Rule Changer

by Deena Patel

  I’d been so caught up in what happened with Dad that I forgot Christof needed me to access the accounts.

  My heart hurt to leave, but I had to go back. I only hoped Thomas would understand why I was leaving. Now I had to get these girls to help me break out of my gilded ranch cage.

  “Thomas knows that what happened with Dad has affected me my whole life. Now, which one of you is going to let me borrow your plane?”

  The girls stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.

  “Carm,” Milla said. “Didn’t you learn anything from my mistake last year? Did you forget we ended up hostages?”

  Her words killed my fight to leave the ranch and took me back to the fear I’d felt for Milla and me and my unborn babies.

  Little boys who I’m fighting to protect now.

  “What do I do, Mil? I know the answers are there. If there’s an off chance I can prove Dad was going to do right by us in the end, I have to do it. ” I closed my eyes and inhaled deep. “I have to find out the truth. Please help me.”

  Milla and Arya released a collective sigh.

  “This has to be a twenty-four-hour thing only.” Arya pulled out her phone and began texting. “If I were you, I’d go change. Once everyone wakes up, you’re not going to get a chance to leave.”

  Relief washed over me. My girls had my back.

  “Ari,” I said. “This place is locked down tight. No one gets on or off the property without security knowing about it. Hell, I can’t even organize my own detail without Thomas knowing.”

  “I have my ways. I’ve called in a favor.” Arya’s phone beeped with a reply. After she read the message, she looked at me. “You have exactly twenty minutes before the helicopter arrives. Get moving.”

  * * *

  My plane landed in Massachusetts a little before three in the afternoon, just shy of seven hours after leaving California. I would have arrived sooner, but after my dramatic helicopter escape, we landed at a private airfield and then drove three hours to San Diego. There I boarded a private flight chartered by Milla’s cousin Ian.

  The security detail Arya had arranged for me were former CIA and INTERPOL agents who provided personal protection for select clientele. They took their assignment so seriously that they confiscated my phone, saying it was a security risk and they would return it once we landed.

  I glanced down at myself and laughed. They’d even made me change my clothes. What I wore looked like something Arya would pick for the days she locked herself in the lab. Baggy linen pants, hoodie, baseball cap, and sneakers made up the outfit. With my hair tucked into the hat and dark sunglasses, no one would know who I was.

  “Ms. Dane?”

  I glanced up at the flight attendant, who came into the lounge area of the plane.

  “The captain has informed me that the ride Mrs. Dane arranged for you is waiting at the end of the tarmac. You’ll be taken to a drop-off location, where another car will take you to your family’s estate.”

  “Thank you, Maureen.” I smiled at my flight attendant/bodyguard/INTERPOL agent and then turned back to look out the window.

  A lump formed in my stomach along with a large dose of nausea. I rubbed my hands together, when my fingers grazed over my engagement ring.

  Thomas.

  I was afraid to think about how he’d reacted when he saw the helicopter land and whisk me away.

  With my phone with the agents, I couldn’t call him and explain. God, I hoped Arya was able to calm him down. I’d call him when I got to the house.

  Logic said I should have waited to talk with him and then go, but I knew Thomas wasn’t going to budge. And I had to do this. I was willing to chance an encounter with Christof to find the answers that had haunted me for most of my adult life.

  Maureen came into the lounge. “Ms. Dane, your security lead, T. J., has just sent word you will head straight to the estate. Remember you will go by your alias, Mrs. Thomas, from the moment you step off the jet until the moment we return you to California.”

  I nodded, and Maureen spoke into a communicator on her wrist.

  I shook my head inside. I knew it was Arya’s version of a sick joke to pick Thomas’s name as my alias. I gazed out the window, watching a small propeller plane taking off.

  “Mrs. Thomas, we’re free to descend. Your lead is waiting for you and will take over from here.”

  Here we go. Time to get some answers. Well, at least I hoped I would.

  “Thank you for all that you’ve done.”

