by Amy Valenti
I buried my face in his neck while I tried to regain some dignity and let the guilt fade.
“You’re forgiven, Nell.”
Part of me wanted to ask if I could now tan his hide for breaking up with me, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want any further punishment, and in any case, I got the feeling he hadn’t liked doing it any more than I’d enjoyed being disciplined.
When I looked up into his face, it was pretty obvious I was right. He was staring off into space, his lips compressed into a tense line.
“I’m sorry for hurting you, Master.” I smoothed his unruly hair back from his eyes.
He seemed to return to himself then, smiling down at me. “It’s done. We’re good.”
“What did you hit me with?” I had to know.
“Hairbrush.” He held it up in my line of sight, and though I winced at the memory of it hitting my flesh, I knew it could have been a lot worse.
“For the record, it really hurt,” I teased lightly, trying to bring him out of the remnants of his unhappiness.
“It was meant to.” He tugged on my collar gently. “Remember that before you accuse me of not loving you again.”
I nuzzled his ear, unable to stop the smile spreading over my face. He really loved me. It was more than I’d ever dared to dream about.
Marc wrapped me in a blanket and made me drink some water while he headed off to the bathroom. He was only gone for a minute or two, but by the time he came back I had started to feel the effects of his absence, my mood dropping as my tender ass throbbed.
He drew me close again, the heat of his skin seeping through the blanket to comfort me, and a knot of tension loosened in my chest. “Don’t go away again...” I murmured.
“I’m right here.” He stroked my hair reassuringly. “If you want, I’ll answer your question about why I risked playing with you at work.”
I nodded, intrigued. I’d thought he’d dodged the question because he didn’t want to answer it, but maybe he’d been saving it for now all along, knowing I’d need the reassurance.
“When I first saw you, I was attracted to you on a vanilla level. I’d stopped considering women in terms of D/s a while back, because of what had happened with Callie. Or at least, that was what I’d told myself.”
I nodded again to show I was listening, but stayed quiet.
“I’d planned to ask you out on a normal date, but when we talked, I had to leave before we could really get anywhere with that conversation, as you know. For the next couple of days I thought about you a lot. Dreamed about you tied up at my mercy, or kneeling at my feet, even though I’d already decided Domming you was out of the question, especially with my dad so close.”
“You dreamed about me?” That was a definite ego-booster.
“Bound and flogged with a beautiful, bright-red ass.” He slid his hand to my paddled rear and squeezed the skin.
Wincing, I shifted position to get more comfortable. “Is that because I implied you were just looking busy and not doing any real work so your dad wouldn’t cut off your trust fund?”
He gave me a shark-like grin, sliding me out of his lap onto the bed. “Maybe a little. Mostly it was the way I’m wired. You can take the guy away from D/s, but you can’t take the Dom out of the guy.” He reached for the cooling ointment he always used on me after play, then gestured for me to turn over.
“So did you decide to try Domming me before we ran into each other that day?” I asked, stretching out on my stomach.
Marc shook his head. “No. I’d decided that if I saw you again, I’d just see where things went on a vanilla level. No D/s.”
Remembering the way he’d backed me up against the wall and dominated me with his overwhelming presence, I laughed. “Obviously that didn’t work.”
“No,” he admitted ruefully, smoothing the ointment over my skin with a gentle touch. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you when I did. I’d just had a phone argument with my father—he’d been up in Ontario that week and he was thinking of flying straight to Vegas for the weekend instead of going to that awards ceremony I took you to. So I was tense. Not out of control, but wound a little too tight. I didn’t have time to remind myself to act vanilla—there you were, and you seemed so intimidated, so damn submissive... I had you up against the wall before I’d even thought about it.”
I smiled against the pillow, the memory of that moment still clearly imprinted on my mind. “I didn’t know how to react.”
“You tried to get the upper hand, and it was like something just snapped inside me. I knew you had that submissive streak; I’d seen it…just for a few moments. The Dom part of me got free, and I was so stupidly reckless that I let that part win out over the rest. Before I knew it, I’d kissed you and vanilla was just off the menu. I couldn’t imagine anything else. Your submissive side called to me, stupid as it sounds.”
“I don’t think it sounds stupid, Sir. Kind of romantic, really.” The sub part of me recognising the Dom part of him… It had happened before he’d even said a word that day, as he’d steadied me in the stairwell. It wasn’t hard to believe the reverse had happened to Marc.
He finished with the cream and helped me to sit up. “Better?”
