His hands were remarkably gentle when he, without touching her skin, untied the knot at the back of her neck and slowly opened the dress to her waist, presenting her breasts to the room. She shuddered when, a moment later, he cupped them, kneading the nipples into hard points before pushing the dress down her body to pool around her feet. “Step out of the dress,” he said, his voice softer.
She stumbled as she did but with a hand at her elbow, he righted her. She could feel him behind her, to the side of her, circling around her while she stood exposed but for the small triangle of lace covering her sex, her thigh-high stockings and pumps. She struggled not to pull against her restraints while hot tears moistened the blindfold.
“Legs wider, Emma.” Although his voice sounded thicker with arousal, she knew it was the same man who’d ordered her to be stripped earlier.
“Do you need help?” Luke asked when she didn’t comply quickly enough.
Without answering him, she shifted her feet, standing with her legs slightly farther than hip distance.
He didn’t know it was her just yet, but she was sure the blindfold was coming off and soon. When his fingers traced her shoulders, a shock made her gasp. She tried to move away, but he twined them in her hair, pulling just a little. “Be still,” he commanded quietly.
“You’re safe, Emma. No one will hurt you,” Damien said from a distance. His words broke the spell and she realized she felt safer with Luke Roark stripping her than with Damien’s weak promise.
“Don’t coddle her, Damien. Your girl chose to come, remember that,” Luke said.
She flinched at his words but was simultaneously aroused by them, by his absolute power. And he was right: she was aroused; she wanted this.
Luke was so close that his breath moistened her flesh. He inhaled at her neck and shoulders, making every hair stand on end as she tried to anticipate his next move. “Beautiful,” he said after a few moments, his voice a low, deep growl.
“She’s trembling, Luke, give her some space,” a man said, but Luke didn’t move.
The man continued. “We will take your blindfold away in a few moments, Emma. There are several of us here. We have a few questions first. You’ve signed a contract with Damien, correct?” he asked.
She nodded a slow, small nod.
“And you consent? You’re not being coerced but are here of your own free will, is that right?”
She nodded again.
“Answer me with words, please.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Take off her blindfold,” the man said.
“Relax,” Luke said behind her, his fingers working the blindfold. “You see,” he said, removing the cloth and moving into her line of vision. “I’m not so awful.”
Her eyelashes were wet and she had to blink several times to bring him into focus. This was the moment of truth. No turning back. He stood inches from her, her eyes at the level of his wide, muscular chest. She swallowed, lifting her gaze to his. Familiar eyes greeted her, a blue so dark they could be black. They froze for an instant while recognition set in. She kept silent and still, watching him, trying to gauge his reaction.
He cleared his throat before continuing. “You see?” He raised a hand and reached behind her to set her hair free from its clip. “I can be gentle too,” he said while he arranged the mass of dark curls behind her shoulders. He tucked the silk of the blindfold into his pocket and she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him.
“What’s the matter, Luke,” a man from the shadows said. “Has she got you bewitched already?” he asked as another man chuckled. “Move so we can all have a look at her.”
Luke’s mouth tightened and his gaze bore into Emma before giving the man who’d commented a look that banished his smile. But when Emma had his full attention again, she saw that he was more than angry, angrier than she’d ever seen him before.
“You forgot her panties,” a man said.
Luke’s lips tightened, his gaze holding her steady. Was that reluctance in his eyes when he gripped her panties and slid them down her thighs?
She made a sound and tried to move away, but he caught her. What was he doing? Didn’t he recognize her? He wasn’t reacting like she thought he would.
“What the hell is this?” His question was directed to Damien, but his fingers curled painfully in the little patch of dark hair between her legs.
“Ow!” All she could do was stare at Luke. What was he doing?
“I’m sorry, Mr. Roark. She was supposed to be waxed bare, but as you’ll find yourself, she has a stubborn streak.” Damien’s last words were directed at her, but she couldn’t have cared less.
“You didn’t examine her prior to bringing her here?”
“No, Sir. I neglected to. My error,” Damien said. “I apologize.”
She found herself wanting to say something, anything, to Luke. To explain. But explain what? How would she explain her presence as Damien’s ‘girl’?
“Your training leaves a bit to be desired,” Luke said, his gaze giving away no hint of recognition.
“Lisa,” Luke snapped, turning her around and untying her hands.
A naked woman about her own age who’d obviously been standing in the shadows behind her jumped to attention. “Yes, Sir.” This woman was terrified of him; it was evident in her body language as well as the tone of her voice.
“Take her to the back room and fix…this,” he said, tugging once again at her hair.
“Ow!” It came out before she could stop it. Someone chuckled. The bastard! That had hurt.
“Yes, Sir.”
Lisa took Emma’s arm and hurried out of the room from a side door. As they exited, the other door opened and Emma turned to find two more women being led inside, both bound and blindfolded.
* * *
“Why is he so mad?” Emma asked as they moved quickly through a narrow, dark corridor.