  She inclined her head as she led me down the steps of the jet. I tugged my cap lower over my face, just in case anyone recognized me.

  As I moved toward the waiting car, a new level of anxiety erupted inside me. Standing before me was Thomas. He stared at me as someone would watch a stranger. He scanned the area, said something into his wrist communicator, and then waited for me to approach.

  You are in so much shit, Carmen.

  He stretched out his hand, clasping mine in a shake. “Hello, Mrs. Thomas. I’m your security lead, T. J.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  A shiver ran down my spine hearing him say my name. “Nice to meet you, T. J. Please call me Catarina.”

  Thomas’s thumb slid over the ring he’d given me. He raised a brow and then released my hand to open the car door. “Please make yourself comfortable. We’ll arrive at the estate in about ninety minutes.”

  “Thank you.” I slid into the limousine, scooting to the other door. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headrest.

  This was bad.

  Thomas was too cool.

  Yes, he was in work mode, but I felt it under the surface. The moment we were alone, he was going to lose it. At least I’d have an hour-and-a-half respite before the confrontation.

  The door closed, and within seconds, I found myself on my back, hands pinned above my head, and an angry Thomas over me.

  “Do you know how pissed I am at you? Do you know the hell you’ve put me through over the past few hours? Do you have any idea what it felt like to see you get on that helicopter? If it were that important, I would have brought you here. Why do you have to fight me at every turn?”

  I struggled against his hold, but the only thing that did was rub my body against his, causing my core to spasm.

  Shit. I’m mad at Thomas for manhandling me; why the fuck am I aroused?

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I gazed into his burning eyes, filled with both anger and lust. “I can explain. Let me sit up.”

  “Your explanation can wait; right now I need you.” He sealed my mouth with his. I remained stiff for a brief second, but the desire overpowered any restraint I tried to muster.

  A moan escaped my lips as our tongues curled around each other. The insatiable craving I had for him roared full force to the surface. One of my hands slipped through his grasp and I threaded it into his hair.

  Thomas groaned, then whispered against me, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I couldn’t bear it. You should have come to me first.”

  “I know,” I said between kisses. “No more talking. I want you inside me.”

  He broke the kiss, his lips swollen and breath coming in pants. His erection rubbed against my aching clit, sending a flood of arousal between my legs. He tugged me to sitting. He grabbed my baseball cap from my head and tossed it behind him, followed by my shoes, then came my hoodie, shirt, and jeans.

  “Remind me never to let Arya dress you again. That outfit is hideous. She takes covert to a completely new level. At least you had this hidden underneath.” His fingers trailed along the edge of my bra, dipping into the cups to glide along my nipples, causing them to stiffen to tight peaks.

  It wasn’t fair to be the only one naked. I leaned up to reciprocate, but he shook his head. “No, Carmen, you don’t control this show.” He pulled a scarf from his pocket and held out his hand. “You with me, mi cielito?

  He’s not your sub. You’re his.

  I nodded as I swallowed and then
slid my palm over his. My pulse accelerated, drumming into my ears.

  A slight smile touched his lips as he wrapped a loop around one wrist with the soft fabric. As he finished, he threaded the silk through the grab handle inside the car.

  “Now give me the other.”

  Once he had me restrained, he leaned back to admire his handiwork.

  “Now, Mrs. Thomas.” He chuckled. “I do like the sound of that, but Mrs. Regala rolls off the tongue better.”

  I swallowed and licked my lips, and a slight pang of fear crept in. “Thomas…I…I’ve never done anything like this.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” he crooned as he ran his fingers up one thigh, over my stomach, and down the other.

  “When you touch me, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” I bit the inside of my mouth. Why had I admitted that?

  “Are you willing to give yourself to me? To take what I give you?”

  “Yes,” I answered through a husky breath.

  An image flashed behind my eyes, of me in the playroom, bound, helpless, arching into the pleasure and the pain of a cat-o’-nine-tails.

