Price of Passion (3-in-1 Collection)

by Aubrey Ross

  Shit! Mason had seen the file not Megan. She had to be more careful. “When the empress realized I was avoiding you, she wanted to make sure --”

  “Why would the empress care about your sex life?”

  “I knew her long before she was the empress. Amoli has spent half her life cleaning up after her little sister. Sabina can be a manipulative bitch when she doesn’t get what she wants.”

  “I figured that out all by myself.”

  “I’m sorry.” And she was. Not so much because she’d tried to seduce him, but because she’d walked away.

  “Those are just words. True repentance requires action.” He caught her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, pinching her just hard enough to make her crave a firmer pressure. “What are you willing to do to right the wrong?”

  A long neglected need surged through Megan. She didn’t just want to fuck him, she wanted to submit to him, to experience the bittersweet pleasure only found on the far side of pain. She knew he was skilled with a whip, but did he enjoy utilizing the skill? Having a lover willing to accommodate her desire would never be enough. She needed her partner to revel in control and savor her screams.

  His aggressive mood gave her the perfect opportunity to find out if Kenton was her mirror image or just someone well trained in the sensual arts. She knew Mason could trust him, but what about Megan?

  Without explaining her actions, she took him by the hand and led him around the pool. He threaded his fingers through hers, as if he were afraid she’d slip away. She was inordinately pleased by the subtle gesture.

  They reached the spa and his steps faltered. His fingers tightening around hers and he heaved a frustrated sigh. “What about Mason?”

  How much should she tell him? He deserved to know the truth, yet he was still recovering from her original deception. Better to ease him in gradually. “Mason and I are fraternal twins.” The familiar lie sprang to her lips. “We share the same taste in many things. It doesn’t happen often, but when we find ourselves attracted to the same person… I think of Mason as an extension of myself. Touching him is just like touching me.”

  Kenton’s brow arched and his eyes sparkled. “I beg to differ with you. You don’t feel anything like Mason.”

  “The point is Mason has the same attitude.”

  “Have you and Mason ever shared a lover?” He didn’t sound hopeful, merely curious.

  She shuddered and shook her head. “I know that’s a common fantasy, but it doesn’t appeal to me.” This was happening too fast. She hadn’t expected to fuck him tonight, much less show him the toy room.

  Pressing her palm against the scanner, she triggered the door and led him into her private haven. This was the one place she felt completely at home. She hadn’t entered this room in three years, had begun to wonder if she’d ever use it again. The door slid shut behind them and she let go of his hand. Her heart thudded in her breast as she watched his reaction.

  A fully adjustable table dominated the center of the room with a tinted skylight directly above. Unlike many dungeons, her toy room was light and airy, the walls continuing the colorful tiled pattern begun in the pool area. One corner of the room was padded, another contained a whipping post. Cabinets and drawers filled with disposable toys were inset in the far wall.

  He looked around in stoic silence, his expression revealing nothing. Her heart lurched and tension gripped her stomach. Had she misjudged him?

  His fingers closed around her wrist and a smile quirked his lips. “You deserve to be punished. Is that what you’re telling me?”

  Lust erupted in the depths of his gaze, but she saw a hint of tenderness too. He understood. Unable to speak past the tightness in her throat, she nodded again.

  “Your clothing offends me.” The command sent shivers down her spine and heat pooled between her thighs.

  Without hesitation, she pulled down the straps and wiggled out of the stretchy suit. She kicked it to the side and raised her arms, locking her hands behind her head. He moved closer and the faint scent of chlorine tickled her nose. She kept her gaze lowered.

  “Part your legs.” She did and he circled her, his hands clasped behind his back. “I will have your complete obedience. Is that understood?”

  “Yes.”

  He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his mouth just above her ear. With one hand he cupped her breast, while the other covered her mound. “This body is mine to do with as I please. If you agree say, ‘Yes, Master’.”