Lisa gave her a look that warned her to be quiet. The girl pulled her into a small bedroom.
“Don’t let them hear you speaking, you’ll be punished.”
“No one will hear us.”
As if to prove her wrong, the door opened and Damien stood in the doorway. He was so mad his face was bright red.
Lisa stopped dead and dropped her gaze to the ground.
“God damn it, Emma! I told you to have that taken care of!”
“I forgot! I’m sorry, I was a little preoccupied!” she said.
“Sir. Sir! Will you never learn?” He turned to Lisa. “Wax her bare and make sure it hurts. And if I hear a whisper from either one of you, I will whip both your asses raw.”
“Yes, Sir,” Lisa answered, waiting until he left before she moved to retrieve the wax.
Well, it hurt all right. As gentle as Lisa tried to be, waxing away every hair on her most delicate region hurt more than a little. It took all of fifteen minutes before they returned, slipping quietly inside. Emma’s pussy burned from the rough treatment and she didn’t miss Luke’s nod when he looked at the reddened flesh.
“Come here,” he said to her and everyone turned to watch. It was as if he were making a show of it on purpose.
She took one tentative step toward him before he gave his next command. “No.”
She stopped.
“Crawl,” he said. When she simply stood staring, he added, “That means get on your hands on and knees and make your way to my side. Now.”
Fuck him! She set her jaw, her gaze a challenge to his. He took one step before Lisa’s hand touched her wrist and pulled, desperately giving the signal to drop to her knees. For once in her life, Emma did what she was told, even though every fiber of her being battled on her way down. How dare he shame her like this? Everyone in the room watched as she knelt, then crawled to Luke’s side. He didn’t smile when she reached him. When she dropped her gaze, his fingers closed in her hair and forced her to look up at him. “You’ll be happy to know that while you were gone, your contract was arranged. I now own it. Do you know what that
makes me?”
Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she tried to shake her head no. Her whole body shook; this was not how it was supposed to go.
“I can’t hear you,” he said.
“No. I don’t understand,” she said, her hand closing around his wrist while she rose a little to relieve the pressure of his hand in her hair.
“You belong to me, Emma. I am your master for the weekend, I command you. Now do you understand?”
She nodded.
His grip tightened painfully. “If I wanted you to nod your head, I’d do it for you.”
Why was he being so mean? “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir,” she said.
“She will be,” someone chuckled.
“Shame we won’t have a taste of that fine pussy tonight though.”
Luke looked pissed at that comment. “Gentlemen, continue with the evening. I have what I came for and will take my leave.” Turning to Lisa, he said, “Get me her clothes and find her a wrap.”
“Yes, Sir,” Lisa scrambled ahead of them.
“Luke, she’s new,” Damien’s voice came from across the room and Emma wondered where his sudden concern for her was coming from.
“Just like I like them,” Luke said.
Damien nodded and looked away. In the vestibule, Luke draped a warm wrap over her shoulders, took her clothes from Lisa and led her out the door.
Chapter Three
Once the door closed behind them, Luke turned to her. “Not a word until we’re in the car,” he warned, unlocking a sleek black Jaguar. “Get in.” He held the passenger side door open. She settled herself inside and waited. Once he was in, he turned to her. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded, suddenly needing to cry.
“Good, because I’m about to kill you.”
She wanted to force her tears to stay put, not to spill down her cheeks, but they didn’t obey. Of course they didn’t.
“Christ, Emma,” he said, turning away. His anger was barely harnessed. He reached over to strap her in as she wept. “What the fuck did you think you were doing?” he asked, as soon as they pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’m not a little girl anymore, Luke. I’m a grown woman and I can do what I want.”
“And you thought whoring yourself out to these men was a good way to prove just how grown up you are?”
Fresh tears assaulted her at his use of that word. “It wasn’t like that,” she said. But it was, wasn’t it? No matter her reasons for accepting Damien’s money, she took it in exchange for the use of her body and that made her a whore.
He looked her over before turning back to the road. “Besides, I saw tonight just how grown up you are. Along with everybody else, by the way.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “It’s not like I knew you’d be there.”
“Obviously,” he said.
“Besides, did you consider maybe I wanted to do it?” she threw back.
He just gave her a look.
“And I could ask you the same thing. What the fuck were you doing there? Buying a slut to have your way with?”
“Watch your mouth, little girl.”
“Or what? Are you going to spank me? Isn’t that what you do?”
He wasn’t amused. “Is that what Damien did? Really, Damien, Emma?” He shook his head as he said it, making a face of disapproval.
Ok, he had her there.
“What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you if one of those men had outbid me? Not to mention what you did to my plans for the weekend,” he said.
“Sorry to ruin your fun. And did you consider for a second that maybe I wanted them to do those things?” She knew what she said wasn’t true even as the words skipped right off her tongue. As much as she was curious to explore the lifestyle, she never wanted just anyone. At the end of the day, love played a more crucial role than she cared to admit.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel. “No, not like that. You would have been used like a…” he stopped.