  “What’re you thinking? Your skin has taken on a beautiful flush.” He grazed his five-o’clock shadow against my jaw, and without thought, I tilted my head, giving him access to my neck.

  Dear God, how does he do it? How does he make me crave submission?

  Because to him, you aren’t the cold Domme everyone knows. With him, you can relinquish your control and know he’ll cherish the gift you’re giving him.

  “I don’t understand why it comes so easy, with you.”

  “It’s simple. You belong to me. Whether you fight it or not, you can’t change the fact it’s true.”

  I closed my eyes for a brief moment, letting his statement sink in. He was right.

  When I opened my lids, I stared into beautiful pools of gold. My breath quickened. I knew what Thomas planned. It’s what I’d have done to my submissive.

  “Are you going to punish me?”

  He sat back, watching me, his face not giving away any of his thoughts.

  “What would Mistress Carmen do?” He hummed the question, and then waited for my answer.

  I remained quiet. Thomas wanted me to give him the consequences of shutting him out. He wanted me to accept my place in his life.

  When I finally spoke, I barely recognized my voice. “She’d punish her submissive for holding back, for not trusting.”

  “Does Mistress want to decide her punishment, or should I?”

  This wasn’t a choice. I knew the correct answer. It was no longer my place to decide.

  I shook my head, staring at him with weary eyes. “You pick.”

  “Good answer.”

  He opened a cabinet and selected a few items: clothespins, a flexible ruler, and a ball gag.

  He turned back to me, lifting the gag, and asked, “Do you trust me?”

  My breath came out in short pants as I eyed the object. I’d used the item on my subs in the past. By agreeing to this, I’d give up my voice and complete control. I’d be helpless, relying on Thomas to read my body and to know how much I could take.

  “Yes.”

  He fisted my hair, drawing me to him and sealing our mouths in a bruising kiss.

  As he pulled back, he lifted the ball. “Open.”

  I complied, biting down on the black latex ball. Thomas fastened the straps behind my head, making sure it wasn’t too tight.

  “I wish you could see how gorgeous you look. Make sure to breathe through your nose. I won’t hurt you, baby.” He ran the pad of his thumb across my stretched lips. “And if at any time you can’t take what I’m doing, snap your fingers. I’ll stop, no questions asked. Do you understand?”

  I nodded my agreement. My mind fired, taking in everything around me, from the clean leather scent of the new limousine to the anticipation of the unknown prickling my skin.

  “Now we begin.”

  He pushed my legs apart, and fully clothed, he settled between them. He reached behind him and brought forth two clothespins. He glided the ends over my collarbone, across my shoulder, and then between my breasts.

  This light touch of the small pieces of wood puckered my nipples into buds, making them ache for and dread the pleasure-pain awaiting me.

  “I love how those emerald eyes went from calm and observant to dilated and aroused.”

  He tugged the lace of my cups down, exposing my breasts to his gaze. Leaning down, he sucked one straining peak into his mouth, biting and laving. My back bowed as a deep throbbing ignited in my core, soaking through my underwear. I moaned and bit hard on the rubber.

  He slowly brought the pin toward my breast and fastened the clip to the end. White-hot agony fogged my mind and then dulled to a gentle ache. He repeated the pleasurable torture on the other nipple.

  By the time he took the ruler in hand, all I wanted was for him to fuck me. The weight of the clothespins and pulsing of my pussy were making me insane. I couldn’t voice my desire. I had to wait until he was ready.

  I moaned, trying to compel him with my eyes, but he shook his head.

  “I know what you want. I’m not going to give it to you.” He smacked the ruler in his hand. “It’s time to see how long you can hold out on your orgasm.”

  No, he wouldn’t. He planned to do to me what I’d done to Samuel.

  “Let’s see if you can handle your own type of ministration.” Thomas smiled as he leaned down to kiss my forehead and then grew serious. “You know the rules. No coming until I give you permission.”

  The first two strikes landed across each aching nipple, and I cried out under the gag. I held my breath until the fire on my buds eased.