  She pressed her lips together as her pussy clenched needfully. The snap of his voice nearly triggered an orgasm. “Yes, Master,” she whispered. This was dangerous. She’d never responded to anyone this fast or this powerfully.

  He rolled her nipple, pulling firmly while the bud hardened to his touch. “If the sensations become unbearable say the word ‘cease’ and I will stop. But know this before we begin, I have no intention of being gentle.”

  She didn’t want him to be gentle. Still, suggesting a safe word was an important step. Establishing a Master/slave relationship required trust and communication. If she’d only sensed anger in Kenton, she never would have brought him here. The debacle at Starlight Station provided them with appropriate roles. This could be a single, intense experience or the start of a lasting partnership. They definitely had sexual chemistry to spare, but true compatibility went far deeper than mutual attraction.

  His fingers slid into her folds, easily finding her clit. “Did kissing me make you this wet or is the thought of punishment making you squirm?”

  “Both,” she admitted, her voice shaking. “I need your discipline.”

  Taking her by the hand, he led her to the whipping post and pressed her back against the thick pole. He secured the manacles around her wrists and reeled in the alloy cable until her arms were suspended above her head. Though snug around her wrists, the plush lining felt soft and titillating against her skin. Why had he chosen this position? Did he intend to flog her breasts? Her nipples grew even tighter.

  He went to the cabinets and took his time selecting what he would need. “Are your nipples pierced?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  His back was turned, but she presumed from the question that he’d found her weights and chains. He opened another drawer before he found what he was looking for. She lowered her gaze as he turned around, but not before she saw the passion burning in his gaze. Closing her hands into fists, she savored the intense longing.

  He approached with languid grace, his erection forming an unmistakable bulge in the front of his swim trunks. Why didn’t he take the silly things off? She wanted to see him, touch him, and suck him deep into her mouth.

  Cupping her chin in one hand, he raised her face until their gazes met. “You will not come unless I give you permission. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  He opened his other hand and a blindfold unfurled. After tracing her lips with his tongue, he fastened the blindfold around her head. Darkness engulfed her, intensifying the hollow ache of her cunt and the subtle brush of air against her skin. She listened and waited for his distinct scent to reach her nose. The damp drag of his swim trunks told her he’d finally tugged them off, then his steps returned to the cupboards.

  “I want so many things from you. I’m having trouble deciding where to begin.” After a long pause, he returned to the whipping post. He trailed something soft across the upper swell of her breasts. Loose fibers, like a tassel or -- the object slapped against her tender flesh and tiny stings replaced the teasing caress. He had her silk flogger. Each soft strand was braided and knotted at the end. He awakened her breasts with moderate strokes, pausing between each to pinch one of her nipples.

  The first brush of the strands against her mound made her gasp. Already tension gripped her abdomen and made her pussy throb. If he pinched her clit like he’d pinched her nipples, she was in serious trouble.

  “Do you want me to fuck you?” He caressed her thighs with the whip, then dragge
d the strands across her pussy. “Do you ache for my cock?”

  “Yes. Oh gods, yes.” Four sharp snaps was all he gave her before he moved away. Heat spread through her lower body, blossoming across her skin and sinking into her core. His thumbs parted her outer lips and his tongue pushed between her folds. “Oh, Master! I… Please may I come?” A tingling spasm had already begun.

  “No.” He pulled back and stood, his chest rubbing against her sensitized skin as he ascended. “Open your mouth.” An instant after she obeyed, he fit his lips over hers. His tongue delved and darted. “I dreamed of this taste, hungered for it.”

  Cool air wafted across her burning skin an instant before he continued the sweet torment. The flogger punished her mound, slower now, allowing her to absorb each lash before he delivered the next. A long pause followed and then the exquisite stroke of his tongue, bolder, pushing well into her cunt. He lifted her leg to his shoulder and feasted, sucking and stabbing while she writhed and moaned.