“A whore,” she whispered. Shame engulfed her; was she so out of control? “You played along. It fucking hurt to have me waxed!”
She regretted it as soon as the words were out. He pulled the Jaguar swiftly to the side of the road and the seatbelt tightened over her chest with the force of the sudden stop. He took her wrist and pulled her arm sharply toward him, forcing her to look at him. “Listen up, Emma; I’m only going to say this once. You don’t belong in a place like that; it’s not for little girls who think they’re grown up. Those men in there don’t give a damn about you. They would have paid a price to have you and I can assure you, they’d get their money’s worth and you wouldn’t like it. Not one bit.”
“Isn’t that what you’re going to do?”
His grip tightened.
Her heart raced and she stared at this man who suddenly frightened her in his rage.
“You’re hurting me,” she said, her body in flight mode.
He must have seen it because he softened his grip just a little. “When I took off your blindfold and recognized you, I needed to create some distraction to give myself time to think. These are men neither you nor I want to fuck with.”
She tried to free herself. “I could have handled them. If they’re anything like Damien, it would be easy.” Anxiety made her skin hot and cold at the same time.
He released her and, turning away, inhaled a deep breath. He pulled the car onto the road. “Your boy Damien…”
“He’s not my boy,” she cut him off.
His glance quieted her. “Your boy Damien is just that, a boy. A novice. He’s nothing more than a pimp. You were just a prize for him. A top-dollar prize.”
He was waiting for something but she had no response. What he said was true, after all.
“Why did you do it anyway?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the road. “What could you possibly hope to get out of it?”
“None of your business,” she said, staring straight ahead.
“But it is my business. And so are you. I’ve just bought your contract, Emma. I own you for the weekend.”
She turned to him, trying to gauge if he was serious.
He grinned that wickedly sexy grin she remembered so well. It still had the same effect on her today that it had six years ago. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? It is a pretty tongue, I have to say,” he taunted. She turned away. “Although a little sharp at times.”
“You wouldn’t hold me to it,” she said, not sure at all what he would or wouldn’t do.
He smiled.
“The contract gives you access to my physical body only,” she continued.
His smile grew. She went white.
“Where are we going?” she asked when he turned onto a side road and slowed.
“Home. My home, but yours too for the weekend.”
She felt suddenly, incredibly, nervous.
“I thought this was what you wanted,” he said, his voice still playing with her. “Aren’t you curious what a weekend with a real Dom would be like? I can promise you it will be quite different than anything you had with your boy toy.”
“Jealous, Luke?” she asked, even as her insides quaked.
“Like I said earlier,” he said, turning to her as he pulled onto the driveway of a large, dark house. “Master or Sir will do just fine. That’s rule number one.”
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to call you either of those, Luke.”
“I told you I liked a little fire in my women. I appreciate you remembering that,” he said and stepped out of the car, coming over to her side and opening the door.
“I’m not one of your women,” she said, refusing to budge.
“No, you’re not. You’re a little girl,” he said, reaching over her to unbuckle her seatbelt. “But I’ll teach you how to be a good submissive this weekend. Are you coming out on your own or am I carrying you?”
She gave him a look before climbing
out of the car. “Luke,” she said under her breath, making a face.
“Sir or Master.”
She had every intention of walking into the house, but her pride got the better of her. She gritted her teeth, folded her arms across her chest and dug her heels into the ground.
He raised an eyebrow, smiling a very amused smile all along and she knew he was enjoying this way more than he should be.
“Suit yourself,” he said and before she knew it, she was over his shoulder. She shrieked when he smacked her ass and carried her to the door before she could get two words out.
* * *
Luke’s face was set when he carried a struggling Emma into his house. He doubted she knew how much seeing her tonight had affected him. It had been six years since the night she’d walked in on him fucking her brother’s fiancée. He still flinched at that memory, both at the knowledge of what he’d done to his best friend and at the accusation in Emma’s eyes. He’d been thirty-two at the time and Emma had been just eighteen. Too young to fall in love with. But the rage he felt tonight when he’d removed her blindfold still made his hands clench into tight fists. It was the realization that he’d been the one to strip her bare and stand her before the others to be gawked at that burned.
“Stop struggling,” he said while he tried to get the key in the lock.
“Do you say that to all your girlfriends?”
“Usually don’t have to. And by the way, I’m not your boyfriend.” That didn’t sound like he wanted it to sound.
She stilled at his comment and his keys dropped to the floor.
“God damn it, Emma,” he said. He set her down and when he met her eyes, he only saw hurt. He quickly bent to pick up the keys, this time succeeding in slipping the right one into the lock and opening the door.
“In,” he said, standing to the side.
“This is called kidnapping!” she said, but she walked in. He imagined she was more than a little cold given her state of dress.
Taming Emma Page 2