  “Breathe, mi amor. Let the endorphins come.”

  The next five strikes seared over my stomach and thighs. If I could have spoken, I’d have asked for more, specifically on my swollen pussy.

  I waited for the next series, but nothing came. I opened the eyes I hadn’t realized I’d closed and gazed at him.

  Thomas was trying to steady his own breathing. This scene affected him as much as it did me. He unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off, followed by his shoes and pants.

  “Are you strong enough to take more without coming?”

  The challenge in his words cooled some of my hunger to go over.

  “Because as soon as you are, I’m going to fuck you senseless.”

  Before I could respond, he began another set of smacks, across my breasts, along my hips, and to the sides of my sopping silk-covered folds.

  I wasn’t going to last. The quickening in my pussy was too much to hold back. Goddammit. I wasn’t a pain junkie, but all I wanted was that last strike to send me over.

  Thomas’s hand slid up my stomach and up to my breast. “Ready? Let’s see who’s stronger.” He released the pins from each nipple in tandem with the slap of the plastic ruler across my labia. I screamed as my orgasm took over.

  I couldn’t control it anymore. I couldn’t take any more. I thrashed my head back and forth. I needed him inside me now.

  Immediately, he unfastened the gag, throwing it on the floor with my clothes.

  Tears clouded my eyes from the overload of sensation. “Thomas, I need…”

  He covered my lips with his finger. “No talking. Right now I want to fuck.”

  The telltale sound of my underwear ripping reached my ears. In the next second, Thomas’s cock pushed into my throbbing pussy, slamming to the hilt.

  We both groaned, and my head fell back against the door window. My arms remained taut against the grab handle, and my back arched. He pummeled into me, setting a relentless pace. One I couldn’t control, even if I tried. He was laying his claim, and I was helpless to do anything but let him.

  He slid his fingers up my throat, and with a slight squeeze, he brought me to the cusp of my orgasm. “Who’s your Master?”

  “You are,” I breathed out.

  “I can’t hear you.” He pull
ed out and slammed back in. One hand squeezed the tender flesh of my thighs, making my mind cloud with pleasure.

  Why was he doing this? I had to come again. Damn him and his magic cock. I was about to lose my mind.

  “Please, Thomas. Let me come,” I begged.

  “Not until you scream it.”

  “You are my Master. Will always be my Master,” I shouted. “I have to come. Please let me come again.”

  “Come now, mi amor.”

  Thomas’s hand squeezed tighter around my throat, and he bit the skin on my shoulder. I detonated, pushing back into his thrust, contracting around his rock-hard girth. I called out his name as sensations of ecstasy cascaded throughout my body. I continued to ride the waves of bliss until Thomas called out his own release.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Thomas released me from my bindings, making sure I regained feeling in my arms, then gathered me against him. We were silent as the car continued its journey to the family estate.

  “Carmen, this won’t work if you can’t trust me or lean on me. I shouldn’t be the last one to find out what’s going on in your life.”

  I inhaled, enjoying the comfort of his scent. “I’m sorry. I’m trying.”

  “I don’t believe you.” His gentle tone couldn’t hide the anger under his words.

  I lifted up. “I do trust you, Thomas.”

  He slid me onto the seat next to him and then leaned his arms against his knees as he raked his hand through his hair. “Bullshit.”

  I jumped but kept quiet.

  “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. I’ve defended you, told my grandfather to fuck himself. I’ve put you and our boys before everyone, even allowing others to believe I’m your submissive. All I asked is for you to stop keeping me at a distance.”

  I couldn’t defend myself; everything he said was true. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can say to justify how I reacted. I should have waited to talk to you. My only excuse was that I had to find out the truth about Dad, and I was scared you wouldn’t let me leave.”

  He turned to me. “When will you get it through your thick skull that I won’t let you down? Yes, I would have argued against it, but you weren’t a prisoner at the ranch. I would have come with you or sent someone to check out your theory. What more can I do to get you to depend on me?”