  He lowered her leg to the floor and licked his way up her trembling body. After filling her mouth with the taste of her passion, he continued the intoxicating cycle. Twice more he drove her to the brink of orgasm only to lick her pussy and feed her cream-covered kisses. He refused to let her come, using the flogger and his mouth with ruthless precision.

  She whimpered and arched. “Please, Master. I can bear no more.”

  He chuckled, running the knotted strands from her shoulders to her knees. “You will bear what I expect you to bear.” The tension on her arms released. He’d unhooked the cuffs from the post while leaving her wrists confined. “On your knees.” She knelt before him, keeping her legs spread as much for stability as to please him. “Now lean forward. Brace yourself against the floor but keep your head up.”

  As soon as she adjusted her position he brushed his cockhead against her lips. She opened and swiped her tongue over the very tip. His taste was sharper than hers, unmistakably masculine. The combination sent excitement skittering across her nerve endings. She sucked and licked as his fingers tangled in her hair. He pushed in fast and pulled out slowly. Velvet-soft skin covered marble-hard flesh. The blindfold accented each discovery. Taking as much of him as she could into her mouth, she let him move freely.

  Sparks showered her ass and she cried out around his cock. The flogger! His swings were harder now, corresponding with each inward thrust. The strands connected with one ass check and then the other, back and forth as he fucked her mouth. He aimed the flogger between her legs and heat gave way to fire, driving her right to the edge of oblivion with each firm stroke.

  Just when she thought she’d go mad from the demanding need, he pulled out of her mouth and moved behind her. He slammed into her pussy and she screamed. His cock stretched her inner walls, filling her as she’d never been filled. Her ass burned, her cunt throbbed, and colors burst behind her eyes. His hands gripped her hips, holding her still as he established a savage rhythm.

  She lowered her shoulders to the floor, resting her forehead against her bound wrists. Fast and deep, his thrusts rocked her entire body. She squeezed him tightly, caressing him with her cunt. It was good, so incredibly good. She savored each forceful drive, lost in the power of submission.

  “Come for me.” His voice sounded strangled and his fingers bit into her flesh.

  Tightening her inner muscles, she lifted her hips. His balls slapped against her clit twice and her pussy rippled with bursts of pleasure. He drove deep one final time and shook against her back. His seed erupted in hot spurts as he cried out her name.

  Chapter Seven

  With a reluctant groan, Kenton pulled out of Megan’s pussy and rocked back onto his heels. She remained in her submissive position, her ass welted from the braided flogger. His chest tightened and tingling aftershocks made his cock twitch. How could he want her again after that staggering orgasm?

  Unable to believe his actions, he leaned down and trailed his tongue from her clit to her anus and back. He savored the taste of his cum and her cream, inhaling their combined scent as if to imprint it on his brain. Mine. Shaken by the feral urge to slam back into her and start it all over again, he released a shaky sigh and glanced away. He’d never wanted anyone like he wanted Megan.

  What about Mason? The question echoed through his mind even as he turned back to Megan and tasted her again. His desire for Mason had flared when he looked into the ambassador’s eyes -- the feature most noticeably resembling Megan. Was that all there was to the attraction?

  He pressed his palms against her ass cheeks, amazed by the heat. She stirred restlessly, still not raising her head. He untied the blindfold and tossed it aside. Many people abandoned their roles as soon as they found release. Megan obviously needed more than an occasional foray into Master/slave pleasure. She was a true submissive. His breath hitched and blood flooded his cock. He would protect her and lavish her with pleasure as only her Master could.

  After kissing his way up her spine, he helped her to her feet. “I might have need of you again.” This was their first night together and he was a guest in her house. They needed to establish some fundamental rules. “I would prefer to have you at my side, but I can come to you if that --”

  “Bind me to your bed.”

  She had yet to meet his gaze and he couldn’t identify the emotion making her voice quiver. Surely she wasn’t frightened. He studied her expression before he spoke again. Her cheeks were flushed and tears had gathered behind her eyelashes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” She licked her lips and lowered her gaze. “It’s been three years since I’ve slept in restraints. It’s dangerous when you sleep alone. The servants might be able to release me, but I was never willing to take the chance.”