I nodded, a huge yawn threatening to split my head in two. I’d seesawed between so many emotions that I was exhausted, and it was only four-thirty in the afternoon.
“Come on. We’ll sleep for a while, then you can show off your collar to everyone at dinner.”
Obediently, I burrowed under the blankets, and Marc spooned me protectively, as though resolving to shield me from his father and anyone else who might get involved.
He might protest it—big, bad Dom that he was—but I was determined to protect him just as much. It was a submissive’s role to see to his or her Dom’s needs, and there was nothing Marc needed more than to be free of his father.
* * * *
Dear Diary,
Talk about the most rollercoaster day ever. When it started, I thought the only noteworthy event would be meeting Serena. Add to that being broken up with, being reclaimed, being collared, learning that my Dom’s father is a murderer… I thought I wanted to take the next step, and instead I got a whole damn marathon. Not to mention about six bruised ribs from being hugged half to death by Marc’s housemates. It’s sweet that they’re so happy for us, but seriously—ouch!
God, I can’t believe Marc’s dad is a killer. This seems like an impossible situation, but there has to be something I can do to help Marc bring him to justice. Marc’s such a Dom that it’s just wrong that his father can coerce him the way he does. And poor Serena… I don’t even know how she keeps it together.
All I know is that I’d do anything for Marc, and he’s going to try to take his dad down one way or another, sooner or later. I just hope that doesn’t end up getting one or both of us killed…
To be concluded in Hot, Rich and Dominant 6: Risk and Reward…
Thank you so much for reading—and for those who’ve been waiting months for this, your patience and kind words have meant the world to me, as always. Now the end really and truly is in sight, and we’ve had a few revelations I’ve been building up to for a while, I’d love to hear whether you saw Marc’s big secret coming, along with any other comments or questions you have!
Until the final book is ready (and yes, I really do mean final this time), please spread the word about the series to friends and social network groups you think might appreciate it. I’m an indie author with limited promo resources, so every review, recommendation and blog post helps. :)
Keep up with the latest from Amy Valenti! Join her mailing list for exclusive previews and extra content—just visit her website at http://www.amyvalenti.com/ and enter your email address in the sidebar on the right of the screen. Your contact details will be kept completely confidential.
Also by Amy Valenti
Hot, Rich and Dominant
Hot, Rich and Dominant 2 – Learning Curve
Hot, Rich
and Dominant 3 – Collars and Dollars
Hot, Rich and Dominant 4 – Making a Scene
Little Tease (Rack and Ruin #1)
Model Submissive (Rack and Ruin #2)
Always the Quiet Ones
Battle of Thrills
Die for Him
Dominance and Deception
Hidden Heat
Of Sawdust and Seduction
Secretly Submissive
Shocked
Smoke and Mirrors
Switching Off
Coming Soon
Hot, Rich and Dominant 6—Risk and Reward
Complex Triggers (Rack and Ruin #3)
About the Author
Amy Valenti attained ‘crazy cat lady’ status at four years old, but took a little longer to get to the ‘published author’ stage, which was her other goal in life. Now in her late twenties, she tries to minimise the number of cats she puts into her erotic romance stories, but more than one has slipped into a character’s home while her back’s been turned. After all, the ultimate test of a man’s worth is what his new partner’s pets think of him…
Cats aside, Amy enjoys writing about intelligent female characters who know themselves and their desires. She’s been fascinated by sex, relationship and power-play dynamics for many years, and experiments with different sub-genres under the overarching category of BDSM, concentrating on Domination and submission romance in particular.
She also writes vanilla lesbian erotica (without the romance!) under the pseudonym of Sidonie Spice.
About the Stories
Just what is it about bondage, pain-play and barked commands that makes a submissive fall to her knees? Amy Valenti is captivated by the Dominance and submission dynamic, and her books mainly feature growly, Dominant men with feisty yet submissive women. Occasionally she likes to write about hot Dom-on-Domme action and ménage involving two Dominant partners with one lucky female sub.
Safe, sane and consensual BDSM is important to her, and she tries to balance out the intense scenes in her books with some tender, loving aftercare.
Contact
Want to get in touch? Email Amy at [email protected], or check out her Facebook or Twitter pages.
Find Amy Online
As Amy Valenti (erotic romance):
Blog: http://www.amyvalenti.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmyValentiErotica
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AmyValenti
As Sidonie Spice (lesbian erotica shorts):
Blog: http://sidoniespice.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sidonie-Spice/132024630232262
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SidonieSpice
