Striking a Balance (Thalia Book 2) (The Thalia Series)

by Jennifer Bene

  “Master, I know this is Master Kalen’s property and therefore I should have never raised my voice, I just wanted him to understand you did nothing wrong - you saved me.” Thalia babbled as he leaned over her, his blond hair angling forward and his green eyes dancing in the light of the lamps.

  “First, this is Maggie’s property. She’s the one with the money, and she gave Purgatory to him as a wedding gift seven years ago.” His hands pulled hers above her head and she felt the familiar tightness of leather cuffs, which he linked to the headboard through some conveniently placed carvings.

  Maggie owns this place?

  “Second, while you should not have yelled, or cursed, at either of us - I appreciate you finding your tongue when it came to defending me.” James leaned down and kissed her hard, his hand sliding down to tweak her nipple until she moaned against him. Then his hand trailed further, his nails leaving thin pink lines on her skin as he dipped over her hip and between her legs. She instantly bucked when he found her soaking wet.

  “You never fail to impress me, pet. You performed so well at the inspection, and - It. Was. Very. Hot.” The last few words he punctuated with thrusts of his fingers inside her, and then his thumb swirled over her clit in an electric surge of pleasure that had her shivering with need.

  “But, third, I need you to understand that what I did - watching Marcus’ feed, supporting them financially, even buying you - was wrong, and directly against everything Kalen stands for.” She opened her mouth to argue and James shook his head, pressing a finger of his other hand over her lips. “Oh no, pet, you don’t get to argue about that, and you’ve reminded me - you lost your speaking privileges for the night.”

  His grin was wicked, but his eyes were playful as he dug in the pocket of the overnight bag and pulled out a small ball gag. Even though his touch had left her, Thalia found herself even wetter. Her arms subconsciously tugged on the wrist cuffs, but she was very secure. James cupped her face gently, kissing her softly before whispering against her lips.

  “Open.” And she did. He pressed it between her teeth and gently lifted her head to latch it behind her. “Beautiful.”

  Thalia lifted her hips and groaned against the gag, wordlessly begging him to touch her. It wasn’t large enough to bother her, but she knew it wouldn’t be comfortable by morning. James was watching her as she squirmed. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip in what may have been the hottest expression she’d seen on his face, and he trailed his hand slowly down her stomach. After a moment he began lightly touching her again, her body responding immediately to his expert swipes between her lips, spreading her open. She shifted her knees farther apart, and he leaned down and licked her dripping pussy, his mouth flooding her with pleasure, and she moaned loudly against the gag. He sat up and spanked her pussy hard, and she yelped behind the gag.

  “Fourth thing.” His fingers returned to thrusting inside her, rolling his thumb over her clit until she was panting and delirious from the waves of pleasure building inside her. It was hard to focus on his words, or on his intense stare as he watched her rise higher and higher. “Here at Purgatory...” He thrust his fingers inside her hard and she squirmed, lifting her hips for just a little more.

  Just a little more!

  “Subs don’t get to come unless it’s part of their training, and only with permission from Master Kalen.” His touch left her completely, and she writhed trying to reach him again. She jerked at the wrist bindings and begged wordlessly against the gag. He grinned down at her, wiping a little drool from her chin, “You don’t want to mess up your training already, do you, baby?”

  With a whimper and as much of a pout as Thalia could muster while flushed with arousal, on the edge of a glorious orgasm, and gagged, she shook her head.

  “Good girl.” James flipped off the lamp and climbed into bed next to her. His hand torturously slid up her side and cupped her breast, tweaking her nipple, which sent pulses directly to her clit until she started to beg again. He chuckled and pressed a kiss into her hair, “Sleep well, I’ll release you in the morning.” Then he rolled over and Thalia tried to focus on anything other than the burning wetness between her thighs and the ghostly echoes of James’ touch all over her body.

  Sleep well? That was impossible.

  Only Kalen could give her permission?

  Fuck.

  What had she signed up for?

  Chapter Seven

  Thalia couldn't quite remember actually falling asleep. At one point she had been squirming in bed, her thighs sawing together in the aftermath of James’ touch, and then she had tried to distract herself from the pulse between her thighs. Her mind had been racing between nerve-wracking predictions of what Kalen’s training would be like, and tense doomsday prophecies involving James kicking her out, declaring she was too messed up for him to deal with.

  Her mind had spun until she was exhausted enough to let her physical tension and her nervous brain go.

  Then, there were touches in the dark.

  James’ face floated over hers. That wicked grin tugging at the edge of his mouth before he kissed her. His hand aggressively wound in her hair, tightening until she moaned. Thalia’s hands gripped his shoulders and she reveled in the sheer power of his kiss, lifting her hips into the open air above her in silent invitation. In an instant she felt hands pushing her thighs apart – but they couldn’t be James’, his hands were at her hair. Panic filled her for a moment and she turned her head until he broke the kiss and shushed her. James grinned and looked down the plane of her body to look at Kalen, his broad smile showing white teeth inside his beard just before he buried his mouth against her soaked pussy just as he almost had that evening.

