, even more important to a woman, particularly Marcie, is that need for you to give her your heart and soul. She needs who you are, dark and light, good and bad. It’s not a marriage otherwise.”
A smile touched her lips. “She might call you Daddy on occasion, but she’s not a little girl.”
He scoffed at that, but squeezed her hand, met her eyes. “I know. I love her, Cass. I’ll do what’s best for her.”
She shook her head. “No. Do what’s best for you both. And never forget to ask her to help with that. You are her Master, but if you intend to be her husband, you need to learn to be partners, too.”
“Hmm.” His phone beeped, telling him Lucas had responded. When he glanced at it, Ben raised a brow. “That’s a hell of an idea,” he murmured. The words reinforced what he’d been thinking only a handful of moments before, but he guessed he shouldn’t be surprised. There were plenty of times he and the other K&A men picked up on what was needed, from that weird subconscious current that seemed to connect them. Not that he would be saying that aloud anytime soon. He left the metaphysical bullshit to Jon.
And it might merely be fortuitous coincidence. Since Lucas was more attuned to Cass’s moods than anyone, it was entirely possible he already knew her mood today required a reminder. That she wasn’t just a mother to her siblings or a hell-on-wheels negotiator. She was also a totally hot submissive with a devoted Master.
“What’s a hell of an idea?” Cass asked.
“Nothing. He says he’ll be waiting for you.” As they strolled toward the front, she kept her hand tucked into the crook of his arm. Ben gave Mike the go-ahead to take the picture down and prepare it for transport, indicating he’d return in a few moments.
“Lucas and I could just take it back to the house with us.”
“Nope. This is a full-service gift purchase and ship service,” Ben teased. “Plus, I have to stop in and give Nate a hard time.”
“You mean play video games with him for a couple hours.”
“How else are you going to find out what girls he’s thinking about and if his friends are staying out of trouble? He’s not going to tell that shi—stuff to his big sister. His mom.”
Ben nudged her. “You should ask Lucas to a Sadie Hawkins dance. I bet he’d say yes, even if he has to do some kind of hip hop moves. Threaten to ask Mitch if he doesn’t.”
Cass chuckled. “I might just do that. You know, you don’t have to be so careful with your language around me. I’ve been known to say some of those words myself.”
“It’s a respect thing. And I respect the hell out of you, Cass.”
He stopped at the door and faced her, pleased to see her cheeks flush as she registered his earnest sincerity. He took a breath, not sure if he should go down this road, but that barbed feeling in his gut wasn’t going to be all the way gone until he said what was really bugging him. The root of the tension that had existed between him and Cass until now.
“My annoying therapist said what happened that night with Marcie was something out of my control, a big flag about what I need to do to clean up some of what’s inside me. I don’t know if that’s true or not. What I do know is I’m sorry as hell I did something that fell way the hell short of what you and Marcie should be able to expect from me, always. Losing your trust has hurt worse than anything I’ve felt in a long time.”
Her gaze flickered in surprise, and then it was consumed by something overwhelming, to them both. Cass slid her arms around him, going up on her toes to hold him tight. “Oh, Ben. You haven’t lost my trust. I promise you that.”
Hearing it felt way better than he would have expected, and he held her just as tight a long moment before easing back and giving her a lopsided smile.
“We better cut this out, or Lucas will be thinking I’m putting moves on his woman.”
“Sorry, you’re both out of luck. I’m going to find Mitch and get my slow dance back.” She gave him an impish wink and stepped out the door as he held it open for her.
Though the place where Lucas waited for her was within walking distance, Ben guided her out to the Escalade first. Opening it, he reached in and plucked out a sleek, purple Hot Toddy bag from the front pas
senger seat.
“You didn’t pick out anything for yourself, but I sent Lucas a description of a couple things I thought might interest him. Including that ice blue thing. He authorized a couple purchases.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Her eyes were wary yet intrigued as Ben gave her the bag.