  Tenderness washed over him with shocking intensity. He curved his fingers around her chin and raised her head until their gazes met. “You are mine to protect and pleasure. No more will you sleep alone.”

  Her bound hands rested against his chest as he kissed her and he pushed his fingers into her hair. His other hand swept up and down her back, delighting in the silken texture of her skin. He nipped and nibbled for a moment, then eased past her lips. Her tongue curled around his, welcoming and caressing.

  He lifted her into his arms and she cuddled against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Exiting through the spa, he headed for his bedchamber. She didn’t object and he didn’t care who saw them. Servants were trained to turn a blind eye to the activities of their employers and Megan assured him Mason wouldn’t care if…

  Mason. His heart gave a sad little lurch.

  “What’s the matter? Your arms just tensed.” Megan lifted her head from his shoulder, her gaze staring into his.

  “Mason,” he admitted.

  “I told you. You don’t have to choose between us.”

  “You can accept that arrangement, but I’m not sure I can.”

  She started to object, then relaxed and returned her head to his shoulder.

  He carried her into his chambers and laid her face down across his bed. She rested her chin on her folded arms and watched him walk into the bathroom. When he returned she smiled, not saying a word.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed he nudged her inner thigh. She immediately scooted her legs apart and he washed her with the warm cloth he’d retrieved from the bathroom. Her eyes drifted shut and she arched just enough so he could reach all of her.

  He tossed the soiled cloth in the general direction of the bathroom, unable to drag his gaze away from her pink folds. Tracing her slit with his fingertips, he asked, “Are you sore?”

  “Not there.”

  Her ass cheeks were still welted, the delicate skin broken in several places. He’d chosen the silk whip because his desire had been so wild. She needed pain. She’d made that clear from the beginning. Still, he refused to cause any lasting damage.

  “Was I too rough?”

  She craned her neck so she could see his eyes. “No, Master. You were perf
ect.”

  Her softly spoken praise made him grin like a school boy. He quickly stood and moved across the room. He was offering too much too soon. She had deceived him, played with his affections and then disappeared. Her remorse seemed genuine. Still, he needed to proceed slowly and test her sincerity.

  Opening his wardrobe, he rummaged through his belongings for a few moments before he found the ointment he wanted. “This is very effective.” He returned to the bed as he unscrewed the lid. “You should feel much better in the morning.” With gentle caresses, he applied the ointment to her welts. He closed the jar and set it on the nightstand. “It’s best if you remain on your stomach. Can you sleep like that?”

  She nodded; her gaze already sleepy. He reached for the wrist cuffs, meaning to secure them to the headboard when a buzzer sounded.

  “Shit,” she muttered and motioned toward the companel near the door. “That’s an emergency interrupt. I need to respond.” Kenton hustled across the room and activated audio only. “This is Megan; go ahead.”

  “Empress Amoli needs to speak with Mason,” Tillany’s voice responded. Kenton had never heard the housekeeper sound so anxious. “Do you know where he is?”

  “I can probably find him. Are you sure this can’t wait until morning?”

  “I wouldn’t have intruded if it weren’t an emergency.”

  Megan sighed and pushed to a sitting position, resting heavily on one hip. “I’ll be right there.”

  Kenton deactivated the comlink and returned to the bed. He unfastened the cuffs and helped her to her feet. “Let me grab my robe. Do you need help finding him or shall I --”

  Her chuckle interrupted his words. “I’m fine. A robe would be appreciated, but your concern is completely misplaced.”

  “I’ve never whipped a woman before.” He held up his hand to stop her objection. “I know gender shouldn’t make a difference, but I was trained to cosset and caress a woman, not overwhelm her with pleasure and pain.”

  “You did the latter quite masterfully. I want to hear more about your training when I return.” She nodded toward the companel. “Unfortunately, duty calls.”