  She cried out as pleasure surged, his tongue delving between her lips to plunge inside her. His fingers slid through her lips to tease her clit into a hard little bud that made her clench her teeth and hiss in pleasure.

  “Oh fuck!” Thalia groaned as James’ mouth latched on to a nipple, his teeth grazing it before he sucked hard on her flesh, sending pulses of pleasure to meet Kalen’s touch between her thighs. The combination of their mouths had her whimpering in pleasure, her body arching and squirming as their strong hands held her down to the bed to keep her fully at their mercy. The effect was all encompassing, and powerful as it hurtled her towards an orgasm. Without a word being spoken James propped a pillow behind her head and stroked himself. Thalia’s mouth opened in her urge to taste him and he straddled her, teasing her lips with the head of his cock. She greedily sucked it in and as James’ groan echoed in the dark of the room, Kalen thrust two fingers inside her. Her own moans vibrated against his flesh, the velvety hardness jerking against her tongue as his breath picked up. James started to move in her throat, pushing further in as Thalia sucked and swirled her tongue against him. Grabbing gasps of air on the backs of moans whenever possible.

  Her hips lifted sharply when Kalen slid a third finger inside her and his tongue laved clit, before sucking the hard little nub at her center into his mouth again and sending her reeling. She moaned and James cut off her voice with a deep thrust into her throat which made her choke, but the tears that sprang up were ignored in the waves of pleasure pulsing from between her legs. Then Kalen’s touch disappeared and Thalia pressed her heels into the bed, lifting her hips to seek him. James smiled down at her, his hand cupping the back of her head as he shoved hard into her mouth again and she winced, but she wanted to beg him to continue. His eyes were so dark she could barely see the green tint, and his grin was all mischief.

  Then she felt broad hands at her hips, lifting them until she felt knees underneath her lifting her more. Oh god he was going to... The incredible pressure of Kalen’s cock pressing inside her made her moan, and she looked up to see James slightly twisted at the shoulders so he could watch his friend enter her.

  Thalia almost came right then.

  Kalen was thick, but he took his time to work inside her. Each gentle rocking of his hips had her moaning loudly
against James’ cock. His eyes were back on her now, his hand stroking her jaw, her neck, as he pushed deeper and withdrew in a slow, strong rhythm. Kalen was following James’ pattern at first until he pressed into her completely and his balls rested against her ass. She heard him groan as he slid back and slammed into her hard. Thalia cried out against the thickness in her mouth and throat, her body clenching around Kalen and sucking James deeper. James’ hand reached back and twisted a nipple until Thalia’s hips bucked and Kalen ramped up the sensation by rolling his thumb over her clit.

  Both of them. Both of them were -

  The orgasm hit her before she knew it was rising inside her. The intensity of it had her shivering and James slid from her mouth and away from her so she could gasp, and cry out, her hands clenched into the sheets at her sides. The world spun and she realized Kalen had rolled onto his back and brought her with him, his hips working like a smooth piston inside her, which kept her shivering on the edge. James’ touch traced her spine, and she felt the slippery cool of lube worked between her cheeks against her ass.

  There wasn’t even a veiled attempt at coquettishness. Thalia shifted her knees farther outside of Kalen’s to offer herself to James, and he grabbed her hips to steady her, his hand overlapping Kalen’s own tight grip on her skin. Then she felt James slip a finger inside her, and then another. She could only make a whimpering groan as Kalen’s thrusts slowed to almost nothing and the tension of waiting had Thalia begging in moments, “Please fuck me, Master, please...” His fingers were removed and his hard cock pressed against her ass, pushing until he finally thrust inside her. The steady groan as he pushed until he bottomed out was mirrored by Kalen beneath her while she became even tighter as she was filled.

  Then they started to move, occasionally they were alternating, and then they would sync again, and she would be terrifically filled and moaning and shaking as pleasure pounded between her thighs with each delicious thrust of them inside her. She had never imagined that she would want this or that she could handle it, but Kalen and James worked her body in perfect harmony. Their low moans and heavy groans filling her ears until she wound higher and higher, their thrusts growing more urgent until -

  Thalia tried to gasp only to find the uncomfortable ache of a ball gag in her mouth. She was hopelessly twisted in the sheets, but her bound wrists only clattered against the headboard as she tried to move. As realization set in she pressed her thighs together hard, finding them sticky with the evidence of her damning arousal. A harsh blush raced up her chest as memories racked her of Kalen between her thighs, his cock buried inside her as he rolled her and positioned her ass for James to take. She groaned in frustration and turned to find a sleepy James looking at her with one brow neatly raised.

  “Well, good morning, beautiful. Why do you look so guilty?” Even though James was the antithesis of a morning person, his eyes lit up as he traced down her sweat-dampened skin, before zeroing in on the soaked flesh of her thighs. Even from this angle Thalia could see her labia swollen with arousal, her juices shining in the dim light of the morning, the sheets tangled around her legs. James reached behind her head and with a flick unlatched the gag and eased it from her sore jaws. The ache was miserable and bringing her teeth back together took more effort than it should have.