“He did. Marcie and I swung back by last night and picked it up.” Keeping a light hand on her elbow, he moved to open the rear passenger door. When her quizzical gaze met his, he gave her a steady look, a different expression from what he’d shown her in the gallery, but one she knew pretty well, if the sudden stillness to her gaze, the press of her lips, were any indication. “He wants you wearing one of them when I escort you up the street to him. I think you’ll know which one.”
He handed her into the car and closed it after her, the tinted windows giving her the privacy she’d need. As he leaned against the car, waiting on her, he thought of what wonderful things were happening in the back seat.
He’d approved heartily of Lucas’s choice and bought Marcie a pair in pink. The panties had rose patterns in the sheer gauze, the edges trimmed in lace. Ribbon laced over the crotch, and the ends of the ribbons were tipped with two rose-shaped clamps, fingernail-sized, but which clipped over the clitoris and labia, respectively. Once on, they heated with the body’s chemistry and started to tingle. Then to vibrate.
Dedicated pussy man that he was, Lucas could play his tongue between the laces, or strip them out entirely. As the dangling silken ribbons teased her creamy inner thighs, Lucas would tug on them to increase the impact of the clamps on her delicate regions.
When the door opened slightly, telling him she was ready, he opened it and extended a hand. His Dom side, along with every ounce of testosterone, approved of her flushed cheeks, parted lips and the aroused sparkle in her eyes. She blinked at him as he drew her back out, and he steadied her on her feet. The heat and tingle effect apparently kicked in pretty damn fast. Also, Cass was a responsive submissive on the psychological side of things. Just knowing Lucas had mandated something like this would get her worked up.
“He wants me to walk three blocks this way?” she asked, incredulity carried on a breathless half-laugh.
“He’s your Dom. What do you think? What a bastard.”
She gave him a wry look, despite the underlying distraction. “From what I hear, if it was you, it would be twenty blocks.”
Ben smiled and tucked her fingers into the crook of his elbow, enjoying the way she clutched him and the swallow that moved her slim throat as they began to walk. After only one of the three blocks, she was biting her lip, and he felt the shudder that ran through her skin.
“Ben…”
He pulled her into the alcove between stores and put his arm around her, letting her drop her head against his chest and breathe. He ran his hand in slow glides down her back, caressing the valley of her spine.
“It works fast, doesn’t it?”
“He works fast,” she muttered. “All he has to do is suggest something like this, let alone have me wear it…”
“That’s good training,” Ben said, a low reproving rumble. “A submissive who responds that fast to what her Master demands.”
Another half-chuckle, a desperate sound. Lucas would want her worked up, but not anxious. Ben caressed her neck under her fall of thick blond hair. “I’m not going to let you be embarrassed, darling. Don’t worry about that. I know every corner and pocket alley between here and that restaurant.”
He’d take care of Lucas’s lovely submissive. The idea of her reaching climax while he held her, her mouth hard against his chest to muffle the moans, was a really nice thought. But he wouldn’t want Lucas deprived of the pleasure, so he gave her a little shake and tipped up her head, showing her a more unrelenting expression. It was enough of the sharp edge of his Master side to command her attention, and had her stiffening against him with some sensual trepidation.
“But that’s not going to be necessary, is it? Your climax belongs to your Master. It’s his to command.”
“Yes,” she said. He raised a brow, and she corrected herself, almost as sweetly as her sister did it.
“Yes, sir.”
He knew seeing him as a Master would help her right now, but it gave him a nice shot right to the balls. Wanting to sweeten the reward for good behavior, he pressed his palm to her lower back and leaned in, speaking in her ear.
“You may have been a mother most of your life, Cass,” he said, low. “But you’ve always been a desirable, fuckable woman. Lucas is a lucky man.”
He decided then and there he was headed straight back home to Marcie before dropping off the painting and hanging out with Nate. He’d press his soft brat into the mattress, bury himself balls deep inside her. No frills, no demands, other than being connected like that. At the moment, that was all he wanted. Then he’d make her lunch, and put together enough to feed Nate.
Cass was right. If it was Marcie, he would have made her walk twenty blocks and she wouldn’t have had a prayer of making it without climaxing. He would have fed off that desperation, as she became more and more helpless to control her acceleration to peak.