  She almost complained until she noticed James slipping between her thighs, his hands pushing her knees farther apart – just like Kalen had in her dream. She shivered with need as James’ satisfied groan rose up.

  “Baby, you smell incredible.” James took a deep breath and then dragged his tongue up her inner thigh sending chills down her back. His voice growled against her skin, “…and here I was wondering if I’d get breakfast in bed.”

  “Oh god... please?” Thalia couldn’t even formulate the request as his tongue started to clean the evidence of her wicked dream from her thighs. Each swipe of his tongue bringing him ever closer to her pussy, her hips lifting in a plea for him to really taste her.

  “What were you dreaming about, pet?” His voice was low and rumbling as he nibbled the place where her thighs met her mound. She tried to shut her legs when he asked and he dug his fingers in to push her legs apart. “Come on, tell me baby.”

  The blush deepened and heat suffused her skin from pussy to cheekbones. He just laughed and dragged his tongue slowly and carefully between the lips of her pussy. His fingers spread her open and he lapped against her, each time stopping short of her pulsing clit.

  “I’d love to know what has you soaked.” His tongue thrust deep inside her, and her thighs shook as she whimpered. Biting her lip she writhed against his mouth, his fingers clamping down on her hips, pressing her thighs over his shoulders so she could no longer wiggle. “Tell me.”

  It was his Dom voice that undid her. His complete control as he tongued her to the edge again and again with no concern of her tumbling into an orgasm without his permission. She was his, wholly and completely, and that meant honesty and sharing fantasies – even ones about his best friend.

  “It was you and -” she wasn’t sure that it was possible to blush harder, but the embarrassment that flooded her made her clench her eyes tight against his dark green gaze.

  “And?” Humor filled his voice before he cracked out another direct command, “Open your eyes and tell me.” His mouth buried between her thighs, instantly distracting her from her bashfulness as her eyes snapped open. His mouth worked magic on her, little sparks of heat rising up inside her to make her shiver.

  “Oh god, yes! It was, I dreamed of you, of you and, and - oh fuck - and MASTER KALEN!!” She shouted the last part to get it out before she lost her nerve again. He paused between her legs a moment, leaving her achingly on the edge, and then slid up her body slowly.

  “Oh really?” His voice was low and unreadable and her stomach dropped.

  “Yes? I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, Master.” Thalia quailed under his intense stare, and then she felt his erection pressed firmly against her through his pants.

  “Don’t be, pet.” His hips rocked against her core, and she knew she was soaking the cloth as he thrust against her. A low laugh rumbled out of him, “Kalen and I share very well. So does Maggie, actually.” James’ teeth grazed her jaw line as Thalia’s brain fought to wrap around the words he’d said. For a moment, Maggie’s perfectly shaped ass appeared in her mind and she wondered what it would be like to touch another woman like that. His teeth bit down onto her shoulder and she gasped and bucked against his hips, but he only pressed her into the bed more firmly.

  “I -” She was breathless. Her body tensely coiled with thrums of pleasure pulsing through her with each grind of his hard cock against her core.

  Had he really said all of that? Was she still dreaming?

  “Would you like that?” His cock ground against her and she found herself trying her best to find completion by rubbing against him. His voice was a fierce growl against her ear, his warm breath making her shudder, “Would you like Kalen and I to fuck you, baby?”

  “YES!” She cried out, her confession racking her with flashbacks of her dream as his body leaned her tenuously over the edge of completion. With a sudden move he pushed up and off her, grinning wildly down at her. In the absence of his touch she screamed in frustration and yanked hard on the wrist cuffs.

  “Then you need to pass Kalen’s program, baby. He won’t touch you until he’s sure you’re alright.” His hand slid between her thighs and he pushed two fingers into her dripping pussy, the liquid sound of his touch all the assurance she needed of just how much the dream and the entire idea had turned her on. “But I want you to know, that knowing you dreamt about it is going to be driving me mad for weeks. You are - perfect, and delectable, and impossibly sexy.”

  His lips found hers and she groaned against him as his kiss made her see stars despite the fact that he carefully kept his hips from hers. Her mind was still spinning that James wasn’t just okay with her dreaming of Kalen, but seemed even more excited than she was
by her dream. Maybe she hadn’t misinterpreted those looks yesterday, James loved watching Kalen touch her, and if they wanted it?

  She had even more incentive to pass whatever tests Kalen would throw at her.

  Thalia hadn’t come that morning, at least not while she was conscious. James had unlatched her arms and massaged her shoulders, arms, and wrists until their ache subsided. A hot, lonely shower later and James was handing her a pale gray dress embroidered with delicate flowers near the hem which barely came to her mid-thigh. A pair of lace, pale pink panties and a matching bra were hidden beneath it. He explained that the other subs weren’t as comfortable being naked yet so Kalen’s dress code was just enough to make them comfortable.

  By the time they wandered downstairs Thalia could smell breakfast and her stomach growled. Kalen called out to James from in his office and Thalia flushed at the sight of him in the doorway, the memory of her dream and his hands on her made her pulse pick up.