But then, he’d always been ten times the bastard of any of them. That was what made him the luckiest man of all. He wouldn’t ever forget that. It was his promise, to Cass, to Marcie…and to himself.
The Card Game
Rachel tested the temperature of the water with one extended hand, feeling the flutter of air off the flow. It also gave her the chance to turn her fingertips this way and that, to admire the manicure she’d obtained with Cass and Savannah earlier in the week. The pearlescent gloss had a simple white feather stroke on each nail. Very minimalist and yet organic, the kind of thing that she liked and was reflected in the mostly Japanese style décor of their home.
Jon had liked the manicure, too. Last night, he’d tied her wrists to the armrests of a wooden kitchen chair so he could study her nails as he knelt between her spread legs. He’d kissed each finger, both wrists. Worked his way down her arms, along the outer curves of her breasts. Pressed his mouth to her navel, then traveled down to her clit so he could lazily draw circles on it with his tongue. After he did that long enough that her hips were jerking up from the seat, he’d decided to run soft ropes over her upper thighs to hamper such movements.
He went back to teasing her clit, only this time he used a feather, and some kind of oil that made her shudder to remember it even now. He’d barely brushed it on before she was climaxing, straining so hard against her bonds he’d spent a lot of blissful aftercare time, massaging and soothing those abrasions.
Coming back to the present was a slow, dreamy glide. What was around her only added to the sensory pleasure of the memory. She loved the grotto Jon had built, turning the screened back patio under their deck into a water feature, such that she felt like she was stepping out of the house and into a secluded lagoon.
They’d visited an island retreat last year. The open-aired cottage had a private stretch of beach for a front view, and a grotto for a bathing area in back. The stone alcove provided subtle crevices for soap and shampoo. Multiple jets and falling water mixed together to create the best of both natural waterfall and modern-day shower. The liquid fell into the deep pool beneath the grotto’s shelter.
Upon their return, Jon had designed her one that naturally included a few tailor-made improvements. Such as embedded eye-bolts for restraints, and those multiple jets could be angled in some interesting directions. He’d also moved one of their large Japanese maples to form a canopy that started beneath the arch of the grotto and extended outward to drape over the pool. He’d attached drip lines to it so that when she wasn’t using the grotto for bathing, it could be a different kind of water feature.
When the drip lines were turned on, it created a gentle rainfall into the pool. She could curl up in one of the nearby lounge chairs and enjoy it while reading or catching up on her work stuff from either her yoga studio or physical therapy j
ob. Periodically, she would look up from that to check on the daily busy antics of birds, squirrels, or an occasional deer or two in the backyard. Their mix of natural landscaping and Rachel’s garden was an inviting transition to the several acres of woods that surrounded the house.
This was her life today. Thinking of what it was now, versus what it had been, for so many years, she closed her eyes and leaned against the smooth bank of rocks. Jon had ensured they had no sharp edges. It was part of his wizardry, but not the most important part of it to her.
Proving what was, she felt his arms slide around her and melted back into his arms. His mouth found her throat above the banded silver wire collar she wore, evidence of her Master’s ownership. She always wore it at home.
“Aren’t you supposed to be kneeling?” he asked.
“You arrived early.” She smiled as he dropped a hand and gave her bare ass a pinch, then she bit her lip as his clever fingers slid forward over her smooth cunt and stroked. Petted her for the simple pleasure of touch, rather than a probing demand for sexual response, though it accomplished both ends.
“Mouthy sub. I decided I’d much rather take a shower with you sooner than later. The alternative is fighting with that engineering disaster Peter dropped on my desk Friday. Save me from college-trained engineers who don’t have enough mechanical experience to change a tire. I can get ten times better drafting work out of the plant foremen who actually know how something is machined.”
He cupped her breasts. “Good thing I have an obedient sub to distract me from my frustrations.”
She dropped her head back, pressing her ass against the front of his jeans. Since it was the weekend, he wore them and a worn, button-down shirt he’d never buttoned, because he’d gotten distracted earlier in the day. At breakfast he’d come up with some idea and disappeared into his workshop muttering to himself, making her smile into her tea.
